Formatting Question

[Guest Alias]

User wrote:

> Hello. Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong NG but I'm stuck (and it concerns

> XP anway?)

>

> I have two physical hard drives; Primary :20 Gigs (C:) and Slave:2 Gigs (D:)

>

> I currently have WinXP Home on my primary (C:) and just junk on D:

>

> I'm tyring to reformat my C: and put Windows 98 SE on it. I put in the Win98

> boot floppy with CD ROM support. When I get to the prompt (A:>) and see

> what's in my C:\ it reports the contents of my slave drive! (D:).

>

> The contents of my primary (C:) does not show up at all nor is it

> accessible.

>

> Any ideas? Would appreciate any help any can provide!

>

>

 

Disconnect the slave drive and try again.

 

Alias

[Guest Ken Blake, MVP]

Re: Formatting Question

 

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:52:44 -0500, "User" <user@nospam.com> wrote:

> Hello. Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong NG but I'm stuck (and it concerns

> XP anway?)

>

> I have two physical hard drives; Primary :20 Gigs (C:) and Slave:2 Gigs (D:)

>

> I currently have WinXP Home on my primary (C:) and just junk on D:

>

> I'm tyring to reformat my C: and put Windows 98 SE on it. I put in the Win98

> boot floppy with CD ROM support. When I get to the prompt (A:>) and see

> what's in my C:\ it reports the contents of my slave drive! (D:).

>

> The contents of my primary (C:) does not show up at all nor is it

> accessible.

>

> Any ideas? Would appreciate any help any can provide!

 

 

Is it NTFS? If it is, it will be invisible to a regular boot floppy.

>

 

--

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

Please Reply to the Newsgroup

[Guest pfermar]

Re: Formatting Question

 

as far as can understand, windows 98 and windows ME only can be installed, if

the hard drive is without operating system at all, if you have the windows XP

cd use that one to farmat the hard drive, when finish formatting quit the

intallations, and now you have empty hard drive, and start with windows 98

 

"Ken" wrote:

> User wrote:

> > Hello. Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong NG but I'm stuck (and it concerns

> > XP anway?)

> >

> > I have two physical hard drives; Primary :20 Gigs (C:) and Slave:2 Gigs (D:)

> >

> > I currently have WinXP Home on my primary (C:) and just junk on D:

> >

> > I'm tyring to reformat my C: and put Windows 98 SE on it. I put in the Win98

> > boot floppy with CD ROM support. When I get to the prompt (A:>) and see

> > what's in my C:\ it reports the contents of my slave drive! (D:).

> >

> > The contents of my primary (C:) does not show up at all nor is it

> > accessible.

> >

> > Any ideas? Would appreciate any help any can provide!

> >

> >

> My guess is the XP installation was installed on a NTFS partitioned

> drive. If that is the case, the FAT file system from the floppy or

> Win98 CD will not see it.

>

[Guest DL]

Re: Formatting Question

 

Boot with the winxp cd, delete the partition, recreate, format, install

 

"User" <user@nospam.com> wrote in message

news:13tnr96d3ehf215@corp.supernews.com...

>

> "Ken" <ken@invalid.com> wrote in message

> news:NYadnTvI_tICekbanZ2dnUVZ_ovinZ2d@comcast.com...

>> User wrote:

>>> Hello. Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong NG but I'm stuck (and it

>>> concerns XP anway?)

>>>

>>> I have two physical hard drives; Primary :20 Gigs (C:) and Slave:2 Gigs

>>> (D:)

>>>

>>> I currently have WinXP Home on my primary (C:) and just junk on D:

>>>

>>> I'm tyring to reformat my C: and put Windows 98 SE on it. I put in the

>>> Win98 boot floppy with CD ROM support. When I get to the prompt (A:>)

>>> and see what's in my C:\ it reports the contents of my slave drive!

>>> (D:).

>>>

>>> The contents of my primary (C:) does not show up at all nor is it

>>> accessible.

>>>

>>> Any ideas? Would appreciate any help any can provide!

>> My guess is the XP installation was installed on a NTFS partitioned

>> drive. If that is the case, the FAT file system from the floppy or Win98

>> CD will not see it.

>

>

> Yes. According to My Computer it says the file system for C: is NTFS and

> the file system for (slave) D: is FAT.

>

> What is the workaround so that the floppy will see the NTFS (C:) so I can

> reformat it ?

>

[Guest User]

Formatting Question

 

Hello. Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong NG but I'm stuck (and it concerns

XP anway?)

 

I have two physical hard drives; Primary :20 Gigs (C:) and Slave:2 Gigs (D:)

 

I currently have WinXP Home on my primary (C:) and just junk on D:

 

I'm tyring to reformat my C: and put Windows 98 SE on it. I put in the Win98

boot floppy with CD ROM support. When I get to the prompt (A:>) and see

what's in my C:\ it reports the contents of my slave drive! (D:).

 

The contents of my primary (C:) does not show up at all nor is it

accessible.

 

Any ideas? Would appreciate any help any can provide!

[Guest Malke]

Re: Formatting Question

 

User wrote:

 

> Yes. According to My Computer it says the file system for C: is NTFS and

> the file system for (slave) D: is FAT.

>

> What is the workaround so that the floppy will see the NTFS (C:) so I can

> reformat it ?

 

Boot with your Win98 boot disk, making sure that in addition to the CD-ROM

drivers it has Format and Fdisk on it (I've never seen a Win9x boot floppy

that didn't). At the A:\ prompt type: fdisk [enter]

 

The master drive will show up as (IIRC) a non-DOS disk. Delete the partition

and create a new one. Reboot after doing that work, still with the boot

disk. At the A:\ prompt type: format [enter]

 

How to Use the Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition a

Hard Disk - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255867

 

Reboot after the format, again using the boot disk. Put the Win98 install

disk into the CD drive. At the A:\ prompt type:

 

cd c:\ [enter]

C:\makedir Win98

cd d:\[to move to the Win98 install cd] [enter]

d:\copy Win98 c:\Win98 [enter]

 

After the copying of the files is finished:

cd c:\Win98 [enter]

Now you will be in c:\Win98

type setup [enter] and the Windows 98 installation will start.

