Boot setup of '98 gone wrong; Downgraded from Vista.

Phonix56 · 05-13-2008, 12:52 PM

Hello.

In an attempt to rid my computer of the unreliable Windows Vista: Home Premium, I've used an old Windows 98 boot-setup CD rom in order to replace Vista with Windows 98.

You may be wondering why I've done this, I was facing some compatability issues with certain programs that are required for work, and I had found out Vista wasn't compatible with these applications, so I acted on impulse, found my old Windows 98 boot-setup disks, and now am in a prediciment in which my new laptop won't boot up.

The scenario which occured yesterday is as follows; I booted up my new HP G6000 laptop with the Windows 98 boot-setup CD, I removed my previous files, along with my Vista OS, I went through the setup, finished it, then after my first boot-up on my 'new' Windows 98 OS, the screen froze on the startup screen.

I'm going to guess this is a compatability issue with my laptop, as I'm unable to access my computer now, so I've thought about installing Windows XP through the use of CD-Rom boot up disks, however I'm not sure how to obtain these, how to make the disks using the correct files, and whether this will work at all.

So, I'd like to know the following things:

- How to obtain the files for the Windows XP CD-rom bootup disk (so far I've only been able to find the floppy bootup disk files...)

- How to create a boot-up CD-rom disk.

- Whether any other files are required besides the bootup disk files.

- Any other information on this procedure that could be of use.

- Any free files I could download in order to burn the backup CD-rom disks.

If anyone knows of anything else to get myself out of this prediciment, or if anyone has done this procedure before and could provide information from experience.

Thanks to anyone who can help out with this

Phonix56 · 05-14-2008, 06:50 AM

Anyone?

**OldGrayGary** · 05-15-2008, 12:56 AM

Hi Phonix56

Most likely, the hardware in your new laptop is not compatible with Windows 98. Few recent motherboards can run Windows 98 natively - there just aren't any drivers for the devices on the board. Win98 just wasn't designed for dual-chip cores, cpus faster than 2ghz, etc.....

There is a way to run Windows 98 on your new laptop: you can use a "virtual machine" (the newer term for what we used to call "emulation"). Microsoft provides Virtual PC 2007 for Vista users who need to run legacy Win9x/Me apps. It is a free download & has fairly decent help files --- http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...c/default.mspx

Use the Hp-supplied Recovery system to restore your PC to it's factory-original state, catch-up with Critical Updates, then download & install Virtual PC and create a virtual Win98 following the instructions provided in the Virtual PC help files. Once the virtual 98 is created, you can install and run your legacy Win98 app in that environment.

If your Hp did not ship with a Recovery disk, and you have erased your Recovery partition, and you didn't create a customized Recovery Disk yourself, you will have to order a replacement Recovery DVD/CD set (it's usually only about $20).

Best of luck
. . . Gary

05-13-2008, 12:52 PM	#1 (permalink)
Phonix56 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 69 OS: Windows XP SP2	Boot setup of '98 gone wrong; Downgraded from Vista. Hello. In an attempt to rid my computer of the unreliable Windows Vista: Home Premium, I've used an old Windows 98 boot-setup CD rom in order to replace Vista with Windows 98. You may be wondering why I've done this, I was facing some compatability issues with certain programs that are required for work, and I had found out Vista wasn't compatible with these applications, so I acted on impulse, found my old Windows 98 boot-setup disks, and now am in a prediciment in which my new laptop won't boot up. The scenario which occured yesterday is as follows; I booted up my new HP G6000 laptop with the Windows 98 boot-setup CD, I removed my previous files, along with my Vista OS, I went through the setup, finished it, then after my first boot-up on my 'new' Windows 98 OS, the screen froze on the startup screen. I'm going to guess this is a compatability issue with my laptop, as I'm unable to access my computer now, so I've thought about installing Windows XP through the use of CD-Rom boot up disks, however I'm not sure how to obtain these, how to make the disks using the correct files, and whether this will work at all. So, I'd like to know the following things: - How to obtain the files for the Windows XP CD-rom bootup disk (so far I've only been able to find the floppy bootup disk files...) - How to create a boot-up CD-rom disk. - Whether any other files are required besides the bootup disk files. - Any other information on this procedure that could be of use. - Any free files I could download in order to burn the backup CD-rom disks. If anyone knows of anything else to get myself out of this prediciment, or if anyone has done this procedure before and could provide information from experience. Thanks to anyone who can help out with this Last edited by Phonix56 : 05-13-2008 at 12:54 PM.

05-14-2008, 06:50 AM	#2 (permalink)
Phonix56 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 69 OS: Windows XP SP2	Re: Boot setup of '98 gone wrong; Downgraded from Vista. Anyone?

05-15-2008, 12:56 AM	#3 (permalink)
OldGrayGary Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Woodland Hills, CA Posts: 1,979 OS: Windows 98se/2000/XP/Vista	Re: Boot setup of '98 gone wrong; Downgraded from Vista. Hi Phonix56 Most likely, the hardware in your new laptop is not compatible with Windows 98. Few recent motherboards can run Windows 98 natively - there just aren't any drivers for the devices on the board. Win98 just wasn't designed for dual-chip cores, cpus faster than 2ghz, etc..... There is a way to run Windows 98 on your new laptop: you can use a "virtual machine" (the newer term for what we used to call "emulation"). Microsoft provides Virtual PC 2007 for Vista users who need to run legacy Win9x/Me apps. It is a free download & has fairly decent help files --- http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...c/default.mspx Use the Hp-supplied Recovery system to restore your PC to it's factory-original state, catch-up with Critical Updates, then download & install Virtual PC and create a virtual Win98 following the instructions provided in the Virtual PC help files. Once the virtual 98 is created, you can install and run your legacy Win98 app in that environment. If your Hp did not ship with a Recovery disk, and you have erased your Recovery partition, and you didn't create a customized Recovery Disk yourself, you will have to order a replacement Recovery DVD/CD set (it's usually only about $20). Best of luck . . . Gary __________________