Windows 98se Critical Updates -> Tommorrow???

We should worry if we plan to stay with 98se.

I recently had to reformat my C:\ drive and reinstall Win95 with an overinstall of Win98se. This left me with the question of what happened with the critical updates. They were not automatically reinstalled on my ancient version of Win 98se.

I logged in to Microsoft's Update site and made the recommended critical updates to Windows and IE 6.0. I then mentally compared those updates with my old history and realized that the number of them was drastically reduced.

I learned how to read the old history files from my backup tapes and I compared the new and old histories date and title to date and title. The new history came up with the short stick. A significant number of critical updates that were listed in my old history were missing from the new history.

I went to Microsoft and searched for the missing titles. They were not to be found! In fact I had titles as old as 1997. The current crop on Microsoft's site do not list any critical updates that old.

Now what do you suppose happened to the missing Critical updates?? What happens if I again have to format my C:\ drive?

Is there anyone out there that saw this coming and downloaded all of the update files to their hard drive before installing them? One would think that some systems adminstrator would have done this so that uniformity would reign amoung the multitude of Windows systems they administered. Can we of little foresight gain access to this wealth?

Rod

 

I suspect that if you install all of the updates posted, you'll have all of the ones you had before. My guess is that a lot of those older updates are included in newer ones. Over the years MS has issued a lot of cumulative updates. These are updates that include all past updates plus new ones. An example of one of these for IE can be seen in Arie's post here .

 

If I understand correctly you installed 95 and then 98SE over it.

My question is; Why did you install 95 first ? It is not necessary.

All you should have needed the 95 CD for is proof of ownership of a previous version of Windows.

Or am I missing something ?

BillyBob

 

I agree with BillyBob, you'd have a much better running system doing a clean install of 98, rather than upgrade a clean install of 95. You'll have a lot less unneeded entries left over in the registry, and you will be guaranteed to have all the 98Se files. I have noticed if you upgrade 95 to 98SE, especially inside of windows, you'll end up with a lot of old 95 files that were not updated.

 

I just wanted to make sure that my version path was the same as in previous history so I followed my original software upgrade path. If I have to do it again I'll try the 98se direct path and see what happens.

The only thing that I have found that is significantly different is that I cannot utilize my Verisign digital ID now. I had no problems with it before. Here Verisign's instructions for installation (renewal) includes references to screens and controls that I cannot find in my current menu trees. I follow them for a couple of levels into the menu tree and then bang (no correspondance between the instructions and the screens). Verisign says its a Microsoft problem. I wonder if its an update problem. Microsoft's Control panel says that I have the ID installed on the machine but I cannot enable it for use.

As to the cumulative updates, I cannot be sure that Microsoft always labels cumulative updates 'cumulative' but they appear to do so. In the case of my Verisign problem it would seem to rest in the IE software which has always been labeled 'cumulative'.

I'm still looking for my 'missing' updates.

 

There may be some 95 files messing things up. Especially as markp62 pointed out you ran the 98SE install from within Windows. You do not get a good clean install that way.
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I would suggest making a 98SE startup floppy. Go to Control Panel and select add/remove to make one. If you do not have one.

Boot to it and re-install 98SE FROM DOS.

Put the 98SE CD in the drive.

Change to the Win98 floder on the CD and run SETUP.

After running setup make sure that Windows goes into the EXISTNG folder.

This way SE WILL overwrite everything with its own files.

This is also the better way to install/re-install Windows. Booting from the Hard drive ( even a clean one ) there is a possibility of stuff loading from the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat that messes up the install.

If installing to a clean drive. Make a floder and copy the files from the Win98 folder on the CD to it. Boot to the floppy and run setup from the folder on the HD.

I would not sugest making the folder and copying file now unless you want to format again. SE already has files on the HD and you do not need them in two places.

BillyBob