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Mom wants me to take XP off her laptop and go back to 98

A

Accipiter22

Banned
Is there anyway to go from XP Pro back to Win 98?? She has absolutely no data on the HD that she wants to save....should i just go into dos and type C:\> Format C:\ ?
 
Boot from the Win98 CD and have it start to a DOS prompt from the CD-ROM.

d: is the command to change to the D: drive which I presume is where the Win98 CD will be.

cd Win98 changes you to the WIN98 directory.

fdisk to make disk partitions

Restart computer, start it from CD-ROM again, go to D:\WIN98 as before.

format C: /s to format. Get snacks from fridge and consume them.

After formatting, md C:\WIN98 to make the WIN98 directory on the C:\ drive. You may need to change to the C:\ drive before doing this, using the command c:, my DOS-fu is weak anymore.

copy D:\WIN98\*.* C:\WIN98 to copy the entire contents of the D:\WIN98 folder onto the C: drive.

c: to change to the C: drive, cd WIN98 to change to the C:\Win98 directory, setup.exe starts Win98 Setup from the files you copied onto the hard drive.


The advantage of doing this extra stuff is that if you set up Win98 from files that are on the HDD, it won't need the Win98 CD-ROM later when it wants access to the Win98 setup files, they're right there in a folder on the HDD. Hope I didn't make any major mis-steps in the instructions... adapt & overcome.


That said, Win98 is not a good thing for security (duh) so if it's going online, try to get it tightened up as best you can with firewall and antivirus protection.
 
Why does she want to do this? Have you tried just setting XP to classic theme ?
Does she know that 98 is not supported anymore? Windows 2000 is the farthest back I would go. I'd stay with XP, turn off all the eye candy, and max out the RAM. If she still complains about it being slow, try dropping in a newer faster hard drive. I'm assuming you have already defragged, scanned for spyware and run anti-virus. Good Luck
 
Originally posted by: mechBgon
Boot from the Win98 CD and have it start to a DOS prompt from the CD-ROM.

d: is the command to change to the D: drive which I presume is where the Win98 CD will be.

cd Win98 changes you to the WIN98 directory.

fdisk to make disk partitions

Restart computer, start it from CD-ROM again, go to D:\WIN98 as before.

format C: /s to format. Get snacks from fridge and consume them.

After formatting, md C:\WIN98 to make the WIN98 directory on the C:\ drive. You may need to change to the C:\ drive before doing this, using the command c:, my DOS-fu is weak anymore.

copy D:\WIN98\*.* C:\WIN98 to copy the entire contents of the D:\WIN98 folder onto the C: drive.

c: to change to the C: drive, cd WIN98 to change to the C:\Win98 directory, setup.exe starts Win98 Setup from the files you copied onto the hard drive.


The advantage of doing this extra stuff is that if you set up Win98 from files that are on the HDD, it won't need the Win98 CD-ROM later when it wants access to the Win98 setup files, they're right there in a folder on the HDD. Hope I didn't make any major mis-steps in the instructions... adapt & overcome.


That said, Win98 is not a good thing for security (duh) so if it's going online, try to get it tightened up as best you can with firewall and antivirus protection.
Click to expand...



cool thanks!
 
Originally posted by: jsalpha2
Why does she want to do this? Have you tried just setting XP to classic theme ?
Does she know that 98 is not supported anymore? Windows 2000 is the farthest back I would go. I'd stay with XP, turn off all the eye candy, and max out the RAM. If she still complains about it being slow, try dropping in a newer faster hard drive. I'm assuming you have already defragged, scanned for spyware and run anti-virus. Good Luck
Click to expand...

the copy of XP on the comp isn't...ahem....kosher.......so she worries that the FBI is going to arrest her or something....
 
Originally posted by: Accipiter22
Originally posted by: jsalpha2
Why does she want to do this? Have you tried just setting XP to classic theme ?
Does she know that 98 is not supported anymore? Windows 2000 is the farthest back I would go. I'd stay with XP, turn off all the eye candy, and max out the RAM. If she still complains about it being slow, try dropping in a newer faster hard drive. I'm assuming you have already defragged, scanned for spyware and run anti-virus. Good Luck
Click to expand...

the copy of XP on the comp isn't...ahem....kosher.......so she worries that the FBI is going to arrest her or something....
Click to expand...
You would be better off buying an oem copy of XP. 98 isn't gonna do very well on todays web, as a LOT of stuff the web uses every day,isn't supported by 98. I tried keeping a 98 box alive, but got fed up with the TONS of illegal ops messages and the numerous crashes. Be prepared for a LOT of "tech support" phone calls if you revert to 98.

 
good luck with finding notebook drivers for 98. chances she is gonna run on 640x480 on 16 colors with no sound and internet
 
Originally posted by: postmortemIA
good luck with finding notebook drivers for 98. chances she is gonna run on 640x480 on 16 colors with no sound and internet
Click to expand...

