Need Help with windows 98.!!

[shawners]

I have a compaq 500 mhz, that im fixing up for a friend. She knows very little about file sharing and only needs a pc to get online. no gaming and file sharing really. So i start it up, wont launch to windows 98.. I have a compaq that has a restore disk. And i tried it, but it fails, it gets stuck at 37 percent and never completes. Im not sure if the disk is still spinning or if its hardware failure or just my disk drive which is a seagate 30 gigs. Now if i aquire a windows 98 disk to install.. would that fix it, or would i need something immenante to see if its hardware ?? Please help if possible =)

[begoodbebad]

Is the HDD empty? Or at least have enough space? Is the restore disk for a different spec machine? If so it probably won't work.

It's easy to swap out a CD drive for a newer one temporarily, I've found some of the older ones are not just very slow, they are very bad at reading CDs....and installing 98 is somehow hit & miss at the best of times. Try a new one.

Your HDD: Is it new...or well used? If it's old I would run IBM Drive Fitness Test on it (free download from IBM). It works reasonably fast and should pick out any problems.

A 500Mhz Compaq is fairly old.... maybe your HDD is bigger than the BIOS can handle. Compaq have excellent online support, make sure you have the model number and you will be able to find out the exact specification of this PC. I've upgraded 3 Compaqs lately and I really appreciate the fact they carry all the info you need for their old PCs. I'd still like to share some unhappy thoughts with the case designers though....

Ultimately you'd be much better off installing Win2000. A 500Mhz CPU is plenty, you might even run it with 64MB RAM but more is better. If there is 256MB RAM then XP will go on there nicely. It's as easy to get a Win2000 CD as 98...and XP...well they're giving it away...aren't they?

[fireforce555]

Could be a few things, I have used restore cds MANY times.

1. The restore cd is damaged. This happened to my dell restore disc, it had a tiny tiny little bit of the top of the disc flaked off and right in the middle of the restore it failed.

2. If the restore cd is for another machine it may not work right on a different model.

3. The drive may be damaged. What brand is her HDD? Because most HD companies have utilities you can run on their drives off of a diskette and it can tell you if that drive is dead or damaged in any way. I know Maxtor gives you one with all their HDDs so I know they make these tools available.


I wanted to ask a win 2000 question since it was brought up. Will 2000 run well on 64MB ram? Because I am running 98se now and it runs great on my 500Mhz celeron with 64MB ram but I have a 2000 install disc I want to use but dont want to have it running in slowmo all the time. I have plenty of HD space. I run a 40gig drive and dedicate 150MB right now to swap file so I never crash because of lack of memory.

[begoodbebad]

I wanted to ask a win 2000 question since it was brought up. Will 2000 run well on 64MB ram? Because I am running 98se now and it runs great on my 500Mhz celeron with 64MB ram but I have a 2000 install disc I want to use but dont want to have it running in slowmo all the time. I have plenty of HD space. I run a 40gig drive and dedicate 150MB right now to swap file so I never crash because of lack of memory.

MS state the minumum RAM for 2000 Pro is 128MB, but they recommend 256MB. But if you just surf the web and write a few emails and word docs you can probably run it on two matchsticks and a rubber band, just manage the services. If you're using the PC for p2p and all your other tasks too then more is better, 256MB minimum or it will definitely hang.

[shawners]

my hard drive came with with the compaq pc, and the restore disk is what compaq shipped with it. the hard drive is 10 gigs. ram is like 256. So i download from IBM a software, put it on a small disk and use that?

[begoodbebad]

my hard drive came with with the compaq pc, and the restore disk is what compaq shipped with it. the hard drive is 10 gigs. ram is like 256. So i download from IBM a software, put it on a small disk and use that?

yes, it will just run some tests on the HDD and identify any errors. It can't do much else on a non IBM drive, but it's very useful to find out for sure if your HDD is good before you make an install. It's an old drive, could be very very used.
Fireforce555 is probably right: a bad restore CD....or at least one that won't read properly in that particular drive, though I have had a 98 install freeze repeatedly because of bad sectors on an old HDD and I guess that a restore CD doesn't include checkdisk?

[fireforce555]

MS state the minumum RAM for 2000 Pro is 128MB, but they recommend 256MB. But if you just surf the web and write a few emails and word docs you can probably run it on two matchsticks and a rubber band, just manage the services. If you're using the PC for p2p and all your other tasks too then more is better, 256MB minimum or it will definitely hang.