 

Google search for "how to install Windows 98"

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=how+to+install+Windows+98&btnG=Search

 

Malke

--

MS-MVP

Elephant Boy Computers

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com

Don't Panic!

[Guest Ken]

Re: Formatting Question

 

User wrote:

> Hello. Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong NG but I'm stuck (and it concerns

> XP anway?)

>

> I have two physical hard drives; Primary :20 Gigs (C:) and Slave:2 Gigs (D:)

>

> I currently have WinXP Home on my primary (C:) and just junk on D:

>

> I'm tyring to reformat my C: and put Windows 98 SE on it. I put in the Win98

> boot floppy with CD ROM support. When I get to the prompt (A:>) and see

> what's in my C:\ it reports the contents of my slave drive! (D:).

>

> The contents of my primary (C:) does not show up at all nor is it

> accessible.

>

> Any ideas? Would appreciate any help any can provide!

>

>

My guess is the XP installation was installed on a NTFS partitioned

drive. If that is the case, the FAT file system from the floppy or

Win98 CD will not see it.

[Guest User]

Re: Formatting Question

 

 

"Ken" <ken@invalid.com> wrote in message

news:NYadnTvI_tICekbanZ2dnUVZ_ovinZ2d@comcast.com...

> User wrote:

>> Hello. Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong NG but I'm stuck (and it

>> concerns XP anway?)

>>

>> I have two physical hard drives; Primary :20 Gigs (C:) and Slave:2 Gigs

>> (D:)

>>

>> I currently have WinXP Home on my primary (C:) and just junk on D:

>>

>> I'm tyring to reformat my C: and put Windows 98 SE on it. I put in the

>> Win98 boot floppy with CD ROM support. When I get to the prompt (A:>) and

>> see what's in my C:\ it reports the contents of my slave drive! (D:).

>>

>> The contents of my primary (C:) does not show up at all nor is it

>> accessible.

>>

>> Any ideas? Would appreciate any help any can provide!

> My guess is the XP installation was installed on a NTFS partitioned drive.

> If that is the case, the FAT file system from the floppy or Win98 CD will

> not see it.

 

 

Yes. According to My Computer it says the file system for C: is NTFS and

the file system for (slave) D: is FAT.

 

What is the workaround so that the floppy will see the NTFS (C:) so I can

reformat it ?

[Guest Anna]

Re: Formatting Question

 

 

 

"User" <user@nospam.com> wrote in message

news:13tnom1l6o7hda1@corp.supernews.com...

> Hello. Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong NG but I'm stuck (and it concerns

> XP anway?)

>

> I have two physical hard drives; Primary :20 Gigs (C:) and Slave:2 Gigs

> (D:)

>

> I currently have WinXP Home on my primary (C:) and just junk on D:

>

> I'm tyring to reformat my C: and put Windows 98 SE on it. I put in the

> Win98

> boot floppy with CD ROM support. When I get to the prompt (A:>) and see

> what's in my C:\ it reports the contents of my slave drive! (D:).

>

> The contents of my primary (C:) does not show up at all nor is it

> accessible.

>

> Any ideas? Would appreciate any help any can provide!

 

>> User adds...

>> Yes. According to My Computer it says the file system for C: is NTFS and

>> the file system for (slave) D: is FAT.

>>

>> What is the workaround so that the floppy will see the NTFS (C:) so I can

>> reformat it ?

 

 

"Malke" <malke@invalid.invalid> wrote in message

news:%237usTVrhIHA.4844@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> Boot with your Win98 boot disk, making sure that in addition to the CD-ROM

> drivers it has Format and Fdisk on it (I've never seen a Win9x boot floppy

> that didn't). At the A:\ prompt type: fdisk [enter]

>

> The master drive will show up as (IIRC) a non-DOS disk. Delete the

> partition

> and create a new one. Reboot after doing that work, still with the boot

> disk. At the A:\ prompt type: format [enter]

>

> How to Use the Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition

> a

> Hard Disk - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255867

>

> Reboot after the format, again using the boot disk. Put the Win98 install

> disk into the CD drive. At the A:\ prompt type:

>

> cd c:\ [enter]

> C:\makedir Win98

> cd d:\[to move to the Win98 install cd] [enter]

> d:\copy Win98 c:\Win98 [enter]

>

> After the copying of the files is finished:

> cd c:\Win98 [enter]

> Now you will be in c:\Win98

> type setup [enter] and the Windows 98 installation will start.

>

> Google search for "how to install Windows 98"

> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=how+to+install+Windows+98&btnG=Search

>

> Malke

> --

> MS-MVP

> Elephant Boy Computers

> http://www.elephantboycomputers.com

> Don't Panic!

 

 

User & Malke...

(Some of the previous responses to the contrary Malke is indeed correct when

he infers that the DOS FDISK command will detect an NTFS partition as a

non-DOS partition and the user can delete that partition and then create &

format FAT32 partitions.)

 

While there's nothing inherently wrong in the process Malke details re

installing the Win98 OS on the user's 20 GB HDD, is there any reason in this

case why the OP could not simply boot to his or her Win98 installation CD

(ensuring that the only HDD connected in the system is the one on which he

or she desires to install the Win98 OS) and simply install the Win98 OS onto

that HDD - in the setup process formatting the drive FAT32?

 

During the initial stages of the Win98 installation process the user will be

given an opportunity to boot from the CD-ROM and subsequently be given the

choice of (in effect) deleting the non-DOS (NTFS) partition, formatting the

disk FAT32, and completing the setup process from the Win98 installation CD.

