Upgrading '98 O/S on laptop to XP problem

[dodgy368]

A friend asked me to put xp on an old laptop running 98(not SE), not a problem I thought, took it home and put an xp disc in, the drive spins up and then stops, so I right click and explore d drive and get "not ready reading drive d", have tried xp discs that I know work but still no joy.

Any ideas???

[Barbarossa]

Faulty drive? :blink:

[zapjb]

Ok it won't play the disk. Will it boot from it?

[Appzalien]

How about after running a lens cleaner disk? You wanted one anyway, right? make your buddy buy it for you. Also pick up a can of compressed air and open the tray and blow that thing out before you run the disk. Also you can try the old uninstall the rom drive from Device Manager to sort out and driver bugs after a reboot.

By the way, if you get the rom drive sorted out I should warn you, I have upgraded over Win98 to XP and I ended up formatting out and installing XP by itself. The resulting OS was so slow and buggy I had no choice. You can go back to 98 after you install XP but your better off saving data (external drive?) and formatting to a clean install for the best results.

[Virtualbody1234]

Definitely fresh install!

What are the specs of this laptop?

Is it even able to run XP adequately?

[accat13]

You might be better off with windows 2000

[dodgy368]

Thanks for your suggestions guys.

Damn thing has a virus, will have to sort it at the weekend. :angry:

[peat moss]

@VB
@Accat13

Ya my thoughts too as I'v just done just that on two computers I repaired for friends . Whats funny is Win 2000 pro had all the drivers on a fresh install .

Computers for their parents to just go online and e-mail , A P4 2.0 and P3 800, my problem was memory mismatched pc133 memory but Win200 was very forgiving and both are 512 mb . Hey want a new computer ,buy it .

[dodgy368]

Def need help now, pretty sure a virus is blocking anything I try.:angry:

CD drive will only recognise retail music cd's.

Any other disc is not recognised.

Operating system is 98.

Have tried 98 boot disk with no joy, it will not let me format the drive.
HELP!

[ciram]

I'm fairly certain the problem is with your drive. Since you say you are having this problem also at boot where its very unlikely that a virus is messing with it. I have had the same problem with many older drives. The first signs of failure are that it will play only some discs. This has to do with the lasers ability to focus. I would try a lens cleaner and a different drive (external?) to narrow down the problem.

If you have no way of doing any of that, I would take the laptop hard drive out, stick it into a desktop with an adapter and install there. Then put it back into the laptop.

ciram

[dodgy368]

Definitely fresh install!

What are the specs of this laptop?

Is it even able to run XP adequately?


Here's the specs, thought it could handle xp but if it can't then I need to put 98(or SE) back on as I've formatted it.

Processor
Intel Pentium II
333MHz clock speed
32KB write back level 1 cache
Integrated 256k level 2 cache Memory (std/max RAM) 64MB SDRAM standard (expandable to 192MB) LIM EMS/XMS supported Dimensions
309mm x 259mm x 41 mm Weight
3.18kg CD-ROM
Fixed internal twenty-four speed (max) 5.25" EIDE
(130ms ave. random access time) DVD-ROM Hard Disk

4.02GB unformatted
Diskette Drive Fixed internal 3.5" 1.44MB Graphics
Trident Cyber 9525DVD
VGA/SVGA compatible
2.5MB VRAM
PCI local bus support
BiTBlock graphics accelerator Display
14.1" diagonal display size
1024 x768 pixel resolution
Colour TFT screen
Up to 16.7 million colour . Simultaneous internal/external display mode. Video Modes
640x480 256 colours int/ext/sim @ 85Hz Non-Interlaced external user selectable, 60Hz simultaneous mode
640x480 65,536 colours int/ext/sim @ 85Hz Non-Interlaced external user selectable, 60Hz simultaneous mode
640x480 16.7 million colours int/ext/sim @ 85Hz Non-Interlaced external user selectable, 60Hz simultaneous mode

800x600 256 colours int/ext/sim @ 85Hz Non-Interlaced external user selectable, 60Hz simultaneous mode
800x600 65,536 colours int/ext/sim @ 85Hz Non-Interlaced external user selectable, 60Hz simultaneous mode
800x600 16.7 million colours int/ext/sim @ 85Hz Non-Interlaced external user selectable, 60Hz simultaneous mode

1024x768 256 colours ext/sim @ 85Hz Non-Interlaced external user selectable, 60Hz simultaneous mode
1024x768 65,536 colours ext/sim @ 60Hz Non-Interlaced external user selectable, 60Hz simultaneous mode

