Reformat and Clean Install Win 98

Last year I came on this board for the first time, I wanted help to reformat and reinstall windows on my husbands computer. With the HELP OF MANY I put together a step by step instruction list. I will admit it was a bit confusing having half a dozen people trying to give me instructions at the same time, but I pieced their help togetherand came up with my step by step instructions. These I look back on when I am out helping my friends with their computers. If anyone would like this instruction list email me on the link below and I will send it out to you.
Stitch

 

Reinstall windows 98

I would really appreciate it if you could email me the instructions on how to reinstall windows 98 on my computer.I am pretty new at this stuff so step by step instructions would be very helpful to me Thank You
debbie.perreault@sympatico.ca

 

debbiep, Welcome to WindowBBS!

I highly recommend you remove your email address from your post. That is advertising it to the whole world and asking for tons of spam. Better to send stitch a private message with the necessary information. Just click the edit button on your post, remove it and click save changes.

 

Hi Debbiep
Copy and paste these instructions in to word or word pad then you will have them for future reference. I typed up instructions given to me from many people here on the board, and put them together in one doc to make it easier. Hope they help you.

I also agree with noahdfear, please dont put your email address on a post you should be able to contact anyone on the board through the private messages facility.
Stitch
Windows 98 Reformat and Clean Install
WARNING THIS WILL DELETE ANYTHING ON YOUR HARD DRIVE
BACK UP YOUR FILES FIRST.
1. Insert windows boot disk and reboot.

2. When the start up menu is displayed select "Start computer without CD-Rom support.

3. At A:\ type Fdisk (enter).

4. At next prompt "Do you wish to enable large disk support(Y/N)?

Select "Y" for large disk support. Press enter

5. After you hit enter, the Fdisk options menu is displayed.
Press 3 to delete primary dos partition. Press enter
Press 1 to delete ????????????partition Press enter
6. Pres esc to return to bios
Select no 1 to create a DOS partition or Logical DOS Drive, then (Enter)

Press 1 to create a Primary DOS partition (Enter)

7. After last command you will recieve this prompt:
"Do you wish to use the maximum available size for primary DOS partition? (Y) (Enter)

8. You then get a message "You must reboot for settings to take effect "
CNTL, ALT, DEL and let reboot. (with the floppy still in) when reboot is done
9. chose "Start up without CD-Rom Support "

Formatting:

10. after system is rebooted at the A:\ prompt type " format C: " (with out the " ")
11. You will then see the message " WARNING, ALL DATA WILL BE LOST" PRESS " y "

After formatting is done you can enter a name for the drive at the lower right hand corner of the screen
or leave blank and name later.
12. Reboot CNTL, ALT, DEL (with the floppy still in) this time when reboot is done choose
"Start up with CD-Rom Support "

13 from the A:\ prompt type C:

14.. Now you are at the C prompt type in Setup then press (Enter)
15. then again press (Enter) to let it do a check on systems
16. Press X to continue with setup.
17. Follow all further instructions from windows

 

Stitch:

I'm not trying to slam you here and its a helpful post, provided that your readers carry that 98CD in their back pocket for the rest of their computer's active life. You might want to add the steps necessary to make a folder on the system drive, copy Win98 to it and do the install from their hard drive.

 

EXCELLENT idea other than making the folder on the system drive. ( I am assumming that you mean the partition with the OS on it ) Also with the files on the HD if the CDROM takes a trip South ( or gets mis-placed as mine has ) any old disk that will boot the machine will work.

Make at least a 2nd partition and copy the Files from the Win98 folder on the CD into a folder on it ( I use options ) and run setup from there.

And also keep everything else possible on the 2nd ( or higher ) partition. I do not care to even think about what I would lose ( especially downloaded stuff ) if I did not have it on a partition other than C:

BillyBob

 

Not 100% sure but believe typing "setup" at a freshly formatted (ie; empty) HDD(harddrive) will only produce a "bad command" or an error message, as there is no software to understand the command, installed on C:
To correct this I would recommend the following:
--at step #10 A:\ type "format c: /s" hit enter,note space between colon and forward slash and don't use " " marks. This will copy system files to c:\ after formatting, so some commands will work.
Agree with Rockster2U, to do as he says:
--after step #13 would add step #13a, at C:\ type "mkdir win98" hit enter,(this will create a directory/folder named win98 on your c: drive)
--add step #13b find your CD-Rom drive (if you have one partition/one HDD this should be E:\ (D:\ will be your "virtual harddrive" at this point) now at your C:\ prompt, type E: (enter),
at the E:\ type "copy win98 c:\win98" (enter) (this will copy the everything in the win98 folder from the CD to your HDD) when its finished copying files, type C: (enter)to bring you back to your HDD, and continue with step #14
Hope this helps!

 

That is excatly what I am against.

That is putting the setup files on the OS drive WHERE they can be lost if the C: drive goes down in a heap or needs to be formated.

Make a second partition which will be D: Change to D: and type MD Opitons ( or name of your choice. )

Then from whatever the letter the CDROM is ( I think it would be F: in this case if a 98 SUD was used.) type copy F:\Win98\*.* d:\options.

