Microsoft Windows 98 Case Studies & Practical Application 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A Windows 98 computer running a legacy DOS accounting application crashes with 'Insufficient memory' despite having 128 MB of RAM. What Windows 98 feature governs memory available to DOS applications?
- Virtual Device Drivers (VxDs)
- DOS Memory (conventional memory below 640 KB) (Correct answer)
- Page file size setting
- FAT32 cluster size
Correct answer: DOS Memory (conventional memory below 640 KB)
Legacy DOS programs are constrained to the first 640 KB of conventional memory; Windows 98's memory manager uses UMBs and EMM386 to maximize available conventional RAM.
Question 2: You are configuring Windows 98 for a kiosk that must auto-restart daily. Which built-in Windows 98 utility allows you to schedule an automatic restart?
- Task Scheduler (Scheduled Tasks) (Correct answer)
- System Agent
- MSCONFIG
- Net Watcher
Correct answer: Task Scheduler (Scheduled Tasks)
Scheduled Tasks (formerly System Agent) in Windows 98 can run scripts or applications at set times, including a batch file that calls 'shutdown -r' equivalents.
Question 3: A user's Windows 98 desktop icons are all showing generic document icons instead of their proper application icons after installing new software. What should you do first?
- Rebuild the icon cache by deleting ShellIconCache (Correct answer)
- Reinstall all applications
- Run ScanDisk
- Update the video driver
Correct answer: Rebuild the icon cache by deleting ShellIconCache
Windows 98 caches icons in the ShellIconCache file; deleting it forces Windows to rebuild the cache and restore proper icons on the next restart.
Question 4: A Windows 98 machine is infected with a boot-sector virus. The antivirus software reports it cannot clean the virus while Windows is running. What is the correct approach?
- Delete the C: drive contents and reinstall
- Boot from a clean write-protected antivirus floppy disk and run the scanner (Correct answer)
- Enable the Windows 98 firewall
- Use System Restore to go back one day
Correct answer: Boot from a clean write-protected antivirus floppy disk and run the scanner
Boot-sector viruses load before Windows; scanning from a clean, write-protected boot floppy bypasses the infected MBR and allows the antivirus to remove the virus safely.
Question 5: After upgrading a PC from Windows 95 to Windows 98, the user reports that their USB scanner no longer works. Windows 95 never supported USB. What is the most likely issue?
- Windows 98 removed USB support
- The USB driver or INF file for Windows 98 is missing and must be obtained from the manufacturer (Correct answer)
- USB requires FAT32 to function
- The scanner's COM port assignment changed
Correct answer: The USB driver or INF file for Windows 98 is missing and must be obtained from the manufacturer
While Windows 98 added native USB support, legacy devices from the Windows 95 era often need updated Windows 98-specific drivers from the hardware manufacturer.
Question 6: A Windows 98 system administrator needs to view which users are connected to a shared folder on a peer-to-peer workgroup. Which tool provides this information?
- Net Watcher (Correct answer)
- System Monitor
- Device Manager
- NETSTAT
Correct answer: Net Watcher
Net Watcher displays current connections to shared resources, shows which files are open, and allows administrators to disconnect users or close shared folders.
Question 7: A Windows 98 computer's display suddenly drops to 16 colors and 640x480 resolution after a failed driver update. What is the fastest recovery without reinstalling Windows?
- Boot to Safe Mode and roll back to the previous display driver via Device Manager (Correct answer)
- Run FDISK to restore the video partition
- Delete the System.ini file and restart
- Reinstall DirectX
Correct answer: Boot to Safe Mode and roll back to the previous display driver via Device Manager
Safe Mode loads the standard VGA driver; from Device Manager you can remove the failed driver and install the previous working version without a full reinstall.
Microsoft Windows 98 Case Studies & Practical Application 4
A Windows 98 computer running a legacy DOS accounting application crashes with 'Insufficient memory' despite having 128 MB of RAM.
What Windows 98 feature governs memory available to DOS applications?