98 to 98SE

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FlatLined

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Hey gang.. I have a question, well 2 actually.. I have a Gateway laptop with Windows 98 and it has alot of junk on it.. I've decided to reformat it and put Windows 98SE. I was wondering will the 98SE reformate the harddrive like 2000 or XP will, or will i have to use a boot disk?? If i have to use the bootdisk or another method, how would i go about doing that?? Thanks for all the help i can get..
 
FlatLined said:
Hey gang.. I have a question, well 2 actually.. I have a Gateway laptop with Windows 98 and it has alot of junk on it.. I've decided to reformat it and put Windows 98SE. I was wondering will the 98SE reformate the harddrive like 2000 or XP will, or will i have to use a boot disk?? If i have to use the bootdisk or another method, how would i go about doing that?? Thanks for all the help i can get..

Later OEM versions came with a boot loader included on the CD. But I would expect to follow these instructions.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/221829/


How to Prepare the Hard Disk for the Windows 98 Installation Procedure
WARNING: The following information applies to preparing an empty hard disk for the installation of Windows 98. If you use the following steps on a hard disk that is not empty, all of the data that is on that hard disk is deleted.

Before you install Windows 98 on an empty hard disk, you must first create a primary partition and then format a file system on that partition. Each allocated space on the hard disk (primary partition or logical drive) is assigned a drive letter. Windows 98 supports the FAT16 and FAT32 file systems. When you run the Fdisk tool on a hard disk that is larger than 512 MB, you are prompted to choose a file system.

The FAT16 file system has a maximum of 2 gigabytes (GB) for each allocated space, or drive letter. For example, if you use the FAT16 file system and you have a 6-GB hard disk, you can have three drive letters (C, D, and E), each with 2 GB of allocated space.

The FAT32 file system supports drives up to 2 terabytes in size and stores files on smaller sections of the hard disk than does the FAT16 file system. This results in more free space on the hard disk. The FAT32 file system does not support drives that are smaller than 512 MB. For additional information about the FAT32 file system, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
154997 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/154997/EN-US/) Description of the FAT32 File System
118335 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/118335/EN-US/) Maximum Partition Size Using FAT16 File System
More information about file systems is also available in the "Getting Started" manual that is included with the Windows 98 CD-ROM.

For additional information about the Fdisk tool, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
66706 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/66706/EN-US/) The Four Steps Needed to Make a Hard Disk Usable
How to Partition the Hard Disk
After you decide which file system you want to use, run the Fdisk tool:
1. Insert the Windows 98 Startup disk in the floppy disk drive, and then restart your computer.
2. When the Microsoft Windows 98 Startup menu is displayed, choose the Start computer without CD-ROM support option, and then press ENTER.
3. At a command prompt, type fdisk, and then press ENTER.
4. If the hard disk is larger than 512 MB, you receive the following prompt:
Your computer has a disk larger than 512 MB. This version of Windows includes improved support for large disks, resulting in more efficient use of disk space on large drives, and allowing disks over 2 GB to be formatted as a single drive.

IMPORTANT: If you enable large disk support and create any new drives on this disk, you will not be able to access the new drive(s) using other operating systems, including some versions of Windows 95 and Windows NT, as well as earlier versions of Windows and MS-DOS. In addition, disk utilities that were not designated explicitly for the FAT32 file system will not be able to work with this disk. If you need to access this disk with other operating systems or older disk utilities, do no enable large drive support.

Do you wish to enable large disk support (Y/N)?
If you want to use the FAT32 file system, press Y, and then press ENTER. If you want to use the FAT16 file system, press N, and then press ENTER.

5. After you press ENTER, the Fdisk Options menu is displayed. Press 1 to select the Create DOS partition or Logical DOS Drive option, and then press ENTER.
6. Press 1 to select the Create Primary DOS Partition option, and then press ENTER.
7. After you press ENTER, you receive the following prompt:
Do you wish to use the maximum available size for primary DOS partition?
FAT32 File System:

a. If you chose the FAT32 file system in step 4 and you want all of the space on the hard disk to be assigned to drive C, press Y, and then press ENTER.
b. Press ESC, and then press ESC to quit the Fdisk tool and return to a command prompt.
c. Skip to step 10.
FAT16 File System:

