Can not install windows 9x on A30

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Whitieiii · #1 Post by **Whitieiii** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 7:22 pm

Trying to install windows on an A30 and can not seem to install anything but windows xp and that is too new for the machine and for my needs... I would love to have windows 98 se or ME on this computer but I can't seem to figure out how to install windows 9x on it

theterminator93 · #2 Post by **theterminator93** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 8:50 pm

How are you trying to install it? What media?

Whitieiii · #3 Post by **Whitieiii** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 8:56 pm

I'm installing windows 98 via cd and always gets hung up on formatting hdd... it just doesn't want to format my hdd

theterminator93 · #4 Post by **theterminator93** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 8:59 pm

How big is it, the 30 you have in your sig? Have you tried doing it manually from command line using FDISK and FORMAT?

Whitieiii · #5 Post by **Whitieiii** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 9:00 pm

I have used fdisk but don't know how to manually format it.... it is a 58gb drive

theterminator93 · #6 Post by **theterminator93** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 9:07 pm

Here's an article that might help guide you along: https://kb.iu.edu/d/ahfa

Whitieiii · #7 Post by **Whitieiii** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 10:21 pm

Ok when I type format C: it says bad command or file name

kfzhu1229 · #8 Post by **kfzhu1229** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:27 pm

Don't create the main partition over 32GB. I would only create something around 24GB for Windows 98's partition. For that 24GB partition I would also use another working copy of windows to create.
Also make sure you only have 512mb of RAM allowed in Windows 9x. There are workarounds for you to get W9x to use 1GB but I feel like that is not necessary and you are better off either only leave 512mb of RAM in the slots or limit the RAM size using msconfig
Also some would say Windows 98's power management is poor comparing that of NT5.x/6.x. Therefore BE CAREFUL ABOUT THE GPU! You run into higher chance of desoldering the GPU under Windows 98 and AFAIK TPFancontrol does NOT work in W9x.

Whitieiii · #9 Post by **Whitieiii** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:30 pm

Ok I only have 512 mb of ram... i will try with 24 gb partition....

kfzhu1229 · #10 Post by **kfzhu1229** » Fri Feb 10, 2017 12:20 am

Also i suggest you format it before starting setup because not until Windows XP that the setup offers quick format and low-level format on that 24gb takes quite some time

Whitieiii · #11 Post by **Whitieiii** » Fri Feb 10, 2017 12:48 am

Any way I do it I can't get the partition to format in windows 98... I get bad command or file name.... i try with over 24gb, under 24gb and not one will format if worse is worse than I may get recordable disks to make a Windows ME install disk... right now I got windows xp to install but just to see if it would work and it does... soon wiped it off to try and install windows 98

#12 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Fri Feb 10, 2017 6:16 am

Where is your FORMAT-file located?
A bootable W98 floppy with Fdisk and Format on it should work (unless it is corrupted).

kfzhu1229 · #13 Post by **kfzhu1229** » Fri Feb 10, 2017 10:08 am

I told you to try formatting with fat32 in a different os or computer and install Windows 98 without formatting the drive once again

Whitieiii · #14 Post by **Whitieiii** » Fri Feb 10, 2017 2:33 pm

RealBlackStuff wrote:Where is your FORMAT-file located?
A bootable W98 floppy with Fdisk and Format on it should work (unless it is corrupted).

Should be on my disk since it is a 98 retail cd unless that's only on the floppy

Whitieiii · #15 Post by **Whitieiii** » Fri Feb 10, 2017 2:36 pm

kfzhu1229 wrote:I told you to try formatting with fat32 in a different os or computer and install Windows 98 without formatting the drive once again

Ok was gonna try gparted and format the drive but how do you run setup without format? It will just tell its formatted and install?

theterminator93 · #16 Post by **theterminator93** » Fri Feb 10, 2017 2:53 pm

It should, yes, as long as it's happy with the file system and so forth.

Whitieiii · #17 Post by **Whitieiii** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 12:10 am

I got it to install by formatting with gparted and than installing it with the win 98se disk.... I only have 24gb partition and with the other partition I may install windows ME or 2000

kfzhu1229 · #18 Post by **kfzhu1229** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 12:17 am

When installing Windows 2000, make sure you choose the other free space available and not to convert the Windows 98 partition into NTFS! You can also do FAT32 for the other partition and let Windows 2000 install on that but I think things just get a little bit better on the Windows 2000 side if you just use NTFS instead. Then you can also try Windows 7 on the same A30. Windows 7 is indeed very usable (that is if you are fine with the 1 minute boot time) in 512mb of RAM but it gets better if you have 1GB of RAM.

