no floppy install for '98???

page · 12-06-2006, 11:05 PM

Hi new here.

i have spent the day searching the net with no luck with my prob

I have a laptop running xp and another older one that i want to put '98 on. I have taken the old ones hard drive out an connected(via USB) it as an external hard drive to the one runnig xp an reformatted it.

The prooblem is that i haven't got a floppy disk or drive on any of my computers an therefore carnt boot on the external hard drive to load windows 98. Can any one help??? Many thanks for your time

Geekgirl · 12-07-2006, 04:27 AM

Hi and Welcome to TSF

You can make a bootable cd, you do have a cd-drive installed dont you?

**Done_Fishin** · 12-07-2006, 06:23 AM

you'll find the files on www.bootdisk.com

page · 12-07-2006, 02:40 PM

Yep i have a cd-drive. I dont know what to get from that site? whats NTFS? what files do i need to burn to a cd?
wow thats alot of questions... Many thanks

dai · 12-07-2006, 04:42 PM

http://www.softpedia.com/progDownloa...load-5992.html

page · 12-07-2006, 06:34 PM

Cool thats what i am after. ARRg its 80mb+ an i have dial up. Damn but thanks any way.

dai · 12-07-2006, 08:35 PM

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Downl...oot_CD_USA.zip

**OldGrayGary** · 12-07-2006, 10:18 PM

Hi all

page - if the older laptop has a cd-drive in it, and the laptop's bios allows for booting from a CD, you don't need a floppy of any sort for installing Windows 98. The Windows 98 CD itself is bootable.

1) In the older laptop's Bios Setup, set the CD to first in the Boot Order menu (the wording varies - you may have to look carefully).
2) Put the Windows 98 CD in the CD-drive
3) Reboot, and select "start computer with CD-rom support"
4) At the command prompt, type in the command "fdisk"
5) Select option 4 to view the current partitions.
6) Delete all partitions listed, starting with logical or extended partitions, and finishing with primary partitions.
7) Select the option to "Create a Primary DOS Partition"
8) Once the partition is created, reboot the computer, and let Windows 98 Setup format the partiton with FAT32 (answer "Yes" to the prompt "Enable Large Hard Drive Support?" = this will have Windows 98 use the FAT32 file system)
9) Then follow the prompts to finish your new Windows 98 installation.

If you have a choice between the original Windows 98 or Windows 98 2nd Edition - choose the 2nd Edition, as it has a wider range of hardware and software compatibility.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

[PS ... You'd asked what "NTFS" is = it is the file system native to the Windows NT-kernel operating systems - Windows NT/2000/XP. The earlier versions of Windows based on the "Windows 9x" kernel cannot read NTFS partitons (without the aide of third-party utilities). Windows 95/98/98se/Me can use FAT16 or FAT32 partitions - these are the file systems native to the earlier versions. FAT32 is superior to FAT16 in that larger partition sizes are possible. To read up even more on this little bit of computer history, you can visit http://www.theeldergeek.com/ntfs_or_...ile_system.htm http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.html?i=63 http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/filesystems1.html ]

page · 12-08-2006, 01:11 AM

I carnt get into the laptop bios(acer aspire 500dx). I have taken the hard drive out of it an mounted it externaly on another laptop i have (acer aspire 3200??) when i boot in the sequence:-
-CD-Rom
-external hdd
-primary hdd
it reads the CD then starts loading win xp (on primary) ????

I will try that download thanks dai

**OldGrayGary** · 12-08-2006, 11:25 PM

Hi again

Did you mean to say the older notebook is an Acer Extensa 501DX? [I don't see any reference to an Aspire with that model #, or an Extensa 500 series with a model # lower than 501DX. If yes, is this your notebook? http://www.acersupport.com/notebook/...1dx_specs.html

To enter the Bios Setup of a 500 series Extensa, you press the F2 key during the POST ("Power On Self-Test" - this runs immediately after the power is turned on).