Of course all data on that NTFS-formatted drive will be deleted and a fresh

install of the Win98 OS will ensue. I assume, of course, that's the OP's

objective.

Anna

[Guest Bill in Co.]

Re: Formatting Question

 

Sounds like a lot simpler procedure, indeed. :-)

 

Anna wrote:

> "User" <user@nospam.com> wrote in message

> news:13tnom1l6o7hda1@corp.supernews.com...

>> Hello. Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong NG but I'm stuck (and it

>> concerns

>> XP anway?)

>>

>> I have two physical hard drives; Primary :20 Gigs (C:) and Slave:2 Gigs

>> (D:)

>>

>> I currently have WinXP Home on my primary (C:) and just junk on D:

>>

>> I'm tyring to reformat my C: and put Windows 98 SE on it. I put in the

>> Win98

>> boot floppy with CD ROM support. When I get to the prompt (A:>) and see

>> what's in my C:\ it reports the contents of my slave drive! (D:).

>>

>> The contents of my primary (C:) does not show up at all nor is it

>> accessible.

>>

>> Any ideas? Would appreciate any help any can provide!

>

>

>>> User adds...

>>> Yes. According to My Computer it says the file system for C: is NTFS

>>> and

>>> the file system for (slave) D: is FAT.

>>>

>>> What is the workaround so that the floppy will see the NTFS (C:) so I

>>> can

>>> reformat it ?

>

>

> "Malke" <malke@invalid.invalid> wrote in message

> news:%237usTVrhIHA.4844@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>> Boot with your Win98 boot disk, making sure that in addition to the

>> CD-ROM

>> drivers it has Format and Fdisk on it (I've never seen a Win9x boot

>> floppy

>> that didn't). At the A:\ prompt type: fdisk [enter]

>>

>> The master drive will show up as (IIRC) a non-DOS disk. Delete the

>> partition

>> and create a new one. Reboot after doing that work, still with the boot

>> disk. At the A:\ prompt type: format [enter]

>>

>> How to Use the Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition

>> a Hard Disk - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255867

>>

>> Reboot after the format, again using the boot disk. Put the Win98 install

>> disk into the CD drive. At the A:\ prompt type:

>>

>> cd c:\ [enter]

>> C:\makedir Win98

>> cd d:\[to move to the Win98 install cd] [enter]

>> d:\copy Win98 c:\Win98 [enter]

>>

>> After the copying of the files is finished:

>> cd c:\Win98 [enter]

>> Now you will be in c:\Win98

>> type setup [enter] and the Windows 98 installation will start.

>>

>> Google search for "how to install Windows 98"

>> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=how+to+install+Windows+98&btnG=Search

>>

>> Malke

>> --

>> MS-MVP

>> Elephant Boy Computers

>> http://www.elephantboycomputers.com

>> Don't Panic!

>

>

> User & Malke...

> (Some of the previous responses to the contrary Malke is indeed correct

> when

> he infers that the DOS FDISK command will detect an NTFS partition as a

> non-DOS partition and the user can delete that partition and then create &

> format FAT32 partitions.)

>

> While there's nothing inherently wrong in the process Malke details re

> installing the Win98 OS on the user's 20 GB HDD, is there any reason in

> this

> case why the OP could not simply boot to his or her Win98 installation CD

> (ensuring that the only HDD connected in the system is the one on which he

> or she desires to install the Win98 OS) and simply install the Win98 OS

> onto

> that HDD - in the setup process formatting the drive FAT32?

>

> During the initial stages of the Win98 installation process the user will

> be

> given an opportunity to boot from the CD-ROM and subsequently be given the

> choice of (in effect) deleting the non-DOS (NTFS) partition, formatting

> the

> disk FAT32, and completing the setup process from the Win98 installation

> CD.

> Of course all data on that NTFS-formatted drive will be deleted and a

> fresh

> install of the Win98 OS will ensue. I assume, of course, that's the OP's

> objective.

> Anna

[Guest Malke]

Re: Formatting Question

 

Anna wrote:

> User & Malke...

> (Some of the previous responses to the contrary Malke is indeed correct

> when he infers that the DOS FDISK command will detect an NTFS partition as

> a non-DOS partition and the user can delete that partition and then create

> & format FAT32 partitions.)

>

> While there's nothing inherently wrong in the process Malke details re

> installing the Win98 OS on the user's 20 GB HDD, is there any reason in

> this case why the OP could not simply boot to his or her Win98

> installation CD (ensuring that the only HDD connected in the system is the

> one on which he or she desires to install the Win98 OS) and simply install

> the Win98 OS onto that HDD - in the setup process formatting the drive

> FAT32?

 

Because except in special OEM cases, the Win98 CDs weren't bootable. We

didn't see regularly bootable CDs until WinME.

> During the initial stages of the Win98 installation process the user will

> be given an opportunity to boot from the CD-ROM and subsequently be given

> the choice of (in effect) deleting the non-DOS (NTFS) partition,

> formatting the disk FAT32, and completing the setup process from the Win98

> installation CD. Of course all data on that NTFS-formatted drive will be

> deleted and a fresh install of the Win98 OS will ensue. I assume, of

> course, that's the OP's objective.

 

You may have been working with only those special OEM Win98 CDs. The retail

upgrade/full versions (and some of the ones that came with prebuilt

machines too) weren't bootable. In fact, I don't think in all these years

of supporting it (still do, sort of!) I ever came across a bootable Win98

install disk.

