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cancelling a NTFS system

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I had a 40 gig hard drive that had windows 2000 on it and I have reformated the drive to the manufacturer’s specs.

I am trying to install Win 98 on the drive now.

I continually get the following error:

Standard Mode: missing DMI

each time I try to install win 98. I have tried to clear the cmos, but still get the same error message.

Can someone help or explain please?
Thanks

Topic

Yes

In reply to cancelling a NTFS system

Not really sure by what you mean by “manufactures specs”.

But when you installed 2K on it, it formatted the drive as NTFS.

Simply boot off of the 98 cd, when you get to the screen asking how you want to boot. Specify off of the cd. Then choose command prompt, does not need cd support. When you get to a command prompt run fdisk.

blow away the existing non-dos partition. Then make a new partition. Once you make a new partition reboot. Do the same thing again, except choose cd support. When you get a command prompt type
cd D:\win98
then format c: /s

Once it is formatted cd c:\
then mkdir win98
then cd win98
then copy d:\win98\*.*
After all of the files are copied
then type setup and the install process will begin.

I copy the files to make it easier when you have to reinstall files as you must do very often in win98. And when that happens, it will always go to the location that you installed the os from.

Why are you installing win98 anyways? 2K is much more stable and reliable then 98 or XP.

Non DOS partition must be removed

In reply to cancelling a NTFS system

You will need to run fdisk to remove the non-dos (ntfs) partition and create a new dos partition, then format it. Make sure when you start the fdisk session you say yes to enable large disk support as this will use fat32 and let you create a partition that will fill the drive.

BTW: you will only get this option with win98b, if you are trying to install win98a you will be stuck with old fat partitions and be limited to a 2 gig partition size.

But as lordinfidel asked, why go back to 98?

Not A Discussion Topic

In reply to cancelling a NTFS system

Please post questions in the Q&A area. Thanks.

sorry… i know I must piss you off

In reply to Not A Discussion Topic

posting to peoples questions and all, egging them on.

But I gave up caring about points a long time ago.
Since most newbies mess up with the point awarding, reject your answer, and never leave a comment.

At least here, in the discussion area, they can respond back to you.

Mostly the q&a area just started pissing me off.

Reply To: cancelling a NTFS system

In reply to sorry… i know I must piss you off

I second the motion. I will donate my points to anyone that really wants them.

LMAO

In reply to sorry… i know I must piss you off

You rebel you! Not caring about points, next thing, you won?t care about money. You may be single handedly bringing about the downfall of western civilization! Have a fiddle, watch Rome burn.

I agree, the QA area never did much for me either. I have the most fun talking with people here in the forums, seems to get more done with less hassle. Easier to respond to the issues, and it brings people together to bounce ideas off others who know what the heck they are doing if you are stumped.

Never! I say…. I love $$$$$

In reply to LMAO

I am a money whore….

I used to be big into the q&a area. I just got tired of the non-responses. Plus I found that more people look at the discussions, so I can probably help the wider range here.

I still do post in q&a to questions that I find interesting and challenging. Not for the points though, I have enough of them anyways.

I agree!

In reply to Never! I say…. I love $$$$$

Well, I have always told people I am a greedy bastard. Might as well admit I appreciate capitalism.

I go to the highest bidder, and if I don’t feel I am making what I am worth, I go elsewhere.

Me as well

In reply to sorry… i know I must piss you off

I find it very frustrating in the Q&A section when you answer a question only to see it rejected or not rated and with no positive answer. That way you don’t learn anything at least here even thought he forums were never ment as Q&A fourms you at least get answers which only helps you to learn more as none of us know it all {well at least the honest ones will tell you that.}
Now while I may be mistaken I thought this place was for professiojnals to come together and chat about something and hopefully learn in the process if we constantly jump on everyone who posts a question here we are only cutting off our noses to despite our faces.
Maxwell Edison recently had a very interesting question in the Q7A section and I for on would like to know how he resolved that problem we don’t need to keep making the same mistakes as each other to learn we should be big enough to learn from other peoples problems while at the same time offering them some support when we don’t know how to solve a problem or even offering suggestions when we can.
After all what is the point of TR if we can’t help each other in a friendly manner. We don’t have to agree with each others beliefs but when it comes to techinical things we are always learning and I for one firmly believe that the day I stop learning is the day I die.