Well, I mainly run things like Mozilla, powergrab(newsgroup), zonealarm and visual basic. I dont game and dont do much AV editing. I do watch alot of movies though but MPClassic takes up very little power. Maybe one day when I feel like an adventure I will use my partition magic and slice off 5 gigs to give 2000 a try.

I think I could manage the services pretty well. I have 98se running REALLY trim. I know for a fact that configuration affects performance alot. My aunts machine is a 1GHz athlon with 128RAM and windows ME and my machine literally runs circles on their machine. To pull up msconfig on their machine takes 2 mins, I kid you not.

[shawners]

i used this restore cd quite a while when i was using the pc, at least 4-7 times. I was looking at the downloads.com for the software that you listed thats from IBM. two users gave feedback that they couldnt make a boot disk in windows xp for it. This drive came with the pc, i just think maybe its drive bad, but hate it if its other thing like motherboard. I could tell for sure if it was the disk drive since it stops at the same point everytime. Ill see if i cant get it up today. ALso if i buy a USB HARD DRIVE kit, that converts internal hard drives to external.. and start the pc, will everything show up in the folders of whats on there and reformat it or restore into that drive using my new pc?

[begoodbebad]

i used this restore cd quite a while when i was using the pc, at least 4-7 times. I was looking at the downloads.com for the software that you listed thats from IBM. two users gave feedback that they couldnt make a boot disk in windows xp for it. This drive came with the pc, i just think maybe its drive bad, but hate it if its other thing like motherboard. I could tell for sure if it was the disk drive since it stops at the same point everytime. Ill see if i cant get it up today. ALso if i buy a USB HARD DRIVE kit, that converts internal hard drives to external.. and start the pc, will everything show up in the folders of whats on there and reformat it or restore into that drive using my new pc?

I made the floppy without a problem. If you're on ed2k I can give you a hash and release it. It's free software so no one here need worry. It's a 2.09MB executable, so I can even email it to you. You just need to have a blank formatted floppy in drive A and double click the installer, it does the rest. . Or use the tools on a Windows 98 start up floppy. Again I can release one on ed2k if you like or send an email. pm me if you want either.

[muffenme]

:fire

MS state the minumum RAM for 2000 Pro is 128MB, but they recommend 256MB. But if you just surf the web and write a few emails and word docs you can probably run it on two matchsticks and a rubber band, just manage the services. If you're using the PC for p2p and all your other tasks too then more is better, 256MB minimum or it will definitely hang.

I got Windows 2000 pro running well with 96 MB on a pentium 200 Mhz computer and I seen it as low as 64 MB and work, slow but works.

:hole

[shawners]

thanks for your help begoodbebad.. Ill download it now from downloads.com and get it running when i hook my old pc up. I only have one monitor/keyboard/mouse so its hassle to unplug everything and plug it up again. I have to wait til i get all this together. Im going to also get a win98 operating cd just incase it is the restore disk messed up.

[begoodbebad]

hope it works!

[Siskabush]

Just get a copy of Win98 off someone, or bit torrent.

Those restore disks have spyware programs pre-installed anyway.

[CompuGeek]

For any readers who want to know how to do this "manage services in Windows 2000" black magic, check out Black Viper (http://www.blackviper.com).

[shawners]

New Problem! =( I have windows 98se.. So i burned the image and it works, yet it wont let me do anything til i do a scan disk, and when i do.. IT fixes numerous of problems then stops at 6percent... doesnt go any higher or change. I cant install windows 98 til it performs it and i try the Utility from IBM. But it doesnt do any good on my drive since my disk drive isnt listed on the ones its used for. So do i need to put a quick format on a small disk that when it boots up, it will run and format everything on the Hard drive so i can install windows properly? If so, list the program thats good to use that i can run and make a start up disk for it .
Thank you in advance!

[moneoa]

New Problem! =( I have windows 98se.. So i burned the image and it works, yet it wont let me do anything til i do a scan disk, and when i do.. IT fixes numerous of problems then stops at 6percent... doesnt go any higher or change. I cant install windows 98 til it performs it and i try the Utility from IBM. But it doesnt do any good on my drive since my disk drive isnt listed on the ones its used for. So do i need to put a quick format on a small disk that when it boots up, it will run and format everything on the Hard drive so i can install windows properly? If so, list the program thats good to use that i can run and make a start up disk for it .
Thank you in advance!
Have you tried a new install shawners? Make sure you have ANY startup disk (all the computer needs is to go into command prompt, dont matter what o.s)
Format
c:\ then install a fresh copy of the os of your choice, bad being that you have to MANUALLY track down the drivers for the proprietary hardware. Depending on how much you know about the system that is either a blessing or a curse (you can choose what you need but if you don't know about the machine it becomes shitty)

any probs after...like Begoodbebad said..Id look at your hdd or your Bios

[moneoa]

btw I have done it many a time

[Induna]

yet it wont let me do anything til i do a scan disk, and when i do.. IT fixes numerous of problems then stops at 6percent... doesnt go any higher or change.