The instructions I gave you are meant to be run with the original hard drive back inside of the older laptop (not from the newer laptop, with the old hard drive slaved in the external enclosure).

If you used the new laptop's XP to format the old drive, did you remember to use the FAT32 file system? If not, try again: delete the current partition on the old drive while it's in the external enclosure (since it's already there), and create a Primary DOS Partition. Then format it with FAT32. Then put the drive back into the old notebook, boot from the Windows 98 CD, and start Setup.

If you can get into the older laptop's bios (I strongly suggest you keep trying to accomplish that = it's best to have the Bios Antivirus set to Disabled while installing operating systems -- you then re-enable it when done).

If the laptop is from either the Extensa or TravelMate days, someone has been taking very good care of it. It has outlasted most of its peers.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

page · 12-09-2006, 12:27 AM

May thanks that download did the trick but i now discover my win 98 cd is stuffed (it never ends).
It looks exactly like that one in the link but it defintly has 500dx on it. Thanks for the insrutions oldgarygary.

12-06-2006, 11:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
page Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5 OS: xp	no floppy install for '98??? Hi new here. i have spent the day searching the net with no luck with my prob I have a laptop running xp and another older one that i want to put '98 on. I have taken the old ones hard drive out an connected(via USB) it as an external hard drive to the one runnig xp an reformatted it. The prooblem is that i haven't got a floppy disk or drive on any of my computers an therefore carnt boot on the external hard drive to load windows 98. Can any one help??? Many thanks for your time

12-07-2006, 04:27 AM	#2 (permalink)
Geekgirl Assistant Manager, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Six-burgh, Pennsylvania Posts: 14,186 OS: XP Home SP3/XP Pro SP3/Vista Ultimate SP2/Windows 7 Professional	Hi and Welcome to TSF You can make a bootable cd, you do have a cd-drive installed dont you? __________________ Compare NOD32 to your current antivirus and anti-spyware solution, HERE How to back up and restore the registry in Windows XP and Windows Vista Or Windows 7 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows 98/ ME / NT 4.0 / 2000 I DO NOT ACCEPT EMAILS AND WILL NOT REPLY TO THEM !!!!! TSF DOES NOT SUPPORT ASSISTANCE THROUGH EMAIL OR PRIVATE MESSAGES, PLEASE KEEP ALL QUESTIONS IN THE OPEN FORUM *The Pittsburgh Steelers - 6 X Superbowl Champions !!!!!!!* *The Pittsburgh Penguins - 2009 Stanley Cup Champions !!!!!!!*

12-07-2006, 06:23 AM	#3 (permalink)
Done_Fishin Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Brit living in Greece Posts: 7,526 OS: WinME, WinXP Pro SP3, Win7 Beta, Ubuntu 9.04 & Netbook Remix & CD2USB, Mepis 6.5, Fedora 10 My System	you'll find the files on www.bootdisk.com __________________ . . I'm not old!! I'm age impaired .. D_F I DON'T PLAY GAMES How to mark your thread as solved HDD DIAG UTILS TSF's Photographer's Corner

12-07-2006, 04:42 PM	#5 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,690 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	http://www.softpedia.com/progDownloa...load-5992.html __________________

12-07-2006, 08:35 PM	#7 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,690 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	http://www.answersthatwork.com/Downl...oot_CD_USA.zip __________________

12-07-2006, 02:40 PM	#4 (permalink)
page Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5 OS: xp	Yep i have a cd-drive. I dont know what to get from that site? whats NTFS? what files do i need to burn to a cd? wow thats alot of questions... Many thanks

12-07-2006, 06:34 PM	#6 (permalink)
page Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5 OS: xp	Cool thats what i am after. ARRg its 80mb+ an i have dial up. Damn but thanks any way.

