Installing OS

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slinky

slinky

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Trying to install Win 98 on blank PC, got Win98 CD
and cd support; after `routine check`, I get;
`cannot create temp. directory. If you have HPFS or NTFS
installed on harddrive you will need to create an MS-DOS
boot partition to setup windows`........Any ideas pls.
 
Are there other partitions? I'd try deleting the existing partition(s) and recreating them using FDISK. (assuming you don't have important information on this machine) After FDISK, FORMAT C: /S

Maybe the drive is FDISK 'd but not formatted? Not sure. Try the above though.
 
You need to install 95 and 98 onto a FAT or FAT32 partition, not onto an NTFS, Linux or HPFS partition. If you've got a copy, use partition magic to change the file system to FAT, and the install should work.

- gaffa
 
I always FDisk and Format before installing the OS.

This is easiest done from a boot or Startup floppy. Take a blank floppy to any other Windows 98 PC, go into Control Panel / Add Remove Programs / Startup Disk to create a startup disk.

Then boot from your startup disk, use FDisk to create the partitions you want, then Format the drive.

Then when done I usually prefer to copy the Win98 folder from the CD to an identically named folder (directory) you can create on the C: drive -

c:\
md Win98

Then run setup from the directory on your hard drive. In the future rather than asking for the Windows 98 if it needs files, it will just grab them without asking from your Win98 directory.
 
Hi Friends, thanks for the response, much appreciated.

EMERIC: Can you tell me what these partitions are and if I need them. - I`m using a win 98 start-up floppy.- When I type in fdisk it tells me `no fixed disks present`. Whassat??

GAFFA: It`s telling me that `Win 98 has detected that drice C does not contain a valid FAT or FAT 32 partition`,
with 3 possible causes:
1) Drive not partitioned
2) You may be using third party partitioning sorftware
3) Virus
Does this tell you anything?

Also I`m getting `format not supported on drice C`.

Thanks for any clues, Slinky.
 
When trying to explain partioning, Fdisk, and formatting, I like to put it like this: imagine that your hard disk is a roll of blank paper.

Disk partitioning, which is what the FDisk command does, is like cutting a piece of paper off the roll. It's still blank but you now know how big it is and what its physical dimmensions are. Partitioning writes a small block of information to the drive that tells other software how big it is, how to divide it up, and what sort of file system can be written to it.

Formatting is like putting ruled lines onto the paper - it structures the drive so that information can be written or read from it in an organized way.

The format command will NEVER work if you have not already partitioned the drive, because it needs that partitioning information to be there first.

Unfortuately, if your Fdisk command is telling you there is no hard drive present, you have some sort of problem. These are things you can try:

I am assuming that you are using an IDE type of drive rather than a SCSI hrad drive. Go into your computers BIOS. On most systems you do this by pushing the DELETE key just after it is turned on (just after text appears on screen). Somewhere in the BIOS you will a way to "Auto detect" IDE drives. It will scan for IDE devices. If it finds a drive, thenexit the BIOS making sure to "save settings".

Your Fdisk command should then work.

If the autodetect does not find a drive, your drive is either:
jumpered incorrectly,
not plugged into power,
not correctly plugged into the IDE controller (on the computer motherboard),
or is defective.

Hope this info helps - RW.
 
The MFT (master file table) might be ratshit, so you may need to low level format before going to far. If it a new machine, it's entirely possible that the drive hasn't been initialised. fdisk, while it works OK, is a dog to use.

To low level format, you've got two options - some BIOSes support low level format, or if you got a floppy disk with your hard disk, it's probably got a program, whose name escapes me, that does a good job. I thinks it's called "Disk Manager" or something. Either way, it's an EXE whose file name is only two letters (like DM.EXE or something). Give that a run, and it will let you initialise the disk.

- gaffa
 
Like RWhite said, something else is going on here. What type of machine is this, did you build it yourself or was it working before? Check the BIOS, Ribbons, Power connector.

You could also try typing

fdisk /mbr

At the A: prompt to rebuild the master boot record.
 
That`s why!!

Hi friends, again thanks for the response!
We opened up the pc today and found the hard drive conected to a UIDE socket. That`s how it was built at the factory!! We changed it to an IDE socket and now it works. These pcs make you sweat huh! It`s an IBM 45GB HD on an EPOX EPBX7
Mother Board. Bye for now, Slinky.
 
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