please help with Windows installation

scbamaboy2002scbamaboy2002
edited April 2005 in Hardware
i think i may have killed my computer... it was going crazy on me. it reverted back to doing things that it did 4 or 5 years ago...deleted files...etc. then the cd-rom drive went haywire..it would open and shut for no reason but wouldn't respond to commands. so, i tried reformatting. now all i get is a blank screen saying i need a system disk. i made one on our spare computer which i'm using now. i also have a windows 98 cd to use when it gives the option to load with cd-rom support. the cd-rom i'm using in it comes from our spare computer. but now, i can't get any further. it gives me the A:\ prompt, and I know nothing of MS-DOS to get past it and reinstall windows. please help me...thanks.

Comments

  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited March 2005
    You may want to get the diagnostic program from your hard drive manufacturer and make sure that your HD isn't going bad. Every other thing you try will be a waste of time if that is the case. If you need help find the test program, just yell.

    Assuming the drive is fine, boot from your CD and you should be off to the races. It will see that there is no Operating System on the drive and should automatically begin the installation program for you. You may need to go into the BIOS and set the cdrom drive as the first boot device.

    If you're booting from a Win98 floppy with cdrom support, watch carefully as the computer boots. It should tell you what drive letter it assigns to your cdrom drive. Once you get the A:\ prompt, type in X:\ (X being whatever letter is assigned to your drive) and then press enter. Then type setup and hit enter again. Make sure the CD is in the drive when you start. :)

    EDIT: I modified the title to be a little more descriptive. Your thread will get more attention that way. :)
  • scbamaboy2002scbamaboy2002
    edited March 2005
    i don't know too much about computers...but i checked and Adapti cd-rom is my first boot device...but i swapped out my cd-rom drive with my spare computer so it would work so i'm not sure if that makes a difference. i did try what you said with the typing setup, but it said "Bad command or invalid file name." I'm not sure what else to do, I'm not sure how to do the diagnostic test you suggest.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited March 2005
    scbamaboy2002 wrote:
    i don't know too much about computers...but i checked and Adapti cd-rom is my first boot device...but i swapped out my cd-rom drive with my spare computer so it would work so i'm not sure if that makes a difference.
    Atapi-cdrom in this case merely means it's not USB or SCSI, it refers to the type of connection, not the actual drive itself. If you're not sure what that means don't worry about it, you are already on the right track.

    i did try what you said with the typing setup, but it said "Bad command or invalid file name."
    Are you booting from the CD or from a floppy setup disk? What disk(s) do you have in the drive(s)? (i.e. Win98 boot floppy, Win98 CD, etc.) You're not using the restore disc from a computer manufacturer (like Compaq or Dell, etc) are you?

    I'm not sure what else to do, I'm not sure how to do the diagnostic test you suggest.
    What brand hard drive do you have? Tell me and I'll get you a link to the test program you need. At this point, let's see if we can get the installtion program going. If the process chokes at that point we'll go back and test the HD.

    Hang in there. The more info we have the quicker we can get you on the right path. A detailed description of each step you're taking while trying to get Windows installed would be very helpful in spotting the glitch. :)
  • DPATDPAT
    edited March 2005
    When you boot off your Win98 Floppy disk, as it's booting it should tell you what drive letter has been assigned to your CD-ROM. If its D then type "D:" (without quotes) and you should see D:> as your prompt. then all you should have to do is type setup.

    How did you make your system disk. You need to do it from Add/Remove programs in control panel so it installs the CDROM drivers onto it.

    Hope it helps
  • scbamaboy2002scbamaboy2002
    edited March 2005
    My hard drive says IBM deskstar? The cd just says "Microsoft Windows 98 for PCs without Windows." I'm thinking I may be having a problem with the drivers? Because I didn't make the floppy before I reformatted the computer. I made the floppy afterwords on my other computer(the one i'm using to post in the forum). Because I've noticed it saying that it was trying to install the drivers from Oak technologies or something like that...then stopping saying it failed and was being aborted. thats when it then goes to the screen that gives me the options of starting with or without cdrom support.
  • scbamaboy2002scbamaboy2002
    edited March 2005
    it says "device driver not found: 'mscd001'" "No valid cdrom drivers were found."

