Formatting HD help (win98)

[zanet]

I've never done this before but may have to on my old 98se pc. I know there are lots of guides out there but they all seem like chinese to me. Would someone be prepared to provide me with a brief guide? Something really simple. Just what discs I need, what I install (in what order) and how to start the process. That would be ideal. I have the mobo chipset, os, vid  and sound card disks and maxllf / boot disk (unofficial).

[Geek-9pm]

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Windows 98 works on older computer, but may require additional drivers.

The hard drive for windows 98 should be a PATA, also called IDE tyoe. And the size should be modest, such as 20 GB.

Does the CD say 98 SE ? This matters.

You should have a windows 98 boot diskette to start up the install. The boot diskette will install Windows 98 from the CD after booting from the diskette in drive A:  and will format the C: drive as FAT32. At some point you will remove the diskette.

Have you already tried that?

[zanet]

Sorry, it's 98se (I keep forgetting to state that). I haven't tried anything yet because I wanted some clear instructions before I went ahead with it. I currently have 98se already installed on the system (30g harddrive) and have backed up what I need. I need to wipe it clean and start again. Is that formatting or reformatting? Am I correct in understanding that I insert the os cd and bootdisk and just reboot?

[Geek-9pm]

Yes, you let the diskette boot first.Then insert the CD  after the diskette stars loading. t The standard Windows 98SE CD does not boot by itself, you have to use the diskette.
Older PCs did not boot for the CD anyway. That is why the diskette.

If you need a clean install, cancel the CD install and start the format from the diskette.
NOTE: The hard drive may have a driver directory. If you need those drivers, copy them to a blank diskette. Before you format.

From the boot floppy you do this:
format c:
...and it wipes out whatever is on the C: drive.
Reboot and let the CD do the rest.
Have fun!

[quaxo]

The standard Windows 98SE CD does not boot by itself, you have to use the diskette.

That's not correct. Windows 98SE CDs are bootable on their own provided the BIOS supports booting from CDs. Windows 98 CDs (original, not SE) are not bootable and require a floppy.

[patio]

I agree.

[kbit]

That's not correct. Windows 98SE CDs are bootable on their own provided the BIOS supports booting from CDs. Windows 98 CDs (original, not SE) are not bootable and require a floppy.

 Wrong , they all are bootable , just depends on machine.

[Fed]

Done & dusted 4 Months ago.

Wrong , they all are bootable , just depends on machine.

Don't think so kbit.

[quaxo]

 Wrong , they all are bootable , just depends on machine.

No, it's not wrong. Only the 98SE discs are bootable directly from the CD, provided the computer supported booting from the CD.

Windows 98, 95, and 3.1/3.11 CDs (yes, there were CDs of 3.1) we not bootable. They required a DOS-based bootdisk to get started.

There are unofficial Windows 98 CDs out there that are bootable, but these are not legitimate versions of the CD. This are altered, pirated copies. The genuine Windows 98 CDs were never bootable until the release of 98SE.

[broken857]

There are unofficial Windows 98 CD's out there that are bookable, but these are not legitimate versions of the CD. This are altered, pirated copies. The genuine Windows 98 CD's were never bookable until the release of 98SE.You should have a windows 98 boot diskette to start up the install. The boot diskette will install Windows 98 from the CD after booting from the diskette in drive A:  and will format the C: drive as FAT32. At some point you will remove the diskette.

[mikhelee]

There is, however, something akin to the Unofficial Windows 98 Service Pack, which rolls up hotfixes that wouldn't normally have been pushed through windows Update.

[Brad555]

      26th Jun 2007
Boot the machine with a boot-floppy, and at the DOS prompt type:
format C:\

If you don't have a boot disk, you can get one at www.bootdisk.com.


--
HTH,
Curt

Windows Support Center
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"JacquieCC" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:6BEE9FEC-3512-4F7A-9D64-(E-Mail Removed)...
| Hi,
| Any simple instructions on how to format the whole of the hard drive of an
| old computer with windows 98. My parents refuse to throw it out unless
all
| their files etc are deleted from the hard drive properly.

[loco]

There are unofficial Windows 98 CD's out there that are bookable, but these are not legitimate versions of the CD. This are altered, pirated copies. The genuine Windows 98 CD's were never bookable until the release of 98SE.You should have a windows 98 boot diskette to start up the install. The boot diskette will install Windows 98 from the CD after booting from the diskette in drive A:  and will format the C: drive as FAT32. At some point you will remove the diskette.

Where would I get a copy? I always pay my software (pinocchio) ... however I would like to bring back memories by installing Windows 98

I suppose it wouldn't work on nowadays computers ... or am I mistaken?

[patio]

Win 98 is not Free anywhere...

[BC_Programmer]

Where would I get a copy? I always pay my software (pinocchio) ... however I would like to bring back memories by installing Windows 98

I suppose it wouldn't work on nowadays computers ... or am I mistaken?

Windows 98/98SE can be purchased off eBay. Of course as with most used software, Caveat Empor.

Systems with more than 1.5GB of RAM will enter a reboot loop. More than 512MB and the system is likely to hang frequently.

performance wise, Windows 98 tops out around 160MB as far as performance, with more memory sometimes even having a negative effective due to issues in the Virtual Memory Manager and various cache mechanisms. The issue then becomes whether you can actually install less than 512MB into a modern system at all.

Assuming you don't hit the memory limit, you might encounter other issues, usually in the form of the devices you use not having drivers. Win98 Also doesn't support any form of Multiprocessing, so on multi-core machines (pretty much the norm today) it will only use one core.

Generally the "best" way to run windows98 and 98SE is either on a system from the era or within a Virtual Machine.