Steve wrote in message ...

Thanks for the help. I can do the hard drive swap. But I'm a little weak on
how to install Win98 on a HD without an operating system. What will happen
when try to boot up? Will I get DOS? Should I use my handy dandy custom boot
floppy with DOS on it and run setup? In answering assume total ignorance : )

On any computer:

01 Create a new text file
02 Copy the following statements into it
[You may have to adjust the CDROM drive letter E:
to suit your hardware configuration - if so, do so.]

SYS C:
LH C:\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD001
MD C:\WINDOWS
MD C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS
MD C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS
E:
CD \WIN98
COPY E:\WIN98\*.* C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS
C:
CD \WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS
SETUP

03 Save this file as W98CABIT.BAT on your Windows 98 boot disk.

On your computer

01 Boot to the DOS prompt using the Windows 98 boot disk.
02 Partition and format the hard drive,
making sure that you select the option to copy the system files
when you format, so that the hard drive is bootable.
03 Copy the contents of the boot floppy to the hard drive.
04 Remove the boot floppy disk.
05 Put the Win 98 operating system CD into the CD-ROM drive.
06 Boot to the hard drive's DOS prompt.
07 Run W98CABIT, (type RUN W98CABIT,
which will copy the WIN98 files to the hard drive
and will then run the Setup from the hard drive.

Once the install is complete, you will not have to keep reinserting
the WIN98 CD when you make a system configuration change.
Instead, the System File Checker entry in the Registry
will be set to point to the Windows Options Cabs folder.

After you have installed Windows a few times, it gets simple,
and you will wonder why it ever seemed complicated.