Help! Win 98 Install! (All)

[thoford75]

Can you buy Windows 98 to install onto a laptop w/o a cdrom drive (e.g with about 100 floppys)? If not how is it possible to connect a CD-Rom drive from another computer (P.C) to my laptop. Thanks Thomas Ford

[laurieA]

No, os's are only on discs. You could hook up a cr-rom or use an external one.
Why do you want 98 and what's wrong with your current os?

[thoford75]

how would i do that? I want Win98 becuase i like the way it works and i dont like using 95

[Xavier_Ao]

If you need floppy disks to install win98, if you hold the original liscence for it, then you could try and contact Micro$oft and see if they can send floppies. They used to offer that for win9x, but with it being outdated, I'm unsure if they still do.

You could also try using <a target="_blank" href=http://www.winrar.com>winrar</a>, and creating a self-extracting ZIP, and compress the setup files to a zillion or so floppies. Then just run the EXE to extract the files to the harddrive, and install the OS off your laptop's harddrive. That's how I had to do it after the cd-rom on my laptop died.

Also, you can get USB or PCMCIA external cd-rom drives. They should come with DOS drivers so you could use it to install windows.

Always glad to help!
Josh /images/forums/icons/smile.gif

"Got caffeine? /images/forums/icons/crazy.gif Caffeine, a good addition to any toolkit."

[thoford75]

how would i hook up an existing cd rom drive in my other pc to my laptop. i havent got any pc cards and im not on the internet with it so how can i do it. is there any equiptment i need to buy to link them. the laptop is a toshiba satelite (oldish version).


HELP!!!

Tom

[jdharm]

I'll tell you what I would do. It sounds like a lot, but it is really quite simple.

1) Buy yourself a 2.5" hdd to IDE adapter. You can buy them on Ebay for $5-10 all day long. Search for "IDE adapter". This will allow you to plug your laptop hard drive into your desktop computer with a cd-rom.

2) Shutdown the desktop. Plug the laptop hdd into the desktop. I have had laptop hdds that were picky about being master and I have had a hard time getting them jumpered right, so just to make things simple you might want to make your CD-ROM the slave on the Primary IDE chain with your desktop's Master hdd and plug the laptop into the Secondary chain.

3) Boot Windows. Open a command window. Use FDISK to partition the laptop hdd. Create two partitions, one for the OS and one for data storage. Note the sizes of each so you can tell them apart in Windows.

4) Reboot the desktop and Windows. You should then be able to see the two partitions on the laptop hdd in Windows Explorer, but not access them. Right click on each of them and choose "Format..." from the context menu. Format each of the drives, in FAT32 if you have that option. On your system partition make sure the option to "Copy system Files" is checked in the Format dialog box.

5) Reboot. When Windows comes back up, copy the "Win98" folder on the Windows cd to your data partition. When this is done, shut down the desktop and remove the laptop hdd. Reinstall in the laptop.

6) If you copied the system files when you formatted the partitions then the laptop should boot to a C:&gt; prompt. When it does type d:\win98\install.exe and Windows will start to install.

7) Done.

Josh
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.jdharm.net>www.jdharm.net</a>

[thoford75]

Thanks! I'll do that. Can you explain how to do it please (diagrmas?) I'm not so good with hardware...im more of a software person so I dont understand some of what you said. Could you explain it for dummies?! Thanks!

<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by thoford75 on 07/11/03 02:25.</FONT></P>

[thoford75]

I REALLY NEED TO KNOW HOW TO DO THIS!!! HELP THE MONITOR GOES OFF WEN I CONNECT IT UP. HOW DO I SET UP THE SLAVE AND THAT STUFF. PLEASE PLEASE HELP ASAP!!!!!

[jdharm]

Ok, ok, no need to shout!

The following instructions are to carry out my above instructions. This is by no means the only way to do this, or even the best way, but it works and should be relatively simple.

First to ID all the parts involved.

On your motherboard there are probably two IDE connectors, long flat sockets with two rows of 20 pins. One will be marked Primary and one Secondary (or IDE1 and IDE2). You get the idea. If there is only one we will have to modify this procedure a little.

Right now there is at least one IDE cable in your system. It plugs into the IDE sockets on back of the your hard drive and CD-ROM. There may or may not be two of them, one to the hard drive and one to the CD. If you don't have two cables you need to get another one.

Your laptop hdd to IDE adapter will have a small socket with 44 holes on one side and 40 pins + a power connector dongle on the other side. You cannot connect the laptop drive to the IDE cable of the desktop without this adapter.

First, turn the computer off. Open the case and find the IDE cable going to the hard disk. If the same cable also goes to the CD-ROM then leave that cable alone. It is already as it should be. If the hdd is on one IDE cable and the hard disk in on another then you need to unplug the cd-rom's cable, move the jumper on the back from the "MA" or Master position to "SL" or Slave position. Then connect the extra connector on the hard disk's IDE cable into the CD. If the IDE cable has the words "Master" and "Slave" printed on it then the jumper on the cd-rom should be set to "CS" or Cable Select. Then plug the extra connector of the hard disk's IDE cable into the cd-rom.

Take your laptop/IDE adapter and plug it into the laptop hdd. Plug the other side of the adapter into the end of a second IDE cable and the power dongle into a power connector in the computer. The other end of the IDE cable will go into the Secondary, or IDE2, connector on the motherboard. Do not plug anything into the extra connector of the secondary IDE cable.

A word on IDE cable oreintation. The connectors on the desktop drives and motherboard will have a notch in one edge at the midpoint of the edge. The IDE cables will have a raised tab on one side of the connectors. The tab and notch line up, of course. If the cable's connectors don't have tabs, they will have two little grooves on the ends of one of the long sides of the connector. These grooves are on the same side as the tab would have been and therefore should be on the same side as the notch in the drive or motherboard.

Make sure the electronics of the hdd aren't touching anything and boot the computer. Watch the boot screen or enter the BIOS and make sure the system is seeing the all the drives before allowing Windows to boot. If everything is recognized OK the boot windows and proceed as outlined above.

Josh
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.jdharm.net>www.jdharm.net</a>

[Nana]

Josh,
Congratulations on your appointment as moderator! I haven't been around very often (hardly at all!) so this is the first time I've noticed it.
Great choice, Simon!
Nana /images/forums/icons/smile.gif/images/forums/icons/smile.gif/images/forums/icons/smile.gif

PS: Isn't it time to update that poor ol' gnarly tree?

[jdharm]

Thanks on the congrats.

Yeah, the tree is getting old. Jase has harassed me about it too. Between my current load at work and my innate laziness.../images/forums/icons/frown.gif

I'll get something up in the morning. I've got a pic I'm inordinately proud of. Its around here somewhere....... And another tree that was breathtaking when I snapped it, but the color didn't come out right on my laptop lcd. Maybe it'll be OK on the CRTs.

Hmmm. I guess thoford75 has given up and gone somewhere else or I managed to talk him into trashing his computer.

Josh
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.jdharm.net>www.jdharm.net</a>

[Nana]

Hi Josh,
Glad to see you changed your pix. That's quite a unique view of the arch. Verrrry nifty!

Yeah, it's been a few days since you posted your reply for Thoford75. We should give him the benefit of the doubt, though. Maybe he's been on vacation or (I hope not.) ill. Otherwise it means that you spent all that time & energy typing for no reason. Frustrating, isn't it?
Looking on the bright side, it's information now posted here that everyone can access. Bound to be of benefit to other people.
Later,
Nana /images/forums/icons/smile.gif