Windows 98 Headache

I've had a real struggle these last few days, battling a heavy cold and trying to fix my computer. I was re-installing Windows 98 but the problem was it wouldn't boot up from an "A" drive boot disk.
In the end, I did it this way:
I started Windows 98 and restarted in DOS before typing in "FORMAT C": Then it got tricky. The files started to do a system check by percentages but after some 15 minutes I would get another prompt to type in 11 digits
I typed in FORMAT C: again but that wasn't understood.
Finally I got round it by somehow rebooting on the Windowns C.D. Rom. That seemed to work and I was able to install Windows 98.
However, after that, Windows wouldn't detect my modem that was an Intel. I tried everything, settings, configurations and modem tests. Zilch. Not only that but the "A" drive was dead.
The answer I found in the Bios settings. You can get into this by pressing delete as the computer begins to boot up.
I altered a lot of stuff in the Bios that technicians in the past obviously failed to notice. I completely disabled my former inboard modem and one or two port settings. I enabled the "A" drive swap. I opened up the P.C. and installed another modem from PC World and then put the disk in. I installed all the modem drivers and disk drivers.
Now my compter is working better than when I bought it. Internet connections are really fast without broadband. I also installed lots of new software.
You know, this would have cost me well over 100 pounds had I taken it into service and maybe the job wouldn't have been so good in the end. I'm so encouraged by my success I'm now all set to rewire my boat as another DIY project.

Having spent the majority of my life breaking & fixing computers as my trade I can assure you that rewiring a boat ain't the same kettle of fish as tweaking BIOS settings. You really should have a solid grounding in basic Electronics before you start so you can make the right calls on component selection. There's a fair chance that the thing was wired up wrong in the first place of course, so you really need to understand *what* the circuit is doing before you start 'fixing' it.

You make a fair point about these service places though. Most of them are ****e.

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Free Beer !

I think the existing wiring is accurate but the boat has been left in damp and cold for years. My plan is to simply replace the damp wires one by one and eliminate rusty leads and plugs.
Finally I will get an auto-electrician to check the main leads. Possibly I'll fit fresh fuse boxes e.t.c. myself so the electrician won't need to spend a lot of time doing other stuff.
I may be paying by the hour and I have to consider other stuff that needs doing in the future like new rubbing strips on the hull, fenders, interior decoration and the whole painting of the craft.
I'm sure, though, that at some point Carrera will take to the waters and it'll be,
"Ahoy there all yer miserable land-lubbers!"

I still can't believe I fixed that computer. I know it doesn't sound modest but I seem to have done such a good job of it. I wonder why no technician didn't ever think to disable the former onboard modem that was an HSP6 Modem.
All you do is go into Bios and disable the inboard modem settings.
Before, when I installed the driver disk, the HSP6 modem would keep installing itself in the modem settings but the modem itself was knackered and sitting there idle.
The last technician simply put a new modem in but didn't disable or remove the inboard. Plus, he knackered my "A" drive.
Sometimes I think the only way to learn is to get hood of books and give it a shot. In my area, it's a wilderness and there seems to be a major shortage of skilled people. There are virtually no boat mechanics or engineers even in the boatyards. I phoned dozens of mechanics and not one could do the timer belt so I had to get my cousin to come and change it.

I still can't believe I fixed that computer. I know it doesn't sound modest but I seem to have done such a good job of it. I wonder why no technician didn't ever think to disable the former onboard modem that was an HSP6 Modem.
All you do is go into Bios and disable the inboard modem settings.
Before, when I installed the driver disk, the HSP6 modem would keep installing itself in the modem settings but the modem itself was knackered and sitting there idle.
The last technician simply put a new modem in but didn't disable or remove the inboard. Plus, he knackered my "A" drive.
Sometimes I think the only way to learn is to get hood of books and give it a shot. In my area, it's a wilderness and there seems to be a major shortage of skilled people. There are virtually no boat mechanics or engineers even in the boatyards. I phoned dozens of mechanics and not one could do the timer belt so I had to get my cousin to come and change it.

<rant>
carrera, if you, a novice, spotted the fact that BIOS can enable/disable a modem i am sure any technician would have known that. I work in computers and know many ICT support techs...trust me, they would have known.

chances are your computer wouldnt boot from the floppy because you have the boot priority set to boot from another device first, such as your hdd or cd-rom.

we've had this conversation before.

one piece of advice i can offer you is UPGRADE your OS you cheapskate!!

Thats 8 years old now!