a. If you chose the FAT16 file system in step 4, and you want the first 2 GB on the hard disk to be assigned to drive C, press Y, and then press ENTER.
b. Press ESC to return to the Options menu, and then skip to step i.
c. If you want to customize the size of the partitions (the logical drives) on the hard disk, press N, and then press ENTER.
d. A prompt is displayed for you to type the size that you want for the primary partition in megabytes or percent of disk space. Note that for a Windows 98-based computer, Microsoft recommends that you make the primary partition at least 500 MB. Type the size of the partition that you want to create, and then press ENTER.
e. Press ESC to return to the Options menu.
f. Press 2 to select the Set active partition option, and then press ENTER.
g. When you are prompted to type the number of the partition that you want to make the active partition, press 1, and then press ENTER.
h. Press ESC to return to the Options menu.
i. To assign drive letters to the additional space on the hard disk:
1. Press 1, and then press ENTER.
2. Press 2 to select the Create Extended DOS Partition option, and then press ENTER.
3. The option that appears displays the maximum space that is available for the extended partition. You can adjust the size of the partition or you can use the default size. Note that the default maximum space is recommended, but the space can be divided between multiple drive letters. Type the amount of space that you want, press ENTER, and then press ESC.
4. The Create Logical DOS Drive(s) in the Extended DOS Partition menu is displayed. This is the menu that you use to assign the remaining hard disk space to the additional drive letters. Type the amount of space that you want to assign to the next drive letter at the Enter logical drive size in Mbytes or percent of disk space (%) prompt, and then press ENTER.
5. A table that lists the drive letter that you created and the amount of space that is on that drive is displayed. If there is still free space on the hard disk, it is displayed near the bottom of the table. Repeat steps 1 through 4 until you receive the following message:
All available space in the Extended DOS Partition is assigned to local drives
6. After you receive this message, press ESC, and then press ESC to quit the Fdisk tool and return to a command prompt.
8. After you create the partitions, restart you computer with the Windows 98 Startup disk in the floppy disk drive.
9. When the Windows 98 Startup menu is displayed, choose the Start computer without CD-ROM support option, and then press ENTER.
10. When a command prompt is displayed, type format c:, and then press ENTER.

NOTE: If you receive a "Bad command or file name" message, you may need to extract the Format.com utility to your Startup disk. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
extract ebd.cab format.com
After the Format.com utility is extracted to your Startup disk and a command prompt is displayed, type format c:.

11. When you successfully run the Format.com utility, you receive the following prompt:
WARNING, ALL DATA ON NON-REMOVABLE DISK DRIVE C: WILL BE LOST!

Proceed with Format (Y/N)?
Press Y, and then press ENTER to format drive C.

12. After the format procedure is finished, you receive the following prompt:
Volume label (11 characters, ENTER for none)?
This is an optional feature that you can use to type a name for the hard disk. Type an 11-character name for the drive, or leave it blank, and then press ENTER.

13. Repeat steps 10 through 13 for any additional drive letters that you created in step i.
Back to the top Back to the top
How to Install Windows 98
After you partition and format your hard disk, you can install Windows 98:
1. Insert the Windows 98 Startup disk in the floppy disk drive, and then restart your computer.
2. When the Windows 98 Startup menu is displayed, choose the Start computer with CD-ROM support option, and then press ENTER.
3. If CD-ROM support is provided by the generic drivers on the Startup disk, you receive one of the following messages, where X is the drive letter that is assigned to your CD-ROM drive:
Drive X: = Driver MSCD001

Drive X: = Driver OEMCD001
NOTE: If your CD-ROM drive is not available after you boot from the Windows 98 Startup disk, install the CD-ROM drivers that are included with your CD-ROM drive. For information about how to obtain and install the most current driver for your CD-ROM drive, view the documentation that is included with your device, or contact your hardware manufacturer.

4. Insert the Windows 98 CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER
X:\setup
where X is the drive letter that is assigned to your CD-ROM drive.

5. When you receive the following message, press ENTER, and then follow the instructions on the screen to complete the Setup procedure:
Please wait while the Setup initializes. Setup is now going to perform a routine check on your system. To continue press Enter.
 
FlatLined said:
I was wondering will the 98SE reformate the harddrive like 2000 or XP will, or will i have to use a boot disk??
XP will have higher requirements than those of your Win/98

you need to have 512mb ram and at least a 1.3mhz processor.
if you don't, it will run (err crawl) like an snail and you will not be happy with it.
 
Flatlined...
Do you have a "2nd working system" running 98SE that you can copy some Boot Disk files to a floppy?. If so, here's the files you'll need to copy down to your boot-disk (some may already be on your boot-disk):
a) Attrib.exe
b) Chkdsk.exe
c) Edit.com
d) Extract.exe
e) Fdisk.exe
f) Format.com
g) Help.bat
>> With the extra files added, you'll be able to either Format or Fdisk the HD simply by re-booting the system w/ the 98SE CD in the drive & the floppy in, but making sure to "Start without CD support". Once the tools are saved to RamDrive: D, you should be able to Format your C drive :). After the Format/integrity verification, you'll need to go into your CMOS and change your Boot Order to CD-ROM ONLY, save and re-boot. After Installation, change your boot order back... Keep me posted on your progress :).
 
anyway,.....
98se will not format and what not like xp.
try this simple method:
get a 98 floppy boot disk from www.bootdisk.com
start your pc with boot disk in the machine
after win98 comes up, enter fdisk
display partition(s) (if any)
delete partition(s)
create new partition
restart
format the hard disk
turn pc off
take win98 boot disk out
put 98 se cd in the cd rom drive
navigate to the root directory in cd drive and type setup
98se will install
 
Think you forgot a step alidabiri

"turn pc off
take win98 boot disk out
put 98 se cd in the cd rom drive
navigate to the root directory in cd drive and type setup"

98se disk might not be bootable, and even if it is its not going to give a dos prompt. He still needs the boot disk, then navigate to the root dir of the cd drive, then type setup

once setup begins remove the floppy.
 
you're right sngx,
this was originally was for xp. i had it on a note pad. i copied and pasted it.
98 disk should stay in to boot up with cd-rom support.
 
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