Then you will be able to run SETUP from that folder ( d:\options\setup ) at anytime. Whether you boot for the HD or a floppy.

BillyBob

 

BillyBob, point well taken, and good idea. On the other hand I believe Stitch was trying to create as "simple" (easy) of a list as possible?

 

Thank you

But the EASIEST way is not always the best in the end.

It may be easy to start but Tough and time consumming ( VERY ) later. Especailly if things as important as the Windows setup files get lost.

Along with the Win98 setup files I myself have NOTHING ( or very little ) other than the OS on the C: Drive.

BillyBob

 

Darn !!

Part of what I wrote did not make the board.

Over the years I have found that taking a bit more time to set up the HDs etc. BEFORE adding the OS may well pay off BIG TIME later.

Just like most other things in life, getting in a hurry can cause much time to be wasted later.

I do not want to even think about the MANY, MANY hours and files that I would ( and did at one time ) lose if I did not have more than one partition to store them on. I have one partition ( H: ) that has NOTHING but downloaded stuff and backups on it. And this is not just on one machine but all three ( 3 )

BillyBob

 

I appreciate the info on these posts, but at the same time have no idea
why it becomes necessary to do this at all. Nowadays, there are many apps
that will keep your HW/SW in good working condition and restore defective
items including the whole of your root drive if necessary.
If you carefully ascertain and implement your backup needs, you will never
need to reformat/new-install your current OS on the the root HDD.
regards

 

Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other. Personally, I'm with Merlin in terms of how I do things but I have images of evey machine and run automated data backups of specific files and folders on an ongoing basis. And, I'm using more than one hard drive. Single drive systems - Its tough to argue against that modest, soft-spoken, unassuming youngster's partition disseration from upstate NY.

Regardless, Stitch needs to head back to school and yes, TJ-IT, she would come up S-O-L typing [setup] at her C prompt. (I'm not a DOS guy but md is less typing than mkdir)

 

This might help

Getting Ready to Format and Install Windows


Insert windows boot disk and reboot.

When the start up menu is displayed select "Start computer without CD-Rom support.

At A:\ type Fdisk (enter).

At next prompt "Do you wish to enable large disk support(Y/N)?

Select "Y" for large disk support.

After you hit enter, the Fdisk options menu is displayed. Press 1 to create a DOS partition or Logical DOS Drive, then (Enter)

Press 1 to create a Primary DOS partition (Enter)

After last command you will recieve this prompt:
"Do you wish to use the maximum available size for primary DOS partition? (Y) (Enter)

You then get a message "You must reboot for settings to take effect "
CNTL, ALT, DEL and let reboot. (with the floppy still in) when reboot is done
chose "Start up without CD-Rom Support "

Formatting:

after system is rebooted at the A:\ prompt type " format C: " (with out the " ")
You will then see the message " WARNING, ALL DATA WILL BE LOST" PRESS " y "

After formatting is dont you can enter a name for the drive at the lower right hand corner of the screen or leave blank and name later.

Reboot CNTL, ALT, DEL (with the floppy still in) this time when reboot is done choose
"Start up with CD-Rom Support "

At this point after reboot I like to make a directory to copy all files needed from Windows CD to install from HDD. This way my CD is in safe place never to be damaged. If you would like to do this you can at this point:

Insert CD into CD-Rom Drive and at the A:\ type MD C:\Win98 and hit (Enter)

Then type Copy E:\Win98\*.* C:\Win98 (Enter)
Once the files are done copying from the A:\ prompt type C:

Now you are at the C: prompt and have 2 choices, you can either reboot with the CD-Rom in and let install from the CD-Rom drive or you can put it away and run the Directory you just made and install from there.

To install from C: type CD C:\win98 (Enter)
then again type Setup (Enter)

And your off to the races Windows should be installing now

Note: These instructions are for FAT32 System

 

- Rockster
Hi all, I don't think these choices are a 50-50 toss up.
If I formatted and reinstalled the OS, I would have x months work installing
and tuning the many, many useful apps I have.
Keep the OS clean and save the disk regularly. If you only have 1 disk,
buy a second one and Drive Image also - these things are cheap nowadays
and can save you many hassles and time. If for any reason I could not boot these PCs, I can be up and running again within 15 minutes.
regards

 

Its enough of a toss up that this could (and probably will) be argued all day with no clear resolution. In my book - whatever blows your skirt up is the right way for you but that isn't going to cut it in some circles.

Personally, I'm like you - I throw most all of my programs on one drive, one partition along with the OS. And, I make regular image file backups - yes, it can be a lot of CD's or a few DVD's but it's pretty easy. I also do quite a few unique things re: backups and I'm pretty well covered in most all situations. i don't like to and can't afford to lose things.

However, when I do lose a machine I prefer to bring it all back from scratch and it can be very time consuming, even when you've got all of your bases covered. This is where the Billy Bob approach makes a lot more sense (unless you have catastrophic drive failure) because you are basically throwing just the OS back on its own partition. I can't argue against that.

So, at the end of the day, what do you have?