1280x1024 256 colours ext/sim @ 60Hz Interlaced external user selectable, 60Hz simultaneous mode


N.B. Where a resolution is shown as possible with simultaneous mode but not internal mode, this will involve the use of a virtual desktop display' to achieve the desired resolution on the LCD

Keyboard
Ergonomically designed
86 full size keys with integrated mousepoint
12 function keys, 8 hot keys and 2 Windoes keys
embedded numeric keypad
Dedicated cursor control keys
Euro key support
Interfaces/Expansion Slots
1 x ECP parallel port
1 x serial port (1655UART equivalent)
1 x SVGA monitor port
1x PS/2 keyboard/mouse point
1x Irda port
1x USB port
1x RJ11 (DAA interface)
2x 32bit CardBus PC Card slots.
1x docking port to CardStation III (spacer required)
1x memory slot Power Supply
Autosensing AC adaptor
100/240v for world wide usage Battery
Rechargeable removable Li-ion Battery
Up to 3.0 hours battery life
2.5 - 10 hours recharge time Software Included
Windows 95 / Windows 98 Dual install
Modem, display and sound drivers Hardware Included
Integrated V90 Fax + data modem
Plug and play BIOS Other Special Features
2 level password security
Auto resume mode
Toshiba Max time power management
Kensington Cable lock
APM/ACPI support
DMI / WfM compliant
SoundBlaster Pro compatible sound system Options

Now when I put a boot floppy in, it loads the drivers and I get the error message "this computer has no valid information".

If I try to boot from cd rom it doesn't see a disc in there.:cry:

[Chewie]

Maybe the drive can't read writable discs. Is the Win98 disc that you have a manufactured or burned copy?

[dodgy368]

Maybe the drive can't read writable discs. Is the Win98 disc that you have a manufactured or burned copy?

It's a legit ms 98se disc(for use on a pc without Windows).

Reason I thought it had a virus was it wouldn't let me put a virus cleaner(vcleaner.exe) on it using a floppy, but when I renamed it to vcleaner.jpg I could put it on the desktop, then renamed it back to .exe but when double clicked it wouldn't load.

[Virtualbody1234]

Maybe a setting in the BIOS? Enable boot device, boot sequence or similar.

Maybe a bootdisk could help? http://www.bootdisk.com/

A 4GB HDD is hardly enough for XP.

[dodgy368]

Maybe a setting in the BIOS? Enable boot device, boot sequence or similar.

Maybe a bootdisk could help? http://www.bootdisk.com/

A 4GB HDD is hardly enough for XP.

Have dug around in the bios and set boot from floppy which loads the bootdisk drivers but then says this pc has no valid blah blah blah.....
Have tried boot from cd but the cd drives light stays on and it won't read it.

Yeah, was gonna try and load a "light" version of xp but just want to get 98 back on and give it back to him telling him that 100 quid is a bit steep for this pile of crap!

[clocker]

4GB is plenty big enough for XP...my iRAM disk is only that big and I have 2GB free.

The rest of the machine is way below what I would consider to be minimum spec for an XP PC though.
You'll get it on- maybe- but it'll run like crap and in the end neither you nor the laptop will be very happy.

[peat moss]

I'd try an old win 98 floppy start up disk , Fdisk then format , reinstall . I would try Win 2000 pro tho you would be better off .

Some older computers are finicky I'v had to reinstall win 98 then try and load XP from the DOS prompt like D:/SETUP . I find if I Fdisk then Format but use FORMAT C: /u it seems to work . VB gave the site to D/L so I'd look there .

[dodgy368]

Ok, as I said earlier, I do have a boot floppy that works.

Looks like this laptop has a 10gig hdd, in C: primary dos partition is 2047(fat 16) and extended is 7068mb.

How do I wipe the hard drive completely, getting rid of all partitions?
When I try it says I have to remove Logical Drives, so I do, then try to delete extended dos partition and it says I have to remove Logical F'ing Drives!!!

[Virtualbody1234]

If you want to erase the whole drive including partitions use: http://www.killdisk.com/

You'll then need to recreate and format any partitions(s) you want.

[dodgy368]

Exausted all other possibilities now, it needs a new cd drive.
Dunno what he's gonna say when I give it back without an O/S on it, and then tell him it will cost a bit to fix in the shop.

[Virtualbody1234]

You sure that it's not possible to reinstall the OS though the LAN port or similar?

[dodgy368]

You sure that it's not possible to reinstall the OS though the LAN port or similar?


TBH, I wouldn't have a clue how to do that.:(