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#21
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Updating Windows 98
On 03.03.2006 06:37 UK Time, Gary S. Terhune wrote:
OK, sorry I'm late. Only about 1 hour, but then again you said you might be :-) If you have no interest in saving any of the data on the drive now, or have backed it up to removable media, the instructions are simple. If you wish to do anything more complicated, then some lessons in BootIt NG would be required. The only other gotcha I forgot to touch upon this morning is to ask what brand machine this is. From the sounds of it, it's nice and generic, but if you really want to be safe post back with make & model before proceeding. In this post I'll assume you're proceeding to reformat the entire disk and then clean install the OEM CD. Yes, you are right, I have all the data and software installation files/disks available elsewhere and can do a clean install. I bought the laptop from novatech.co.uk and it has a Novatech sticker, but it is in fact a Mitac model no. 6133 Is it safe to proceed? 1. If you don't already have one, make a Windows Startup floppy disk. IIRC, you have one and couldn't find FORMAT.COM on it. That's because that program is contained within the RAM drive that is used in this type of startup disk. Most of the Startup floppy's files are contained within the RAM drive. A RAM drive is an image that is loaded into RAM and which behaves as an operating system. It takes the next letter after the hard disks and thus your removable drives, CD, DVD, etc., get bumped up a letter. Yes, I already have a boot floppy. Thanks for the RAM explanation. 2. Insert the Startup floppy, then reboot. Presumably the machine will boot to the floppy disk. If not, come on back for suggestions. At the first menu, I did a trial run yesterday, and it ignored the floppy, so I changed the boot sequence in the BIOS so that it does boot from the floppy now. However, I was a bit unsure about which option to choose, and perhaps I better go back into the BIOS and tell you what options the machine offers so that you can recommend one? choose "...with CDROM support..." Take note at the end of the messages where Thanks - I had wondered about which option to chose during earlier attempts. it tells you the letter(s) of the CD drive(s). In the simplest systems, that letter is E:\ so that's what I'll use, but it may not be the same in your case. 2. At the A:\ prompt, run the following commands: format c: e: (or whatever your CD drive letter is) setup It's that simple, usually. Note the colons at the ends of the first two commands. OK, thanks. 3. I always choose Custom setup and uncheck everything. After installation At what stage do you get this "Custom setup" choice? is complete, I use Add/Remove Programs to add those components I'm actually going to use. Are you talking about Windows components or external software? Any questions? See above - thanks for all your help and your time! Regards Herbert Eppel www.HETranslation.co.uk |
#22
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Updating Windows 98
On 03.03.2006 06:37 UK Time, Gary S. Terhune wrote:
2. Insert the Startup floppy, then reboot. Presumably the machine will boot to the floppy disk. If not, come on back for suggestions. At the first menu, choose "...with CDROM support..." Take note at the end of the messages where it tells you the letter(s) of the CD drive(s). In the simplest systems, that letter is E:\ so that's what I'll use, but it may not be the same in your case. D: in my case. 2. At the A:\ prompt, run the following commands: format c: It doesn't like that, i.e. it says "Bad command or file name" :-( Herbert Eppel www.HETranslation.co.uk |
#23
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Updating Windows 98
On 03.03.2006 08:27 UK Time, Herb wrote:
On 03.03.2006 06:37 UK Time, Gary S. Terhune wrote: 2. Insert the Startup floppy, then reboot. Presumably the machine will boot to the floppy disk. If not, come on back for suggestions. At the first menu, choose "...with CDROM support..." Take note at the end of the messages where it tells you the letter(s) of the CD drive(s). In the simplest systems, that letter is E:\ so that's what I'll use, but it may not be the same in your case. D: in my case. 2. At the A:\ prompt, run the following commands: format c: It doesn't like that, i.e. it says "Bad command or file name" :-( Gary is obviously a little preoccupied at present. In his temporary absence, perhaps someone else might be able to help me overcome this (hopefully minor?) initial obstacle? Thank you. Herbert Eppel www.HETranslation.co.uk |
#24
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Updating Windows 98
Gary apologizes. He fell asleep.
