i got a new computer a few days ago.
i assembled it, my floppy wasnt working but cd is fine.
i installed windows 98 on the hd so i could install ME in a day or so when i had the time.
windows 98 was not booting up correctly so i started to format the harddrive.
98 started up 3 times before it went down so i figured if i installed me in the same turn it would be better.
my computer locked up while formatting.
windows 98 is now not fully installed or uninstalled
it goes to a screen in dos that says c> then tells me what to say, it doesn't recognize the commands it even tells me to type. i cannot get into dos to format. floppy isnt working.
big problem.
somebody help.



im looking to get into somewhere so i can reformat my hard drive. or fix it i guess...
if i put on 98 then me directly after i shouldnt have any problems.
maybe i can do this from the bios?
i dont know.. you guys are the geniuses... help please!

Hi, Welcome to D-A-L

You can put your HD in a different computer as 'slave' (by setting the jumper to slave and having it plugged in in the middle of the ide cable rather than the end) and format it from that computer

(Start> my computer> rt. click on the drive and select format)

Hope this helps
Mike

Given the described present situation, I'd suggest starting fresh. (I'd also suggest going with 98SE rather than ME, however this is a personal opinion.)

I gather you have a bootable 98 CD. (Not all are bootable. The fact that you installed without a floppy incurs yours is bootable, and it's 98SE. 98FE weren't bootable CD's.)

Is the floppy controller enabled in the bios?

Do you get any activity on the floppy during the boot? If the drive light stays on it's an indication that the data cable is reversed. Ensure Pin 1 on the motherboard connector goes to Pin 1 on the drive.

Booting from a 98Boot Disk* floppy gives control of the machine to you. (As opposed to what is on the hard disk already. I would format/c/autotest c: the C: drive and go with the install from A:.


*The above bootdisk image file is a self extracting file and has to be executed (run) from a running Windows(9x) machine in order to create the actual startup diskette on one of your floppy disks. (This image file produces the same bootdisk which 98SE creates.) This downloaded image file will format the floppy disk to ensure its integrity, write the files to the disk, then verify the file write, so it'll take a minute or three to create the bootdisk.

Ensure the floppy drive is set as the first boot device in the bios. http://www.d-a-l.com/articles/library/23.html

NOTE: When you boot a machine with this boot floppy, it creates a RAMDRIVE in system memory to contain DOS system tools/drivers. Thus it will move your "normal" CDROM device/drive letter "up" one level. (If your CDROM is normally E: it will be F: when booting with this bootdisk.)

The path to the found CDROM will be set with the bootfiles, so entering A:\>f:\setup is the same as entering A:\>setup at the A:\> prompt. There is no need to include the cdrom drive letter. The CDROM device letter will be assigned near the end of the floppy boot process, right after MSCDEX is loaded.