Pronounced dot -in-ee file, a file that has a.INI extension and contains configuration information for MS-Windows.  Two.INI files, WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI, are required by MS-Windows.  In addition, many applications have their own.INI files. In Windows 95,98 and Windows NT,.INI files have been replaced by the Registry, though many applications still include.INI files for backward compatibility.