 

Hence my instructions to go about the partitioning, formatting, and then

installing in that rather convoluted way. The reason I always copied the

setup files to the hard drive in a Win98 folder was that 1) installation

ran faster that way because CD-ROMs were so slow then; and 2) because doing

it that way meant that when you needed to update the system or add

something like a new monitor, or make other OS changes, etc. you didn't

need to go find your Windows 98 install disk. If the hard drive was

extremely tiny you wouldn't do this of course, but by the time Win98 came

around we were actually seeing huge drives of 6GB, certainly large enough

to hold the convenient extra files.

 

Malke

--

MS-MVP

Elephant Boy Computers

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com

Don't Panic!

[Guest LVTravel]

Re: Formatting Question

 

SNIP

> While there's nothing inherently wrong in the process

> Malke details re installing the Win98 OS on the user's 20

> GB HDD, is there any reason in this case why the OP could

> not simply boot to his or her Win98 installation CD

> (ensuring that the only HDD connected in the system is the

> one on which he or she desires to install the Win98 OS)

> and simply install the Win98 OS onto that HDD - in the

> setup process formatting the drive FAT32?

>

> During the initial stages of the Win98 installation

> process the user will be given an opportunity to boot from

> the CD-ROM and subsequently be given the choice of (in

> effect) deleting the non-DOS (NTFS) partition, formatting

> the disk FAT32, and completing the setup process from the

> Win98 installation CD. Of course all data on that

> NTFS-formatted drive will be deleted and a fresh install

> of the Win98 OS will ensue. I assume, of course, that's

> the OP's objective.

> Anna

>

 

Funny but I have never had a Win 98 CD boot a computer yet.

They all came with a System Boot Floppy that loaded the

CD-ROM drivers into DOS as most computers back when 98 came

out couldn't boot from a CD, only a hard drive or floppy. I

haven't seen a Win 98 CD, including the latest Win 98 SE

version with IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS and COMMAND.COM, which are

the system files in DOS, in the root of the CD. The only

files present in the Root of the CD are: SETUP.EXE,

AUTORUN.INF and README.TXT and none of these files will

operate without the operating system being installed, in

this case DOS. (Even Windows NT, which was the professional

OS then, had boot floppies to enable the OS to be installed

since the CD couldn't be booted.)

 

Malke's instructions are 100% correct. When I was

rebuilding computers for my organization (school with more

than 100 computers) I always created the proper partition

with FDISK and then formatted the hard drive with FORMAT

which were on the System Boot Disk. I then copied the Win98

folder on the CD to the hard drive and installed from the

hard drive. Actually made the install faster and if I

needed any later files for upgrading the system, they were

on the hard drive and I didn't have to hunt for the CD.

[Guest Malke]

Re: Formatting Question

 

LVTravel wrote:

> Funny but I have never had a Win 98 CD boot a computer yet.

> They all came with a System Boot Floppy that loaded the

> CD-ROM drivers into DOS as most computers back when 98 came

> out couldn't boot from a CD, only a hard drive or floppy. I

> haven't seen a Win 98 CD, including the latest Win 98 SE

> version with IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS and COMMAND.COM, which are

> the system files in DOS, in the root of the CD. The only

> files present in the Root of the CD are: SETUP.EXE,

> AUTORUN.INF and README.TXT and none of these files will

> operate without the operating system being installed, in

> this case DOS. (Even Windows NT, which was the professional

> OS then, had boot floppies to enable the OS to be installed

> since the CD couldn't be booted.)

>

> Malke's instructions are 100% correct. When I was

> rebuilding computers for my organization (school with more

> than 100 computers) I always created the proper partition

> with FDISK and then formatted the hard drive with FORMAT

> which were on the System Boot Disk. I then copied the Win98

> folder on the CD to the hard drive and installed from the

> hard drive. Actually made the install faster and if I

> needed any later files for upgrading the system, they were

> on the hard drive and I didn't have to hunt for the CD.

 

Thanks for confirming my aged memory of this. It has, after all, been rather

a longish time since I installed Win98. I think I created a vm running

Win98 a couple of years ago, but my own Win98 boxen have been in Silicon

Heaven for a long time now. Goodness knows I installed Win98 enough times

so the procedure is still pretty automatic! You and I had exactly the same

technique.

 

I was so glad when I could move to Win2k for my own stuff although I kept

Win98 on a few boxen so the kids could play their games. Win2k was a really

useful OS. As for ME, we shall not speak of this again. ;-)

 

Malke

--

MS-MVP

Elephant Boy Computers

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com

Don't Panic!

[Guest Malke]

Re: Formatting Question

 

User wrote:

>

> Thanks for everyone who replied! I followed Malke's instructions without a

> hitch and now am posting this from Win98.

> ps. my Win98 CD wasn't bootable. Had a really old copy from way back.

 

Excellent! I'm glad I could help. Please don't forget that 1) Win98 is

completely insecure and so you need to be extra careful with it on the

Internet; and 2) you need a third-party firewall and antivirus installed if

the box will be online. You'll need to look around for av/firewall programs

that will run in Win98. I don't have current information about that, so do

some Googling.

 

Malke

--

MS-MVP

Elephant Boy Computers

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com

Don't Panic!

[Guest User]

Re: Formatting Question

 

 

"LVTravel" <none@nothere.com> wrote in message

news:OulUqIvhIHA.1184@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> SNIP

>

> > While there's nothing inherently wrong in the process

> > Malke details re installing the Win98 OS on the user's 20

> > GB HDD, is there any reason in this case why the OP could

> > not simply boot to his or her Win98 installation CD

> > (ensuring that the only HDD connected in the system is the

> > one on which he or she desires to install the Win98 OS)

> > and simply install the Win98 OS onto that HDD - in the

> > setup process formatting the drive FAT32?

> >

> > During the initial stages of the Win98 installation

> > process the user will be given an opportunity to boot from

> > the CD-ROM and subsequently be given the choice of (in

> > effect) deleting the non-DOS (NTFS) partition, formatting

> > the disk FAT32, and completing the setup process from the

> > Win98 installation CD. Of course all data on that

> > NTFS-formatted drive will be deleted and a fresh install

> > of the Win98 OS will ensue. I assume, of course, that's

> > the OP's objective.

