Comatose system - XPedient or not?

[Scee]

After installing a faulty radeon 8500, and then a ti4200 I never really recovered full stability on my system. For some reason even after installing DX8.1 ddraw.dll was still a 4.x version along with some other files. (neither 3dmark or unreal were able to run)

Also it was impossible to apply the SE update to 98 because the computer would freeze every time while doing the checking your system thing during the install. My latest 98 reinstall attempt from a boot disk failed 1/2 way thrugh from some kernel 32 error, now I can't get into windows at all - there just a message that the comp can't initialize configmg.vxd Successive attempts to reinstall 98 have failed. I"d reformat, but I have data I really don't want to lose.

Anyway I was wondering if you thought installing XP (hopefully the Corporate edition so I don't have to mess with activation) would help matters. I don't think they could get much worse, but sometimes they have. Thanks.
(Eratosthenes is me too)

 

[elzmaddy]

You sure the 98 CD is okay? Can you try another video card if you have one? Do you have another formatted clean hard disk you can connect to try to do an install there of whatever OS? Disconnect the old one first. PS: copy the WIN98 folder to your hard disk and run setup from there.

It's possible that XP could be more friendly to your system's hardware. If you don't want to deal with troubleshooting the 98 errors, its worth a try. However, you wouldn't want to pay for XP and see the same problems.

 

[Scee]

Actually I have 3 partitions and I have a copy of windows on one of them and I tried installing from there, but that too gets halted about half-way through like the disk.

 

[elzmaddy]

I recommend you do a memory test just to make sure: memtest86. I'd suggest to run that for at least an hour or so and see if any errors come up. Try a new physical disk if possible so we can narrow it down.

 

[Eratosthenes]

Okay, here is the current situation, after about the xteenth reinstall of 98 since this saga began I get a message on startup that there is a problem with configmd and that windows cannot start. I image this is linked to the invalid page fault that keeps the windows installer from ever "building [it's] driver database. (the install never goes farther)

another point - I've been unable to use either of the 98se disk to install from the boot disk (it basically refuses to do so) This is the case for the 98se cab files I have on another partition as well. I've got a XP professional upgrade disk here too - is there some time that goes by before the activation thing kicks in because I don't exactly have my own key for it. I've thought that maybe deleting the windows directory might help with 98se's unwillingness to install. I can get into some version of windows with safe mode, but even then things are pretty rough. Thanks

 

[Eratosthenes]

elzmaddy - thanks for your suggestions - but I don't have a spare HD around but windows is on it's own partition with some progrmas that wouldn't be impossible to replace. Also the XP disk is an upgrade so I think I have to get 98 working in some form before trying that. (it won't install from dos)