    And I notice at startup it says "ultra6 (or ultra66) BIOS not installed." what does that mean?

    And I looked at my system boot settings..the only 4 on there were atapi, hard drive, removable devices, and network....in that order. I tried removable devices but it did nothing.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited March 2005
    scbamaboy2002 wrote:
    My hard drive says IBM deskstar?
    Uh-Oh. I don't want to scare you, but those were notoriously unreliable drives. I've had four of them fail on me. They were so bad that IBM threw in the towel and sold off their HD division to Hitachi. Don't panic yet, but that HD test would be a good idea. You can get the diagnostic program here.
    The cd just says "Microsoft Windows 98 for PCs without Windows."
    That's a full version and is exactly what you want for an uncomplicated fresh install.
    ...I've noticed it saying that it was trying to install the drivers from Oak technologies or something like that...then stopping saying it failed and was being aborted...it says "device driver not found: 'mscd001'" "No valid cdrom drivers were found."...
    That sounds like either the drive is bad, not configured right in the BIOS and/or jumpered properly, or merely not supported by the driver on the boot floppy. If you have another cdrom drive try it instead. Is your cdrom drive showing up on the POST screen when you first start the computer?
    ...I notice at startup it says "ultra6 (or ultra66) BIOS not installed." what does that mean?
    IDE devices operate at various speeds. Ultra33 (also known as ATA/33) runs at a theoretical limit of 33MB/sec for data throughput. As you may have guessed, Ultra66 runs at 66MB/sec, etc. Older CD Drives were usually Ultra33; newer ones (especially DVD Drives) usually run at Ultra66. What Brand & Model# cdrom drive are you using?
    And I looked at my system boot settings..the only 4 on there were atapi, hard drive, removable devices, and network....in that order. I tried removable devices but it did nothing.
    Try going here and getting the "Windows 98 SE Custom, No Ramdrive" bootdisk. Let's see if that will work with your cdrom drive.
  • scbamaboy2002scbamaboy2002
    edited March 2005
    For the boot98sc.exe, it says the program cannot be run in msdos mode. The cdrom I took out of the computer is a Philips model no:cdd/4201/81 manufactured sept 99. The one from my working computer that I'm using in the not-working computer is a toshiba model no:xm-6602b manufactured dec 99. version 000 rom ver. 1917...but it has no burner. I also have a DVD drive on the non-working computer if that helps me any.

    I believe my cdrom drive is D.

    How can I run the diagnostic program when my computer won't load? I guess I'll try it and see.

    Oh and should I change my first boot device back to atapi?
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited March 2005
    scbamaboy2002 wrote:
    For the boot98sc.exe, it says the program cannot be run in msdos mode.
    The program makes a boot floppy disk. Using your working computer, stick a blank floppy in the drive and run the program. Presto - instant boot disk. :D
    I believe my cdrom drive is D.
    When you boot from the floppy it may assign it a different drive letter. Just watch the screen - if all goes well it will say blahblahblah cd drive found drive X: blahblahblah
    How can I run the diagnostic program when my computer won't load? I guess I'll try it and see.
    The HD drive test runs off a floppy. You boot from a floppy, insert a floppy with the test program on it, then run it. The HD can be totally blank and unformatted; the test just does a physical examination.
    Oh and should I change my first boot device back to atapi?
    No. Set the first boot device as floppy. Use the boot disk you made using the boot98sc.exe program and go from there.

    Is your cdrom drive showing up on the POST screen when you first start the computer?
  • scbamaboy2002scbamaboy2002
    edited March 2005
    new boot disk didn't work, still said no valid cdrom device drivers were found. and the HD diag. test won't save to a floppy b/c of an "unknown error." and i've tried more than 1 new floppy. and i also looked at every screen before it went into msdos and couldn't see anything relating to what my cdrom drive is.
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    scbamaboy2002 wrote:
    it says "device driver not found: 'mscd001'" "No valid cdrom drivers were found."

    And I notice at startup it says "ultra6 (or ultra66) BIOS not installed." what does that mean?
    For the first part, is the CD-ROM you're using relatively new or pulled from something like a 486 (early 90's vintage)? Some old CD-ROMs had to be plugged into a sound card to work properly, lets establish first that it isn't one of those. I'm only asking because the Oak driver is supposed to work with all CD-ROMs made after like 1996.

