98SE OEM Won't install

[hfa]

I have an IBM Thinkpad 600 with a blank HD and trying to install 98SE from an official MS OEM CDrom.
1) partitioned HD C: with FAT32, DOS partition 1 active
2) formatted C:
3) made \Win98 directory on C: and copied \Win98 directory from CDrom (D:\Win98) to C:\Win98
4) ran Setup from C:\Win98
the following happens:

Please wait while setup initializes
runs ScanDisk complete
scans Registry
copying files needed for Windows setup ...

and then it goes to C:\Win98 and stops.

The same thing happens if I try to install direct from the CDrom.

I can't figure out what is happening and would appreciate any ideas.

[Designer]

Welcome to PCmech.

Firstly, there's no need to copy the \win98 directory to your HDD, it will install directly from CD and you don't need to format either. As long as you've got a primary Dos partition then Win98 will boot from the CD and try to install to it (provided your boot order is CD before HDD in your BIOS settings).

I think that as you are trying to install from the hard drive that may be causing your problems. I'd do a clean format and then try to install from the CD, just boot from the CD into indows setup and let it walk you through.

EDIT:- Sorry I didn't see that you'd already tried installing direct from the CD. Is is getting as far as the first reboot?, if so when you get the boot options come up "from CD of HDD etc." then try selecting HDD.



Hope this is of some help

D

[GaryRouth]

Try again, using fdisk to delete the current partitions, then create a new Primary Dos Partition and mark it active. . . and then enter the Bios of the ThinkPad & make sure the Bios AntiVirus is disabled (this can cause Setup problelms) . . . set the CDROM as the 1st boot device . . . and then start Setup from the CD, and let Setup detect that the drive needs formatting & let it use FAT32 [Yes to "Enable Large Drive Support"]

If it stops again at the same spot, it's a pretty good puzzle: let us know & we'll keep trying for a cure
. . . Gary

[Lardass]

Hi there,
The method that you are using to install Win98SE sounds fine. I would recommend trying to use the setup on the Win98 CD and let it configure it self and fdisk it automatically. Then once the OS has installed then copy the contents of the CD in a directory named Win98. If you have problem doing it this way it maybe a some kind of hardware problem or BIOs problem.

[hfa]

Gary, you are the Man! I didn't need the BIOS antivirus disable. When I let Setup do the format, the rest of the install went automatically.

Many thanks for getting me past this snag.