Henry
Autoexreginated
OK, let me start this with a disclaimer: In order to do this, you need to be sure your old machine will NO LONGER have a copy of Win 98 on it. In order to be legal about this, only ONE license per machine. So it is perfectly legal to install your Win 98 OS on the new machine, AS LONG AS YOU remove win 98 from the old machine. you may do this by either formatting its hard drive after you are sure that you have retrieved everything useful, or by simply deleting the c;\windows directory off of the old machine.
Are we clear on this?
Good. Now, I believe the problem you are running into is the version of Win 98 you have. There are two editions: the OEM (original Equipment Manufacturer) version, and the "upgrade" version. The OEM version WILL NOT INSTALL on a machine that has a functional Operating system (O.S.) located on it. In order to get an OEM version to install, several key files must be removed, or made impossible for windows to see them.
Start by using a copy of Windows 98 or Windows 95 to make an "Emergency Boot Disk." This disk needs to have the "attrib" command loaded on it, as well as the "copy" command. It also needs to be bootable itself, so you can boot from the A: drive.
THIS BOOT DISK SHOULD ALSO BE ABLE TO LOAD YOUR CD-ROM drivers. If not, ask for help on how to find the necessary drivers for this.
Once you have a boot disk as above, start by booting from this disk. you should get to an "A" prompt
that looks something like this.
Then, you need to delete or rename the C:\windows directory to another name, such as "oldwin" or something else. (Rename is better than deleting, unless it is REALLY low on disk space.)
Third, you need to find two files in your root directory (your root is your C:\ directory.) These files are called MSDOS.SYS, IO.SYS, and COMMAND.COM, respectively. These files are what windows checks for to tell if you have a functional OS on your computer, as well as a file called WIN.COM in your windows directory (see why I had you rename it?)
to find these hidden files, run the command
from the "A" prompt, as well as the command
-r -a -s -h means take off the attributes of read only, archiveable, system only, and hidden from the files in question.
This will unhide and make deletable these hidden files. Next, delete these files. (If you feel squeamish, copy them each one over to the C:\oldwin directory, or another fresh directory on the C:\ drive so that they can be copied back if needed.)
Then, go back to your CD-ROM, and run the D:\SETUP command from there. This will start a DOS prompted scandisk, and start the install yet again. This install should be from scratch.
You WILL need to reload all programs, but all created files will remain intact - no need to reformat your whole hard drive just to get rid of four files. Also, you will want to be sure you have ALL software drivers on hand for your printer, modem, video card, scanners, sound, and any other equipment that the new system has. It would be a sad thing to go blowing away a working computer, only to find out you needed to get back on the internet to go download the right driver for, say, your modem.
Again, this is ONLY recommended if you are transferring licenses from one PC to another. We don't condone piracy around here.
If this process fails, you may need to consult a local technician either for hire or from a local computer store, to see where the process failed. It could be something simple, but sometimes paying for that quick and direct answer can save you more money in the long run. And make sure the tech explains to you EXACTLY what went wrong, so you can learn from it yourself.
Good luck, and I hope this is helpful.
Henry Link
Are we clear on this?
Good. Now, I believe the problem you are running into is the version of Win 98 you have. There are two editions: the OEM (original Equipment Manufacturer) version, and the "upgrade" version. The OEM version WILL NOT INSTALL on a machine that has a functional Operating system (O.S.) located on it. In order to get an OEM version to install, several key files must be removed, or made impossible for windows to see them.
Start by using a copy of Windows 98 or Windows 95 to make an "Emergency Boot Disk." This disk needs to have the "attrib" command loaded on it, as well as the "copy" command. It also needs to be bootable itself, so you can boot from the A: drive.
THIS BOOT DISK SHOULD ALSO BE ABLE TO LOAD YOUR CD-ROM drivers. If not, ask for help on how to find the necessary drivers for this.
Once you have a boot disk as above, start by booting from this disk. you should get to an "A" prompt
Code:
A:>that looks something like this.
Then, you need to delete or rename the C:\windows directory to another name, such as "oldwin" or something else. (Rename is better than deleting, unless it is REALLY low on disk space.)
Third, you need to find two files in your root directory (your root is your C:\ directory.) These files are called MSDOS.SYS, IO.SYS, and COMMAND.COM, respectively. These files are what windows checks for to tell if you have a functional OS on your computer, as well as a file called WIN.COM in your windows directory (see why I had you rename it?)
to find these hidden files, run the command
Code:
A:>attrib -r -a -s -h c:\*.sysfrom the "A" prompt, as well as the command
Code:
A:>attrib -r -a -s -h c:\*.com-r -a -s -h means take off the attributes of read only, archiveable, system only, and hidden from the files in question.
This will unhide and make deletable these hidden files. Next, delete these files. (If you feel squeamish, copy them each one over to the C:\oldwin directory, or another fresh directory on the C:\ drive so that they can be copied back if needed.)
Then, go back to your CD-ROM, and run the D:\SETUP command from there. This will start a DOS prompted scandisk, and start the install yet again. This install should be from scratch.
You WILL need to reload all programs, but all created files will remain intact - no need to reformat your whole hard drive just to get rid of four files. Also, you will want to be sure you have ALL software drivers on hand for your printer, modem, video card, scanners, sound, and any other equipment that the new system has. It would be a sad thing to go blowing away a working computer, only to find out you needed to get back on the internet to go download the right driver for, say, your modem.
Again, this is ONLY recommended if you are transferring licenses from one PC to another. We don't condone piracy around here.
If this process fails, you may need to consult a local technician either for hire or from a local computer store, to see where the process failed. It could be something simple, but sometimes paying for that quick and direct answer can save you more money in the long run. And make sure the tech explains to you EXACTLY what went wrong, so you can learn from it yourself.
Good luck, and I hope this is helpful.
Henry Link
Last edited:
