If you didn't purchase a computer with Windows 98 pre-installed, you must install the operating system over your current operating system (or a clean hard drive, but that's less likely to be the case). Windows 98 is designed to upgrade previous versions of Windows (3.x and 95).
The installation has a number of individual processes, which occur in this order:
If Windows 95 is your current operating system, the Windows 98 CD-ROM will launch Setup as soon as you insert the CD. If you use Windows 3.x, open File Manager and access the CD-ROM. Double-click Setup.exe.
After the temporary files necessary to run the setup program are copied to your hard drive, you must choose the type of installation you want to perform. The choices are as follows:
You'll be asked to accept the Microsoft License Agreement for Windows 98; select I accept the Agreement, and then choose Next.
Windows checks for installed operating system components and asks if you want to save existing MS-DOS and Windows system files, which gives you the opportunity to uninstall Windows 98 if you want to. It takes about 50MB of disk space to save your previous version of Windows, so it's a good idea to answer Yes. Choose the default directory for saving the files (the suggested directory name is c:\XXXMB free, where XXX is the number of free megabytes on your hard drive).
When the setup program asks if you want to create an emergency startup disk, say Yes. If something goes wrong with your system files, the emergency disk can get you into your system so you can repair or reinstall corrupted files. You need a blank formatted disk.
The setup program prepares the emergency files and tells you when to insert the disk. It also tells you when to remove it.
Now the operating system files are transferred from the CD-ROM to your hard drive. This can take quite a while, so you might want to find something to do or something to read.
After all the files are copied, the setup program restarts your computer. When the bootup is complete, you'll see a message that says Getting ready to run Windows for the first time.
Yea! You are off and running. Windows 98 initializes the device driver database and gets ready to set up your hardware. This only takes a few seconds. (Drivers are software files that control the hardware devices in your computer.)
Windows next searches your system for Plug and Play devices. These are hardware devices that are manufactured with Windows in mind, and Windows knows everything about them. Depending on the number of Plug and Play devices in your system, this can take more than a few moments.
The Plug and Play devices that are located and identified are configured. Then other (non-Plug and Play) hardware is located and identified. The driver database is checked against the hardware so everything in your system will run properly.
Sometimes Setup fails during hardware detection, especially if the computer has older devices that aren't recognized. Windows may ask you to select the devices you want the detection program to look for. If you have a network card or some other peripheral you think may not be supported, deselect it and tell Windows you don't have one of those. After the operating system is up and running, you can install it (it's much easier).
If the setup program freezes or dies, restart the computer, and then start Setup again from the beginning. Don't worry--you'll skid through all the parts you've already been through and Windows will pick up where it left off.
After the hardware is taken care of, a few other details are attended to: The Help files are installed and some technical stuff goes on in the background.
Then Windows restarts your computer once again.
A large message of welcome greets you. Choose Continue to open the Registration Wizard if you want to register your operating system with Microsoft (or choose Register Later).
Close the Welcome window by clicking the X in the upper-right corner.
There is another set of configuration processes, but don't worry, this is the last. The following devices may be configured, depending on your equipment and the installation options you selected:
You can cancel any or all of these and perform the configuration later. In fact, we cover those topics throughout this book.
When you turn on your computer, it goes through two different sets of startup tasks: The initial startup procedure starts the computer, and a secondary startup procedure starts the Windows 98 operating system.
The first set of steps starts with the POST (Power On Self Test). It's a check of the hardware, then the computer moves on to check the commands and information stored in your BIOS chip, and then it loads drivers to control the basic hardware in your computer (hard drive, ports, video, and so on). You can see the beginning of the POST on your screen in the form of a series of numbers in the upper-left corner--that's the RAM check (the final number that's displayed represents the amount of memory in your computer).
