Chshell

This is a tiny DOS program to change the shell used when you boot windows 98.

It works by changing the shell= line in system.ini to the program you choose. This means that windows will run this program rather than explorer when it starts.

N.B. It backs up your original file to c:windowssystem.old. If you have any problems, restore that file!

Usage: chshell (program name)
Where (program name) is a program on your PATH, or an absolute path to a program. It could also be a batch file if you want to do several things.

Examples:

  • chshell progman -- runs the old windows 3.1 Program manager
  • chshell command.com -- runs a simple command prompt from which you can start whatever you like.

    By using something other than explorer as your shell, you can make windows load a lot faster!

    Download:
    chshell.exe (The program)
    chshell.c (The C source code).
    DPMI Manager (needed to run binary)

    Chshell was compiled using the DJGPP compiler, which is available for free from www.delorie.com. It is distributed under the GPL