Whitieiii · #19 Post by **Whitieiii** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 12:27 am

Don't even want to try windows 7 I got so many other computers that run windows 7.... but this already feels like my childhood... I remember we had a pentium 3 windows 98se desktop with 512mb of ram I forget what size hdd we had but that computer was more than likely leftover stock when we bought it since windows xp pentium 4 machines were all over the place (2001 or 2002?) I remember since it was about $1000 for it

kfzhu1229 · #20 Post by **kfzhu1229** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 1:38 am

Well my childhood machine is actually T43 and now I have like 3 T43/p lying in my bedroom (one of them is still the very same one from what I've got 11 years ago). But I really DON'T like the Windows XP experience on a Pentium M and I think even Windows 10 is still faster than that (that original XP copy now has countless number of issues)! So I have all three machines maxed out with Pentium M 780 CPUs and three pairs of 1GB RAM (and one of the original 512mb sticks from my childhood T43 actually stopped working).
Well yea it seems like you are using your A30 for a very different purpose! Is your A30's Windows 98 working now? Also you know where to find the drivers right?

Whitieiii · #21 Post by **Whitieiii** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 6:57 am

No it doesn't work anymore and been fiddling with it for awhile now.... I installed some games on it and I believe one corrupted the machine (I believe I know exactly what one it is) as I now can't seem to get windows 98 or ME installed on it but xp still will install just fine if I let it... it complains that there is something about being NTFS partitions on the drive and is not formatted... I can not get it to format with windows 98 or ME with any size partition equal to or less than 32 gb.... I'm ready to chuck this computer out the window!

Gparted will format the drive but windows 98 and ME still complain about having NTFS partitions on the drive I have not installed 2000 or XP on it since I first formatted it with gparted

#22 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:24 am

Stop using gparted, it's too new!
Make a bootable W98 or W98SE floppy with the system on it: FORMAT A: /S
Check that FORMAT, FDISK and COMMAND programs are on the floppy.
If not, copy them.
Then reinstall the HD OS from scratch, using this: http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000186.htm

ajkula66 · #23 Post by **ajkula66** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 9:17 am

Whitieiii wrote: as I now can't seem to get windows 98 or ME installed on it but xp still will install just fine if I let it... it complains that there is something about being NTFS partitions on the drive and is not formatted...

I'm pretty sure that you're looking at the very eyes of the problem right there...you need a FAT32 partition in order to install 98, and XP would re-format it to NTFS in order to be able to run on the given drive...

Try using a significantly smaller (say 6GB) FAT 32 partition for the OS and see where that gets you. Do not attempt to install XP on it.

Good luck.

Whitieiii · #24 Post by **Whitieiii** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 4:41 pm

ajkula66 wrote:
Whitieiii wrote: as I now can't seem to get windows 98 or ME installed on it but xp still will install just fine if I let it... it complains that there is something about being NTFS partitions on the drive and is not formatted...
I'm pretty sure that you're looking at the very eyes of the problem right there...you need a FAT32 partition in order to install 98, and XP would re-format it to NTFS in order to be able to run on the given drive...

Try using a significantly smaller (say 6GB) FAT 32 partition for the OS and see where that gets you. Do not attempt to install XP on it.

Good luck.

no I did not let XP format the hard drive so it is still more or less still unformated...

Whitieiii · #25 Post by **Whitieiii** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 4:45 pm

RealBlackStuff wrote:Stop using gparted, it's too new!
Make a bootable W98 or W98SE floppy with the system on it: FORMAT A: /S
Check that FORMAT, FDISK and COMMAND programs are on the floppy.
If not, copy them.
Then reinstall the HD OS from scratch, using this: http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000186.htm

I have no way of creating a floppy disk... I am using a retail copy of win 98 se on cd doesn't seem like format is on this disk but fdisk is on this disk and I can use fdisk I just can not format with win 98 disk.... kinda funny how gparted worked the first time to format my partition but I'm at a loss now

Whitieiii · #26 Post by **Whitieiii** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 4:50 pm

this computer came from the factory with windows xp and I think this may be the original drive and maybe it's still some how finding tiny bits of windows xp.... this computer was wiped when I got it so they only may have deleted the partition... but it still confuses me on how 98 was installed the first time

kfzhu1229 · #27 Post by **kfzhu1229** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:45 pm

Also you know what, do yourself a favor and buy a smaller and older hard drive for solely Windows 98 purpose. If you also want Windows XP, put it in ultrabay to make things easier for you. But in my opinion, A30 is a bit too new to use Windows 98 and a A22 will serve you a bit better

Whitieiii · #28 Post by **Whitieiii** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 8:02 pm

ok found my problem... if I create the partition and format it with gparted windows 98 doesn't like it but if I create the partition with windows 98 and format it with gparted it will install windows 98 just fine....