Topic: old pc wont install os

[danlan02]

hio guys i have an oldish pc run 800mhz tbird 256mb pc100ram dvd cd 40gb hard disk
anyway i had problems with a virus i couldnt get rid of it norton was dead.
so i formatted and recreated dos partitions
.ok
the problem being my original 98se disc was nackered buit i had a copy but it was scratched.
so i did the obvious tried it no good.
so i tried copy *.* c: win98 well done copied all the setup cabs the lot.tried it again nothing.i have a reload back up cd that doesnt work it tries to restore master image.wot can i do im new to these forums make me welcome please help.

[Simon]

Hi danlan02, and  , especially today, on our 1st Birthday (just in case you hadn't noticed!)  

Hopefully one of our techies will be able to help you with this one.  My initial reaction was to suggest you borrow an undamaged Win98SE CD from a friend.

[Rodders]

Hiya Dan,

Nice to see you again.  

You've picked a bit of a quiet time, if you were expecting a brass band kind of welcome, but very welcome you are!  Now let's see about your problem...

The obvious solution is to get your hands on a decent copy of WIN98se, if the ones you already have don't work.  I'm a bit confused about the syntax you used when copying those files.  Where exactly did you copy them from/to?

[danlan02]

thanx for a pleasent and fast reply and oh happy birthday i found you guys from looken under pc forums. best site yet you guys and girls.
any way my syntax was e: meaning the cd drive
e: enter
cd win98
copy *.* c:\win98

i have done this a few times this is wot i was adviced buy thew guys @ time computers.worked on the old scratch copy but just not today.
as for getting a new copy or borrowing a copy i know of no-one that has win98se i would like to stay with this os.ive used it since it was first released.
thanx for your help guys,i know i have loads to offer for this forums ive dealt with pc repairs most of my last 5 years building them adding mods the lot you name it,just havent had this problem before.thanx yall

[Rodders]

I suspect you may have overwritten the Windows registry stuff by copying directly into the existing Win98 dir.

It's starting to look like you need a fresher copy of '98 to do an install from.  Normally, I'd recommend a shufti round eBay, but given the current state of the postal system, you might have a long wait before anything turns up.   :-[

Just a thought, but what happens when you issue the 'win' command from within the Win98 directory?

[Sandra]

Have you thought of burning the scratched cd again at a slow speed with something like BLINDWITE or one of the more specialised burning progs ?
I have been told that blindwrite can repair some damaged files somehow but havent tried it myself, maybe someone can verify this  

[danlan02]

the win command doesnt work either,i had an old hard drive with 98se on it so i chucked that in the pc but now i have a new problem,it find my dvd and cdwrbut n ot my dvdwr,the hard drive and dvdr are running on the same ide cable hard disk set as master dvd as slave is thjat right.
i get unable to read drive a:.
but if i dissconnect the ide from the dvdr it loads fine why is the dvdr checking my floppy.ive tried change the bios boot sequence but still nothing,i have a restore master image that doensnt work either for the os problem.
ive formatted and recreated partitions before and called alweays restore from the cd just not no morer.these pcs can be a pain in the rear.;
ive build many pcs with out trouble just this blasted one.thanx for all the reply.i cant burn the cd at the moment coz the pc wont let me its doin weird stuff,had trouble upgrading to 2000 but got there and now that dont like my dvdwr.wots the game with this blasted pc guys.luckyly i dont have a hammer in my hand lol

[Sandra]

I would be tempted to make sure that the pc is running correctly with the minimum of extra hardware connected, ie just the boot hard drive, the floppy and the Cd rom.
Set the Hard drive and the Cd rom as master on the primary and secondary ide channels.
After that add one extra IDE device at a time to makes sure its being detected and working correctly.
If its not reading he floppy make sure the cable is the correct way round as it is possible on some floppies to reverse it  :doggie: