Completing format

Since you posted this in the Windows 9X section, I will provide instructions for W98.
(Windows 95 and Me are similar)

First, perform a hardware inventory of your system.
What chip-set is on the motherboard?
Video card
Sound card
Modem
Printer and other devices.

Download the latest drivers from the manufacture of each device.
At a minimum, have the driver CDs or floppies handy.

Next, you need a Windows startup disk.
This is more than a bootable floppy as it installs tools and drivers to facilitate installing Windows.
(For W98, you can create a startup disk from the add/remove programs menu on any running PC with W98.)

Insert the startup floppy and boot up the PC.
(You may need to enter BIOS setup to enable booting fromthe floppy.)

Answer yes, when asked if you want CD-ROM support.

Insert the W98 CD into the CD drive.

From the DOS prompt, type in setup and hit the enter key.
Windows setup should begin.

I always choose a custom setup, and select the components I wish to be installed.

Follow the prompts to complete the installation and enter your Windows product key when requested.

After Windows is mostly installed, Windows will begin installing device drivers.

Install the drivers in the following order:

Chip-set / motherboard drivers

DirectX (from Microsoft) DO NOT install a newer version of DirectX than supported by your video card driver.

Video driver

Modem

Sound card

Other devices.

Boot into safe mode, and runscandisk and defrag.

Connect on-line, and run Windows update.
www.microsoft.com/windows
click on the Windows Update link.

Personally, I advise against installing IE6 on W98 PCs.

Begin installing your application software.

Chas

Assuming you have "c:\" blinking after you boot, then you are well on you way to the dark side of m.S. O.S. loading my young Jedi!

The next step should be to get the Cd rom operational [most operating systems are on CDs] You need to get a generic driver for your Cd ROM, and load the driver [this will give you access to the cd rom drive]. See if you could get acces to a startup disk from a system with the same o.s as the one you are attempting to install. This would greatly simplify things 4u.