Max; I typed fdisk/status like you said and this is what it says... Fixed Disk Drive Status Disk Drv Mbytes Free Usage 1 16285 100% C 16065 2 2014 100% (1 MByte=1048576 bytes) MaadhuriMN; I have already tried downloading a new driver for my soundcard and that didn't work although I didn't take the old driver out like you said and then do another one. If I ever get Windows to come back on then I will try that for my soundcard. Thanks for the advice. Jennifer

0

It looks like you have a good partition. I'm not sure what to say about the win98 install failing. If you post the `exact' error message you get, it `'might' help.

0

drew; I type F:\SETUP then it asks if I want to continue, and I say yes then it goes to... Please wait while Setup intializes. Scanning system registry.... Windows Setup requires 7340032 by and the computer does nothing else, I mean nothing I waited a long time on it to do something this morning, but nothing. Jennifer

0

Jennifer, I did a search on "Windows Setup requires 7340032" and didn't get any hits. That's really surprising. I have never entered an error message befoe and not gotten any hits at all. Are you sure that you got the message right? At this point I'm aminclined to think that you have to start from scratch. Delete all partitions, recreate a Primary `Active' partition, format and try the install again. But I would wait for other suggestions first.

0

This gives more info than fdisk/status: Boot from the bootdisk again and run fdisk, Y to large disk support, then option 4. Exactly what does it say?

0

Hate to tell you this but i'm sure you just " low level formated " your drive. Initialize is the old dos command for low level format. I'm almost positive MAX has figured it out and you are toast as far as saving files. I may be wrong on this one but i'm leaning on MAX's responce. Hope you find an easy solution on your own that no one has figured out. That will be good experience for you. Good luck. computer solutions

0

DAVEINCAPS; I did fdisk again ond went to option 4 it reads... Display Partition Information Current fixed disk drive:1 Partition-Status-Type- 1----------------Non-Dos C:2-------A------Pri Dos Volume Label-Mbytes- -------------16285 -------------16065 System---Usage ---------100% unknown--99% (1 Mbyte=1048576 bytes) Jennifer

0

That's an odd one. The 'unknown' under system indicates c: isn't formatted. Do this, boot from the bootdisk again then at the a:\> prompt type: dir c: and enter. What does it say. I think you'll get an error message. Normally the percentages under 'usage' should add up to 100% but yours don't. I don't know what's up with that unless the non-dos partition is affecting it. And I don't know why you have a non-dos partition. Do you know if the drive is compressed or uses a drive overlay? Or is it a compaq computer? Also do you know what size the HD is? It looks to be either 16 or 32 gig depending on how the 'usage' is interpreted.

0

DAVEINCAPS; I typed dir c: and it reads... Invalid media type reading deive C Abort, Retry, Fail? I don't know if the drive is compressed or uses an overlay. And no it's not a Compaq it is a Pentium III. The gig size of the HD is 17. Jennifer

0

Yeah, that's the error you get if you try to access an unformatted drive. In one of your previous posts above you said you ran fdisk. If you chose option 3 to remove a partition and then recreate it, you've lost the info on it. Removing a partition also removes the formatting. Then when you recreate the partition you have to format it. You may as well format c: as there's no practical or inexpensive way to recover it. So boot from the bootdisk and at the a:\> prompt type: format c: and enter. Post back the size it says it's formatting. I think maybe the non-dos partition is only about 200 meg but we'll know for sure by seeing how big c: is. Also do you have a second hard drive connected? I noticed the fdisk/status said something about a second drive being 2014 meg.

0

It says it is formatting 16,06 M Yes I do have a second hard drive connected. I think it is a 16 gig. What do I do after the format is complete?

0

Then reinstall windows. Boot from the bootdisk, choose cdrom support, then at the a:\> prompt type: d:\setup and enter, where d: is your cdrom drive letter. It may be e: as most bootdisks create a temporary ram drive as d:. You'll just have to see what works for you. The non-dos partition is small and you may as well leave it alone. At some point you may want to run fdisk again, Y to large disk support, option 5 to change to a different drive, 2 to change to the second drive, then option 4 to display the drive information. Post back the info and we can tell you what size it is and how it's partitioned. Be sure you don't use option 3 as you don't want to remove any of the partitions.

0

Well actually the cdrom drive letter may be higher than e: since you've got a second hard drive. You might want to try f: and g: also.

0

Got it back on now.. everything is gone having to start over from scratch. Now I'm having a problem with the display settings on my monitor. all I get is 16 colors and it's driving me nuts.. does it ever end?

0

Hi Jennifer Now you have to install your video card drivers. If you don't know what video card you have, you'll have to open the case and look at the card, and find make and model...and then download appropriate drivers. Good luck Krystyna

0

Hi Krystyna. Did you ever get the recycle bin thing figured out? Jennifer, if it's on-board video the drivers will be at the motherboard manufacturer's site. If you can't get it figured out, post back the card info. A lot of people here are adept at finding drivers. I'll check back tomorrow.

0

Thanks a lot everyone. I went and downloaded an intel graphics driver and it all works fine now. Thanks again. Now I have to go start over on installing all my programs that I lost. Jennifer

0

We're glad you got it going. I hope you don't have too much trouble reinstalling your software. In the future you might want to consider keeping a copy of your data on CD or the other HD. That way if your system crashes again and you have to reinstall, at least you'll still have your documents and other data.

0