At some point, you probably see a message telling you how to enter the computer's own setup program (for example, you may see a message instructing you to press the Del key or F2 to enter setup). You only need to enter the computer setup if you've made a change in the basic hardware (such as memory and hard drives). In that case, you need to configure the setup files to match the new hardware so the computer startup procedure doesn't find a discrepancy between the information it has and the hardware it finds. The documentation that came with your computer explains what to do and how to do it.
If your Windows 98 system doesn't load after you see the message that Windows 98 is starting, you probably have some sort of conflict with hardware or configuration settings. This usually occurs after you've added or changed a hardware device. In fact, it's not a good idea to add or change hardware until you've been running Windows 98 for a while and know you have a smooth, functioning operating system.
You can troubleshoot the startup, and sometimes it's a better idea to get someone who has expertise in Windows 98 to advise you as you use the troubleshooting features.
Troubleshooting begins by changing the way the operating system loads. To accomplish this, press F8 when Windows 98 first starts. This produces a menu from which you select the appropriate menu number. A countdown clock runs onscreen, and you have 30 seconds to make a decision before the operating system boots normally.
Here are the menu choices:
2. Logged\BOOTLOG.TXT This startup option causes everything to run exactly the same as a normal operating system startup, except that behind the scenes, Windows 98 is keeping a log of everything that happens. Each individual step that Windows 98 takes to get you to your desktop is recorded. The filename for the log is BOOTLOG.TXT, and if there are problems, you can examine that file in any text editor or word processor.
3. Safe mode Using this choice is like inventing and loading an operating system named "Windows 98 Lite." Only the bare components necessary to get you to your Windows 98 desktop are loaded during startup. This is useful if you are having problems starting the operating system (especially after making a change in the configuration or adding new hardware). Because there are so few commands executed and files loaded, there's a reduced chance of problems. Use Safe mode to start the operating system so you can undo any configuration changes you made that were probably the cause of your problems. If there are serious problems during startup, Windows 98 will probably recognize that fact and go into Safe mode automatically.
4. Safe mode with network support This is the same as Safe mode, except the drivers that let you join the network are loaded. This is useful if you have to repair a configuration problem and the Windows 98 files are on a network computer instead of a CD-ROM that you could use on your own computer.
5. Step-by-step confirmation This is very much like Normal, except you see each process Windows 98 goes through and you're asked to confirm the decision to move to the next step. If there's a problem, you'll also see the error message that problem causes. This is a useful way to isolate exactly which process is causing problems.
6. Command prompt only This choice is jargon for "don't start Windows, just go to DOS." When the process ends, you see a command prompt (C:\>). You can run DOS software, and examine the DOS startup files for problems (Config.sys and Autoexec.bat).
7. Safe mode with command prompt This is the same as Safe mode, except that Windows 98 doesn't start up and you end up at a command prompt. In addition, the commands in your startup files (Config.sys and Autoexec.bat) are not processed. If your startup problem stems from some change you made to Config.sys or Autoexec.bat, you can undo the damage before trying to restart the operating system.
When your Windows 95 computer doesn't boot (either you see an error message or it just freezes before it has finished the boot- up process and you never get to the desktop), turn off your computer and start again. This time, choose Safe mode by pressing F8 to force a Startup menu. When Windows 98 boots into Safe mode (by the way, your desktop has messages on it that say Safe mode just to remind you), you can fix the problem. Usually, it's just a matter of undoing the last configuration option you messed around with. (If you added hardware, for example, turn off your computer, and take out the hardware before starting again.)
But what if Safe mode doesn't work either? What if your computer still won't boot into Windows 98? There are two common reasons for Safe mode failure:
If neither of these solutions works, you probably need to get your computer to a repair expert.
Everything usually runs quite smoothly, however, and when the operating system has completed its startup procedures, a bright and cheerful Welcome to Windows 98 screen greets you. You can use the options on the screen to register your operating system or head for the Internet (both of which require your modem and an Internet service provider). There are also options to tour the Windows 98 features and configure hardware maintenance programs.
© Copyright, Macmillan Publishing. All rights reserved.