Computer Help, trying to restore or re-install windows

[Kevin Palmer]

Working on my brother in laws machine. It is Windows 98 (Version SE).



No matter what I do it stops restoring at 22% data copied. Compaq has given me all the help they can. They feel the restore disk(s) are damaged.



Since I have a boot disk, and I own a copy of Windows 98 I figured I's simply re-install Windows 98. But I really do not know how to do it since I do not have control of the CD Rom.



I can put the boot disk in and get the A: prompt.



My question..... What do I do from there?

 

[Tom Schindler]

You have Win98SE full install disk?



If so, stick that in your CD-ROM, configure your BIOS to boot to CD, and go from there.





Tom

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Been so long that I forgot about BIOS. DUH...

 

[Deleted deleted]

If that machine will run XP, I'd sure install that first. Win9x is not very good at detecting hardware, and you may end up spending countless hours trying to find drivers for each piece of hardware.



My old IBM Thinkpad is too slow to run XP, so I had to re-install Win98SE. I couldn't find my IBM disks, so I tried a generic Win98 CD I had. It installed, but left me with most of my hardware devices not detected - important ones like my ethernet card. I spent half a day searching the internet trying to find device drivers that were Win98 compliant.

 

[Gerald Pierce]

CoastieJoe, if you need one, I have an OEM 98SE disk with serial number I will mail you.... free.



Let me know. I bought one to upgrade a dinosaur I had that I wanted to put a wireless card in that was not supported by 98. I loaded SE and still couldn't get it to workso I loaded XP-- still didn't work. Turns out I had an issue with my key in WEP that didn't effect my laptop but did effect the old desktop.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

I will let you know. Fighting this one pretty hard. I realize I am not a programmer but I have fixed literally hundreds of machines.



This one is kicking my butt...



Thanks for the offer...

 

[Bruce Richardson 2]

I had an old machine like that. I ended up having to format and then installing DOS. Once I had DOS installed I could put the Win 98 in the CD and install. I know, I know, that sounds silly, but it was the only way I could gain control of the CD-Rom reliably on that machine....

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Bruce, I am right there right now.



NOTHING is working. Doing a format of it now and then going form there...

 

[Todd Cloutier]

Be careful when reformatting a Compaq. Some of the machines used a hidden partition on the hard drive to store the system BIOS settings instead of storing it on the motherboard. The only way to repair those machines is to use the restore disk. We had a couple at work that were set up like that.

 

[EddieS'04]

Have you tried restoring the system files, running the system file checker utility (sfc.exe)? Compaq stores the windows files in C\windows\options\cabs, folder. I recently restored this w/98 machine that way.

 

[Bruce Richardson 2]

Q,

Your advise is right on normally, but as I stated the particular machine I was working with wouldn't work with the boot disk. Only after I installed DOS would it let me use the CD. I'm guessing it had to do with the particular CD unit in that computer and the Win 98 drivers on the boot disk.

I only threw the suggestion out there as Coastiejoe had already stated that he had tried using the boot disk.



Todd C,

If he doesn't mess with the partitions, he "should" be fine correct?????

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Q, and others. There must be a hard drive issue. I am able to boot from a floppy or CD. The hard drive will not accept the Windows program. Stops loading at 22%.



I have used two different Windows disks and they both stop at 22%.



Going out to get a hard drive...

 

[Gerald Pierce]

Good Luck Kevin..... they are dirt cheap now. I can remember getting a wopping 250mb for 179.00 and thinking it was a steal (and that I would NEVER fill that up!) ROTFLMAO

 

[Tom Schindler]

I say it is a harddrive problem. Try swapping both your HDD's and CD-ROM's IDE cable.



Try installing Win98 off the HDD. Once you are in the C: prompt.



Type this.



MD Win9X



X being your CDROM (whatever the CDROM letter is, odds are it is E: because Win98 Boot Disk loads a RAM DRIVE>



X:

CD/WIN98 <hit enter>

copy *.* C:/win9X <hit enter>



Once the files have been copied then go back to the C prompt and type.



CD/Win9x <hit enter>

setup.exe <hit enter>



See what happens then.





Tom

 

[Tom Schindler]

Maybe it isn't a HDD problem, but actually a CD-ROM drive problem. I have seen that before many times. Another problem just like that was a SCSI controller in the PC. It would load Windows up to like 30% then quit. Removed the SCSI card and it loaded. After the install, I put the SCSI controller back in and it worked perfectly, well...about as perfect as Windows 9X can run.



Yes, you can install Win9X via the HDD. I usually always install it that way.



When I need the Windows disk, it is already there.





Tom

 

[Gerald Pierce]

Coastie-- what was the outcome here?? Did the new hard drive fix the issue?

 

[Kevin Palmer]

New hard drive did it.



I was fighting this one tooth and and nail. Some sort of damage on the drive was the issue.



Thanks all....

 

[Gerald Pierce]

Good to hear.... will file away in the mental notebook!