Microsoft are releasing Windows Vista this year...buy a new computer. It will be more worthwhle than throwing money at that barge which by the sounds of it is a dead horse. The only thing holding it together is the rust...give it up man, sell it on ebay.

</rant>

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HARD
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I can't believe that somebody is actually still using Windows 98. Jeez, at least move up to 2000. It's a heck of a lot more stable and forgiving than 98. Kudos to your old school self though Carrera!

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I'm a bit tight, so I am. My philosophy: If it ain't broke don't fix it. This is the first time I had trouble with the computer to be honest.
As for the boat, well, you do have a point. I have this mentality where I hate to see things get neglected, though, and I just have this dream of restoring this boat to the way it once was.
It has a perfectly good engine and most of the work will be superficial.
Don't get me wrong, compared with bikes, boats suck. Boats are slow, you have to pay for mooring, licence and insurance you don't get with a bike.
But somehow I feel obliged to get this boat restored.
Am I crazy?

Hi,

I've been in IT for a loooong time now. Windows 98 is definitely, and without a doubt, one of the crappiest OSes I've ever come across. It's broken my heart and caused me more lost time than practically anything else I can think of, including DOS/Windows 1.0! I know that you've gotten away with it so far, but really, honestly, sincerely, it's time to move on!

Just a suggestion.

Cheers,
J.

i second that, infact i am willing to give you £150 just to put you out of your misery...

windows XP is a pain in the ****, dont get me wrong....but for someone like you that likes to install thier own modems etc...its a dream.

oh and get rid of your dial up, its 2006 for fock sake...

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HARD
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98 was a breeze for me. The trick is to buy good hardware and make sure it's patched up (OSR2 made it fairly solid). That said you may as well buy a new machine with XP on it anyways, getting software and hardware that will function correctly with 98 won't be getting any easier as time rolls by.

It is also worth taking into consideration that hard drives have a limited life. I have some which are now 8 years old and running fine, but most hard drives I have come across started playing up after 3 years. If they run hot you can expect as little as a year from of them.

My mum is running Linux with OpenOffice at the moment. She's happy enough with it, and she hasn't broken it once in over a year of continual use.

For stuff that matters to me and has to run 24x7x365 I use OpenBSD, but that's pretty old fashioned. I doubt many people here would take to it.

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Free Beer !

By the way, I obtained a book on boat electrics that should help me. I take Mountain Pro's point about the burden of having such a hobby as boating and a boat as old as mine is, but I just feel obliged to restore it.
Whether I see a rusting neglected bike or a knackered boat, I just get this urge to take the said machine under my wing and show it some interest and put things to rights.
Bikes, boats, cars and machines need to be looked after.
Later on I'm gonna post a pic of my boat for you folks when it's painted and you'll all be amazed that a boat 20 years old or so can look so cool.

I am going to brag and my grandmother told me never to brag. I have windows98 and I use my computer to do nothing but surf the web and to send e-mails. I have never lost a minute in the last 4 years and I have never had a problem ...... I think it would be almost impossible to be faster........

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windows 98 is fine for a bit of word processing, surfing the net and playing solitaire.

when you go to upgrade to Broadband however you'll find that some or most providers dont give support for win98.
Graphics cards such as the later radeon series arent compatible and most modern games wont run under win98. Other hardware such as DVD-/+RW arent compatible, blue tooth devices for PDAs and mobile phones arent supported...5.1 sound cards and wireless network devices wont work.

but, given small non-demanding tasks that require no multimedia, hardware interaction or memory resources then win 98 is fine.

we used it for 4 years without a hitch also but then the daughter wanted Sims2. I built a gaming PC 2 years ago and never looked back. Win XP pro and a nice Radeon 128Mb DDR graphics card, it flies...weeeeeeeee.

Needs upgraded now though, the Athlon XP2400 was good in its day but is finding modern games such as Brother In Arms - EIB a bit demanding.

I dunno wether i should go for the AMD64 or the P4-64....any suggestions?

gaming and multimedia development is my main uses for the PC.

also for all you tech people, what woudl you say inproves game performance more significantly.

Upgarading the processor/mboard (fsb is currently 266Mhz, i need at leats 800 i think)
Upgrading the Ram from 512 to 1Gb or greater
Beefier graphics card

i know upgrading the main board means new ram for higher speeds..

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HARD
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My Windows 98 is fine now and I'm starting on the boat wiring. Today I cycled some distance to purchase a new ammeter since the one my boat already has fitted has broken glass.
So, I bought a brand new one (just another step towards the Carrera land ahoy project).
I also have books on boat electrics and diesel engines I'm reading.