PorPorMe Posted May 11, 2008 Report Share Posted May 11, 2008 Without going into a long story-I need to install Win 98. I still have my OEM disk so I thought "no problem" HA!Knowing that 98 doesn't have the install flexibility of XP or Vista, I formatted (Fat32) a 2GB partion at the front of my C:\ HDD (80GB western digital NTFS) and try to install 98. No Joy. There is always a problem with the MBR and it "sees" the NTFS partion and identifies it as an Win NT OS and doesn't like that. After many different attempts at trying to please 98's install engine, I finally went all the way. I not only deleted all partitions, I wiped the drive and then unallocated it. I disconnected my 40GB HDD and then booted to Win98 disk. Can't fail now. WRONG! 98 "see's" the drive and formats it. Goes to setup. Copies setup files & goes to install. The warning screen jumps up- "There is an error in the MBR that needs to be repaired. Press Ok or exit setup." You silly S.O.B. the MBR is the one you just wrote!Yea, by now I'm yelling at it. It repairs the MBR and continues setup. At first boot, warning screen again, MBR has an error. If I don't fix it, it shuts off the computer. If I do fix it, it can't finish with setup because the is not enough memory to load autoexec.bat or config.sys and then goes to command prompt. and I've gone through this a dozen times before trying different setups. This one is completely clean and it still has problems with the MBR. I'm fresh out of ideas. Anyone out there want to tackle this one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan2273 Posted May 11, 2008 Report Share Posted May 11, 2008 I cant help you, but Catgate still uses 98SE and he will be on the forum later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rong Posted May 11, 2008 Report Share Posted May 11, 2008 Not sure but it may be that 98 needs to be installed first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PorPorMe Posted May 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2008 Not sure but it may be that 98 needs to be installed first.Yes, the drive was wiped and unalocated, absolutely clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catgate Posted May 11, 2008 Report Share Posted May 11, 2008 Are you talking W98 or W98SE? There is a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pa1916 Posted May 11, 2008 Report Share Posted May 11, 2008 If you have a W98 floppy you must have one or you can't install W98 on boot select without CD Rom support on the A prompttype A:\ FDISK AND DELETE THE NTFS partition reboot again choose without CD Rom support and create a DOS partition and make it active and format the drive when complete put W98 floppy in this time choose with CD Rom support install Windows 98 in the usual way.You will require your MOBO disk also AS ALL DATA WILL BE LOST.AS W98 HAS NOT BEEN SUPPORTED FOR TWO YEARS YOU WILL HAVE TO FIND THE LAST UPDATES VIA THE WEB BUT THESE ARE NOT SUPPORTED YOU WILL ALSO FIND NO DRIVERS ARE AVAILABLE FOR HARDWARE AND YOUR WIDE OPEN TO VIRUS AND HACKERS.W98 WAS NOT USB AWARE BUT W98SE WAS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PorPorMe Posted May 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2008 Problem Solved.It was so easy too. I had totaly quit thinking in DOS terms years ago. My mistake. I have a couple of rescue disks with MBR tools on them that I had used but they hadden't worked. Someone else mentioned fdisk and I remembered. So I booted to my 98 disk command prompt and ran fdisk/mbr and it was just that simple. Ran setup and this post is comming via Win98. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pa1916 Posted May 11, 2008 Report Share Posted May 11, 2008 I have just noticed your RAM this is high for W98 i never went above 375 MB you might find it locking up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PorPorMe Posted May 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 I have just noticed your RAM this is high for W98 i never went above 375 MB you might find it locking up.That's one I never would have thought of. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug_zs Posted May 16, 2008 Report Share Posted May 16, 2008 A few things:Unofficial Windows 98SE Service Pack 2.1a here:http://exuberant.ms11.net/98sesp.htmlor here:http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/OS-Enh...vice-Pack.shtmlNorton Ghost 2003 Build v793 DOS exe File here:http://rapidshare.com/files/111397948/Ghos...Zipped.zip.htmlBunch of Ghost 2003 auto clone and restore batch files are shown here:http://radified.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1150190239/9#7The latter will make the hassle you went through unnecessary in the future.I do a restore from a Ghost Image that is on my G: Drive in a little under 3 minutes.From the same file that Ghost itself burnt to a CD-R: 7 minutes.BTW: I keep a MAJORITY of my Program Files on the D: Drive, so my C: is only 1170 MB's.The subsiquent Ghost Image is about 602 MB's.Bug_zs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan2273 Posted May 16, 2008 Report Share Posted May 16, 2008 bug_zs-1, it is not advisable to put your e-mail address on an open forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pa1916 Posted May 17, 2008 Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 Dosn't this windows 98SE service pack 2.1a change the W98SE desk top to look like WME???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Posted May 17, 2008 Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 Dosn't this windows 98SE service pack 2.1a change the W98SE desk top to look like WME????Not from my recollection :)http://exuberant.ms11.net/screenshot.jpg- it just make the icons look like the later ME/W2000 icons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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