I have inherited a 486 laptop that has been sitting unused for years. It didn't come with a recovery disk or any software at all. It will only start Windows in safe mode, now.

How can I best wipe the hard drive clean, and start over fresh? I know how to use a recovery disk, to do that, but I'm assuming I need one designed for this exact model?

I think this model might have originally come with 3.1 and also have 95 on it. Does that sound possible? Under "Install programs" there is DOS and 3.1 listed as well as 95.

I think the computer is too slow for 95. Would I be better putting 3.1 on it? And how would I get such software?

'Recovery disks' are a poor substitute for bona fide OS installation disks - more of an abberation than the norm, they're designed for a particular model or range of models only.

At 4Mb, Win31 is all that would run tolerably well on that relic - Win95 would run (in theory), but just barely.

Win31 (1992) has been discontinued (big surprise) although copies exist (eBay and elsewhere) - as well, a version of DOS is required, that would be the actual OS

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Is it hard to use an OS installation disk? It won't take anything off the hard drive, either will it?

I called Toshiba. THey don't sell recovery disks anymore for such an old machine :-(

Just getting my hands on floppies with Windows 3.1 on it won't do me much good will it? Is 3.1 abandonware? Is it available for free anywhere?

Kat

"ust getting my hands on floppies with Windows 3.1 on it won't do me much good will it? "

I'm not sure what you mean - what are your intentions, installing DOS & Win31 on a clean hardrive?

Abandonware is something of a myth, from a legal standpoint

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Same machine? (still?)

Are you sure it's actually in Safe Mode (it'll say so in the corners)

Regardless, running 95 on that system would be an exercise in patience. Not sure what you are hoping for with this system - sure, it'll run DOS/Win31, but naturally that's going to be somewhat limited

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Yes, it's the same machine I posted about a week or so ago. Yes, it says "safe mode" in the 4 corners. I need Windows 95 on floppies to fix that, but I think I really need to get 95 off of it.

It really can't install and run any 95 software. I tried to put two small 95 ancient Greek programs on it and it just crashed the whole thing :-0 All sorts of install error messages and then when I restarted it, it wouldn't :-0

The hard drive is full. It says it has 3.1 and 95 on it. I'm not sure if that is true :-0 There are programs that I think that are DOS that it won't let me erase off the hard drive by just deleting and are not listed under the uninstaller. It has Office 97 which is so SLOW I want it off.

I'd like to try wiping the hard drive clean and starting over, but don't know how without a recovery disk.

I found a copy of 3.1 to download. But maybe if I take off 95, 3.1 is already there?

I'm all set. I uninstalled 95 and there is a perfectly working 3.11 already on the machine :-)

Sure - in the case of an upgrade, and provided the original files were backed up (and not deleted), you can uninstall and revert to the original system

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