12-07-2006, 10:18 PM	#8 (permalink)
OldGrayGary Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Woodland Hills, CA Posts: 2,240 OS: Windows 98se/2000/XP/Vista	Hi all page - if the older laptop has a cd-drive in it, and the laptop's bios allows for booting from a CD, you don't need a floppy of any sort for installing Windows 98. The Windows 98 CD itself is bootable. 1) In the older laptop's Bios Setup, set the CD to first in the Boot Order menu (the wording varies - you may have to look carefully). 2) Put the Windows 98 CD in the CD-drive 3) Reboot, and select "start computer with CD-rom support" 4) At the command prompt, type in the command "fdisk" 5) Select option 4 to view the current partitions. 6) Delete all partitions listed, starting with logical or extended partitions, and finishing with primary partitions. 7) Select the option to "Create a Primary DOS Partition" 8) Once the partition is created, reboot the computer, and let Windows 98 Setup format the partiton with FAT32 (answer "Yes" to the prompt "Enable Large Hard Drive Support?" = this will have Windows 98 use the FAT32 file system) 9) Then follow the prompts to finish your new Windows 98 installation. If you have a choice between the original Windows 98 or Windows 98 2nd Edition - choose the 2nd Edition, as it has a wider range of hardware and software compatibility. Best of luck . . . Gary [PS ... You'd asked what "NTFS" is = it is the file system native to the Windows NT-kernel operating systems - Windows NT/2000/XP. The earlier versions of Windows based on the "Windows 9x" kernel cannot read NTFS partitons (without the aide of third-party utilities). Windows 95/98/98se/Me can use FAT16 or FAT32 partitions - these are the file systems native to the earlier versions. FAT32 is superior to FAT16 in that larger partition sizes are possible. To read up even more on this little bit of computer history, you can visit http://www.theeldergeek.com/ntfs_or_...ile_system.htm http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.html?i=63 http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/filesystems1.html ] __________________ Last edited by OldGrayGary; 12-07-2006 at 10:31 PM.

12-08-2006, 01:11 AM	#9 (permalink)
page Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5 OS: xp	I carnt get into the laptop bios(acer aspire 500dx). I have taken the hard drive out of it an mounted it externaly on another laptop i have (acer aspire 3200??) when i boot in the sequence:- -CD-Rom -external hdd -primary hdd it reads the CD then starts loading win xp (on primary) ???? I will try that download thanks dai

12-08-2006, 11:25 PM	#10 (permalink)
OldGrayGary Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Woodland Hills, CA Posts: 2,240 OS: Windows 98se/2000/XP/Vista	Hi again Did you mean to say the older notebook is an Acer Extensa 501DX? [I don't see any reference to an Aspire with that model #, or an Extensa 500 series with a model # lower than 501DX. If yes, is this your notebook? http://www.acersupport.com/notebook/...1dx_specs.html To enter the Bios Setup of a 500 series Extensa, you press the F2 key during the POST ("Power On Self-Test" - this runs immediately after the power is turned on). The instructions I gave you are meant to be run with the original hard drive back inside of the older laptop (not from the newer laptop, with the old hard drive slaved in the external enclosure). If you used the new laptop's XP to format the old drive, did you remember to use the FAT32 file system? If not, try again: delete the current partition on the old drive while it's in the external enclosure (since it's already there), and create a Primary DOS Partition. Then format it with FAT32. Then put the drive back into the old notebook, boot from the Windows 98 CD, and start Setup. If you can get into the older laptop's bios (I strongly suggest you keep trying to accomplish that = it's best to have the Bios Antivirus set to Disabled while installing operating systems -- you then re-enable it when done). If the laptop is from either the Extensa or TravelMate days, someone has been taking very good care of it. It has outlasted most of its peers. Best of luck . . . Gary __________________

12-09-2006, 12:27 AM	#11 (permalink)
page Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5 OS: xp	May thanks that download did the trick but i now discover my win 98 cd is stuffed (it never ends). It looks exactly like that one in the link but it defintly has 500dx on it. Thanks for the insrutions oldgarygary.