Sounds like a dodgy hard drive. Win98 always scans the hard drive for bad sectors and the integrity of the drive when you begin to install. It is possible to format this drive by setting it as a slave drive in another PC and format it there by going into my computer, right-click on the drive letter and format.

But Win98 will still do a scan disk of this drive regardless. If it keeps stalling on 6% you could be out of luck.

[The Hunter]

If you could find an old drive, IE like a 1 gig or better you could try installing 98 on that, just to confirm it is the drive. You can install 98 on less than a 1 gig drive, but you have to pick what you install very carfully. Hopefully some local has an older drive laying around that they discarded in favour of a larger one.

[Induna]

A full Win98 install is under 300MB.

[The Hunter]

True, but he might want as much space as possible to run diagnostics to check out what the sound and video are and so on. I had it up and running on a 800 MB drive, but i didnt have a lot of room to play around, and save my music.

[Induna]

800MB. How did we cope? Downloading an mp3 over a 33kbps modem seemed like a major feat in those days.

Shawners, I couldn't tell from your message if you was asking for a Win98 start-up disk to format. If you was go here http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm you can get one. WinME start-up disk will work for 98 too. Actually it has a couple extra tools on it.

[The Hunter]

LOL it was worse than that, I had that frigging huge drive, and was on bloody cable to boot. The good point was that it didnt take long to defrag. ROTFL

[begoodbebad]

I think my idea that the drive might be bigger than the BIOS will recognise is well and truly sunk :upside

Has to be a faulty HDD. Induna's right, install it as a slave in your regular PC and scandisk and attempt to format it from there. I assume your main PC has more processing power and RAM so things should be easier.

There is a utility called HDD Regenerator which claims it can fix a lot of bad sectors etc, here's their sales blah blah give us money blah blah:

Welcome to HDD Regenerator - the unique software program for regeneration of hard disk drives. The program eliminates physical damages (bad sectors) from hard disk drive surface. It does not hide bad sectors, it really restores them!
How it works... Almost 60 % of all damaged by bad sectors hard drives have incorrectly magnetized disk surface. Our researches have been fruitful and we have found algorithm which is special sequence of high and low level signals. These signals are generated by the software and they switch damaged surface. Even low level formatting is not able to handle this task! Main benefits of HDD Regenerator... HDD Regenerator regenerates bad sectors by magnetic reversal. If your hard drive is damaged by bad sectors, the disk not only becomes unfit for use, but also you risk losing information stored on the disk. HDD Regenerator will regenerate your hard disk (almost 60 % of damaged hard disks are subject to regeneration). As a result, not readable damaged information will be restored. With all this going on the existing information will not be affected!

I have run it on an old drive, and no bad sectors were found so I can't confirm if these claims have any validity, all I can say for sure is that the fact the drive was good was confirmed by the more usual apps. It's just a small application, less than 2MB.

Shawners it does occur to me that you're going to a lot of trouble for little reward. It's as cheap these days to buy a new 40GB HDD as it is to buy a used one of 10GB.....maybe your friend should just spend a small amount of cash. The extra storage is never a bad thing.

[shawners]

I do have a way to get a new hard drive and then install it on there. I need to find the jumper settings to turn it into a slave drive. So far its set as master. anyone knows which prongs to move them to. let me know. Its a seagate 10 gig thanks for your replys! I have windows 98 and all the things to make it install.
Ill let you know by tomorrow or sunday if i can get it done.

[The Hunter]

You should be able to get all the info you need here if you know the model # of the drive.
http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/specs/model_st3.html

[begoodbebad]

Ill let you know by tomorrow or sunday if i can get it done.


Just a reminder: Buying a new Computer can solve most of your PC problems. :;)

[fireforce555]

If scandisk is coming up with tons of errors on the disk and even when it says it fixes them it still runs into errors it might just be a drive on the way out sadly.

[CompuGeek]

Here (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2416619&cat=86798&type=19&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A3951%3A41937%3A86796%3A86798) is the easiest solution.

