5.5 Installing Windows 9x
5.5.4 Windows 98 setup options
Windows 98 may be installed from the CD-ROM after the system is booted from a floppy disk, or the system may be booted from the installation CD itself. Another option is to copy all the files to the hard drive and perform an internal installation from the hard drive. There are some merits to running the installation internally from the hard drive.

Running Windows 98 Setup From the Hard Drive
During a Windows 98 installation, sometimes installers experience problems with the CD-ROM. The problems can usually be cleared, and the overall installation process speeded up, by copying the files to the hard drive.

Step 1 Verify there is at least 200 MB of extra disk space to store the Windows setup and CAB files.
Step 2 Next, create a floppy boot disk that contains drivers for the CD-ROM. Insert the floppy in the computer and turn the unit on. When prompted, select the option to boot system with CD-ROM support and wait for it to boot to the DOS prompt.
Step 3 From the DOS prompt create a directory called SETUP98 to store the Setup files. Type MD C:\SETUP98 (where C: is the letter assigned to the hard drive).
Step 4 Copy all the files from the SETUP98 directory on the CD-ROM to the corresponding directory on the hard drive. Type COPY D:\SETUP98\*.* C:\SETUP98 (this assumes the usual configuration of the hard drive be referred to as C: and the CD-ROM drive referred to as D:).
Step 5 Change the directory back to the SETUP98 directory on the hard drive to start the installation. Type CD SETUP98 {ENTER}, followed by typing SETUP {ENTER}. This starts the Windows 98 Setup process.

It is advantageous to perform the OS installation directly from the hard drive for the following reasons:

  • The installation goes much faster, because hard drives are much faster than CD-ROM drives.
  • The Windows setup files will always be available on the hard drive when new hardware or software is added.
  • If complete formats are frequently performed, two partitions can be created on one drive. The smaller of the two partitions would contain only setup files, while the larger partition would contain all other files. If a reformat is required in the future, it will be easy to format only the larger partition and perform setup from the smaller one.

Running Windows 98 Setup from DOS
It might be necessary to run the setup procedure from DOS if there are any problems during the Windows 98 OS installation process:

Step 1 Create a bootable floppy disk with CD-ROM drivers.
Step 2 Insert the bootable disk and turn on the computer. When prompted, select the option to boot with CD-ROM support. Allow the system to boot to the DOS prompt.
Step 3 From the command line, change to the CD-ROM drive by typing D: {ENTER} where D is the CD-ROM letter.
Step 4 Initiate the Setup process by typing CD WIN98 {ENTER} then SETUP {ENTER}. This will start the Windows Setup process.

Installing Windows 98 in a New Unit
To install Windows 98 onto a new, or a reformatted disk drive, it will be necessary to boot the system from the Windows distribution CD and run the SETUP.EXE program from the DOS prompt.

Using this method, the Windows 98 Setup program runs a real-mode version (looking at all files) of the ScanDisk utility on the drive. This requires that the CD-ROM or network driver be present and loaded. ScanDisk performs a complete check (FAT, directory, and files) on the drive and creates a ScanDisk log file. If any errors are detected, the program will display an error message. This log can be accessed through the View Log selection in ScanDisk. After the ScanDisk inspection has been completed, the Setup program initializes the system and begins copying installation files to the drive.