Trying to fix my Windows 98SE laptop

[jerryw1976]

I have a Compaq Presario 1200 running win98SE. I was going to install the unofficial service pack for win98SE, but I thought I better ask you guys first. I read over some of your posts to see if I could find the answer myself and I came close.

Here are my questions:

Are there any known program compatibity issues with the unofficial service pack?

Is there a way for me to be able to use my USB flash drive on that laptop? Now I plug it in and it does nothing and does not show up.

I am also having an issue with windows explorer. Only when I run one program, called Rainbird Turf. After I run the program and try to shut down. I get a box pop up that says "encountered explorer error." give me option to close or ignore. When I choose close, the computer freezes and I am forced to CTRL ALT DEL to reboot.

If I was ever to use the Recovery portion, will I lose all of the programs I have installed?

I want to avoid recovery if I can.

Thank you for all of your help in advance. I truly appreciate everyone taking time to help others such as myself.

[thydreamwalker]

SESP2.1a en.exe,WUPG98 en,Auto-Patcher(Dec07Final).MDCU3.0.5,MDIE6CU2.5 these should get things right "Download to Fat32 hdd-not XP/Vista",then install safely Edited December 13, 2008 by thydreamwalker

[jerryw1976]

Thank you, but I do not understand one part of this.

Download to Fat32 hdd-not XP/Vista",then install safely

I cannot access the internet with the laptop running win 98. I would need to download them using my computer running XP, burn to a CD and then install. Would that work? Also, when you say safely install, do you mean in SAFE mode?

When does a boot disk come in handy? Can you make one on a CD rather than floppy?

Also, with the recovery portion on the D: drive, if something goes wrong, how do I re-install?

I appreciate any help.

Edited December 13, 2008 by jerryw1976

[awergh]

dont worry your not the only one

what you need is unnofficial service pack version either 2.1a which is the stable version but is a bit outdated by now or

unnofficial service pack 3 beta 3 which is more upto date but is a beta but i havent had any problems with it that i know of

aslo you will want Maximum-Decim Native USB Drivers which provides generic drivers for usb mass storage devices

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=43605

[jerryw1976]

Can i burn that to a CD and install in regular mode on the laptop?

Also, it says to remove all drivers. I really do not know how to do that in 98SE? Is there an easy way to remove them all without removing each individual one?

Edited December 13, 2008 by jerryw1976

[awergh]

burn the service pack to a CD? if so i see no problem with that

[jaclaz]

My personal "better be safe than sorry" approach to anything DATA related would be to make sure BEFORE an upgrade and expecially such a consistent one, that I am able to re-create the current setup EXACTLY as is, just in case anything goes wrong.

I would image the drive, or however make sure to backup ALL data and have the install media,and ALL serials, settings, EVERYTHING needed to re-create from scratch.

Is the laptop networked (or can it be)?

How big is the internal HD?

Do you have an external USB HD you can use?

Can the laptop boot from USB (or has it a floppy drive/internal CD drive)?

jaclaz

[awergh]

hmm jaclaz is right a backup is a good idea

[jerryw1976]

burn the service pack to a CD? if so i see no problem with that

Jaclaz: Thank you. Here are the answers to the questions regarding laptop running 98SE:

Laptop not networked and unable to

The HD is FAT32, with capacity of 4.24 GB? ??? Says I have 60 MB RAM

Do not have external HD or floppy drive

It does have an internal CD drive but not sure if I can boot from it or not. and it will not read my USB flash drive. How would I boot from a CD drive?

How would I create an image of the drive? I kind of need step by step instructions if you have the time/patience. I really appreciate it.

[awergh]

to image the drive you would use ghost or partimage or something similar however you dont appear to have a way of getting it off the laptop

the bios might let you boot from the cdrom if not you will need to boot of a floppy or something however you dont have this so im unsure what you can do here, perhaps you could transfer over serial or parallel if you cant use the cdrom drive, but what do you need to be able to boot of the cdrom for in this case?

[thydreamwalker]

The reasoning of not downloading files to XP/Vista Harddrive is the programs accept OperatingSystems Functions *Example: an IE6 update which was downloaded to XP(which uses IE7)eventually corrupts the 98SE system which accepts only IE6 as a browser and not IE7.Usually this shows up as the famous IE Message which says iexplore has encountered a problem and needs to restart!<Just learn as you try >

[jerryw1976]

Maybe this is too technical for me cause I am kind of confused.

Let me just tell you what I plan to do with this win 98 laptop. I only use it to run one program for irragation service. Do you know of a way to fix the windows explorer having the issue where is states there is an error and then gets stuck? I am really not sure if I know how to boot from anything besides the regular way. Thanks again for your help.

[jaclaz]

Don't worry, even if you are not that technically wise, the procedure is not difficult.

You have an internal CD, rest assured that your laptop CAN boot from it, to make sure, try booting and QUICLY press the key to access the BIOS.

Usually it is "Delete", but on Laptops and Compaq ones expecially, it can be:

http://en.kioskea.net/faq/sujet-283-how-to...our-bios-set-up

COMPAQ

Ensure that the cursor in the upper right corner of your screen is blinking before pressing the F10 key.

Previous versions of Compaq will make use of the F1, F2, F10 or DEL keys to grant access to your BIOS set up menu.

In the BIOS you should have a choice that could be worded either as:

"boot from CD-ROM" (or something similar)

or

"change boot order" (or something similar)

The idea is to boot from a CD and, depending on the answers to the few additional questions I will ask you, save the data "somewhere".

I need some more information:

you have another (XP running) machine, right?

this machine has a CD-burner or however you have a friend that can burn a CD for you, right?

you have a USB stick, how big is it?

can you delete data that is currently in it?

or can you borrow a bigger empty stick or an external USB HD?

how much of the 4.24 GB drive is full? (i.e. how much free space do you have on that drive?)

On another path:

I only use it to run one program for irragation service.

Can you name the program/give a link to a website?

If all you have to run is that program, it may be easier to repair your setup.

I mean, one thing is to restore a fully functional Windows 98 starting from something "corrupted" or however not working, and another thing is to restore a Win98 "good enough" to run that single program...

jaclaz

[Monroe]

... this may be of some help concerning the USB not working. About 2 years ago I was given an older desktop computer system to use as a "testing" system for Win 98SE software. Anyway, that's what I use it for so I don't mess my laptop up. However, the USB didn't work ... I researched this on Google and someone mentioned about going into the BIOS and changing a setting for USB. I did this and the USB was then working ... someone may know more about this and you can try to check that out ... that might get the USB working.

[jerryw1976]

Jaclaz:

To answer your questions:

you have another (XP running) machine, right? YES I DO

this machine has a CD-burner? YES IT DOES

you have a USB stick, how big is it? ONLY 512 MB

can you delete data that is currently in it? YES

or can you borrow a bigger empty stick or an external USB HD? NO

how much of the 4.24 GB drive is full? (i.e. how much free space do you have on that drive?) 2.96 GB OF FREE