Installing Windows 98SE on Old Computer

[tmlive10]

Can anyone tell me why this "c:\" pops up when I try to install windows on an IBM Thinkpad 380ED that doesn't currently have an OS? When I start the computer with the Windows CD and Boot diskthe computer starts to read both and the windows 98 logo appears for a second before immediately going to the following c:\ and won't let me do anything else.

[PeckerWood]

Originally Posted by tmlive10

Can anyone tell me why this "c:\" pops up when I try to install windows on an IBM Thinkpad 380ED that doesn't currently have an OS? When I start the computer with the Windows CD and Boot diskthe computer starts to read both and the windows 98 logo appears for a second before immediately going to the following c:\ and won't let me do anything else.

You should have a 3.5" floppy drive for the laptop?

To start this Windows install. First check that the first boot device in your system BIOS is set to the 3.5 floppy drive.

Download the OEM floppy boot disk for Windows 98 FE (first edition),or Windows 98 SE
second edition.

You need a computer with the system installed that has a floppy drive to run the file you
download to make a 3.5 floppy drive setup disk.

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

[tmlive10]

thanks. I tried to make a bootdisk from the site you recommended and kept getting an error message during the copy to floppy that said problem reading track 1 and so on. I hit ignore each time it came up and finished the download. However, as I was trying to load windows with the new boot disk I received the following command after trying to boot using cd rom support a:\ and it wouldn't let me do anything else. Do you have another suggestion from here?

[PeckerWood]

Originally Posted by tmlive10

thanks. I tried to make a bootdisk from the site you recommended and kept getting an error message during the copy to floppy that said problem reading track 1 and so on. I hit ignore each time it came up and finished the download. However, as I was trying to load windows with the new boot disk I received the following command after trying to boot using cd rom support a:\ and it wouldn't let me do anything else. Do you have another suggestion from here?

You used a bad 3.5 floppy disk to make the file.Try another one.As a precaution download the boot file again it could have been a corrupted file download.

Also,did you do this---->Download the file to your C: drive, put a fresh disk in your A: drive, then click on the file to create the bootdisk. The file you download is a program you double
click on to make a bootdisk.

[tmlive10]

After downloading a new bootdisk (Win 98SE) and trying to install windows, I get the following message after getting to preparing to start your computer. This may take a few minutes. Please wait... The diagnostic tools were successfully loaded to drive D. MSCDEX Version 2.25 Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp. 1986-1995. All rights reserved. Drive E: = Driver MSCD001 unit 0 To get help, type HELP and press ENTER. A:\>

This is as far as I get to installing Win 98SE, please help as to what I can do to complete the installation?

[unionflag]

Unlike Windows XP/Vista., you don't have to boot from a Windows 98SE CD in order to install it. In fact, some Windows 98SE discs aren't bootable anyway.

Just boot from the startup floppy like you did, enabling CD-ROM support when prompted. When the A:> prompt appears on screen, put your Windows 98SE CD in the drive, give it time to spin up, then change from drive A: to drive E: simply by typing E: and pressing [Enter]

Command-Prompt should now read E:>

Now type setup and press [Enter]

Windows 98SE Setup should start to run.

One final word -- to ensure a trouble-free installation, make sure the target partition is totally empty of all files before attempting set up Windows on it.