Indeed.

Other considerations run to RAM. Specifically, 98 doesn't work with >512MB of RAM.

Ultimately, you're a lot better off buying a cheap copy of XP than you are rolling back to 98, both due to security and support.
 
depending on the laptop spec 98 could run ok - but I agree with others here that in the long-run you're best of getting a legit copy of XP installed
 
Originally posted by: masteraleph
Originally posted by: postmortemIA
good luck with finding notebook drivers for 98. chances she is gonna run on 640x480 on 16 colors with no sound and internet
Click to expand...

Indeed.

Other considerations run to RAM. Specifically, 98 doesn't work with >512MB of RAM.

Ultimately, you're a lot better off buying a cheap copy of XP than you are rolling back to 98, both due to security and support.
Click to expand...
It'll work with more than 512MB, and there are patches for running higher than (IIRC) 640MB. The memory isn't handled well regardless of how much you have though, so I still agree with the sentimemnt. You run out of the base memory (640KB) and it doesn't matter how much you have beyond that, you're out of memory.

I agree with all who said to buy a copy of XP. If you look around in the HotDeals forum and elsewhere, you can find XP for pretty cheap.

Out of curiosity, what are the specs on this machine?

Joe
 
"the copy of XP on the comp isn't... ahem.... kosher.......so she worries that the FBI is going to arrest her or something.... "

Does it pass the "Genuine Microsoft" sniff test when doing a Windows Update? If it does - it is kosher enough. Leave well enough alone.
 
Originally posted by: corkyg
"the copy of XP on the comp isn't... ahem.... kosher.......so she worries that the FBI is going to arrest her or something.... "

Does it pass the "Genuine Microsoft" sniff test when doing a Windows Update? If it does - it is kosher enough. Leave well enough alone.
Click to expand...

And if it does then buy a legit copy and all is legal so mom can sleep at night. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: corkyg
"the copy of XP on the comp isn't... ahem.... kosher.......so she worries that the FBI is going to arrest her or something.... "
Does it pass the "Genuine Microsoft" sniff test when doing a Windows Update? If it does - it is kosher enough. Leave well enough alone.
Click to expand...
It's XP Pro on a mother's laptop. Of course it's not passing Microsoft's Genuine Advantage.

XP Home is $90, and can often find it with rebates at one of those office stores (max or depot I forget) for like $30.
 
To everyone worrying the laptop is too new to run Win98, isn't it obvious? She has a laptop, it did not come with a WinXP license, but she does have a Win98 license. My guess is the Win98 license CAME WITH THE LAPTOP, therefore the laptop is going to be supported just fine with Win98.
 
Originally posted by: masteraleph
Originally posted by: postmortemIA
good luck with finding notebook drivers for 98. chances she is gonna run on 640x480 on 16 colors with no sound and internet
Click to expand...

Indeed.

Other considerations run to RAM. Specifically, 98 doesn't work with >512MB of RAM.

Ultimately, you're a lot better off buying a cheap copy of XP than you are rolling back to 98, both due to security and support.
Click to expand...

well the actual lap top was one I used in college, it actually CAME with 98 on it, so I know it runs on there
 
Originally posted by: Accipiter22
Originally posted by: masteraleph
Originally posted by: postmortemIA
good luck with finding notebook drivers for 98. chances she is gonna run on 640x480 on 16 colors with no sound and internet
Click to expand...

Indeed.

Other considerations run to RAM. Specifically, 98 doesn't work with >512MB of RAM.

Ultimately, you're a lot better off buying a cheap copy of XP than you are rolling back to 98, both due to security and support.
Click to expand...

well the actual lap top was one I used in college, it actually CAME with 98 on it, so I know it runs on there
Click to expand...


You can actually start to experience instability starting at 384mb. Why not just change the interface for windows xp to the classic (win98) interface? Anyway, Mechbgon answered your question.
 
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