[shawners]

Just a reminder: Buying a new Computer can solve most of your PC problems. :;)

i think i heard that somewhere=) if it was for me, i would definetly do it. I wish people would fork the money over to get a new pc. Since they wont, im force to get this one up and running and put some p2p software on it. =) Share by default options on p2p networks?=)

[Induna]

Shawners, when you boot up, look at the start-up screen. When the BIOS has recognised the primary drive it will display the model number of the drive. Press pause on the keyboard, copy the number then go to that site what Hunter showed you.



I was thinking if you do manage to format it and it's still stalling on scandisk, you could try fdisking it. That wipes the file allocation tables off the drive, then start from scratch. But then you could be opening a whole new can of worms as when you do fdisk it, it will check the drive's integrity. If it fails on that then the drive truly is knackered. Have you tried gently shaking it yet, see if you can hear anything ;-)

[shawners]

I havent tried shaking it yet.. But when i turn it on, i have a terrible thought of just jabbing a screw driver in there to see what comes out of it. I have the pc open, im getting what i can download and burn onto a cd to install on the new drive. Since the pc im repairing has a cd burner and needs a good virus protection as well ms office 2002. =0)

[Lehk]

Well if the machine is being used for basic things only anyways, web browsing, Email, stuff like that you may want to look into installing Fedora once you get the hard drive problem, it would solve your antivirus problem and OpenOffice doesn't take much time to learn if you know MS office.
http://fedora.redhat.com/download/

[begoodbebad]

Well if the machine is being used for basic things only anyways, web browsing, Email, stuff like that you may want to look into installing Fedora once you get the hard drive problem, it would solve your antivirus problem and OpenOffice doesn't take much time to learn if you know MS office.
http://fedora.redhat.com/download/

wtf has this got to do with anything anyone here is doing???? Shawners has a mechanical/physical problem with a HDD and you suggest installing linux Fedora. And who mentioned any AV problem? What is it about using linux that turns people into creeping insurance salesmen?

The only way linux is relevant here is if Shawners has a Knoppix Live disc or similar which can check out the rest of the system and then can be used to do a Hard Drive install including checking the HDD for errors. Actually this is a great solution...I should have suggested it yesterday! Shawners do you have a live distro CD? These things are magic.

[shawners]

no i dont have a live distro cd. Should i get one off somewhere and burn it to cd, before i try to mess with this hard drive or putting a new one on? Will it run, once i reboot the pc with the disk in?

[begoodbebad]

no i dont have a live distro cd. Should i get one off somewhere and burn it to cd, before i try to mess with this hard drive or putting a new one on? Will it run, once i reboot the pc with the disk in?

No, you have everything you need to diagnose the HDD. Install it in your main PC as slave and check it there.

A Knoppix CD could be very useful but you don't need it. Maybe download it and keep it for the future. It can save some time to be able to boot a PC without a HDD and just see if it works. And it's a good way to check hardware compatibility if you ever consider installing linux onto HDD. Here is an excellent review/guide from DistroWatch, it covers installing and running Knoppix as a live distro and installing to HDD Knoppix Review (http://www.distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=review-knoppix)

[shawners]

Ok I got windows 98 to install on this other drive. I still dont know how i aquired it, and it was 30 gigs which is just good.. SO installed it on my compaq machine. There is drivers i need that wasnt in win98 disk. I need a MODEM driver, and my windows 98 is showing 16 colors. Not 256 or how many there should be. So i need a driver for audio video card that came with it the pc.

[The Hunter]

just run aida32, and it should tell you what make the card is, then go to the makers site and download the drivers.

[simon_says_horrible]

or go to www.compaq.com and type your product name/number in "Support & Drivers" section.

[The Hunter]

LOL, good one. Leave it to me to leave the obvious answer out.

[shawners]

I got them all downloaded and im going to put them on disk.. and it should be running great. I appreciate everyones help and input. I couldnt make it this far without all of you =) If theirs a file you ever need, ill be sure to send it to you =)

[The Hunter]

Bah, thats what we are here for, to help each other out bud.

[moneoa]

Bah, thats what we are here for, to help each other out bud.
Unless you misunderstand the topic and suggest whats probably aleady been tried and give erronious advice like me but I am coming from a good place I swear

[moneoa]

I am sure all my like minded tech friends in the forum will agree its a bitch to trouble shoot computers when the damn thing isnt in front of you

[begoodbebad]

I am sure all my like minded tech friends in the forum will agree its a bitch to trouble shoot computers when the damn thing isnt in front of you

no it's much easier when it's someone else's box...you can try any damn thing that comes into your head and no risk
:devil

hey shawners now you know for certain that the drive is faulty you can get to it with a hammer and screwdriver....teach that faulty piece of shit to waste your time!