Cannot install Win95

[Jeremy]

On our legacy custom built system, my friend and i cannot install windows 95 correctly. It copies files OK, but it improperly detects the hardware. Instead of giving specific brands, it installs generic drivers. We have done this on a freshly formatted drive, and it won't work. After it copies all the files, it freezes on the flying windows screen, or when the tiny magnifying glass detects more hardware in "Mini windows". Are there any foolproof methods to successfully install windows (95) on a formatted disk?

Our current system:
Pentium 100MHz on PB600 with PhoenixBIOS 4.04
32MB EDO RAM
210MB IDE Western Digital Caviar 1210
4x NEC CD-273 IDE CD-ROM
3.5"1.44MB Floppy
1MB Cirrus Logic 5430 PCI Video (Installed as Cirrus Logic 5429/30/34)
CMD 640 PCI Hard Disk Controller (Installed as ESDI Disk Controller)

[njeddiek]

Wow Win 95. I just finnished setting up a old Dell with a pentium 133,64meg and 2 old Quantum 540 Drives. I thought about using 95 but decided to use 98SE. Worked just fine.
First off is Bios showing the correct parameter settings info for the HD?
Then I would remove all cards except for the Vid and try to load the OS. If successful then install 1 card at a time until you find what was causing the problem.

[UnitedWeStand]

There is no fool proof ways to install windows 95 period.. windows 95 is the only operating system that can crash within the first 95 seconds it is in use...
I'm going to be a poor sport here.. I'll tell you that the cirrus logic video card was installed right.. but there may be some jumper settings on your motherboard that need to be set up to completely bi pass onboard Video.. but as far as the
CMD 640 PCI Hard Disk Controller (Installed as ESDI Disk Controller) thats not at all in my league.. but I'll tell you all I know about it.

1. Click Start , point to Settings , and then click Control Panel .


2. Double-click System , and then click the Device Manager tab.


3. Double-click Hard Disk Controllers , and then double-click CMD 640 Bus Master Controller .


4. On the Settings tab, click Both IDE Channels Enabled in the Dual IDE Channel Settings box, click OK , and then click OK .

so the answer to your question is NO.
:(

[Jeremy]

the HD autodetected perfectly fine. Actually, i think the generic controller isn't the problem, but something else. I may have to FDISK the hard drive (I did a "format c: /u" from a win98 boot disk). Also, i cant' change drivers because that was from safe mode. It froze always during the continuation of windows setup. I may use 98, but 95 would be far faster, and 210MB is barely enough room for it (I do have a copy of 98se)

[njeddiek]

Just a thought here. What version win 95 are you using? I might be wrong but if your using the original it did not support fat32. Win 98 format default is fat32. I don't know if that would cause your problem. For a 210 HD 95 is better.

[Jeremy]

it is win95 original. Who would want a FAT32 210MB drive anyhow? I think the min size is 256MB or 512 when using the converter tool.

[Dakota]

Win98 should work just fine on that system. Skip the caveman 95 OS and use 98. Your life will be much simpler.

[njeddiek]

oops temp brain freeze. Your right fat32 minimum is 512 unless you use a switch to override.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Never had a problem with Win95, but a good rule of thumb for all operating systems, is to run setup with only the minimal hardware required to run setup, IE video card, and SCSI/IDE/RAID if needed for hard drive. Have modem, NIC, sound, extra video, etc, physically removed.

Then once up and running, the first thing to install is the latest chipset drivers for your motherboard, IE Intel Chipset Installation Utility, or Via 4 in 1, or whatever. Install, go through several reboots.

Then get the latest drivers for your other peripherals, like updated video drive, ....and install them one at a time, pointing "new hardware found" do your drivers so they install the latest drivers, not the crappy built in microsoft ones. Reboot once or twice until it's fully installed...then move onto the next device.

How you get these latest drivers is up to you and your setup. I use an internal Iomega zip drive sometimes...since you don't need Iomega software, Windows sees an internal zip drive fine by itself, and I don't like Iomega's software. Or burn them to a cd ahead of time. Or if you have a second hard drive as an extended...just plop them there.