| There are a few different ways to
install Windows. The most common way is to insert the CD into the drive
and go for it. But when you do it that way windows will nag you to
insert the CD when you install something or change certain system
settings.
The way I like to install Windows 9X is to install it from the hard
drive to the hard drive. Huh? Yeah, you read that right. But first you
have to copy the install files (CAB files) from the Windows 9x CD onto
the hard drive.
This method takes a little extra effort and a tiny bit of DOS
know-how but it is by far the best way to install this operating system.
Trust me here folks. If you give me a few moments of your time, I'll
show you a much better method. You'll never go back to the old way
again. I promise!
First off, you'll need a blank hard drive. If you don't have a new
drive, you can erase an old drive for the job. Once you have your hard
drive selected and installed, you'll need to erase everything on it. But
before you do that, be sure to have any important data backed up and
saved from this drive. The next few steps is going to completely destroy
any and all data on the hard drive. So if you have anything on your hard
drive that you simply cannot live without, you better go back up your
data before you go any further. Go on, we'll wait fer ya.
OK, now that you're ready to obliterate the data from the hard drive,
you're going to need a Windows Start-Up Disk. If you don't have one, go
here to make one. Hurry up, we'll wait again.
OK, now you have your startup disk ready. Insert the startup disk
into the floppy drive and boot your machine. Unless your computer has
been set up in a special way, it SHOULD boot to the new startup floppy
disk. At the A:> prompt you will type C:
ENTER. This will bring you to the C:> prompt. Now you need
to make a directory (DOS calls it a directory while Windows calls it a
folder) for the install files called WIN98. Type MKDIR
WIN98 ENTER. This will create a directory (folder) named WIN98 in
the C: drive. Now you'll need to open this new WIN98 directory by typing
CD WIN98 ENTER (CD is the DOS
command for Change Directory). You should now be at the C:\WIN98>
prompt. Now that you have created this folder, and opened the C: drive
to this new folder, you need to jump to the CD rom drive. Your CD player
will probably have the drive letter of E now because the STARTUP DISK
has created a VIRTUAL RAM DRIVE and assigned it as the D: drive. You can
jump to the CD rom drive by typing E: ENTER.
Now you'll be at the E:> prompt. To make sure that this is the CDrom
drive and the Windows CD is in the drive we can do a directory check by
typing DIR ENTER. This will show the
contents of the E: drive. Look for a folder or directory named WIN98. If
it's there, then that means that the Windows CD is in that drive and we
can proceed. If the WIN98 folder is not found in this drive, either make
sure that the Windows CD is in the drive or you may have to try a
different drive letter if you have more than one CDrom drive. Try F:
drive too. Once you have found the drive that holds the Windows CD
you'll need to copy the WIN98 folder from the CD to the C: drive. To do
this, simply open that drive (we are using the E: drive in this example)
and type COPY WIN98 C: ENTER. Make
sure there is a single space between COPY and WIN98 and another single
space between WIN98 and C: or it won't work. Once you hit ENTER it will
begin to copy the contents of the WIN98 folder from the Windows CD onto
the C: hard drive. Once the CAB files have been copied you will see the
message "101FILES COPIED" or something similar followed by the
E:> prompt. You can now jump back to the C: drive by typing C:
ENTER. This will bring you back to the C:\WIN98> prompt. From
here, you can type in SETUP ENTER and
installation will begin exactly as it would if you were installing from
the CDrom. Now, when you make changes to the system settings or
if you install certain hardware, instead of it asking you to insert the
Windows CD, it will "remember" where it was installed from and
go straight to the C:\WIN98 folder and never ask for the CD again. Not
to mention that the install is a bit faster from the hard drive as
compared to from the CD. This also makes it easier if you should ever
need to reinstall Windows to correct any file corruption or for whatever
reason. |