> > Anna

> >

>

> Funny but I have never had a Win 98 CD boot a computer yet.

> They all came with a System Boot Floppy that loaded the

> CD-ROM drivers into DOS as most computers back when 98 came

> out couldn't boot from a CD, only a hard drive or floppy. I

> haven't seen a Win 98 CD, including the latest Win 98 SE

> version with IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS and COMMAND.COM, which are

> the system files in DOS, in the root of the CD. The only

> files present in the Root of the CD are: SETUP.EXE,

> AUTORUN.INF and README.TXT and none of these files will

> operate without the operating system being installed, in

> this case DOS. (Even Windows NT, which was the professional

> OS then, had boot floppies to enable the OS to be installed

> since the CD couldn't be booted.)

>

> Malke's instructions are 100% correct. When I was

> rebuilding computers for my organization (school with more

> than 100 computers) I always created the proper partition

> with FDISK and then formatted the hard drive with FORMAT

> which were on the System Boot Disk. I then copied the Win98

> folder on the CD to the hard drive and installed from the

> hard drive. Actually made the install faster and if I

> needed any later files for upgrading the system, they were

> on the hard drive and I didn't have to hunt for the CD.

>

>

 

Thanks for everyone who replied! I followed Malke's instructions without a

hitch and now am posting this from Win98.

ps. my Win98 CD wasn't bootable. Had a really old copy from way back.

[Guest Bill in Co.]

Re: Formatting Question

 

Malke wrote:

> Anna wrote:

>

>> User & Malke...

>> (Some of the previous responses to the contrary Malke is indeed correct

>> when he infers that the DOS FDISK command will detect an NTFS partition

>> as

>> a non-DOS partition and the user can delete that partition and then

>> create

>> & format FAT32 partitions.)

>>

>> While there's nothing inherently wrong in the process Malke details re

>> installing the Win98 OS on the user's 20 GB HDD, is there any reason in

>> this case why the OP could not simply boot to his or her Win98

>> installation CD (ensuring that the only HDD connected in the system is

>> the

>> one on which he or she desires to install the Win98 OS) and simply

>> install

>> the Win98 OS onto that HDD - in the setup process formatting the drive

>> FAT32?

>

> Because except in special OEM cases, the Win98 CDs weren't bootable. We

> didn't see regularly bootable CDs until WinME.

 

Ooops, I had forgotten that, lol. Sorry 'bout that.

OK, so FDISK and format it first in DOS.

>> During the initial stages of the Win98 installation process the user will

>> be given an opportunity to boot from the CD-ROM and subsequently be given

>> the choice of (in effect) deleting the non-DOS (NTFS) partition,

>> formatting the disk FAT32, and completing the setup process from the

>> Win98

>> installation CD. Of course all data on that NTFS-formatted drive will be

>> deleted and a fresh install of the Win98 OS will ensue. I assume, of

>> course, that's the OP's objective.

>

> You may have been working with only those special OEM Win98 CDs. The

> retail

> upgrade/full versions (and some of the ones that came with prebuilt

> machines too) weren't bootable. In fact, I don't think in all these years

> of supporting it (still do, sort of!) I ever came across a bootable Win98

> install disk.

>

> Hence my instructions to go about the partitioning, formatting, and then

> installing in that rather convoluted way. The reason I always copied the

> setup files to the hard drive in a Win98 folder was that 1) installation

> ran faster that way because CD-ROMs were so slow then; and 2) because

> doing

> it that way meant that when you needed to update the system or add

> something like a new monitor, or make other OS changes, etc. you didn't

> need to go find your Windows 98 install disk. If the hard drive was

> extremely tiny you wouldn't do this of course, but by the time Win98 came

> around we were actually seeing huge drives of 6GB, certainly large enough

> to hold the convenient extra files.

>

> Malke

> --

> MS-MVP

> Elephant Boy Computers

> http://www.elephantboycomputers.com

> Don't Panic!

[Guest LVTravel]

Re: Formatting Question

 

TO OP: Glad you got it working.

 

TO Malke, I actually had to pull out one of my ancient 98

CDs to verify before I posted. When I did it years ago, I

actually modified the AUTOEXEC.BAT file on the System Boot

Disk (SBD)_(floppy) to install the drive cache that wasn't

installed by default on the original SBD. For the life of

me I can't remember the name of the DOS disk cache program

but I do remember that it would fit on the floppy and

install which made the read of the CD for the copy to the

HDD much faster. DOH! why didn't I look on the CD........

It is called SMARTDRV.EXE.

 

Have a great one and thanks for helping all!

 

"Malke" <malke@invalid.invalid> wrote in message

news:%23iFzzKwhIHA.3940@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> User wrote:

>>

>> Thanks for everyone who replied! I followed Malke's

>> instructions without a

>> hitch and now am posting this from Win98.

>> ps. my Win98 CD wasn't bootable. Had a really old copy

>> from way back.

>

> Excellent! I'm glad I could help. Please don't forget that

> 1) Win98 is

> completely insecure and so you need to be extra careful

> with it on the

> Internet; and 2) you need a third-party firewall and

> antivirus installed if

> the box will be online. You'll need to look around for

> av/firewall programs

> that will run in Win98. I don't have current information

> about that, so do

> some Googling.

>

> Malke

> --

> MS-MVP

> Elephant Boy Computers

> http://www.elephantboycomputers.com

> Don't Panic!

[Guest Colin Barnhorst]

Re: Formatting Question

 

Dell and others did provide bootable Win98 cds because they knew that

booting from a cd was supported by their BIOSs. In those days there were

still computers that lacked that capability so the Microsoft cds were not

bootable and required use of the setup floppy.

