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Win98SE reinstall -- can installed programs be retained??

W

wumpuskiller

Member
Hi All,
I am faced with the need (due to registry problems related to sound card installation) to reload Win98SE on a PC at home. This machine is used primarily by the wife and kids and has a sh$tload of software installed (most of which is used on a regular basis).

We have an OEM version of Win98SE that was used to create the system about 2 years ago.....it requires no O/S on the machine to work.

So the basic question is.....is there any way (by exporting registry trees or some other means) that I can re-install Win98SE on this machine and still have all the installed software available after the re-install?? Device drivers are not a problem....but I'm not thrilled with the thought of reinstalling several dozen pieces of software.

Any info is appreciated.

Regards,
wumpus....
 
No, not without using a utility like Norton Ghost or Drive Image and by using them you'd basically put back everything you were trying to get rid of.
I frequently reinstall my O/S and he's how I go about doing it: After formatting and doing a clean install of the O/S I install all the necessary drivers and then use one of the tools above to create an image of my drive in its pristine state. After that any apps that I download/install are saved to a seperate partition or CD-R for resintalling later. Whenever it comes time to "freshen up" I use revert back to the image I'd created...
 
Thanks for the reply, WhoDeeny.

Using the method you've described, how are the apps on the secondary partition 'enabled'.....in other words, once you've re-installed your o/s, how does the newly installed o/s know about the apps? How does the registry get updated to know about the apps?

TIA,
wumpus....
 
Whodeeny uses a very common method of backup/restore cd. If you have a burner, this is what I would do in your situation. Save any data files you would need to keep, including your favorites folder under your Windows directory, saved game files, files you downloaded off of the internet, etc... Then boot to a Dos prompt. at the prompt type: fdisk /mbr<enter>, then fdisk and wipe out your current partition, create a newone using all available disk space. Reboot your computer and load a fresh install of 98. Load all of your device drivers(accept devices you plan on upgrading in the very near future). If you have any software that you know you will always have installed(office 2000, IE 6.0, etc.) Install these, do a Windows update and update all the latest security fixes, etc., Now then(assuming everyone has Norton's Ghost) ghost your hard drive on a spanning configuration(bootable cd is definatly preferable) This way you have a "Rapid Restore CD set". Having a partition for your downloaded files can be handy, but if you have a burner, I use my burner with cd-rw media and just sync with my briefcase(where I save all downloaded files), this way if you every lose your hard drive you have constant backups of updated downloads. Now the bad news install all those programs that you didn't deem liable to install on your "Rapid Restore set" and copy all your saved data files back to the directories you took them from your old load. You might learn Ghost really well, it is an increadibly powerfull tool, you can automate complete compressed backups, and automate restores from bootable cd's. Most people with Win98 that do a lot of software/hardware upgrades run into problems, it's that inevitable(feature) thing of Windows that everyone loves to hate. I do a complete wipe of my system every New Year. You'd be surprised how much of a performance boost you get if you clean your system every now and then.😀
 
lo....
thanks for all of the details in your post. i think the key for me is that with a full re-install of win98se, i'd have to re-install all of the apps. that's what i was trying to avoid, hoping that there was some short-cut or trick that can be used like exporting the software registry keys and then just re-importing them after the o/s was re-installed.
the kids' pc has 2 hard drives in it and a good percentage of the apps are installed on the second disk. there is even enough space on the second disk to copy all of the programfiles directory from the c: disk. also, all of the drivers, o/s updates, and various downloads are stored on my main pc (both system on a lan). but if i did a full reinstall of the o/s, it doesn't sound as if there is even a way to recoup the apps on the second disk, let alone the apps from the c: disk that were copied over.

thanks again....

wumpus....
 
If you boot from the 98se cd and run the setup it will reinstall over the top of your old installation, keeping your settings, preferences, shortcuts, etc. The rest of your C: drive will be unchanged. I have done this about 4 times for friends who didnt want to format. The only time anything adverse ever happend was a scanner and the associated software wouldnt function without a driver reinstall. Other than that the pc's were in the exact state it was before any problems arose.
 
With an OEM CD. you can reinstall Windows 98. You must "fool" Windows into believing that no other operating system is installed. Hence, you simply rename win.com in your Windows directory. Next, put a boot disc into your floppy drive and reboot. Navigate to e:\ or wherever your cd-rom drive is located and type setup. During the install, you will be given a choice of where to install Windows. You can choose the same directory if you want to refresh Windows. If you want a clean install, simply select a different directory. With a clean install, you would need to reinstall all your programs, but backing up is not needed since all your data files are still on the hard disk. The question now becomes whether a reinstall will actually fix your problem. If Windows determines that your sound problem is actually a user-setting, then reinstalling will not improve the situation. I would try uninstalling your sound card to remove as many files and registry keys as possible before reloading Windows to give you the best chance of success.
 
Pretty Cool,
I used the "fool" windows trick by renaming win.com. The I did a clean install to a new directory. The sound card is now working fine. All of the apps need to be re-installed.

I think I have an old (smaller) hard disk that I removed from the same PC several months ago. I'll install that hard drive back into the machine and experiment with the 'refresh technique.

At least I know the sound card was not working due to a messed up registry (or other windows components). A clean install fixed the problem....now I'll see if a refresh will also do the trick.

Thanks for the suggestion.
wumpus....
 
Yep,
Installed Win98se over itself and the sound card got picked up without any problems.....and all of the apps are still installed.
Thanks to all who offered help and suggestions.
wumpus....
 
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