Can't boot to Windows CD on old Windows 98 computer

[Sondra]

I want to reformat the drive, which currently has Windows 98 and I want to replace it with 98SE.

I set it in CMOS to boot to CD first. Is there something else to set?

I'd rather wipe the drive clean first, but if I can't, is it OK to install SE over 98?

 

[Doh!]

Is the CD bootable?

 

[firewall]

Why not make a Win98 startup disk (floppy) and boot from it. Copy format.exe on it if it isn't already there and use it from the floppy disk.

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Originally posted by: Sondra
I want to reformat the drive, which currently has Windows 98 and I want to replace it with 98SE.

I set it in CMOS to boot to CD first. Is there something else to set?

Well, I personally have never seen a Win98 CD that had anything in the boot tracks. I've been told that they might exist (I personally have had at least one of every kind of Windows98se that existed, I'm sure, and none had bootup capability), but I think there won't be many out there, and probably all are OEM's from the days when 98se and WinME overlapped. WinME does have the bootable CD. Win98 came with a separate floppy boot disk, and I have transferred that to a bootable CD that I burned with Nero, for PC's I build without floppies (the last two PC's I've assembled had none).

 

[egkenny]

If it is an upgrade version of 98SE then it is not bootable. You need to make a startup floppy. You can make that from the existing Windows 98 system. Go to Add/Remove programs. There is an option to make the startup floppy there.

 

[xgsound]

If a win98 machine is not avaliable, http://www.bootdisk.com/ has files to download for floppy or cd.


Jim

 

[talyn00]

Originally posted by: Kiwi

Originally posted by: Sondra
I want to reformat the drive, which currently has Windows 98 and I want to replace it with 98SE.

I set it in CMOS to boot to CD first. Is there something else to set?

Well, I personally have never seen a Win98 CD that had anything in the boot tracks. I've been told that they might exist (I personally have had at least one of every kind of Windows98se that existed, I'm sure, and none had bootup capability), but I think there won't be many out there, and probably all are OEM's from the days when 98se and WinME overlapped. WinME does have the bootable CD. Win98 came with a separate floppy boot disk, and I have transferred that to a bootable CD that I burned with Nero, for PC's I build without floppies (the last two PC's I've assembled had none).

I had a bootable Windows 98 CD, but it was one of those CDs given as a gift to technical beta testers, so it could have been a special set.

 

[Valkerie]

visit microsoft's website.

 

[Sondra]

Thanks, it never occurred to me that a Windows CD wouldn't be bootable.

 

[supaxi]

Installing windows 98 in 2005? Argh, I thought 98 was dead.

 

[Sondra]

I want it for a backup, mainly for the Internet. It still works and is too slow to upgrade to XP, so I hate to give it up.

 

[wiin]

I have a Win98SE cd and it is bootable

 

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: wiin
I have a Win98SE cd and it is bootable

me too. I Dled it off of BT though, since dell was too stupid to give me a backup 98 cd. All I had to do was Fdisk the HD, then insert the CD and it was bootable.

 

[nweaver]

not sure about 98, but SE was bootable, I have only seen one that wasn't