If I use the command "Format c: /S" I can re-format my HDD and re-install Win2000 or WinXP without a boot disk. But if I want to install Win98 using this process is there any way to do it without a boot disk?

You don't need to use any commands prior to booting to a Win2000 or XP CD. You can reformat as part of the installation process then and there.

Some version of Win98se are bootable and require no boot floppy, others aren't. If you are working with a disk previosly formatted with NTFS then even the bootable Win98se CD will not be able to format the partition. You would need something like delpart to remove the NTFS partition.

... you could copy the win98 folder + contents to the hard drive.

... as the drive sys's up you can run setup
from within the folder by typing:

CD win98 [press ENTER]

smartdrv [ENTER]

setup [ENTER]

*************************
... OR/

... after sys'ing (/s)the drive copy:

HIMEM.SYS
atapmgr.sys
oakcdrom.sys
mscdex.exe

autoexec.bat
config.sys

to the hard drive

... autoexec.bat need only read:

echo off
cls
mscdex /D:cdromdrv /L:Z
echo.
echo.
echo.
echo.
echo *** YOUR CDROM DRIVE IS Z: ***
echo.
echo.

:EXIT

********

... config.sys to read:

DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS
Device=atapmgr.sys
DEVICE=oakcdrom.sys /D:cdromdrv

********************
HIMEM.SYS
atapmgr.sys ... here:

http://imageeasy.com/upload/out.php...

... others here:

http://www.hiren.info/downloads/dos...

Grrrr
wat do I know?
... got brain freeze

"Some version of Win98se are bootable and require no boot floppy, others aren't."

I thought all 98 SE CD'S was bootable? My 98 1st and SE are both bootable. But when i reinstall 98 i use a special bootdisk. This disk put a Win98 folder in the C drive that way if you install certin hardware and don't have your 98 CD handy it gets the files out of the Win 98 folder.
Here it is i put it on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIlQ...

Thanks

OtheHill - Here's the situation: I'm at a friend's house and all he has is a Win98SE system disk - no boot disk and no way to get one. I want to erase the HDD and re-install Win98, so I use the "format C: /S" command. So now I have a computer with a clean HDD, i.e., no operating system, no way to input all the good data MAVIS07 provided! How do I install the O.S.? How can I tell if his system disk is bootable? I assume you mean "bootable" the way a WinXP is bootable, i.e., doesn't require a boot disk.

All you need do is set the CD drive before the harddrive and ty the CD. If the installation starts you can cancel if you aren't ready to proceed. Watch for a screen stating press any key to boot from CD.

"I thought all 98 SE CD'S was bootable?"

Personally, I've never encountered a bootable Win98 CD...I've always had to use a boot floppy to get things going.

Does the system you're working on have a floppy drive? If so, just download the file needed to create a boot floppy from bootdisk.com.

Why did you (or he) feel a format/reinstall was necessary in the 1st place?

My copy of Win98se IS bootable. It is an OEM version. I think they may be the only ones that are bootable.

http://tinyurl.com/63oz

http://www.bootdisk.com/

Jam - the computer in question had been ravaged by his three kids. Besides, it was about six years old and was due for a major overhaul. The day I was at his house we considered doing the HDD reformat but were stuck over the question of how to re-install the O.S., which, by the way, wasn't an OEM version. I think I will permanently keep a boot disk in my truck for future situations like this. Thanx for everyone's inputs.

six year old computer + ten year old OS=prediction, next question

I'm stuck at 16 colors, my sound does not work & I can not get on the internet.
How can I fix this?

larry

larryf215

You need to start your own thread here.

I don't think larry is asking questions for himself...he's predicting what the next few questions will be from the OP

Thanks jam, I read right by that next question part.

sky42, you obviously have internet access. Why make thing complicated. The answer to this whole exercise would be to download from wherever you can and save to portable media.

If this is just a theorical exercise then say so.

OtheHill - quite the contrary, this is a scenario I face often enough to justify this question. As I stated in my second post, my friend had no way to download and create a boot file, no floppy disk, no CD-ROM disk and no writeable CD-ROM drive. At least he still had the system disk! Now, if there is a way to download a boot file to the HDD and use it to re-install Win98 please let me know. By the way, I really appreciate all the good info available from this forum. I'm slowly learning a lot about computers but without any formal training I have to rely on asking a lot of seemingly mundane questions. Otherwise I'd have to pay for all this free training. Is this a great country or what???

My advise to you is this. If you want to be a techie for your friends and family then carry a small case with the disks you need to repair problems. Of do as I do with major do overs. I make them bring the computer to me.