    If that isn't the case, was the CD-ROM connected to the middle connector on a cable with a hard drive or other CD-ROM on the end? If so, it will need to have the jumper on the back moved from the "Slave" or "Cable Select" position to "Master".

    For the second, it appears that your motherboard has an on-board ATA66 controller in addition to ATA33 provided by the chipset. Look at the board and tell me if there are four 20x2 pin headers placed in sets of two. Usually one set will be colored blue or black and the other blue or white. These are the connectors that you use to connect hard drives, CD-ROMs, and the like. If it has four connectors, you'll need to move the hard drives and CD-ROM cables to the ones corresponding to the ATA33 on the chipset (IDE0, IDE1) and not the ones for the ATA66 controller. Odds are that ATA66 chipset doesn't have DOS drivers and anything connected to it won't work under DOS.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited April 2005
    Check the jumper on your cdrom drive. If you have another cable, try that too. You do have the colored wire on the cable plugged into pin 1 on both the MB and the drive, right? Sorry if these seem too elementary, but even the best of us goof once in a while.

    If the cdrom drives you've tried both date back to 1999 that may be part of the problem. Virtually any modern drive will work with the Win98 boot disk drivers, you may just be unlucky and have a drive just old enough to require a non-generic driver.
    I also have a DVD drive on the non-working computer if that helps me any.
    Try this: Put the hard drive on IDE channel "0" and make sure it is jumpered as "Master" or "Single". Put the DVD drive on IDE Channel "1" and jumper it the same way. Make sure both drives are attached at the end connector (not the middle) of the IDE Cable. Do not attach any othe drives at this time. Make sure the cables are configured like I mentioned at the beginning of this post.

    Important: Check in the BIOS to see how the IDE Channels are configured regarding drive speed. (Usually marked like UDMA 5, UDMA 4, PIO, etc) Change the setting to "Auto" if that is available. If not, try the highest PIO setting.

    See what happens with your Win98 boot disk as far as identifying your CD drive then.

    What is the Brand & Model# (with revision#, if any) of your Motherboard? I'll try and locate a manual so I have a better idea of what to tell you as far as the BIOS settings.

    EDIT: drasnor gave you some great advice. I type too slow... :p
  • scbamaboy2002scbamaboy2002
    edited April 2005
    ok so...i read both of your entries...figured out what the jumper thing was...and saw that it was on master on the cdrom from the working computer. i took a leap of faith and moved it to slave. that made my dvd drive my cd rom drive and windows is currently installing now. i'll let you know how it goes and if it finishes alright. if all goes well...how can i switch the cdrom drive back to the actual cd rom drive and leave the dvd drive to itself? should i try hooking back up the cdrom that i took out of that computer or will i probably be better off getting a new one?

    if all of this actually works...i have some questions about the computer i'm using now as well...i think something may be wrong with the video card on it...but i'm thinking i'll give you guys a rest for now. thank you for everything and i hope it works...
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited April 2005
    scbamaboy2002 wrote:
    ...windows is currently installing now. i'll let you know how it goes and if it finishes alright.
    :thumbsup:
    ...how can i switch the cdrom drive back to the actual cd rom drive and leave the dvd drive to itself? should i try hooking back up the cdrom that i took out of that computer or will i probably be better off getting a new one?
    If I understand you right, you have one HD, a cdrom, and a DVD drive. I'd leave the HD as the Master/Single drive on IDE-0. Then make the DVD drive the Master and the cdrom drive the Slave on IDE-1. The Master drive always goes at the end of the cable.

    BTW: Computers count things kind of weird sometimes. IDE-0 is the first Channel; IDE-1 is the second. Do you have four IDE connectors on the board like drasnor asked? If so, you'll want to do it differently. Just let us know and we'll tell you the best way to go.
    if all of this actually works...i have some questions about the computer i'm using now as well...i think something may be wrong with the video card on it...but i'm thinking i'll give you guys a rest for now. thank you for everything and i hope it works...
    First things first. We'll be glad to tackle that problem once you get things up and running.

    I'm glad that things are looking up for you. :)
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