problems starting windows 98

[stupidenator]

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

[yni420]

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

[Quan Chi2]

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

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 :P

[stupidenator]

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.

[Quan Chi2]

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.

[stupidenator]

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:

Volume in drive C is SYSTEM
Volume Serial Number is 2516-16FD
Directory of C:\

COMMAND   COM      93,880   05/11/98 8:01P
     1 File(s)                      93,880 bytes
     0 dirs                          42,920.50 MB Free

C:>

I'm not sure what I can do from here... Thank you for your help.
Nick

[Quan Chi2]

Okay, I see what you want to do :P 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.

[stupidenator]

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

[goldeagle2005]

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.

[stupidenator]

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

[goldeagle2005]

Allright. Judging by the info youve provided, botht the hard disk and CD Drive seem to be connected ok. There seems to be a jumper conflict. Try this. Look at the jumper pins on the hard disk AND the cd rom. The hard disk jumpers should be such that the disk is configured as master, and the CD as slave(You will find the jumper settings on the drives themselves.).Configure the jumper such that:
Hard Disk (The one detected as Maxtor) is configured as master
Both CD ROMs are as slave
Next, connect one CD ROM to the same data cable as the one with which the hard disk is connected(one data cable can connect 2 devices), and coonnect the second CD-ROM to the other data cable. This should get your drives working.

[Quan Chi2]

Golden, why don't you speak "english" so that he could understand. Hes obviously confused of your instructions. Explain certain terms to him has you go along. This will make the process easier.

Stupidinator, what type of computer are you using? Just curious. :rolleyes:

[stupidenator]

Golden, why don't you speak "english" so that he could understand. Hes obviously confused of your instructions. Explain certain terms to him has you go along. This will make the process easier.

Stupidinator, what type of computer are you using? Just curious. :rolleyes:

I do understand what golden was saying. I haven't dealt with hardware much, but i was able to find the jumpers on the back of the hard drive and the cd drives. I've been really busy lately and so I haven't really been able to mess with the computer much lately, but I will be doing that today. Oh, and the computer is just kind of a frankenstein computer just put together from different parts.Thank you for all fo your help. I'll post back as soon as I try messing with it again this evening.
Nick

[goldeagle2005]

Golden, why don't you speak "english" so that he could understand. Hes obviously confused of your instructions. Explain certain terms to him has you go along. This will make the process easier.

Stupidinator, what type of computer are you using? Just curious. :rolleyes:

QuanChi2, the instructions were pretty clear and concise. Stupidenator understood them as well. My guess is that YOU didn't understand them, maybe because of your lack of understanding of either the problem or the terms involved. I suggest you look up a computer basics book.

[Quan Chi2]

lol

[stupidenator]

Thank you for everyone's help. Sorry, I have been on a long vacation with my family. I also recently found out that both of the cd drives were shot and did not work. I switched them out with one that I know works from another computer. I also found all of the jumper settings and set the hard drive as the master and the cd drive as slave. I have them both plugged into the same data cable as well(i even switched that with a new one to make sure that there was no problem there. When I turn on the machine, it goes to the Award Modular BIOS screen where it counts the memory and then tries to detect the hardware. On this screen, it Lists like this:

Scanning Primary IDE Drives

Primary Master: None
Primary Slave: None
Secondary Master: None
Secondary Slave: None

Then it will go to another screen where it says across the top Highpoint Technologies and then it list out the devices again and this time, it will show the hard drive as master and the cd drive as slave. I am just guessing, but I believe the problem is with the Award Modular BIOS screen where it displays "none" for the drives. Does anyone know why this is happening and if there is a way to fix it? Thank you for your help in advance and once again, i apologize for the delay with this due to the vacation.
Nick

[karl]

hi,

i have a problem regarding installation win98...the problem is,i lost my product key.until now im waiting who have that(product key).2nd, how can reduce or make ( 1 file(s) at the at the COMMAND COM? everytime i re install the boot disk, they display 2 file(s) instead of 1 file(s) only. until it become 3 file(s)......could you help me pls....thanks and regards.

Volume in drive C is SYSTEM
Volume Serial Number is 2516-16FD
Directory of C:\

COMMAND COM 93,880 05/11/98 8:01P
1 File(s) 93,880 bytes
0 dirs 42,920.50 MB Free

C:>