 

"LVTravel" <none@nothere.com> wrote in message

news:OulUqIvhIHA.1184@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> SNIP

>

>> While there's nothing inherently wrong in the process Malke details re

>> installing the Win98 OS on the user's 20 GB HDD, is there any reason in

>> this case why the OP could not simply boot to his or her Win98

>> installation CD (ensuring that the only HDD connected in the system is

>> the one on which he or she desires to install the Win98 OS) and simply

>> install the Win98 OS onto that HDD - in the setup process formatting the

>> drive FAT32?

>>

>> During the initial stages of the Win98 installation process the user will

>> be given an opportunity to boot from the CD-ROM and subsequently be given

>> the choice of (in effect) deleting the non-DOS (NTFS) partition,

>> formatting the disk FAT32, and completing the setup process from the

>> Win98 installation CD. Of course all data on that NTFS-formatted drive

>> will be deleted and a fresh install of the Win98 OS will ensue. I assume,

>> of course, that's the OP's objective.

>> Anna

>>

>

> Funny but I have never had a Win 98 CD boot a computer yet. They all came

> with a System Boot Floppy that loaded the CD-ROM drivers into DOS as most

> computers back when 98 came out couldn't boot from a CD, only a hard drive

> or floppy. I haven't seen a Win 98 CD, including the latest Win 98 SE

> version with IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS and COMMAND.COM, which are the system files

> in DOS, in the root of the CD. The only files present in the Root of the

> CD are: SETUP.EXE, AUTORUN.INF and README.TXT and none of these files

> will operate without the operating system being installed, in this case

> DOS. (Even Windows NT, which was the professional OS then, had boot

> floppies to enable the OS to be installed since the CD couldn't be

> booted.)

>

> Malke's instructions are 100% correct. When I was rebuilding computers

> for my organization (school with more than 100 computers) I always created

> the proper partition with FDISK and then formatted the hard drive with

> FORMAT which were on the System Boot Disk. I then copied the Win98 folder

> on the CD to the hard drive and installed from the hard drive. Actually

> made the install faster and if I needed any later files for upgrading the

> system, they were on the hard drive and I didn't have to hunt for the CD.

>

[Guest Colin Barnhorst]

Re: Formatting Question

 

You were however correct anyway. There were bootable OEM Win98 cds, but

they were branded cds, not Microsoft hologrammed ones.

 

"LVTravel" <none@nothere.com> wrote in message

news:%23x2mtRxhIHA.5900@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> TO OP: Glad you got it working.

>

> TO Malke, I actually had to pull out one of my ancient 98 CDs to verify

> before I posted. When I did it years ago, I actually modified the

> AUTOEXEC.BAT file on the System Boot Disk (SBD)_(floppy) to install the

> drive cache that wasn't installed by default on the original SBD. For the

> life of me I can't remember the name of the DOS disk cache program but I

> do remember that it would fit on the floppy and install which made the

> read of the CD for the copy to the HDD much faster. DOH! why didn't I

> look on the CD........ It is called SMARTDRV.EXE.

>

> Have a great one and thanks for helping all!

>

> "Malke" <malke@invalid.invalid> wrote in message

> news:%23iFzzKwhIHA.3940@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

>> User wrote:

>>>

>>> Thanks for everyone who replied! I followed Malke's instructions without

>>> a

>>> hitch and now am posting this from Win98.

>>> ps. my Win98 CD wasn't bootable. Had a really old copy from way back.

>>

>> Excellent! I'm glad I could help. Please don't forget that 1) Win98 is

>> completely insecure and so you need to be extra careful with it on the

>> Internet; and 2) you need a third-party firewall and antivirus installed

>> if

>> the box will be online. You'll need to look around for av/firewall

>> programs

>> that will run in Win98. I don't have current information about that, so

>> do

>> some Googling.

>>

>> Malke

>> --

>> MS-MVP

>> Elephant Boy Computers

>> http://www.elephantboycomputers.com

>> Don't Panic!

>

>

[Guest Anna]

Re: Formatting Question

 

> Anna wrote:

>> User & Malke...

>> (Some of the previous responses to the contrary Malke is indeed correct

>> when he infers that the DOS FDISK command will detect an NTFS partition

>> as

>> a non-DOS partition and the user can delete that partition and then

>> create

>> & format FAT32 partitions.)

>>

>> While there's nothing inherently wrong in the process Malke details re

>> installing the Win98 OS on the user's 20 GB HDD, is there any reason in

>> this case why the OP could not simply boot to his or her Win98

>> installation CD (ensuring that the only HDD connected in the system is

>> the

>> one on which he or she desires to install the Win98 OS) and simply

>> install

>> the Win98 OS onto that HDD - in the setup process formatting the drive

>> FAT32?

>

> Because except in special OEM cases, the Win98 CDs weren't bootable. We

> didn't see regularly bootable CDs until WinME.

>

>> During the initial stages of the Win98 installation process the user will

>> be given an opportunity to boot from the CD-ROM and subsequently be given

>> the choice of (in effect) deleting the non-DOS (NTFS) partition,

>> formatting the disk FAT32, and completing the setup process from the

>> Win98

>> installation CD. Of course all data on that NTFS-formatted drive will be

>> deleted and a fresh install of the Win98 OS will ensue. I assume, of

>> course, that's the OP's objective.

 

 

"Malke" <malke@invalid.invalid> wrote in message

news:e%239V0GvhIHA.5820@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> You may have been working with only those special OEM Win98 CDs. The

> retail

> upgrade/full versions (and some of the ones that came with prebuilt

> machines too) weren't bootable. In fact, I don't think in all these years

> of supporting it (still do, sort of!) I ever came across a bootable Win98

> install disk.

