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windows98 won't start
Showing all messages in thread #1240879958
Windows 98 Annoyances Discussion Forum
The following are all of the messages in this thread (9 in all), shown in chronological order. Click any message subject to view that message by itself or to view the thread hierarchy.
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windows98 won't start
Monday, April 27, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Posted by pam eisenbarth
(1 messages posted)
Hi. A friend gave me a computer running win98, it also had lynix installed on the
same hard drive. It was running ok, but had a few hardware conflicts, and kept prompting
me for the w98 cd. My friend couldn't find hers so I began to look for one on craig's
list. Meanwhile, her neighbor..the same person who installed lynix on the computer
asked me if I wanted to upgrade the lynix to obano(?sp?), so i said ok.
Ever since he did the upgrade when I try to boot windows the computer restarts.
No error messages or anything. I'm hoping that someone out there has some idea
what to do, or what's causing this. We actually reformatted the drive (with fdisk
and format commands) and reinstalled windows and it STILL does it....help....
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re: windows98 won't start [Dual-boot with Linux]
Monday, April 27, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Posted by gewg_
(4444 messages posted)
Here's how your post looks:
http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/win98/1240879958
I find it difficult to read.
The first 2 paragraphs here are worth reading:
http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/win98/1217046552
pam eisenbarth wrote:
|[...]her neighbor..the same person who installed [Linux] on the computer
|asked me if I wanted to upgrade the [Linux] to [Ubuntu], so i said ok.
|Ever since he did the upgrade[,]
|when I try to boot windows the computer restarts.
|
Windows is an operating system.
Linux (Ubuntu) is another operating system.[1]
You can only have one operating system running at a time.
(There is a case where the only-one thing is not true, but that is esoteric.)
If your Linux guy did this properly, then you have a "Boot Manager".
This is a program that takes control before any operating system starts.
At that point, YOU select which operating system YOU want to run.
If the Boot Manager isn't installed, you don't get a choice.
There is also an (optional) timeout on the Boot Manager
so that it can be set to make a choice for you ("the default")
--if you *don't* make a selection within a certain time.
This allows you to just switch on the machine and go get a beverage.
Ask your Linux guy what he used as a value when set that.
He may have set it up such that the Boot Manager doesn't show at all (by default).
He **SHOULD** have asked YOUR preferences on all of this.
A second possibility is that one of the operating systems (Windoze) is broken,
and that OS won't start.
The solution there is to reinstall the broken OS.[2]
CAVEAT: Old versions of Windoze think M$ is the only producer of software
and that everybody wants only M$ software.
This means that when Win98 gets installed,
it will nuke the Boot Sector (where your Boot Manager resides).
If you allow the Windoze re-install to do so
(using FDISK to re-partition the disk[3]), it will also nuke your Linux partition.
In the case of a nuked Boot Sector,
the Boot Manager (typically LiLo or GRUB) will have to be re-installed
(by your Linux guy).
In the case of a nuked Linux partition,
the disk will have to be repartitoned i.e. split (Linux contains the tools for that),
the new partition will have to be FORMAT'd (ext3 filesystem, most likely),
then Linux will have to be re-installed.
[1] It would be interesting to me to know what use you have for Linux.
It sounds to me like it's just sitting there idle.
(As Linux is MUCH less subject to infections, it is a superior OS to use online.)
[2] Having a working Linux install on the system is quite useful
to back up any files that you have created/saved on the Windoze partition.
Linux understands FAT/FAT32 just fine.
[3] FDISKing a disk is actually advisable when you think you have an infection;
it zaps any Boot-Sector viruses.
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re: windows98 won't start
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 5:14 am
Posted by Arminius
(334 messages posted)
Sounds like a job for Killdisk
http://www.killdisk.com/downloadfree.htm
Download either the free version for floppy or ISO version to burn to CD-R.
Then use it to wipe your hard drive totally clean and start again.
In the past I have found the remains of a previous installation(s) can "confuse"
FORMAT.COM and/or FDISK and make reinstallation a headache.
People generally agree that MS software is buggy then assume FORMAT.COM and FDISK
work perfectly well all the time. Heh heh, that's what they think.
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re: windows98 won't start
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 11:19 am
Posted by gewg_
(4444 messages posted)
Arminius wrote:
|Sounds like a job for Killdisk
|[...]use it to wipe your hard drive totally clean and start again.
Jeez. Go off the deep end much?
cache of http://www.control-escape.com/linux/lilo-cfg.html
cache of
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/ubuntu/change-the-grub-menu-timeout-on-ubuntu
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re: windows98 won't start
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Posted by Arminius
(334 messages posted)
The last sentence in Pam's original post:
"We actually reformatted the drive (with fdisk and format commands) and reinstalled
windows and it STILL does it....help...."
Looks like she already nuked the drive and is still having trouble. May as well follow
through and wipe it totally clean.
My comment was not directed at you specifically gewg, rather people in general never
seem to question whether either of those two apps could be tripped up.
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re: windows98 won't start
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Posted by gewg_
(4444 messages posted)
Arminius wrote:
|The last sentence in Pam's original post:
|"We actually reformatted the drive (with fdisk and format commands)
|and reinstalled windows and it STILL does it....help...."
D'oh. I missed that.
Between folks making long posts that include non-pertinent details
and the Webmaster's crappy default formatting for posts, I miss things I shouldn't.
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re: windows98 won't start
Friday, May 1, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Posted by Ed
(741 messages posted)
One strategy is to zero-fill the hard disk.
The error you've run up against is typically caused by rogue data on the disk, so
the zero filling process should eliminate the problem data and allow a normal partitioning
to take place.
First, use the command FDISK /STATUS to check that all partition information has
been successfully deleted.
Then use the command FDISK /MBR to wipe the master boot record clean (well, the bit
that it does wipe clean at least).
Then 'zero fill' the disk. This is a process that writes zeros to every sector on
the disk. You get this program from the website of the disk's manufacturer. So if
it's a Seagate disk, go to their website; etc. There are 3rd party programs that
will do this, but the best way is always with the manufacturer's program.
You may need to download a disk utility program that has many functions, one of which
is writing zeros to the drive. It usually isn't a seperate program, so just download
whatever they offer by way of disk tools. The zeroing option should be in there somewhere
when you run the program. You usually need one 3.5 inch floppy disk for this step.
If you're not offered a zero filling option by the program, use any tool that offers
to blank, or fill, or low-level format the disk.
(Yes, I know that it is in fact impossible to low level format a modern disk, but
some manufacturers offer tools that do something similar, to which they like to give
that description.)
Once the zero filling is done (which will take possibly a couple of hours), try again
to partition the disk, then try to format it.
Ed
On Monday, April 27, 2009 at 5:52 pm, pam eisenbarth wrote:
>Hi. A friend gave me a computer running win98, it also had lynix installed on the
>same hard drive. It was running ok, but had a few hardware conflicts, and kept
prompting
>me for the w98 cd. My friend couldn't find hers so I began to look for one on craig's
>list. Meanwhile, her neighbor..the same person who installed lynix on the computer
>asked me if I wanted to upgrade the lynix to obano(?sp?), so i said ok.
> Ever since he did the upgrade when I try to boot windows the computer restarts.
> No error messages or anything. I'm hoping that someone out there has some idea
>what to do, or what's causing this. We actually reformatted the drive (with fdisk
>and format commands) and reinstalled windows and it STILL does it....help....
[Reply or follow-up to this message]
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re: windows98 won't start
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Posted by john frazier
(4 messages posted)
in answer to windows won't start.
first off i don't know anything about the operating systems that you are using.
if you get a c:\ prompt
change to c:\windows or where ever windows is located.
type: win
good luck
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re: windows98 won't start
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 11:16 am
Posted by gewg_
(4444 messages posted)
john frazier wrote:
|[...]first off i don't know anything about the operating systems that you are using.
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...yet you posted anyway.
|if you get a c:\ prompt
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If you would read **all** of the thread, you would see that
1) the problem is solved.
2) the problem was at the level of the partition--FAR below the OS-level.
Someone else (me) *already* was barking up the wrong tree,
so it's not like there isn't PLENTY of clarification on this.
A good practice is to read the ENTIRE thread before responding to a particular post.
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