Hi all, I'm new, and I don't know as much about computer technical stuff as all you guys probably do. I'm more into the creative side of computers with macromedia stuff.

Sorry if this has been posted in the wrong section of the board but I didn't know where else to post it.

Anyhow,

I've just tried reformatting my old computer, and everything seemed to be going fine. I managed to get into the windows 98 setup screen and everything, but the windows installation process got to 19% and then it said "There was a major error on the hard disk retry?" or something simillar, I retried it but it didnt work. THEN I rebooted the computer and everytime I try to enter WIN98 setup again it says:

"Setup cannot install windows 98 on your computer.
Your computer does not have a hard disk, your hard disk is not functioning correctly, or your hard disk requires a special device driver. Contact you computer vendor for assistance."

So I don't know what I did wrong, I dont think I did anything wrong. Does anyone know what I need to do to fix this issue?

-Serena

what kind of hard drive is it?
look up the hard drive on the net and see if there is a bootible utility.
your hard drive could be failing, I have had 4 western digitals fail.
there should be directions on how to use the utility on the website.

(Here's another stupid question) How do I find out what harddrive it is, where do I look? And also can you point me in the direction that utility website you mentioned?

I think I killed my harddrive. I've been reading up on things on the net, and it seems most likely that it has failed.

*sighs* Think its time to send the comp off to a professional.

all you have to do is open up your computer and see what brand the hard drive is. Sending it to a professional would probably more expensive than just simply buying a new hard drive. You can get a decent sized hard drive at a quite inexpensive price. www.tigerdirect.com or www.newegg.com are great reputable sites. 40 gb is quite a chunk of memory, for not that expensive. It goes all the way up to 400 gb's but that gets more expensive.

Why were you reformatting in the first place? Were you having a problem?

Why do you now think the drive has failed?

When you open the computer to see who the manufacturer is, remember to protect it from static electricty by wearing a wrist strap or frequently touching a metal part of the case. Most likely you will need to remove the hard drive in order to see the name on it.

If really do need to replace the drive, you should be able to do it yourself; instructions will come with the new drive, and you can find more detailed info on the web if you need it.

yes I agree, you can change the harddrive yourself.
as long as you have all your drivers for sound card, video card, NIC card etc.
most of them you can get new releases from the vendors.
open your case up and find your harddrive, most of the time its right under your floppy drive, undo the four screws and slide it out, unplug the cables and look for the name on it. now if you have time you can try and locate the utilitys from the manufactor of the drive, exp if its a maxtor drive goto www.maxtor.com, remember to right down the info from your HD.
you cant us maxtor tools with a seagate drive and vice versa, they have to be from the same company. however if it is a old hd and you want it fixed goto your local store and pickup a new drive. then open it up read the directions and install it back were the old one was. then pop your OS disk in and turn it on. format and install all your stuff again and there you go.