Building a computer

andrew8485 · 05-25-2003, 11:47 AM

hello i have a ibm computer that has windows 95 operation systems but i want it to have windows 98. But i want to remove all the programs in the computer and start from scrach but how do i do this. because i do not know what hardware is installed in the computer. i tried a search but could not find relevent info. I have another computer dell with windows 98 and it has a recover disk and i thought i could use that but i did not know if it would work because of diferent types of drives. would i be able to put the dell recovery disk in the ibm and manually change the drives over thanks for all your help.

cooljavy · 05-25-2003, 04:14 PM

i think the win 98 disk will work. Just put the disk in the floppy drive and boot the computer. when you get to the A:\ prompt type: format C:
this will format/erase the hard drive. just make sure you have a ackup of your files/programs, they will be gone when you format the drive.
After taht is complete, just insert the win 98 cd rom and your computer will guide through the process.

GezusK · 05-25-2003, 05:40 PM

Make a Win98 boot disk. Go to Control Panel, then Add/Remove Programs. It's the last tab, might be called system disk....been a while since I've been in Win98. You'll use that to boot from, format, then use your CD to install Win98.

Unibomber · 05-25-2003, 08:02 PM

http://bootdisk.com

go to the win98 section and get the win98 se with all the features

it will ask for a blank disk and it will make ya a boot disk

andrew8485 · 05-25-2003, 08:24 PM

If i make a bootdisk and use it will i have to reinstall windows

ODYSSEY · 05-25-2003, 09:28 PM

You do have a Win98 CD? Most recover disks are locked to computer/brand/model.

Also if your Win98 CD is bootable and your CD-ROM supports bootable CDs, then you can bypass the boot disk.

andrew8485 · 05-25-2003, 09:42 PM

Ok one last question. First off the computer i have now is a IBM with windows 98 and i have a dell and came with several cds one to just to install windows me and one for devices so here is my question i want to remove win 98 from my ibm and put in windows me what i under stand is a bootdisk makes the harddrive newly formated but will i use a windows 98 or a windows ME bootdisk? thanks
i can't tell you guys how much i aprisiate you helping me

cooljavy · 05-25-2003, 10:33 PM

if the computer has win 98 loaded on it, then you should use win 98 boot disk, but you know the win ME bootdisk would do the trick also. A bootdisk is just a small version of DOS wich is another operative system (as Windows) that gives you control of the computer and its components.
If the windows ME came with the dell computer, you might have problems installing ME in a different machine than the one that came with the software originally. But you could be lucky, I just installed win 98 from a Gateway in my HP, who knows, give it a try and you will find out. Jus make sure that you backed up your files before trying anything

DodgeCummins · 05-26-2003, 09:47 AM

The recover CDs may or may not work for you.

If there is a folder labled win98 and inside it has .CAB files, and you have the win98 serial number,

You should be able to boot from the already mentioned floppy disk, then go to the cd directory and run setup.exe

...hopefully that helps a bit.

andrew8485 · 05-26-2003, 03:50 PM

Sorry for the mix up i found the bootdisk that came with the computer and the computer is a win 95 and i put it in and now it says bootdisk failure will not do any thing i tried removing the disk and restarting it but won't do any thing
thanks once again

andrew8485 · 05-26-2003, 04:38 PM

ok i found out what was wrong the A drive/ floppy drive is not working so is there any way i can make the computer not look for a drive when booting up then i will make a boot disk on a cd thanks

cooljavy · 05-26-2003, 09:53 PM

I never tried booting from a CD, so do not know if it will work, but if you want to disable the floppy drive that has to be done in the bios settings

andrew8485 · 05-27-2003, 06:35 AM

Ok this computer i am working on i want to throw out the window. when you go to start it up it scans memory, cpu, cd, and then it says floppy disk fail (40). and won't take a boot disk or windows instalation disk i tried several. what do you think is wrong, thanks

andrew8485 · 05-27-2003, 06:40 AM

sorry for buggin you but i cant even type in a code like A:fdisk.ect if you know what i mean thanks

Rob Withey · 05-27-2003, 06:49 AM

Physically disconnect the floppy drive from the machine. Disable it in the bios and reboot. You should be able to get into the bios even if the drive is bad.

Or find a floppy drive that works - they are very cheap to buy if you don't have one.

Rob