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Jan 11th, 2005

reformatting and pain. must the 2 go hand in hand?

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ok...so i reformatted my hard drive and am trying to reinstall windows98. sounds simple right? noooo i am afraid not.
after inserting my startup disc, i soon get this message:
your computer may have a disc-compression program installed on it. Because this system may contain an existing operating system or data, setup cannot continue.
from there, i cannot continue. Thinking that maybe i reformatted incorectly, i tryed to do it again, no luck.
If anyone could offer some help, i would be oh so happy.
thankyou
justin

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Jan 11th, 2005

Re: reformatting and pain. must the 2 go hand in hand?

Hello,

I am thinking that the Win 98 setup program is detecting traces of Drivespace (Stacker) on the computer. Even though you formatted it... there is something just triggering a problem.

I would boot up a DOS disk, and go into FDISK, and change the partition slightly. Shave off a couple MB, so that the OS is forced to write a new partition table. Come to think of it, maybe the partition ID is different from what Win 98 is expecting.

Perhaps it is time to move beyond Win 98 too.

Christian

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Jan 11th, 2005

Re: reformatting and pain. must the 2 go hand in hand?

ahhh.thanks for the suggestion but that doesn't compute if you know what i mean. could you speak my language?

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Jan 11th, 2005

Re: reformatting and pain. must the 2 go hand in hand?

There was nothing wrong with your format but you need to go DEEPER into the system
You have the reminents of an old compression program.
Possibly Maxblast or another disk utility...
You need to use a program called Fdisk to reset the partition table...
Do you have a bootable floppy?
Do yo have access to another PC
Do you know HOW to make a bootable floppy?
Once you delete the existing partiton you need to reboot
Go back into Fdisk and create a new partition...
Reboot...
Then you can format it again...
Then reinstall your OS

I know this is still vague because I am exhausted,
but I will be back in the morning to help...

Thong_Ispector

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Jan 12th, 2005

Re: reformatting and pain. must the 2 go hand in hand?

Hi and thanks. i dont exactly know how to do this. from what i understand, i need to download fdisc. i found a free version here:
http://www.23cc.com/free-fdisk/
tell me if this looks good.
do i burn this program onto a disc or...?
i do not have a bootable floppy. and i dont know how to make one. i imagine that i would have to do this on a friend's PC.
here is a page i found explaining how to make a bootable floppy:

http://www.shuttle.com/share/fae/hq/...ash%20Bios.htm

do you recommend making the disc under windows or floppy?
truth be told, i dont know a thing about this.
If you have advice or know a website with step by step instructions, please let me know.
Thanks for your help
j

Quote originally posted by Thong_Ispector ...

There was nothing wrong with your format but you need to go DEEPER into the system
You have the reminents of an old compression program.
Possibly Maxblast or another disk utility...
You need to use a program called Fdisk to reset the partition table...
Do you have a bootable floppy?
Do yo have access to another PC
Do you know HOW to make a bootable floppy?
Once you delete the existing partiton you need to reboot
Go back into Fdisk and create a new partition...
Reboot...
Then you can format it again...
Then reinstall your OS

I know this is still vague because I am exhausted,
but I will be back in the morning to help...

olivertree

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Jan 12th, 2005

Re: reformatting and pain. must the 2 go hand in hand?

What OS is on the PC you have available?

Attached are the files you need to get started...

I included CD rom drivers just in case you need them later...

Make a bootable floppy if you can and copy fdisk to it...

alt...

Format a floppy and copy io.sys to it first
Then msdos.sys

That makes it bootable...

Then fdisk...
now insert the floppy into your machine and reboot...
at the A: you type fdisk

delete all partitions, if you have logical drives in extended partitions they will have to be deleted before the extended partition which must be deleted before the primary partition...

Attached Files

Boot_CD.zip (279.4 KB, 34 views)

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Jan 12th, 2005

Re: reformatting and pain. must the 2 go hand in hand?

ok thanks. i will have to go to my friends house soon and create the disc. as for my OS, i am running win98. outdated i know, but it doesnt seem much better or worse to me than others i have tried. what's your take on it?

Quote originally posted by Thong_Ispector ...

What OS is on the PC you have available?

Attached are the files you need to get started...

I included CD rom drivers just in case you need them later...

Make a bootable floppy if you can and copy fdisk to it...

alt...

Format a floppy and copy io.sys to it first
Then msdos.sys

That makes it bootable...

Then fdisk...
now insert the floppy into your machine and reboot...
at the A: you type fdisk

delete all partitions, if you have logical drives in extended partitions they will have to be deleted before the extended partition which must be deleted before the primary partition...

olivertree

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Jan 13th, 2005

Re: reformatting and pain. must the 2 go hand in hand?

If you run into a snag making that boot disc we are here to help...

As far as your choice of OS...
Don't take any BS...

I run 98se and it does everything better than ME,2000 or XP without the cost

My suggestions are simple... Keep it
Download the FREE 98lite and use it to remove Internet Explorer
Install Firefox
Install Zonealarm... Firewall
Install Ad-aware se
Install Spybot
Keep a copy of HijackThis available should you need it...

You will then have the most stable of ANY M$ Windows OS

I would also suggest you check out the up and comming LinuxLive CDs
They boot and run in RAM only, never touching your hard drive (Unless you specifically want it to)
It lets you test drive another OS without having to actually install it.
They are complete systems right down to OpenOffice and CD Burning software... Games and more...

They are handy to have around as they would have allowed you to fix the problem you are having right now because they also include disc partitioning software...

If you get a chance, pick up a copy...
I would suggest you try Mepis or Knoppix.
They are included with several books you will find at the bookstore or if you have broadband you can download it for free.

I'll keep checking in to see if you hit any snags...

Thong_Ispector

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Jan 13th, 2005

Re: reformatting and pain. must the 2 go hand in hand?

Thong,

Thanks for picking up the ball and running with it. Oliver, you are in good hands.

Christian

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Jan 13th, 2005

Re: reformatting and pain. must the 2 go hand in hand?

Quote originally posted by Thong_Ispector ...

If you run into a snag making that boot disc we are here to help...

As far as your choice of OS...
Don't take any BS...

I run 98se and it does everything better than ME,2000 or XP without the cost

My suggestions are simple... Keep it
Download the FREE 98lite and use it to remove Internet Explorer
Install Firefox
Install Zonealarm... Firewall
Install Ad-aware se
Install Spybot
Keep a copy of HijackThis available should you need it...

You will then have the most stable of ANY M$ Windows OS

I would also suggest you check out the up and comming LinuxLive CDs
They boot and run in RAM only, never touching your hard drive (Unless you specifically want it to)
It lets you test drive another OS without having to actually install it.
They are complete systems right down to OpenOffice and CD Burning software... Games and more...

They are handy to have around as they would have allowed you to fix the problem you are having right now because they also include disc partitioning software...

If you get a chance, pick up a copy...
I would suggest you try Mepis or Knoppix.
They are included with several books you will find at the bookstore or if you have broadband you can download it for free.

I'll keep checking in to see if you hit any snags...

i would like to give lite98 a try ,
Would you happen to have a link to 98lite that is not the pro version or one that doesen want me to first install a download manager program to downlload 98 lite. thanks

caperjack

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