New OS

I have an older Compaq Presario which I gave to my son.It only has 32mb of memory,which I'm going to uprade to 64mb.The processor is a 300mhz AMD K.The OS is windows98.I want to upgrade to Win98SE.I have a Win98SE cd from another pc,which I upgraded to XP.I inserted the cd into the pc and it started then stopped,saying "there already is an OS installed on this pc,you must use an upgrade cd. "I'm sure there must be a way to uprade using this cd...just not sure how.Is 32mb of memory enough to handle 98SE or should I upgrade that first?I am also assuming this is legal since I upgraded the pc that once had 98SE on it.Is this assumption correct?

 

It will handle it fine. Just got through putting 98SE on a 32mb system, then bumped it to 128. Why not do a clean install?

 

How do I go about a clean install?

 

Well I figured out how to do it on my own with a small problem.I have 2 windows folders.The first is named Windows the 2nd Windows.000.The Windows folder has all the things that were on the pc before.The other folder has the new installation stuff.Now if I click on Start/Programs/Accessories there are some things not listed...games for one....Is there a way to put all the things in the new Windows folder into the old orvice-versa?

 

A clean install is when you format the drive, or wipe it clean. In this process, you will lose all hardware drivers if you do not have them on disk's, and anything else on the C: drive. It is the better way to do it in the long run.
format c:

To get around the "OS already installed" do this command at the dos prompt.
ren c:\windows\win.com win.old
In order to do this, you MUST boot with a floppy, choosing CD rom support, then install windows. Watch the screen for the drive letter for the CD, it will not be the usual letter, may be E: or R:, if all you have is the C: drive.

 

I run Win98 at home, and have Win98se at work. I really don't see any significant differences. Any reason you want to update, or just that you can?

 

Now I see that you got a new problem. You have a new installation of windows, with the old programs not in the registry.
At this point, it would be easier to boot with a start up floppy, and install windows again. Watch for the screen about which folder it will install into, this time it may say C:\Windows.001, change that to C:\Windows. When done, you can delete the C:\Windows.000 folder when windows is running.
Leaving it at C:\Windows.000 will cause some problems down the road. For example, you install a program and it puts something important into C:\Windows or C:\Windows\System, and later when you run the program, this file is not found.

 

Mark...I did do that and the pc froze up after almost completing.I shut it down and it restarted in safe mode.I tried to do the process over and after typing in ren c:\windows\win.com win.old it said bad command...so I shut it down again and when I turned the pc back on it resumed loading 98SE.But when it was done there were missing files.(on the display properties only 16 colors.)So I just inserted the cd and ran setup again and it worked,except for the problem I stated about the start menu.

The reason I want 98SE is because I want to add the pc to a wireless network and the pci card is for 98se and above.I called the support number and asked if it would work and was told maybe,sometimes it does ,sometimes not.Seeing I had a SE cd just figured I'd upgrade it.


Mark...After posting this question originally,I did a search and saw that someone else had asked the same question,and I followed the directions from there.I just looked again and it was you,among others,who answered that post.The post was on Jan 13 or 14 of this year.

 

If all you want is the stuff in the Start Menu at this time, Create New Shortcuts. Or install them again.
Go to the folder where they are located, and right click on the executable and Send To\Desktop as Shortcut. Then grab it off the desktop with the mouse and and drag it over to the Start\Programs\ to wherever you want it and let go of the left mouse button. The Start Menu will open just like you were looking for something to start, just give it a second.
This is only good if the games or whatever do not need to be installed to run.
I take it the video is out of 16 color mode, now. Hopefully this means the hardware drivers have carried over.

 

I tried to open hearts from the old windows folder and it said it couldn't open because of missing files.Can I start over from the beginning again and if so do I use a win98 or win98se boot disk?

 

Yes, you can do it over again. Use the 98SE CD, and start the install by using a startup floppy to boot up the computer.
Bootdisk's
X:\win98\setup, where X is the drive letter for the CD, it will not be the usual letter, may be E or R, watch the screen for a message giving the proper letter.

 

mark...do I now use a win98se or a win98 floppy to boot up?Will this install everything that should come with a pc that has win98se pre-installed?I'm assuming I now use a 98se floppy and don't need to type in ren c:\windows\win.com win.old etc...just X:\win98\setup with the "X" being the specified drive?Will it ask me about installing to windows.000 folder?If so do I install to that folder or the windows folder?...thanks for your help.

 

You will most likely be given the choice again. Choose C:\Windows. Use a 98SE bootdisk.

 

Rackster, you should probably do a clean install.

If your HD is larger than 500 MB then use FAT32. If it already is FAT32 ... just format it and install.

Boot from floppy and key in FDISK now check out what it is.
If it is FAT16, delete the partition and create another as FAT32.
If you created a new partition make sure to set it active.

Exit FDISK and key in FORMAT C: /Q

With the Win98se CD in the drive; key in your CD-ROM drive letter, say E: then key in SETUP

 

Go with 98Se floppy, I have used it to install 95 with no problems.
If you come across the OS message again, yes, would have to rename win.com . The presence of that file from an earler version of windows triggers the message.

 

I reformatted, now when I type in D:SETUP it says " invalid drive specification ". The whole line reads C:\>D:SETUP then when I hit enter it says invalid drive specification. I looked at my cdrom letter before I reformatted and it showed D. Where do I stand now?

 

I looked at my cdrom letter before I reformatted and it showed D

Look back a couple of responses. Your cd may be E now, or something else.

 

Before I reformatted I looked and it said D...I was watching the reformat process and I didn't see anything saying it would change. It just asked if I was sure I wanted to do it and then something about values.It said that could be set to 11...(up to 11?)...or press enter for none....I chose none....after it was complered I tried the D:SETUP....when that didn't work I did try E just to see what would happen but I got the same result.


The pc is still waiting for the next command....don't think I should shut it down!What would happen if I did shut down?

 

Just reboot with the floppy, choose with CD-ROM support, insert the disk and at the prompt, type E:Win98\setup.exe

 

E:Win98\setup.exe

I believe that should be E:\Win98\setup

BB