over the top install of 98 SE freezes at same point

[lostplanet]

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.p...threadid=70846

i followed the instruction in this thread and got the over the top on ok but..
in the installation process 98SE gets to finalizing hardware setup and settings and just locks up at 13 to go minutes everytime.

i tried just having the KB in no mouse in case the optical mouse was stopping it but no joy.

the PC is an old HP with HP's version of windows 98 first edition installed.
it has been reset to factory defaults.

the thing only has 64MB of ram if that matters.

any ideas?

[Panama Red]

Any peripheral devices plugged in like a printer? Are you using a standard corded mouse?

[lostplanet]

no only the necessary's like monitor, KB, mouse- is a corded microsoft wheel mouse optical(tried with and without)
the monitor is a gateway so maybe its trying to find the driver as i know when i start a 9x system on my gateway monitors i loads a driver.

i know it should take about 20 mins to finish off, could i remove the monitor and see if it completes if i just leave it for an hour or so?
other option is an old packard bell 15" i got lying around.

sommin else is it has asked me to repair the drive as its not displaying the correct HDD size??i did try to let that run but it didnt so...

it has after market modem i think, but built in sound.

ill wait for your reply Red and then i think my next course of action is to remove everything but the bare essentials and plug in the PBell monitor.

[Panama Red]

Don't think the monitor will make a difference. I've used a Gateway EV700 for several over the top installations without a problem. The default VGA drivers should handle the monitor ok. Wonder if you have a hard drive problem. Try downloading the hard drive makers' diagnostics and run it from a boot floppy.

[GaryRouth]

Hi all

Definitely try the disk diagnostics - it will save some time by ruling out hardware trouble. [Another thing to check, too, is if the hard drive has been upgraded from the original? And if so, was any "drive-overlay" software used to allow the newer, larger hard drive to be used with the older motherboard? (this isn't common anymore, but was in the Win95/98 days)]. One common symptom of a disk with drive-overlay in place is a banner message at bootup which mentions "EZ-BIOS".

Are you installing from an HP disk or a generic MS Win98 Installation CD?

If from an HP disk - is it a full-version installation CD, or a Recovery disk? It's usually a tricky go to try a Recovery disk for an over-the-top. If you've got good backups, though, you can run a Recovery, and then restore your data.

If a full-version disk, try again with the onboard sound disabled in the bios, and the modem removed (if it's an onboard modem, you can disable that in the bios too).

You mention that you received the error about disk-size being misreported & Setup offers to fix this - - - then what happens? Do you see an error message, or does the system hang? or ? ---That message is ringing a distant bell, but my absent-minded memory isn't answering the door yet.

And Hi there, Panama!
. . . Gary

[edfair]

Your monitor shouldn't be a problem, basic install isn't interested. It is only after upgrading to the proper video drivers that the OS should find the new hardware and load the drivers if it recognizes it.

Sounds more like there is another hardware issue. I have generally found SE to be fairly tolerant of those problems, but have also found that it might take several times to get it right from a hardware detection start.

What happens if you turn it off, all the way to power-down, then let it start up again, possibly 2 or 3 times?