Early versions of Windows came on floppy disk sets, and you can still find them on eBay for about $40. If you have a “full install” (not an “upgrade”) WIN95 CD, you can make your own set of installation floppy disks, but M$ hasn’t made it any too easy for you, because some of the installation files are 1.7MB and a standard floppy disk only holds 1.4MB (thank you Bill Gates).

Step-by-step directions for making the specially formatted disks are here:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robert.bale4/bkup/win95backup.htm
(If this link doesn't work, there’s a cached copy here.)

If you have any trouble with the DMF formatting program recommended on Robert’s page, here’s another one you can try — MAXFORMAT — I found it a little easier to work with:
http://www.floppysoftware.com/en/
Note that both MAXFORMAT and MAXIDISK from
http://www.herne.com
need to run on a Windows 95/98/ME platform. Neither will work on Windows NT/2K/XP.

Another option is to use an old-fashioned DOS file chopper, like CHOP31.EXE, which will let you chop up binary files into any convenient size you want. Then you can copy the pieces to floppy disks, then copy the pieces from the floppies to the hard drive of the laptop, then reassemble the pieces into the original 1.7MB file size. Download CHOP31.EXE from:
http://cd.textfiles.com/rbbsv3n1/ckot/chop31.zip
http://www.dreamlandbbs.com/files/filegate/bfds/bfds/chop31.zip
http://ftp.sunet.se/pub/simtelnet/msdos/fileutil/chop31.zip
http://se.aminet.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/fileutil/chop31.zip

A third option is to use one of those Iomega parallel port external ZIP drives to move the installation files onto the laptop. You can get a ZIP drive for about $15 on eBay, and it will run in DOS with drivers available from the IOMEGA web site. All the WIN95 installation files will fit on a single 100MB ZIP disk.
https://iomega-na-en.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/iomega_na_en.cfg/php/enduser/cci/product.phph

Also available are external parallel port CDROM drives. I just bought one from eBay that cost $26.00 — just the perfect tool for installing operating systems. Be sure you get one that will run in DOS.

You can also get a LAPLINK parallel port cable (about $5 at eBay which will let you connect two computers together (see note), and transfer the installation files in DOS. You don’t need to use the expensive special LapLink software — there’s a good alternative called FILEVAN-for-DOS, which is much cheaper. You can even download an “evaluation” copy and try it.
http://rainyc.com/dos.html
Note: If you buy a LapLink parallel port cable from eBay, make sure it is a “crossover” parallel port cable. They look like regular male-to-male parallel port cables, but have the “in” and “out” pins cross-wired. I suspect some of the cables offered on eBay are not “crossover” cables — confirm this with the seller before buying.

I’m a big fan of putting all the Windows installation files (you only need the ones in the CD’s “WIN95” folder) on the receiving computer’s hard drive, and running the installation from there, even in cases where floppies or a CDROM are available.