Hi Everyone,
I am having a big problem with a computer i was just given that had windows 98 on it. When I turn the computer on, it starts to boot up, it checks for the:
Primary Master: Maxtor
Primart Slave: none
Secondary Master: none
Secondary Slave: none

Then it will quiclkly flash the windows 98 screen( with the blue sky and the windows symbol)/ Then it will immediately fo back to dos with the:
C:>
prompt. If from here I type 'dir', it shows that there is only one thing called 'COMMAND' on the system.

What I really want to be able to do is delete windows 98 completely from this sytem... any ideas on how that can be accomplished? Thanks in advance.
Nick

Create a boot up floppy(floppy which would contain fdisk and such system files)
Boot up using the floppy.
go to floppy drive
there you can do partitioning and formatting also

Well he would need to have windows saved to the floppy first

If you have a windows installation cd, boot windows from the CD.

Reinstall Windows. Mabye something is corrupted and needs reinstallation. DO NOT DELETE AND REINSTALL WINDOWS. THAT IS A LAST RESORT. :eek:

If everything works afterward, then make a backup of your registry on a floppy.

Mabye I'm wrong

Thank you for replying to my post!
I do have a windows installation cd, but the problem is I don't think that either of the two cd drives are recognized by the computer. The only file on the hard disk is the command file.. and I can't access any of it from dos. I'm not sure what I can do.

Okay, I'm getting the idea that you are in DOS ( heh ). So,

In the DOS screen it may look like this:

C:>
or mabye
C:\WINDOWS>

Press the escape key on your keyboard.
Type D: while your windows reinstallation disk is in.

An entire message should come up, then a blue screen should appear with options...
Choose the option of your choice ie:

Reinstall Windows 98

I believe you press F10 afterward to go forward with the installation process. Its self explainitory; lol you don't need a PHd. in Rocket Science to go through with the process (just in case you didnt know lol).

heh, I don't really understand the problem you have. Describe it alittle more please lol. Other than that, I hope this solves your problem.

Thanks for the reply.
It does come up in DOS when I start it up. The computer has 2 cd drives on it. I have put the windows 98 cd in both drives and it doesn't do anything automatically.... I have also tried putting the cd in and then typing "d:" but when i try that I get the message "Invalid Drive Specification". The only drive I can really access is the "A:>" drive. When I try and boot up the system, it will boot up normal until it gets to the blue sky and windows logo screen.. it flashes that for a second and then jumps straight into DOS. I've typed "dir" on the c:> drive to see the directory of c:> and the only thing that is in there is:
I'm not sure what I can do from here... Thank you for your help.
Nick

Okay, I see what you want to do lol

You are looking to reformat your drive (deleting everything and reinstalling your OS).

To do this, you will need a back up Operating System CD-ROM.
You will also need a Windows 98 SE Reinstallation Disk.

In the DOS screen, type Format C:
It should give you the option of going through with the reformat.
Y = yes
N = no

Go through with it.
Throughout the process it will prompt you with options through each step to the next.

Reinstall everything.

Keep the windows Serial Number on hand (a 25 digit number to validate your Windows at the end of the reinstallation process).
***That is very important.

After that, log into your computer with a user name (optional).
And your computer is back to normal, just it will need reinstallation of certain drivers like:

Graphics
Modem
Firewalls
Antivirus Software
Etc...

That should be the answer to your problem.
If not, ask. I'll try to help. Or you may have to check with your vendor.

Thank you for replying.
When I typed in 'Format C:", DOS tells me
"Bad command or file name"
It really won't let me do much of anything.
Thank you for your help.
Nick

Since you seem to only have command.com on your drive, format will not work, as it is executed by a file named FORMAT.COM. Also, I see that neither of your CD-ROMs are detected. So, I suggest you open up your computer and make sure that all cables, especially the data cable is firmly connected. The data cable is a broad, flat cable with a plastic thingie at the end. This plastic connector has 40 holes. Align the connector on the cable with the corresponding slot on the CD-ROM drive (use the notch on the connector for reference, as there's a corresponding notch on the CD-ROM socket). To be sure, the red wire on the data cable faces the power cable(a 4 pin, white colored connector with 2 black, 1 red and 1 yellow wire). Once the data cable is aligned, push it in until it slides in the socket. Similarly, connect the data cable to the corresponding slot on the mainboard. Also, check the jumper settings on the CD-ROM.Connect the two CD-ROMs on the secondary channel(the slot in which the hard disk IS NOT connected.). Assign one CD-ROM as master using the jumpers on the device, and the other as a slave. The jumper settings will be mentioned on the CD-ROM drive itself. Once this is done, the BIOS will display the CD-ROMs in addition to your hard disk. Now, enter the BIOS (look out for a message tlling you to press a key to enter setup), and change the boot sequence to CD-ROM first. Pop your Windows 98 CD in the drive, and restart after saving changes in the BIOS. Now the computer should boot off the Windows 98 CD and give you options for starting setup etc. Select the option and start setup.

In case of questions and other problems, let me know.

Thank you very much for your help. I tried what you were saying and it doesn't seem to be working(of course, I am most likely not doing something right.) I will try it again. But there was one thing I forgot to mention. I am not sure if this will make a difference, but when I turn on the computer, it will go to a screen where it has:
Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
On this screen, it detects that one of the cd drives is the primary master. Then it goes to another screen where it says:
Highpoint Technologies HPT370 UDMA/ATA100 Raid Controller
This then runs another hardware check and comes up saying the primary master is Maxtor(I believe that is the brand of hard drive, but I am not sure.) then from this screen, it goes and tries to start up windows 98 (comes up with the blue sky image and the windows logo) then it immediately gets out of that and straight into DOS. I hope this helps in some way. Thank you for all the help you're giving me.
Nick