I have an older computer that came with a .5 GB hd, so I bought a formatted 40 gb hd. I need to figure out how to install the OS onto it. I can't set the cd-rom drive in the boot option because it is not necessarily recognized. I installed it after I purchased it. Someone told me I should install 98se by attaching the hd to an IDE in my regular computer. He claimed that the Windows Startup disk wasn't working because it assumes Windows is already installed.

Any ideas?
Mike

If your computer only came with a .5 Gb HD then it will probably not recognize the 40Gb right away. You will need to either Capsize it or get a bios update. Also, either way, you will need a cd-rom. If your start-up disk will not recognize your cdrom, then you cannot install windows right off. You will need to "cheat". If you have another computer or a friends computer, hook up the HD and copy all files from the Win98 cd-rom to the HD. Mainly the folder D:\Win98. It holds all the installation files in that folder. However, you will still need the setup.exe from the root of the cd. You will just have to mess around with it, see what you can find out.

TechQuest

If your motherboard Bios does not recognize the 40gb drive you can download an 'overlay' program from the hard drive manufacturer's web site. A Bios update might be able to fix the problem. But be aware that it is bit dangerous. If not completed successfully it can mean a motherboard or Bios chip replacement will be necessary.

If you hook the drive up to another computer, it is only necessary to copy the win98 folder from the CD to the drive. You can avoid doing that if you can find and download the drivers for the cdrom drive. Minor modifications to config.sys and autoexec.bat will install the drivers.

I appreciate the advice.

If I attach the HD a computer with os installed, is the only file needed d:/win98 for the drive to have the os installed?

Mike

Hi what the above is talking about is copying all needed setup files to the new hdd , make a folder first on hdd to put them in, next take the hdd to old comp and run the setup program to install the os. more help can to read at http://www.mesich.com/index.html "how to"
read the first two sections.

but first you need to put hdd in old comp and run fdisk and set a active partition on it and make it bootable.
if the small hdd's os is good with other programs and data you want to use you can download XXCOPY or some othe program and make a duplicate from old hdd to new hdd.