Topic: floppy boot problem

[frankles]

I am trying to take pc back to factory setting or reformat and reinstallWIN98. After downloading updated security options from MSN my pc crashed. I had to restore from a previousregistry to get it running. I then nooticed I could not boot from floppy. I can use floppy once pc is up and running but I need to boot from floppy to factory disk or WIN98 floppy.

I have checked bios, changed FDD and cable for new ones and checked disks on another pc.

I am getting the message:
Checking for boot from floppy.....ok

then nothing it just hangs.

I feel there is something missing from the boot process.  HELP

[Sandra]

Sounds like your 98 boot disk is corrupted.
Make another one from your 98 CD or get one from :

www.bootdisk.com

Just noticed that you said the discs are ok in another PC, do you mean that the boot disk is ok

[frankles]

Yeah. They will boot other PC.

[Sandra]

If you restart without the floppy in does it make the normal sound from the floppy and does the light flash then go out as normal ?
Sorry if this sounds too simple but sometimes the cable is connected the wrong way round as the red stripe is the opposite way to the way that the IDE drives are and is a commonly made mistake.
This causes the light to stay on all the time and the drive not to spin up  :doggie:

[frankles]

Yeah. Everything is as it should be physically.  I really think it has something to do with the process after checking for boot from floppy. As I said I get an ok message and then it hangs. It is as if the next instruction is not there. :'(

[Sandra]

I cant think of anything else really to suggest  
It sounds as if its not transferring the system files to the hard drive doesnt it.
Have you tried setting the bios to boot from the cd rom and using the 98 cd and then fdisking from the A prompt that way ?

[Rodders]

Q1.  Is the BIOS set to enable a boot from your A: drive?

Q2.  Did the machine come with a System Restore disk with which you could reload a Ghost image of your hard drive's original contents?

[Reno]

try exchanging another floppy drive if you have one to spare. Just test it to see if the problems phisical. Just to be sure. make sure the cables are plugged in tight, and they haven't partially pulled out. Ive been very stressed out before in your position and it took me 2 days to figure out the floppy drive was bad.

Have you restored the default settings in the bios? And then changed the boot order?

[frankles]

hi

Firstly Rodders The pc did come with a Ghost disc and that is why I need to boot from the floppy.

Secondly Bobscratchy I have tried a brand new fdd and connection cable. I am sure I have made all connections secure.

I feel as one of you suggested that there is a problem with the software. The PC looks for a boot from floppy, finds it and then hangs. It is as if the next step in the process is missing or corrupt. I am not confident enough in booting from cd and then doing fdisk and reformat. That is why I would like to work from the floppy. MSN is a pain. It was their security downloads that caused all the problems. > :'(

[Sandra]

I originally posted that you could boot from the 98 cd and use Fdisk from that but after looking into it further the 98 cd didnt support this feature so I deleted the post, sorry if it caused any confusion Frankles  

To make up for it I have found this for you  

http://www.bootdisk.com/nero.htm

It explains a few different ways to make a bootable cd out of your 98 boot floppy so you can do that and then boot from that cd as if it was booting from your floppy, I assume that you have a cd writer or can get a friend to do a cd for you if you dont have one yourself

[Reno]

Thats how i do it with my win98se cd. Haven't used a floppy sense i ran across a 386 that wouldn't boot from the cdrom


How long have you left the machine to process the floppy. 5 to 10 mins?