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Greetings, i just recently formated my harddrive due to alot of errors, and well i kind of make it a routine thing, every 6 months i reformat, anyway, my computer is a amd athlonxp 2.5ghz, got a gig of ddr (not dual chann) and an asus A7v8x-x board, with a ati radeon x800pro 256mb ddr, just thought it would be somewhat a good idea to post my pc specs before i ask anything becuase last thing i want to sound like, is that im pissing into the wind, anyway, my problem is i reformated my harddrive, and i know my way around dos pretty well, and everything is in order, but the problem is when i get to the windows 98 setup menu it pops up and error saying the following - "Windows needs atleast 16mb memory to install" now, i know i have a gig of ram, and ive allso heard that windows 98 does not like computers with more than 512 ram to install, so i took out a stick of my 512, nothing, still the same problem, then i took out a 256, and left 256 inside, still nothing, so ive run out of ideas now, i need to install 98 to overwrite the os with xp. any help is greatly appreciated. thank you.
- fusion
"and left 256 inside, still nothing"
Does that mean you got the same error?
How much memory is the BIOS showing?
If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.M2
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yes it means i got the same error, and bios shows that i have 256mb installed at the moment.
- fusion
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Nothing obvious.
You might check the HD for a file created on the 1st attempt. w98 may have made a "place-keeper".
I don't know how else it would be mis-reading amount of mem.
If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.M2
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Hrm, well i just reformated the drive again as i was waiting for your next responce, and still does the same thing... Would it be unwise to take a huge, magnet to my computer?
- fusion
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Magnet very unwise.
But a reformat was a good move.
Is this the EXACT msg:
"Windows needs atleast 16mb memory to install"
It doesn't say something like "available", does it?
If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.M2
0
Thats correct, the error was/is. -
- Windows 98 Setup
(STOP) Windows 98 requires a computer with at least 16MB of memory.
| OK |
i really dont know what the problem is.- fusion
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I'm out of ammo, too.
Hang on; there's some pretty smart guys and girls here.
If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.M2
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Install WinXP. You do not need to install win98 and then overlay it with winXP.
During the WinXP install, you will be asked to prove prior ownership of windows. This can be done by inserting your win98 CD in the CD drive.Sorry, I do not check for private messages
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You're welcome. I suggest you let XP repartition/format the drive.
Sorry, I do not check for private messages
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thing is, i dont want to insall xp first, i need 98 first. im focused on getting 98 on first, so thats what im trying to fix first. and plus this error should not be here, because ive formated many times with the same system specs, and never had a problem before..
- fusion
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What did you use to partition & format?
I guess you're running setup from the w98 CD.
If your CD drive is r: do this:
copy /b r:\setup.exe nul
If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.M2
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i was and am running the setup from the cd itself, and i used dos to make a dos partition and formated with dos. all that command did was copy the cd basicly to my harddrive, i tryed to run it off my hardrive, but that didnt work. i would type in c:\ Setup, and nothing would happen, i would just get the prompt back for c:\
- fusion
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"Well, that did nothing. lol."
Does that mean no msg?
If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.M2
0
no the "well that did nothing meant i couldnt even get to the part where i had the msg, nor could i even start up the file.
- fusion
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Do you have access to a copy of Partition Magic, so you can format and select the required boot options to have multiple os installed?
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No, unfortuneatly i dont have access to that program. but cant i allways just use fdisk to make a dos partition of <enter size here> and make it boot from a partiton?
- fusion
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This is silly & a waste of your time - you don't need to install Windows 98 first or use archaic FDisk. Just boot to the Windows XP CD & install. Make your partitions right from the setup program. As stated in previous posts, you will be asked for the win98 cd to prove eligibility for the upgrade. Here's a good tutorial you should have a look at:
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1435&page=2
I also suggest you get a drive imaging program like TrueImage or Ghost & make an image of the machine when it is perfect. Then, when you have problems, you can restore the good image in about 1/2 hour.
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