If you load a Windows Startup floppy bootdisk and FORMAT C: doesn't work, I'd have to think that a new Windows Startup floppy is called for. Use the appropriate tab in Add/Remove Programs, or download one from www.bootdisk.com Note that a boot floppy made using Windows XP is not good enough. If you have a standard Windows Startup floppy, and assuming you only have the one C:\ hard drive partition, the RAM drive becomes D:\ and the CD drive becomes E:\. Look at the final messages from the boot sequence. It should tell you what the new CD drive letter is. When you have booted to the Startup floppy, you should be able to see the contents of each drive by using the DIR command: c: dir d: dir e: dir -- Gary S. Terhune MS MVP Shell/User "Herb" HE@UK wrote in message ... On 03.03.2006 08:27 UK Time, Herb wrote: On 03.03.2006 06:37 UK Time, Gary S. Terhune wrote: 2. Insert the Startup floppy, then reboot. Presumably the machine will boot to the floppy disk. If not, come on back for suggestions. At the first menu, choose "...with CDROM support..." Take note at the end of the messages where it tells you the letter(s) of the CD drive(s). In the simplest systems, that letter is E:\ so that's what I'll use, but it may not be the same in your case. D: in my case. 2. At the A:\ prompt, run the following commands: format c: It doesn't like that, i.e. it says "Bad command or file name" :-( Gary is obviously a little preoccupied at present. In his temporary absence, perhaps someone else might be able to help me overcome this (hopefully minor?) initial obstacle? Thank you. Herbert Eppel www.HETranslation.co.uk |
#25
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Updating Windows 98
The other logical conclusion that can be drawn from your results is that
there is no C:\ hard drive partition available. That would make the RAM drive C:\ and it would be unformattable. Run FDISK and see what it says you have for hard drive partitions. If you find a hard drive listed in FDISK, remove all partitions on it and then create a new one. Once the procedure is done and you've restarted, then run FORMAT C: -- Gary S. Terhune MS MVP Shell/User "Herb" HE@UK wrote in message ... On 03.03.2006 08:27 UK Time, Herb wrote: On 03.03.2006 06:37 UK Time, Gary S. Terhune wrote: 2. Insert the Startup floppy, then reboot. Presumably the machine will boot to the floppy disk. If not, come on back for suggestions. At the first menu, choose "...with CDROM support..." Take note at the end of the messages where it tells you the letter(s) of the CD drive(s). In the simplest systems, that letter is E:\ so that's what I'll use, but it may not be the same in your case. D: in my case. 2. At the A:\ prompt, run the following commands: format c: It doesn't like that, i.e. it says "Bad command or file name" :-( Gary is obviously a little preoccupied at present. In his temporary absence, perhaps someone else might be able to help me overcome this (hopefully minor?) initial obstacle? Thank you. Herbert Eppel www.HETranslation.co.uk |
#26
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Updating Windows 98
I should clarify that you can create a proper boot disk on a WinXP system by
downloading an ISO or other format of Bootdisk from Bootdisk.com. But the "boot disk" option offered during the format of a floppy on Windows XP will not work for your purposes. -- Gary S. Terhune MS MVP Shell/User "Gary S. Terhune" wrote in message ... Gary apologizes. He fell asleep. If you load a Windows Startup floppy bootdisk and FORMAT C: doesn't work, I'd have to think that a new Windows Startup floppy is called for. Use the appropriate tab in Add/Remove Programs, or download one from www.bootdisk.com Note that a boot floppy made using Windows XP is not good enough. If you have a standard Windows Startup floppy, and assuming you only have the one C:\ hard drive partition, the RAM drive becomes D:\ and the CD drive becomes E:\. Look at the final messages from the boot sequence. It should tell you what the new CD drive letter is. When you have booted to the Startup floppy, you should be able to see the contents of each drive by using the DIR command: c: dir d: dir e: dir -- Gary S. Terhune MS MVP Shell/User |
#27
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Updating Windows 98
When you run FDISK, say "Yes" to the "Large Drive Support" question. Then
