trying ot install 98

[rip]

it starts but yet the drive just stops running and wont finish. what is the problem, anyone have a clueee?

[andyms18a]

hi rip
we nead full discription of the hardware your using ie cpu,ram,mobo,psu,hdd,cdrom,soundcard, pci cards, vid card,
amount of ram, exc please give make and modall for as much as you can
is the computer home built or shop did it have a operating systom on or is this the first ?

[rip]

k7n2 mother board, amd anthlon 2000 processer, 40 gig western digital hard drive,one stick of 133/333 ddr,3d magic vga grapics card, not sure about cd rom mitsu i do beleive out of a old system . 230 watt ps.

[HAL9000]

Unless that is a pretty high quality power supply, it's gonna cause you trouble. Your AMD requres a good, steady flow of power and that 230w just might not be cutting it, but it's hard to say if that is causing your current problem.

[andyms18a]

as hal says 230w psu will cause problams all so check all cards and ram are pushed fully in to the sockets and the heatsynk is conected to the cpu corectley and make shore the bios is configerd for your hardware

[Dan]

ok, I'm going to stick my neck out and say it's most likely the psu....you should have a more powerful supply anyway...I would replace it.
edit:
on second thought it well could be that "cdrom from an older system"...if it's an old worn out cdrom, it could be it's not working right.

[rip]

hum could be.. it is 250 watt by the way i checked.

[GaryRouth]

rip - you mention that it starts & then stops running = are you talking about a system freeze during the install, or about a specific drive stopping (like the Cd-drive or the hard drive)?

Are you piecing together old and new in this build? The only "3D Magic" video cards I can remember are PCI cards from the 1995/1996 era (they were a little crazy = one model featured SGS Thompson STG2000 chips and 1 to 2 mb Dram, while the other had nVidia's "NVI" with 2 to 4mb Vram [remember that? "dual ported video memory"] . . . and for memory, do you mean 166/333 DDR? (ddr memory with a 133mhz bus would usually be labled DDR 266) . . . --are you recycling an older case?

The cpu and motherboard are so recent that I wouldn't recommend matching them with an older system's psu, video, and cdrom. Fairly powerful recent graphics cards can be had for $50-$60, since new models just came out (previous models are near-steals). Even some of the gaming cards can be had for about $90.

Antec and Enermax 300/330/350wt power supplies run from $40 - $80 [the surprisingly powerful Antec SL300 has 220wts on combined 3.3 + 5v. = higher than some 330/350wt supplies, and is available for $40 w. free shipping from newegg]
______________
If you're install is hanging during the "hardware detection" phase of the install, I'll put money on the 3D Magic giving it fits. Or open up the case & see if you're overheating. And round up a stronger power supply & see what happens.
. . . Gary

[rip]

i am using a older cd -rom drive suppose i should get a new one. this is a 3d magic ms8808 fullsupport up to windows 2000. and i had the case open no over heating going on, it is a 250 watt supply, when i was plugging it in the screen would just stay black. or does now i have a feeling it is the card. i don't even get a post test screen. but i will try it again without any drives hooked up to it and see what happens..

[GaryRouth]

If you're not making it through POST, Hal has a nice checklist in Tips & Tricks for troubleshooting http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.p...threadid=12753

. . . and your video card sounds like an MSI version of nVidia's popular TNT2 "M64" 32mb cards (there's an earlier MSI version TNT2 with only 8mb also). Should be OK for web browsing, or playing game versions from pre-2000. No problem for Win98 drivers.

. . . re: power supplies: most versions of the K7N2 that I've seen all have the extra 4-pin power plug along with the usual ATX 20pin power plug -- does your 250wt supply have such a connector? Can you see the name brand of the power supply? Does it list how many amps are provided on the 3.3 rail? [this is usually on the label on the side of the power supply]. For Athlon motherboards, 20amps or better on the 3.3v rail is helpful.
. . . Gary

[rip]

yes it has a 4 prong plug and it says 14 amps on the 3.3 rail. it is a atx250 gu. made by a open.

[GaryRouth]

AOpen (an Acer company) can usually be relied on for a solid product, but I'm not sure 14amps is enough for a 2000+ installation. I suppose it can't hurt to try (the common symptom would be system lockups). Have you ever made it through POST with the current components? One trick with most MSI boards is to make sure to thoroughly clear the Bios Settings (either by finding the onboard jumper to "Clear CMOS" or by removing the CMOS battery - some users wait as long as 15 minutes to a half-hour when removing-then-replacing the battery. I usually just change the jumper for a few seconds.) Then go through Hal's checklist. See if it will post. If not, try with a different power supply.
. . . Gary

[rip]

yes i made it through post 4 or 5 times , trying to install win 98 then it just went blank. and i got nothing at all. the processer fan turns on, i think i hear the hard drive humming but thats it. i get no screen or anything.

[GaryRouth]

If it hasn't made it through post since it all went black during your install, I'd start going through Hal's checklist. Might want to get a good flashlight and magnifying glass & check the motherboard for signs of leaky capacitors, or burnt spots from a system overheat, or power supply failure.

If you make it through post with the bare minimum, test each time you add a new component until you find the one that's had it's better days.
. . . Gary

[rip]

well i got it to post once but then not again, everything is unhooked but the vid card. and i would pull that if i could should go down and buy another one just to see whats up.

[GaryRouth]

Might grab an Antec SL300 for that $40. . . it should be enough for that system. If you were going to add a gang of drives you might need more, but if you're probably going with just one 40gb Wd or perhaps two, I think the Antec would handle it. They're quiet supplies, too.
. . . Gary

[you can probably tell I've used many SL300's - it's hard to try anything else once you get spoiled by that model --- but, like I said before, for serious setups, more juice might be necessary]

[rip]

well that is what i 'm going to do tomrrow, go and get a 350 watt psu, or one that gives me 20 amps at the 3.3 at least . this thing is new and i'm just sure it is that or the vid card.

[GaryRouth]

If anything under warrany isn't working, you should be able to take it with you for a return. Good luck, hope it goes OK soon.

[rip]

the board is newww

[David_Jones]

Hi Rip,

I suggest you eliminate any installation issues by copying the Win98 install files to your HDD and run the install from there.

Assuming you have set up your partition(s) and formatted etc.

Just copy the Win98 folder from the CD to a folder on your HDD (C:\Windows\Options\Cabs) is common - you may have to create that in DOS first.

If you do that, and you get problems, then you know it is not an installation issue.

If it works, but the install still fails, then you know that the CD-ROM cannot be the issue.

HTH,

David.

[rip]

this a new build no system in it yet, just trying to get it to post.

[David_Jones]

Okay - not sure how this can be Win98 related in that case?

If it isn't POSTing then surely the OS hasn't kicked in at all?

Am I missing the point? Someone tell me to be quiet if I am muddying the waters!

David.

[rip]

new bulid, os didn't even install yet.