How do I perform a clean installation of Windows 98 SE?

[Sofi]

Hi,<br><br>I have now a Taj version of Win98 installed on my<br>puter. When I tried to upgrade it to the English<br>version of Win98 SE&nbsp;&nbsp;I&nbsp;&nbsp;got this message:<br><br>&quot;Setup Error: Windows character set mismatch!<br>Setup has detected an incompatible windows<br>character set. Setup can not proceed!<br>You have to install Windows into a clean directory.&quot;<br><br>Installation into a clean directory sounds to me<br>that I will have to reinstall all other software that I<br>already have installed, but even if that's the case<br>I don't know how to do the clean install....<br><br>May I ask the knowledgeble and experienced part<br>of this fine forum for some assistance? Is it possible<br>to work around the problem so that I can preserve<br>the other proggies on my puter?<br><br>Thank You very much!

 

[Sensibilium]

This is complicated... But I will endeavour to help, as I have done clean installs quite a lot.<br><br>First and Foremost - Backup ALL your data onto removable media, that includes your mail messages, documents, favourites, etc., etc.<br><br>Once you are absolutely certain everything is backed up, then you are ready to create a Windows Startup/Boot Disk. If you want to partition your HD for a SWAPS drive, you'll need to put a copy of your fav DOS partitioning software on there too.<br><br>Reboot your machine with your new boot disk, and then make sure everything is working correctly (especially your CD-ROM drive - The number of times I forgot about that and then had to track down the correct driver is too numerable to mention, and it's a serious pain).<br><br>If your Win98 CD is an upgrade then make sure you have a setup disk of the earlier version for the upgrade compliance check.<br><br>If all is working correctly, and you are sure you are ready, format your hard drive from the DOS prompt:<br><br><FONT FACE=monospace>format c:</font><br><br>Reboot after formatting, run your partitioning software if required (a swap drive can be as big as you want but I generally restrict it to 256MB, but if you use more apps simultaneously, you can increase this - this is for Windows Virtual Memory - just in case you weren't sure - don't do this if you haven't done this before - ask someone who has)<br><br>Finally, run setup.exe from the Win98SE CD, and follow the instructions.<br><br>That's it! All that's left is to restore your data, and re-install your software. <p>ahdkaw<br><a href=mailto:ahdkaw@sensibilium.com>ahdkaw@sensibilium.com</a><br><a href=

http://sensibilium.com/>Sensibilium</a><br>'If

you do visit my sites - be warned! You must be of a discordian nature...'

 

[Brianc2k]

When I perform a clean install I insure I have all the device drivers on a floppy, or Zip.&nbsp;&nbsp;As ahdkaw stated you need to backup all your data first.&nbsp;&nbsp;At that point I boot from a Windows 98 start up disk.&nbsp;&nbsp;(Make sure you can access your CD ROM after booting from the start up disk).&nbsp;&nbsp;If I can boot off that floppy, and access my CD ROM I do a clean install following these steps: (Note: I generally use the existing partition.&nbsp;&nbsp;If I have no need to change it's size then I just do an unconditional format and move onto the install)<br><br>Format C unconitionally&nbsp;&nbsp;(from A:&gt; type FORMAT C: /U)<br><br>Make a Windows directory on the existing hard drive. (move to the C:&gt; drive and type MD WINDOWS)&nbsp;&nbsp;Once you have done that move to the Windows subdirectory (type CD Windows)&nbsp;&nbsp;Your prompt then should be C:\WINDOWS&gt;<br><br>Then make an options directory within c:\windows (from C:\WINDOWS&gt; type MD OPTIONS)&nbsp;&nbsp;Then move to the options directory (CD OPTIONS)&nbsp;&nbsp;Your prompt should be C;\WINDOWS\OPTIONS&gt;<br><br>Change to the CD ROM drive which ever drive it is by entering the drive letter (I will use D: for my example).&nbsp;&nbsp;Your prompt should be D:&gt;&nbsp;&nbsp;At this point, with the Windows 98 CD in the drive and not letting it auto load I change directory to Win98 (from d: type CD WIN98)&nbsp;&nbsp;Your prompt should be D:\WIN98&gt; <br><br>Enter a path statement pointing to the XCOPY command on the A:&gt; drive (type PATH=A You need this path so the system can locate the EXE file to perform the following copy.<br><br>Copy the contents of D:\WIN98 into the C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS directory (from D:\WIN98 type XCOPY *.* C: /S/ E)&nbsp;&nbsp;The system will copy the files to the local hard drive. <br><br>After the copy is done, and without rebooting the system I move to the C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS drive and type SETUP. <br><br>The system will launch setup.&nbsp;&nbsp;But the system will hang asking you if you wish to install into C:\WINDOWS.000&nbsp;&nbsp;You need to respond other directory and point to C:\WINDOWS.&nbsp;&nbsp;The system will warn you that you are overwriting any existing files and just respond yes and continue through the installation. (Windows is smart enough to recognize that you already have a C:\Windows directory.&nbsp;&nbsp;That is why it warns you that you are overwriting - but it is not smart enough to recognize that the C:\Windows directory you made is empty)<br><br>When you install from a C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS directory the system will look there first for drivers or other needed files.&nbsp;&nbsp;This eliminates you having to insert the Windows setup CD just so Windows can find one of its internal cab files.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>Rather lengthy response but I hope this helps.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>