RE INSTALL WIN95

There are several reasons and ways to reinstall WIN95:

Why ???

Something is not working properly. Might be easier to reinstall than trying to fix. A partial reinstall will not fix all problems but it will fix quite a few problems.
You have been deleting programs by using delete rather than Uninstall or control panel ---> add/remove programs.
You have been installing and removing a lot of downloaded programs to try them out. Your computer has become somewhat of a mess.
Your running out of hard drive space and it might be a result of all the stuff you have been trying which was not totally deleted.
Your computer seems to perform much worse than it used too.

Ways to re install:

A complete re install meaning reformat the disk and start from scratch. This requires that you make a boot disk including the CD-ROM drivers. You should also make sure you have all necessary drivers for your hard ware available. It will also require reinstalling all programs and application afterwards. Quite time consuming.
A partial reinstall - a refresh - just installing on top of existing installation. This requires the least effort and will solve quite a few problems but will not reclaim disk space and clean up. It will solve quite a few problems associated with WIN95.
Re install from a backup.

Preliminaries for any reinstall:

Make sure you have backups of all your important data. That means data files like your word document files, excel files, database files etc. All that stuff you might have generated for which you do not have an install disk. You should have this whether you plan a reinstall or not and keep it up to date.
Make sure you have the upgrades and patches needed for Win95 as well as any applications you have. You can always download and reinstall after completion but it is easier if you have them saved.
Make sure you have a system boot disk with CD ROM drivers and that it works. Try booting to it before doing anything.
Make sure you save important data you may have whether it be picture files, documents, spread sheets, mail or data bases. Also, it is a good idea to save or write down configuration information like phone numbers, mail addresses and save your favorite URLs. Don't forget ICQ if your a user.

Simple - Partial Reinstall

This is the easiest one and it will retain most of your configuration settings. Everything should work as it did prior to after your done and it requires no install of applications and programs following the WIN95 refresh. It will fix quite a few problems but not all.

Note: You may need to uninstall IE 4.X prior to a reinstall, then reinstall IE 4 after the reinstall. Please take a look at these Microsoft knowledge base article; Reinstalling Windows 95 with Internet Explorer 4.0 and How to uninstall IE 4.0

Insert the CD ROM in the drive and start setup. You may have to do this from safe mode or DOS. It is preferable to do it from WIN95 then safe mode and last choice is the DOS prompt.
This is a standard install and will utilize you existing configuration files. You are likely to get several message during the install as to whether you want to overwrite newer files. My preference is to answer NO unless you have experienced problems with related applications and sub systems of WIN95.
You may have to reinstall some of the WIN95 updates after completing this.

Complete Reinstall - Reformatting the hard drive

This is a fresh start. It will fix any WIN95 problems. There are some exceptions were re partitioning may be required. It will not fix problems that may exist in hardware. It will give you a fresh start, reclaim disk space and most likely make your computer appear faster and more responsive. Make sure you have backups of what you need, have all your drivers and configuration items saved and written down and have a workable boot disk with the CD-ROM drivers installed prior to starting. This boot disk should also include format.com; Fdisk.exe; Sys.com and any other utility you may need. I like to have edit and attrib.exe and scandisk installed. Check them before starting. If you have multiple hard drives or partitions for that matter, it might be an excellent idea to make install directory(ies) where you have all your drivers needed ready
Time to "bite the bullet". Boot your system using the boot disk. Make sure everything works. That means your CD ROM, and the utilities you wanted.
Re partitioning <may be skipped - go to step 6 ). NOTE: This information is for using FDISK and assumes you have smaller drives or your BIOS handles larger drives. If using overlays like EZ Drive, Diskmanager or Ontrack read the information there on how to re partion and reformat. Type fdisk at the prompt (I'm assuming you are using Win95 or Win95A thus you have no 32 bit FAT option and that you only have one partition). Note: do not Fdisk the second drive if you have one and make sure you are partioning the proper drive. Delete the partition Win95 is installed on. If you want to redo a drive with multiple partitions and multiple logic drives then delete the logic drives first then the extended partition and then the primary partition.
Reboot and type FDISK at the prompt. Re partitioning the drive. Use menu item 1 to create DOS partitions. First you want to create a primary partition (size limit is about 2.1G) and then create and extended partition which is then divided into logical drives. Note: Unless you want to resize partitions and change you do not need to redo all . Make sure you remember to set the primary partitions as active <menu item>.
Partitioning can be done much easier for you by software applications like PartionMagic if you feel uncomfortable with the DOS FDISK program.
Reformatting: whether you decided re partitioning was needed or not this is the time for formatting.
You should have booted to the A drive. Type Format /s/u. You will be asked if you really want to do this. Be Brave and say yes !!!.
When completed: Reboot the computer to C drive. It should boot. If you get an error message and you re partitioned - try booting to A and make sure you made the partition active. You may also try typing sys C: from the A:\ prompt
Run scandisk with the thorough option. Surface scan.
Install the windows CD ROM and change to the CD ROM type and type setup. Your on your way to a new clean refreshed installation
Following the installation of WIN95 you will need to reinstall everything. All your application and programs and reset all your configuration settings.