I stopped contributing tothe Q&A section because most times I never did find out what fixed the problem asked about and while I don’t for one second mind sharing my experience it is nice to find out if you did actually help someone and even if you didn’t the person who eventually did teached you something.
If you are so interested in points you can have mine as well as I consider knolledge far more important than a points listing that has little meaning.

Oh really

In reply to Not A Discussion Topic

I’m not so sure about that. Some of the best discussions I have ever had have started out with a question from a person who needed help.

So, anyone want to satisfy rdschaefer and get into a discussion about the fundamental differences between Dos and Non-Dos partitions?

I think that the install routine on Win98 (or any Fat compatible OS) should give a more meaningful message if the user tries to install to a non-dos partition. Why would the message be so cryptic (other than the fact that MS wrote it?)

Anyone want to discuss this?

Your looking for rational thought from M$

In reply to Oh really

The same company that came out with ME.

The same company that wanted to end the life cycle for their most stable OS ever, 2K.

I think that their unoffical motto is:
We will not be hindered by rational thought

Actually I may be wrong about this but

In reply to Oh really

I doin’t think MS ever envisiged anyone wanting to switch from an NTFS to FAT. After all why would you want to make a backward step?
I think that it just goes to show that the Mighty Microsoft is solely concerned with only selling new product and to hell with the old.

Currently I have a Lap Top in for repair and it needs a new HDD well no big problem there anyone could fix that right? Not so this thing doesn’t have a CD ROM and has 39 floppies to load Windows 98 again no big deal a bit slow but eventually you’ll get there right? Currently I can’t get past the enter product key screen as none of the supplied product keys either the original that came with the LT or any of the 5 that MS has so far supplied actually work. I just keep getting an invalid Key message and to re enter the correct Key. Now how do you enter the correct Key when even MS can’t supply it? Incidently the old HDD was dead so ther eis no posibility of getting the original Key off that without a lot of expence and even then there is no garantie that it would work.

MY oh My I’ve gone and asked another question in the Discussioin forum haven’t I?

Where were you guys…

In reply to Not A Discussion Topic

when we were discussing this over the last several weeks. It seemed to me that the majority were in favor of enforcing the distinction between discussions and help-questions so I’ve been posting these reminders. I personally don’t care since I look at both anyway.
Fine, I’ll stop with the “Not A … Topic” posts.

Ralph

Reply To: cancelling a NTFS system

In reply to Where were you guys…

Its just entertainment. If we help some now and then, all the better.

Sorry…. I did not see the discussion

In reply to Where were you guys…

I did not mean to blast you. That was not the intention. I never saw the discussion for some reason. I guess I was just too busy defending myself as a maverick.

I just thought it odd that every discussion that I was posting in you put the disclaimer in.

I thought I was pissing you off by answering people here.

See there are always 2 sides to every story. You can continue on your crusade. It does not bother me really, you informing the general masses.

I actually looked in on that one

In reply to Where were you guys…

But as everyone seemed to support your basic premis I didn’t want to rock the boat after all I get enough flack over non technical issues without trying to start a fight over something that may prove usefull so I just let that thread run without comment.

But actually I think that I did mention that Maxwell had a very interesting Question in the Q&A section that would make a very good discussion topic and I think even Maxwell said something similar but without looking it up I’m not sure however I’m pretty sure that Maxwell said something along those lines I may just have e-mailed him with an offer of support.

However even then while that question is now closed I don’t know if Maxwell got a solution and I would very much like to know as while it isn’t of any real importance to me it was a very interesting question.

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