Clean install on formatted drive

Hope someone has solved this one before.

I have recently assembled a new computer system from parts (SOYO MB, AMD Sempron) and am using a new Seagate HDD (40 gig). I have FDisked and Formatted the drive with Win 98 boot disk, but when I try to install Win 98, it asks to reformat the drive. After it has done this, Win 98 says it can't complete the format.

I've used Seagate's Disc Wizard for DOS to repartition and reformat, but still Win 98 won't install. Says it needs to format the disk, then after formatting, says it can't complete formatting the HDD.

I know the HDD is OK as I checked it with several different disc utilities and it passed all tests.

Any suggestions? I've done all the methods I know.

 

Hi and welcome to the BBS,

Suggest you recheck the jumper settings. To install Win98, the drive should be set to master on the primary IDE. (The C: drive will be also need to be set as an active partition).
It is an IDE drive configuration? Any other HDDs?

Matt

 

Matt,
Thanks for the suggestions. I'd already done all you suggested. Problem seems to be with something in the format of the clean HD. A user on WUGNET suggested a way to work around this as I only needed WIN98 for my WIN XP upgrade.

He says I can start with the partitioned and formated drive, start to install the WIN XP upgrade, then put the WIN 98 CD in the CD drive when it asks for a previous version of Windows. Hopefully, WIN XP will be able to format the HD to whatever system (FAT32 or NTSP??) it wants.

I do have a second, older HD for backup, but it seems to be OK and is not needed for the new WIN install. No problems in BIOS with configuration of the drives.

Many thanks
hjpete

 

Those error messages would ring alarm bells for ME.
The fellow should be right about not having to install 98 first, although if XP seemed to install correctly, I might be concerned that "little" unexplained problems may show up now and then.

I would disconnect the second HDD until you get Windows up and running.

If the BIOS has "Autodetect hard drives ", run that whenever you connect a drive or change the configuration.

Get the Seagate "SeaTools" and check the drive.

If any problems came up during the installation of XP, I think I would run a low-level (zero) format on the drive to start afresh. That may save a lot of time (and hair-pulling) in the future.

Matt

 

Something else to investigate. Could the old HDD have a Dynamic Drive Overlay installed (Ontrack Disk Manager or Maxtor EZ-BIOS)? That could cause all sorts of setup problems

Matt

 

Thanks to all. Some excellent suggestions. I had done a low format earlier, but subsequently re-partitioned and reformatted a couple of times and ways. Have also run DiscWizard and several other manufacturer's tools. All OK, but WIN98 doesn't think so! Am awaiting a reply from Seagate Tech support, but probably going back to a new low format and starting from scratch will be the final answer.

This time I have some ways to work around a full WIN98 install as I'm just trying to be able to install the WIN XP upgrade that wants evidence of an earlier version of Windows.

Frustrating, but all a good learning experience. If I couldn't laugh, I'd probably try to throw myself on a rapidly spinning hard drive!

Thanks again to all. I'll let you know in a day or two what worked, if anything does!

hjpete

 

Something worked

Have finally solved (Almost!) the problem I was having trying to install a WIN XP UPGRADE on a new, clean HDD. Not exactly sure what caused the confusion between WIN 98 and XP but think it had something to do with the differences between FAT 32 and NTFS file systems. Whatever it was, WIN 98 would not format the drive.

Eventual solution involved a quick low format (first 63 sectors zeroed), then letting WIN XP CD partition drive to NTFS. I skipped the WIN 98/Fat 32 step I had used before, and all went OK.

Just one small (8 gigabyte) problem! WIN XP created a 32 gig (aprox.) partition on a 40 gig hard drive. Don't know what happened to the other 8 gigs. Anyone got any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks again for all the earlier help.

hjpete

 

There is probably a jumper on the drive to limit it's size to 32gb, you could check that. That jumper is for when the BIOS cannot recognise a drive over 32gb, a size limitation in older motherboard BIOSes.

The Seagate SeaTools program may tell you the most about how the drive is set up. http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools

Matt