Merlyn2009

To begin, I am a bit of a computer amateur (although, not a complete novice) and very far from home. Here's what I have and must humbly request the forum's help with:

One clean copy of Win98 SE with COA, floppy boot up disk and the 98 Install CD.

One Dell Latitude L400 laptop (700 mHz) with no OS installed and the option to connect (via SCSI, I think?) either an external CDRom or Floppy. Even without the OS, the laptop recognizes both external devices. The laptop has one USB port as well.

I have both the CD and the Floppy, but obvioulsy the install disk wants access to both at the same time to perform the install. Is there a way to make this work with the parts i have on hand?

Thanks so much for your help!

kev1952

If it boots from one of the CDs then you only need the CD drive. You will be prompted when (and if) to change the disk. You can find the manuals for this machine here.

Merlyn2009

I've tried to boot up from the disk by simply turning the computer on with the Win98SE OS disk in the drive. The CD drive definitely turns on and spins the disk, but then it goes through the "pre-boot" environment and eventually informs me "Operating System not found." Is there something I am failing to do?

Is there something I should adjust in the BIOS (which have been reset to Factory Default)?

At one point, the computer gives me the chance to press "Ctrl-Alt-B" to enter the Boot Configuration Menu. Not alot of options in there, but these are the details:

Boot Method: PXE

Config Message: Enabled
Message Timeout: 3 seconds
Boot Failure Prompt: Wait for timeout
Boot Failure: Next boot device

Any thoughts or advice? Thanks!

kev1952

You will need to set the CD as the first boot device in BIOS setup (unlikely you will have a boot menu function as with newer systems). The menu you got into is to setup a network boot which doesn't apply here. The 98 disk may or may not be bootable - some were and some were not.

LoveableJunkie

If your laptop doesn't support booting from the CD drive, boot from a Windows 98SE bootdisk (NOT the setup disk), at the command line type "SYS C:", (Make sure the bootdisk has SYS on it,) your hard drive can now boot. Now swap the boot disk for the 98 Setup disk, copy the entire contents of the disk to the root directory, (type "COPY *.* C:\) then turn off the laptop, and plug your CD drive. Your hard drive will then basically be the setup disk, and you should be able to setup Windows as normal, it worked for me when I need to install OS/2 Warp 4 on my laptop anyway :)

kev1952

Well spotted! I never even thought of that (and it may well work). The only problem I could see is that the CD may not be readable without drivers installed.

Merlyn2009

Great news!

In my rummaging about, I found a second connection cable and was able to have the CDRom and the floppy spinning at the same time. I managed to upload the new OS and its working flawlessly! Now, I have some obnoxious follow up questions:

How do I connect this little guy to the internet? It seems to want a dial up modem, but I have an ethernet/wireless internet hub ready to go. Is there a recommended program that will allow my vintage computer to log in to the internet in a more modern fashion? Further, there seems to be a slot where my wireless card could fit (of course I’ve got to figure out a way to get the drivers loaded on… ), will this old system support a modern wireless card?

There is an Ethernet port on the back of the machine, but my nice yellow Ethernet cable does not seem to lock into it. It will stay put, but if I tug on the cable a bit, it just slides right out. Am I using the wrong Ethernet cable?

My graphics only go to 16 colors – is there a way to get it up to 32 colors? I don’t want the moon, but I don’t think wanting 32 colors is too much to ask. If it requires a new graphics card, could you recommend one that would not overtax the machine?

Thanks for all the genius!

kev1952

Glad to hear it!

You're now really pushing your luck! It should support a PCMCIA wireless adapter that you could use to connect to the hub (and therefore the net). Drivers shouldn't be too hard to get and would be supplied if you bought a new card.

As for the graphics - you will likely have to increase the amount of system RAM you have. When you boot the machine go into BIOS setup and look for an item that specifies the amount of graphics (VGA) RAM you have allocated. You can probably increase that (16 meg should do) and then you would be able to go to at least 16 bit color and possibly higher. You will also need the 98 drivers for all the devices in the machine (including video) and you can get them all here.

Have fun with it!

Jlp1928

Hi Merlyn,

That ethernet cable that wont stay in probably has a damage locking lever or it's broken off. If distorted try bending it gently up a bit. If missing go get a new cable.

Good Luck, Jim

blah789

Here are the drivers for the Latitude L400
http://support.dell.com/support/down...g=en&TabIndex=
Install the drivers only for the devices you need (if stuff has been swapped or removed, don't bother installing the drivers (though it won't harm if you try) - but definitely DON'T install the firmware).
Obviously since you're not connected to the internet, maybe burn all the drivers to a CD-R (permanently) and use the CD to install them. For example after you install the graphics drivers, you'll be able to see more than 16 colors on 640x480.
BTW what you were requesting is 32-BIT color. 16 colors = 2^4 = 4-bit (though not written like that in display properties). 256 colors = 8 bit. 65,536 colors = 16-bit. 16,777,216 colors = 24-bit (pretty close to what the human eye can distinguish). And 4,294,967,296 colors = 32-bit.
Also modem and dial-up will work once you install the drivers.

As for ethernet cables they're so cheap these days (if you go to the right place). Are you certain you're not trying to plug a telephone plug (RJ-11) into an ethernet slot(RJ-45)? They're not the same size nor compatible: ethernet is bigger and wider.

As for wireless I don't know how much support for it Windows 98 has.

Merlyn2009

Folks, i just can't thank you enough. I've downloaded drivers to update my graphics (32-bit now and looking great), audio and ethernet card. The last item of interest before I'm on my way to happy (vintage) computing, is using a flash drive in my one little USB port. I tried generic plug and play and it wouldn't work. Is there a general driver that would work for me? Cheers!

Merlyn2009

Whoops, spoke too soon. When i plug directly into the laptop's ethernet port from my internet hub, the machine does not recognize an internet connection. Further, I can't seem to find the correct driver to run my PCI ethernet controller. I looked on the Dell website and on the Win98SE OS Installation disk and can't figure it out. Can anyone identify the actual driver i need to allow me to connect to the internet through the ethernet port. I may be looking right at it and not realize... Thanks!

blah789

For the USB flash drive you'll need the USB mass storage driver (Microsoft didn't provide one):
http://www.technical-assistance.co.uk/kb/usbmsd98.php

The only LAN driver among the ones I see that seems integrated (aka not CardBus) is the 3Com 3C920. You can try that one on the Dell drivers download page link posted earlier. If it doesn't work, try Unknown Device Identifier
http://www.zhangduo.com/udi.html

Now how do you connect to the internet? Do you use PPPoE? AKA do you "dial up" (type in a name and password)? If so, get RASPPPoE 0.98b: http://www.raspppoe.com/ (get back to us if you're having difficulty installing it). If you succeed at getting RASPPPoE to work, as soon as you get on the internet go here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/243199 and download the patch. Windows 98SE has a bug that can cause it to hang when connected to the internet via RASPPPoE, and that patch fixes that.

If you manage to get on the internet, first thing to do would be go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com to get all those patches for Windows 98.