Member Avatar for conntaxman

Loading a pc. I have to use both 98 and xp. I can format drive c. but when loading windows 98 it will ask all the normal questions, name ,etc. then it will start to check the room and files and says it is loading files, But it dosen't ask for the serial number. and at the end it says that it has to Reboot and start windows for the first time.It will reboot and then the screen comes up windows 98 ,and it will stop their.The desk top never comes up.
Then if I load windows xp on it will go through the whole process, but It will not find the internet. That is the problem,,, It cant find the internet. but in xp the desk top dose come up.
I have used these cd's MANY times and never had a problem. Im not installing these ,my daugther is in another state. I sent her the disks.
Anyone know why xp cant find the internet?

  • 3 Contributors
  • 4 Replies
  • 144 Views
  • 1 Day Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by OlyComputers

Dani AI

Generated

Practical, step‑by‑step checks that complement the replies from and — focused on actionable diagnostics for a Windows 98 install that stalls and an XP desktop that boots but has no network.

For the Windows 98 side:

  • Put the motherboard into the most compatible mode: switch SATA to IDE/Compatibility (not AHCI/RAID) and disable extra onboard controllers (firewire, card readers) before installing. Older installers fail on modern controller modes.
  • Try the installer from a clean media copy (bad burns cause strange skips). Mount the CD on another PC and look for any unattended setup file (for Win9x this can silently suppress prompts).
  • If the system hangs at the logo, boot with F8 into Safe Mode or minimal drivers to identify which device driver is blocking GUI startup. Remove nonessential PCI/USB cards and retry.
  • If hardware compatibility remains a problem, install Windows 98 inside a virtual machine (VirtualBox/VMware) where the virtual hardware is known to work.

For the XP/network side:

  • Use Device Manager (run devmgmt.msc) and inspect Network adapters. If an adapter is missing or has a yellow icon, open its Properties, Details tab, then note the Hardware Ids (VEN_xxxx&DEV_xxxx). Use those IDs to locate an exact driver on the vendor/motherboard support site from another computer.
  • Physical checks: confirm link lights on the NIC and router port and try a known-good cable/port. If the PC shows a 169.254.x.x address, DHCP failed.
  • Useful commands to run as Administrator:
    ipconfig /all
netsh int ip reset
netsh winsock reset

    Reboot after the netsh resets.

Final notes:

  • Use a USB stick or burn driver installers to CD when the target PC has no internet.
  • Avoid putting unpatched legacy OS online without protections.
  • For targeted driver retrieval, the motherboard model or the NIC hardware IDs are the keys to the correct downloads.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for jbennet

Windows 98 doesnt work well on modern PCs.

Member Avatar for OlyComputers

Don't know what to say about the Win98 problem, and I have no idea why you would NEED to use 98. Pretty much anything that runs on 98 will run on XP using compatibility mode.

As for the internet issue with XP, I'd guess she doesn't have the Network driver for the system. Windows XP has many network drivers included, so it works out of box on some systems, but on newer systems (and some older) you need to download the driver for your NIC.

Member Avatar for jbennet

nah you need 98 for lots of scientific apps which need to communicate directly with hardware. Doesnt work on NT.

Member Avatar for OlyComputers

Fair enough, I know there are applications that don't work well under compatibility mode, but most mainstream apps do. Most people don't need to run really specialty apps that are that old (not to say that some don't, but most people have already found replacement software or given up on the app).

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.