Formating problems

[ghost78]

I have been trying to reformat my laptop (made by Toshiba) and it won't let me reformat with win 98se

The first problem is when i try to make a start up disk it give me an error that reads

"the custom system install boot disk is prpared.

you can use this diskette to apply your custom system install by inserting the diskette and cd and restarting your system.

This boot disk can only be used on a satelite 2715xDVD/2675DVD win 98 SE CB Pro CBCD. It can not be used on this machine."

this is when i try to use the software cd that toshiba gave me. which has win 98 SE on it. I also tryed with a copy of another 98 SE cd.

Well My thoughts were that the cd might be scratched so i tryed to make a boot disk through windows, but that failed to. It never let me change drives to the d: or the c:. So i went a head and formated with XP and that wokred just perfect.

I would leave the xp on except for some reason when I try to use the upgrade cd it won't let me b/c it won't recognize the cd that toshiba gave me a windows authentic cd. But I did have the full version of XP and i used that, but now I only hve 30 days b/c of windows activation.

Befor i put XP on i tried to restart the computer with just the toshiba cd and it started to work, but then this screen with these big letters reating "Wrong Machine" came up, i would alos like to say that i am 100% sure this is the right CD for this computer the model #'s match up and i have used it befor.

When I called toshiba they told me that it was a hardware issue. I am not to sure this is true and naturally the laptop is 4 years old so they wanted me to take it to one of their blue ribbon repair shops where they could tear me a new .... and charge me ridiculas prices.

Thanks for any advice you all may offer.

[GaryRouth]

Well, to make sure Toshiba isn't right about a hardware issue, download the disk diagnostics for the hard drive (usually a bootable floppy), boot the laptop from that, & let it run tests on the hard drive.

If the drive tests out OK, you can try using a "zero-write" on the drive to completely remove all the partitions, Win9x, WinXP, and any proprietary Toshiba partition (usually for Quick Restores and such) Then reformat with a bootable floppy or CD (if the drive is greater than 60gb, you'll need the fdisk that's updated to work with >60gb drives), and you should be able to get things started again. Any Win9x drivers you need should be available at the toshiba.com support pages for your model.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

[ps - this assumes you have backups & install disks for programs you wish to reuse]

[ghost78]

I can't seem to find the disk diagnostics for the hard drive I was planning on using norton's is this the same?

and the problem is that i can't get a bootable flopy or disk for win 98.

when i try to make a boot able disk it give me the error:

"the custom system install boot disk is prpared.

you can use this diskette to apply your custom system install by inserting the diskette and cd and restarting your system.

This boot disk can only be used on a satelite 2715xDVD/2675DVD win 98 SE CB Pro CBCD. It can not be used on this machine."

i am stuck there

[GaryRouth]

Probably the reason you are seeing the message that "this disk can only be used ..." is that the software needs to find model information stored somewhere on the hard drive - but that information is no longer there. Some companies use special proprietary partitions on the hard drives. [sometimes model info is in the bios, too - and sometimes some bios info is on the special partition - it can get complicated with notebooks and major OEMs]

What caused your initial decision to reformat? Were you having a certain sort of error? or system behavior? There is a download called Windows Utilities (one for the Win9x systems, and one for WinNT/2k/XP systems) that might have diagnostics included, so you could try those to see if they turn up any hardware problem or not. (p.s. - I couldn't find a separate diagnostic just for the notebook's hard drive - that seems to have disappeared a few models before yours).

My guess is that the hardware is probably OK (although some Toshiba info might be missing). Doesn't seem like WinXP would have installed and run OK if you had hardware failure going on. Your choice now is whether to try to get WinXP activated OK via the upgrade route (with your Win98 prior installation) or to try to reinstall Win98 fresh.

For XP:
Since you are a registered user, try calling Toshiba again & simply explain that you wish to use the XP upgrade disk on your notebook. Perhaps they can send you a suitable CD for the activation, or describe a procedure to use the Recovery Set.

For Win98:
I wonder if you just try a diskette (that matches the Win98 version you want to use) from http://www.bootdisk.com to start the computer: you could fdisk & delete all partitions, create a new Primary Dos Partition, mark it active & install with your full version disk. [Or - see if you can enter Bios Setup, set 1st boot device to the cd/dvd drive, and boot from the Win98 installation CD]. As I mentioned before, most drivers are available at http://www.toshiba.com

___________________________
I imagine things will be a tough go using the Toshiba Recovery set without guidance from their techs. There is one other possibility you can try, though: using one of the bios updates for your model. It's possible that using a bios update for the motherboard will restore whatever it is that the Recovery set needs to recognize your model. I think I saw about three bios updates for the Satellite 2715/2675 series in their support pages.

So = the good news is - your hardware is probably OK. The not-so-good news is - it's a bit tricky on the software side of life. [I'm not surprised the hardware is probably in good shape, I fixed up my father's old Tecra (a P120) for the 2002 Christmas for my three-year-old niece... it's still playing Barney and Sesame Street like it was brand new]

Hope it turns out OK -
. . . Gary