>

> Hence my instructions to go about the partitioning, formatting, and then

> installing in that rather convoluted way. The reason I always copied the

> setup files to the hard drive in a Win98 folder was that 1) installation

> ran faster that way because CD-ROMs were so slow then; and 2) because

> doing

> it that way meant that when you needed to update the system or add

> something like a new monitor, or make other OS changes, etc. you didn't

> need to go find your Windows 98 install disk. If the hard drive was

> extremely tiny you wouldn't do this of course, but by the time Win98 came

> around we were actually seeing huge drives of 6GB, certainly large enough

> to hold the convenient extra files.

>

> Malke

> --

> MS-MVP

> Elephant Boy Computers

> http://www.elephantboycomputers.com

> Don't Panic!

 

 

Malke:

You are correct concerning the inability of many, if not most, OEM-supplied

Win98 SE installation CDs to be bootable, however, there *were* a number of

OEM-supplied Win98 SE installation CDs that were indeed bootable.

 

The bootable version of the Win98 SE installation CD we have used to install

that OS on many occasions is the MS retail version of that CD "For

distribution with a new PC only." The shop I was formerly associated with

maintained a stock of scores of that CD version and I still have a number of

them. We've used them time & time again to fresh install Win 98 SE along the

lines I indicated, i.e., without the need for the DOS boot floppy disk (the

"Startup Disk"). As a matter of fact within the last week or so I had

another occasion to fresh install that OS using such a CD.

 

Admittedly, the "upgrade" version of the Win98 installation CD was not

bootable (at least to my knowledge).

 

Let me make it clear that I have no problem with using a DOS bootable floppy

disk (the "Startup Disk") with the FDISK/FORMAT commands to partition &

format the HDD and then use the setup command on the Win98 installation CD

to install that OS. For various reasons we've done that many times

ourselves. But as long as a

bootable Win98 installation CD is available I see no reason not to use it to

fresh

install that OS.

Anna

[Guest PD43]

Re: Formatting Question

 

On Mar 16, 10:46 am, "Anna" <myn...@myisp.net> wrote:

> > Anna wrote:

> Malke:

> You are correct concerning the inability of many, if not most, OEM-supplied

> Win98 SE installation CDs to be bootable, however, there *were* a number of

> OEM-supplied Win98 SE installation CDs that were indeed bootable.

 

"a number" is how many?

 

Your initial post (quoted in part below) seemed to indicate that all

of them were, because you neglected to say that "many, if not most"

were not bootable:

 

"While there's nothing inherently wrong in the process Malke details

re

installing the Win98 OS on the user's 20 GB HDD, is there any reason

in this

case why the OP could not simply boot to his or her Win98 installation

CD"

[Guest Bill in Co.]

Re: Formatting Question

 

PD43 wrote:

> On Mar 16, 10:46 am, "Anna" <myn...@myisp.net> wrote:

>>> Anna wrote:

>

>> Malke:

>> You are correct concerning the inability of many, if not most,

>> OEM-supplied

>> Win98 SE installation CDs to be bootable, however, there *were* a number

>> of

>> OEM-supplied Win98 SE installation CDs that were indeed bootable.

>

> "a number" is how many?

 

32,767

[Guest Nepatsfan]

Re: Formatting Question

 

Sorry to disagree with you Colin, but I've got a Genuine Microsoft OEM Windows

98SE installation CD, hologram and all, that's bootable. It came with a 'white

box' system I inherited around 2000. The computer's long gone, but I kept the

CD. It's fully capable of installing the operating system without using a floppy

disk. It will partition and format a blank HD. It will also delete an NTFS

formatted partition.

 

Nepatsfan

 

"Colin Barnhorst" <c.barnhorst@comcast.net> wrote in message

news:25B7B8E1-4B96-439E-AAE5-DE02FE9CF519@microsoft.com...

> You were however correct anyway. There were bootable OEM Win98 cds, but they

> were branded cds, not Microsoft hologrammed ones.

>

> "LVTravel" <none@nothere.com> wrote in message

> news:%23x2mtRxhIHA.5900@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>> TO OP: Glad you got it working.

>>

>> TO Malke, I actually had to pull out one of my ancient 98 CDs to verify

>> before I posted. When I did it years ago, I actually modified the

>> AUTOEXEC.BAT file on the System Boot Disk (SBD)_(floppy) to install the drive

>> cache that wasn't installed by default on the original SBD. For the life of

>> me I can't remember the name of the DOS disk cache program but I do remember

>> that it would fit on the floppy and install which made the read of the CD for

>> the copy to the HDD much faster. DOH! why didn't I look on the CD........ It

>> is called SMARTDRV.EXE.

>>

>> Have a great one and thanks for helping all!

>>

>> "Malke" <malke@invalid.invalid> wrote in message

>> news:%23iFzzKwhIHA.3940@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

>>> User wrote:

>>>>

>>>> Thanks for everyone who replied! I followed Malke's instructions without a

>>>> hitch and now am posting this from Win98.

>>>> ps. my Win98 CD wasn't bootable. Had a really old copy from way back.

>>>

>>> Excellent! I'm glad I could help. Please don't forget that 1) Win98 is

>>> completely insecure and so you need to be extra careful with it on the

>>> Internet; and 2) you need a third-party firewall and antivirus installed if

>>> the box will be online. You'll need to look around for av/firewall programs

>>> that will run in Win98. I don't have current information about that, so do

>>> some Googling.

>>>

>>> Malke

>>> --

>>> MS-MVP

>>> Elephant Boy Computers

>>> http://www.elephantboycomputers.com

>>> Don't Panic!

>>

>>

>

[Guest Colin Barnhorst]

Re: Formatting Question

 

I don't know if any of the late runs of Win98SE might have been bootable.

None of my retail copies were but I only bought three or four copies.

