wrote:
I am trying to install Windows 98 as a way to then upgrade it to XP

As others have said, you don't need to (in fact the usual opinion is that an
upgraded-to-XP system is worse than a straight-to-XP system).

on a box and it goes fine through the first installation phase, but
then I am getting:
~
"Disk I/O Error" "Replace the disk, and then press any key"

Probably the CD (or CD drive).
~
Someone recommended to me to use knoppix (knoppix.net) in order to:
~
check via dmesg that the disk are fine (which they were),
~
make sure you can mount then (I could just fine), and
~
run smartmoontools on it (i didn't report any problems from within
knoppix)

All sounds good advice/action. However, if you _are_ going to install '98,
make sure you only make FAT partitions - '9x can't read (or, I think, even
remove!) NTFS partitions. I don't know what knoppix makes by default.
~
The BIOS is also see the ATA disk just fine. I even reset it to the
defaults and it does detect the drive just fine.

(That's not foolproof - it means the drive electronics are responding,
saying "yes I'm a 40G drive"; it doesn't mean that the actual physical disc
is even going round. But we don't think that's your problem.)
[]
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