"Disk I/O Error" "Replace the disk, and then press any key"

wrote:

I am trying to install Windows 98 as a way to then upgrade it to XP on a box

You dont need to install 98 if you want to end up with XP.
The XP install is happy to look at the 98 CD to verify that its upgrading that.

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"

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)

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.

So what on earth is going on?

How can I solve this problem?

Just install XP from the start, and let it look at the 98 CD when it asks to do that.

OK. There is something you are either assuming and/or I am missing
he
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This is what I am doing:
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1. Using Linux' fdisk and set up the whole 40 Gb drive
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2. then I am going "mkfs -t vfat /dev/hda1"
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3. then I insert Win 98 installation CD and go through the first
steps.
After "Copying WIndows 98 files to your computer" the installation
comes to a "restartign computer" phase:
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After rebooting Windows 98 gives you again the same options as if you
were trying to start all over again, namely:
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1. Boot from HD
2. Boot from CD-ROM
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If you go for 1. you will then land the error I mentioned
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If you select 2. you will then prompted the three options:
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1. Start Windows 98 setup from CD-ROM
2. Start computer with CD-ROM support
3. Start computer without CD-ROM support
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So I get trapped in this installation loop
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How do I get out of it?
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lbrtchx