Member Avatar for Thalin

Hey guys,

I have spent about a week now trying to install Windows on my old machine, which originally had Windows 95 installed.

The problem is, I can get into installation through the setup.exe commands when the PC boots up, but after it asks me if I agree the Microsoft License Agreement, the screen freezes, I get a black box, and a brief beep from the inside of my machine (although when I disconnected the speaker wire this beeping stopped).

I have tried Windows 95 and 98, and had the same problem, and have also tried many different ways - using Windows 95 and 98 disk, using Windows 95 and 98 boot disks, copying the CD files to hard drive and installing from there, and also gone as far as to try switch command. The furthest i've got with these switch commands is when I commanded it not to load SmartDisk scanner, and the PC still froze, but I get a repeated beep sounds, was able to use the mouse, and using the keyboard worked, for pressing CTRL+ALT+DELETE. Usually when it crashes I have no control over the mouse or keyboard.

The system is old, but I would like to get it working again, and for all the years I used it, it was quite a good machine. What annoys me even more is that I tried using it a couple of minutes before doing the reformat to see if it was still alive, and all was well.

I have tried deleting the partition, creating, formatting, formatting /s etc etc, and have got no where. I just can't stop this freeze.

Could anyone help me?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Thong_Ispector

Dani AI

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Good that tracked it down to the BIOS. Early Windows installers often stop when the firmware blocks access or confuses devices, so a focused BIOS check usually fixes freezes at the license/setup stage. was right to flag the boot/sector protection idea — it is one of the most common culprits.

Common BIOS items to try changing (toggle one at a time):

  • Disable any "Virus Warning", "Boot Sector Protection" or "Protect Boot Sector" option so the installer can write the MBR and boot files.
  • Turn off BIOS shadowing/video shadowing and temporarily disable onboard caching (used only for debugging; re-enable after install).
  • Disable legacy USB support or unplug USB devices and use PS/2 keyboard/mouse if available — older installers can hang on USB controllers.
  • Check IDE/ATAPI autodetect and controller mode; if a "compatibility" or "legacy IDE" mode exists, try that.
  • If the board exposes ACPI/APM or "Plug and Play OS" options, try switching them (some Win95/98 setups behave better with ACPI off).

Quick troubleshooting order that helped many people: load BIOS defaults to get a baseline, then try the specific toggles above. If the freeze persists, remove nonessential cards and extra RAM sticks, test memory with a diagnostic floppy/CD, and run a HDD self-test if available. Only consider a BIOS update as a last resort and follow the motherboard maker's instructions exactly.

Notes: record any BIOS changes so they can be reversed. The pattern here matches many vintage-install problems where firmware write-protection or device emulation blocks setup rather than a Windows bug.

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Member Avatar for Thalin

Excellent news, I got it working.

Had to adjust some BIOS settings, and that was it!

Member Avatar for Thong_Ispector

Yep, that bios boot sector virus protection will get ya every time...
Glad you got it working

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