choose option 4., the partition information utility. The rest of the commands should be self-explanatory. -- Gary S. Terhune MS MVP Shell/User "Gary S. Terhune" wrote in message ... The other logical conclusion that can be drawn from your results is that there is no C:\ hard drive partition available. That would make the RAM drive C:\ and it would be unformattable. Run FDISK and see what it says you have for hard drive partitions. If you find a hard drive listed in FDISK, remove all partitions on it and then create a new one. Once the procedure is done and you've restarted, then run FORMAT C: -- Gary S. Terhune MS MVP Shell/User "Herb" HE@UK wrote in message ... On 03.03.2006 08:27 UK Time, Herb wrote: On 03.03.2006 06:37 UK Time, Gary S. Terhune wrote: 2. Insert the Startup floppy, then reboot. Presumably the machine will boot to the floppy disk. If not, come on back for suggestions. At the first menu, choose "...with CDROM support..." Take note at the end of the messages where it tells you the letter(s) of the CD drive(s). In the simplest systems, that letter is E:\ so that's what I'll use, but it may not be the same in your case. D: in my case. 2. At the A:\ prompt, run the following commands: format c: It doesn't like that, i.e. it says "Bad command or file name" :-( Gary is obviously a little preoccupied at present. In his temporary absence, perhaps someone else might be able to help me overcome this (hopefully minor?) initial obstacle? Thank you. Herbert Eppel www.HETranslation.co.uk |
#28
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Updating Windows 98
On 03.03.2006 16:04 UK Time, Gary S. Terhune wrote:
The other logical conclusion that can be drawn from your results is that there is no C:\ hard drive partition available. That would make the RAM drive C:\ and it would be unformattable. Hi Gary, I am somewhat confused now. I definitely have a C: drive, and I am using an official MS Windows 98 boot floppy. When I boot from floppy, I get the result indicated earlier, i.e. the CD drive is reported as D: I can see the contents of the A, C, and D drives via A: dir C: dir D: dir But the command "format C:" results in a "Bad command or file name" error. Run FDISK and see what it says you have for hard drive partitions. If you find a hard drive listed in FDISK, remove all partitions on it and then create a new one. Once the procedure is done and you've restarted, then run FORMAT C: As expected, FDISK reports the C: drive as a single partition (FAT32) with a capacity of 6194 MB. It also says Status "A" and Type "PRI DOS" - not sure what this means. What next? Thanks Herbert Eppel www.HETranslation.co.uk |
#29
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Updating Windows 98
"Herb" HE@UK wrote in message
... Hi Gary, I am somewhat confused now. I definitely have a C: drive, and I am using an official MS Windows 98 boot floppy. When I boot from floppy, I get the result indicated earlier, i.e. the CD drive is reported as D: I can see the contents of the A, C, and D drives via A: dir C: dir D: dir But the command "format C:" results in a "Bad command or file name" error. Run FDISK and see what it says you have for hard drive partitions. If you find a hard drive listed in FDISK, remove all partitions on it and then create a new one. Once the procedure is done and you've restarted, then run FORMAT C: As expected, FDISK reports the C: drive as a single partition (FAT32) with a capacity of 6194 MB. It also says Status "A" and Type "PRI DOS" - not sure what this means. What next? I'd try creating and using a different Boot disk using an ISO from http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm. This system ran OK before this, right? Just that you want to upgrade to Second Edition? Man, you've got *me* perplexed. -- Gary S. Terhune MS MVP Shell/User |
#30
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Updating Windows 98
On 03.03.2006 17:26 UK Time, Gary S. Terhune wrote:
I'd try creating and using a different Boot disk using an ISO from http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm. This system ran OK before this, right? Just that you want to upgrade to Second Edition? Man, you've got *me* perplexed. Thanks - I'll have to resume this tomorrow - bye for now. Herbert Eppel www.HETranslation.co.uk |
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