 

"Nepatsfan" <nepatsfan@SBXXXIX.com> wrote in message

news:eky1yQ9hIHA.5780@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> Sorry to disagree with you Colin, but I've got a Genuine Microsoft OEM

> Windows 98SE installation CD, hologram and all, that's bootable. It came

> with a 'white box' system I inherited around 2000. The computer's long

> gone, but I kept the CD. It's fully capable of installing the operating

> system without using a floppy disk. It will partition and format a blank

> HD. It will also delete an NTFS formatted partition.

>

> Nepatsfan

>

> "Colin Barnhorst" <c.barnhorst@comcast.net> wrote in message

> news:25B7B8E1-4B96-439E-AAE5-DE02FE9CF519@microsoft.com...

>> You were however correct anyway. There were bootable OEM Win98 cds, but

>> they were branded cds, not Microsoft hologrammed ones.

>>

>> "LVTravel" <none@nothere.com> wrote in message

>> news:%23x2mtRxhIHA.5900@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>>> TO OP: Glad you got it working.

>>>

>>> TO Malke, I actually had to pull out one of my ancient 98 CDs to verify

>>> before I posted. When I did it years ago, I actually modified the

>>> AUTOEXEC.BAT file on the System Boot Disk (SBD)_(floppy) to install the

>>> drive cache that wasn't installed by default on the original SBD. For

>>> the life of me I can't remember the name of the DOS disk cache program

>>> but I do remember that it would fit on the floppy and install which made

>>> the read of the CD for the copy to the HDD much faster. DOH! why didn't

>>> I look on the CD........ It is called SMARTDRV.EXE.

>>>

>>> Have a great one and thanks for helping all!

>>>

>>> "Malke" <malke@invalid.invalid> wrote in message

>>> news:%23iFzzKwhIHA.3940@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

>>>> User wrote:

>>>>>

>>>>> Thanks for everyone who replied! I followed Malke's instructions

>>>>> without a

>>>>> hitch and now am posting this from Win98.

>>>>> ps. my Win98 CD wasn't bootable. Had a really old copy from way back.

>>>>

>>>> Excellent! I'm glad I could help. Please don't forget that 1) Win98 is

>>>> completely insecure and so you need to be extra careful with it on the

>>>> Internet; and 2) you need a third-party firewall and antivirus

>>>> installed if

>>>> the box will be online. You'll need to look around for av/firewall

>>>> programs

>>>> that will run in Win98. I don't have current information about that, so

>>>> do

>>>> some Googling.

>>>>

>>>> Malke

>>>> --

>>>> MS-MVP

>>>> Elephant Boy Computers

>>>> http://www.elephantboycomputers.com

>>>> Don't Panic!

>>>

>>>

>>

>

>

>

[Guest Lil' Dave]

Re: Formatting Question

 

Yes, those bootable versions did exist.

 

Fdisk will delete any primary partition. The filesystem inherit to that

partition is not a factor. The only problem using fdisk is deleting a

logical drive using an NTFS file system in an extended partition. Whether

the logical drive is formatted is not an issue.

 

--

Dave

 

My vote in this primary was for the lesser

of many evils...

"Nepatsfan" <nepatsfan@SBXXXIX.com> wrote in message

news:eky1yQ9hIHA.5780@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> Sorry to disagree with you Colin, but I've got a Genuine Microsoft OEM

> Windows 98SE installation CD, hologram and all, that's bootable. It came

> with a 'white box' system I inherited around 2000. The computer's long

> gone, but I kept the CD. It's fully capable of installing the operating

> system without using a floppy disk. It will partition and format a blank

> HD. It will also delete an NTFS formatted partition.

>

> Nepatsfan

>

> "Colin Barnhorst" <c.barnhorst@comcast.net> wrote in message

> news:25B7B8E1-4B96-439E-AAE5-DE02FE9CF519@microsoft.com...

>> You were however correct anyway. There were bootable OEM Win98 cds, but

>> they were branded cds, not Microsoft hologrammed ones.

>>

>> "LVTravel" <none@nothere.com> wrote in message

>> news:%23x2mtRxhIHA.5900@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>>> TO OP: Glad you got it working.

>>>

>>> TO Malke, I actually had to pull out one of my ancient 98 CDs to verify

>>> before I posted. When I did it years ago, I actually modified the

>>> AUTOEXEC.BAT file on the System Boot Disk (SBD)_(floppy) to install the

>>> drive cache that wasn't installed by default on the original SBD. For

>>> the life of me I can't remember the name of the DOS disk cache program

>>> but I do remember that it would fit on the floppy and install which made

>>> the read of the CD for the copy to the HDD much faster. DOH! why didn't

>>> I look on the CD........ It is called SMARTDRV.EXE.

>>>

>>> Have a great one and thanks for helping all!

>>>

>>> "Malke" <malke@invalid.invalid> wrote in message

>>> news:%23iFzzKwhIHA.3940@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

>>>> User wrote:

>>>>>

>>>>> Thanks for everyone who replied! I followed Malke's instructions

>>>>> without a

>>>>> hitch and now am posting this from Win98.

>>>>> ps. my Win98 CD wasn't bootable. Had a really old copy from way back.

>>>>

>>>> Excellent! I'm glad I could help. Please don't forget that 1) Win98 is

>>>> completely insecure and so you need to be extra careful with it on the

>>>> Internet; and 2) you need a third-party firewall and antivirus

>>>> installed if

>>>> the box will be online. You'll need to look around for av/firewall

>>>> programs

>>>> that will run in Win98. I don't have current information about that, so

>>>> do

>>>> some Googling.

>>>>

>>>> Malke

>>>> --

>>>> MS-MVP

>>>> Elephant Boy Computers

>>>> http://www.elephantboycomputers.com

>>>> Don't Panic!

>>>

>>>

>>

>

>

>