W98 S.E. Desktop & Laptop applications ???

[westy]

I have a friend that tried installing W98 S.E. (full install) on his desktop and is having LOTS of problems. He is of the belief that Microsoft has two different versions of the full install, one being for desktops and the other for laptops. He told me that when you have a true full version of Windows 98 one of the first screens during installation asks if this is going to be installed on a desktop, laptop, network, or custom application. This selection is not present on his disk and has therefore created a failed installation. Also, his computer now continually asks for theWin98 CD during startup only to not find the files it is looking for. After "canceling" through all of these requests to get Windows started, almost nothing is usable. Also, he told me that the laptop is unable to properly shutdown.
I thought W98 had a full install or an upgrade and that was it. Anyone ever heard of something like this? Can anyone offer me suggestions for my friend? I’ve never heard of this one before!

[Noevo]

there isn't a seperate version for laptops or desktops. What your friend is thinking is the type of install. Should be Desktop, laptop, minimal and custom I believe. This is comparable to a small>medium>large>full installation. All it does is choose how much junk to throw on the machine. The errors they are getting won't be caused by choosing any of those per say. But by doing a full or custom install you can make sure that stuff is installed right away, saving going back and installing networking for example and then having it prompt for the cd. This can also be prevented by copying all the .cab files from the cd to the hard drive for future reference.

My guess is that some of the componets, i.e. video card, NIC, and controllers aren't recognized by 98 and require drivers not supplied by win98. If it's that it will require drivers and then it will usually ask for the 98 cd to finish the installation of the components.

Find the drivers on the web, download them, than go into the device manager and REMOVE all components you see a yellow exclamation mark next to them, reboot -with the 98 cd in the drive and go from there. also have the driver disks for your components handy.

sheesh, that was wordy wasn't it. if you need further explanation let me know :)

[westy]

Anyone have an idea why the screen at the beginning of the install doesn't come up and ask which install to choose ? I think this somehow is related to his problem. Somehow, it's installing the minimal installation and he's continually having to insert the CD for the files...........

[Noevo]

Unless you are installing the full version from a fully formated drive I don't think you will get that option. By the way you are talking I am assuming he is trying to reinstall over top of what is already there.

Just copy the win98 dir (i think thats the one) off of the Win98 CD onto the hard drive. Make a dir for it in the windows dir. Then when something prompts for the cd, point it to that dir. It should remember from then on that the files are there. If it doesn't at least you don't have to grab the cd everytime. The goal is to get all the .cab files off the cd onto the computer.

If you can I recomend formatting the hard drive and installing Win98 fresh.

Get the idea that not having all the windows files on your computer is causing errors out of your head though. It's most likely driver issues NOT the lack of Win98 files.

What happens when you don't just cancel past the prompts for the Win98 CD? Does it find the files it's looking for on the CD and still give errors?

[westy]

I'm not sure if he tried all this on a fresh install/reformatted disc or not. (I'll have to check). What he did tell me was the computer as it stands now continually asks for the Win98 CD during startup only to not find the files it is looking for. After "canceling" through all of these requests to get Windows started, almost nothing is usable. He seems confident that when you have a true full version of Windows 98 one of the first screens during installation asks if this is going to be installed on a desktop, laptop, network, or custom application. Since selection is not present on the disk or when he runs the install, it creates a failed installation.

I think he needs to format and reinstall. Try and try again !

Thanks for the feedback !

[Noevo]

Keep in mind, that even with a full installation of Win 98 there will be times that it prompts for the CD. Such as removing and installing network protocols and the like. Not much of a way around that.

And it makes sense that cancelling through those cause problems. especially if it is trying to install the controllers.

Hope I have helped more than I have confused.

good luck

[westy]

Here are the files he is saying his computer is missing:

Vnetsup.vxd
Vnetbios.vxd
Vredir.vxd
Dfs.vxd
Msnp32.dll

Additionally, when he attempts to open Internet Explorer or any other program he receives the critical error message with in a window entitled "Moobe"

Do the files or the error message ring a bell with anyone ?
:rolleyes:

[YeOldeStonecat]

Yes, he messed up his networking protocols somewhere during or after setup.

First, copy the Win98 directory from the Windows cd-rom to the C drive.....refer to that whenever you see a prompt to insert the Windows cd.

Now for those errors.....easiest way of the many ways to clear those, in Network Properties.....add Client for Microsoft, Client for Novell, all 3 protocols (NetBEUI, TCP/IP, and IPX), and the File and Print sharing service.

Reboot.

Next, remove what you don't need, such as Client for Novell, IPX, probably Client for MS also, NetBEUI, and the file and print sharing service.

Reboot.

90% of the time, those steps remove the errors he's seeing.