installing to 110gb partition, couldn't find good info

[cdoublejj]

i'm trying to install 98se to a 110gb partition so i can dual boot with ubuntu. when i tried making multiple partitions manually for ubutnu putting it on separate partition i got grub boot errors.

the problem i am having every time i try to install 98 it forces me to scandisk it then i have to hit space bar to fix every error i thinks it finds wich im possible to press it 2 million times. now if format in a non 98 format and tell it to format in lba it keeps asking for a boot disc i burned one off but, still kept asking for it. if i do it in non lba it only saw 2 gigs in 98 and when i whent to install ubuntu it was a giant hard drive no partitions. i did try making 3 fat 32s 1 for 98 and then swap and linux partition but, the i got grub errors 17 and 18.

any ideas? the problem is that bios a cap of 130gb for each drive or in this case partition. it's 320gb WD blue Scorpio.

[bpalone]

If I remember correctly, 98 wants to be the first thing on the hard drive, so it will need to be on there first.

You can use your live CD of Ubuntu or download GParted Live from SourceForge, and use GParted to partition your disk. Make your first partition for 98 and format it FAT 32. You can do the rest or wait until you install Ubuntu. Then install your 98 and make sure it is working OK before going any further. Once you have it working OK, I would back it up somehow using ghost, clonezilla or something. That way, you are only a few minutes away from a recovery.

In theory, the rest should be easy. Hope this helps.

[cdoublejj]

i've done that i installed it first. my first time i created all the partitions eve swap ext3 but alas the bios must not have read the boot sector on the last partition as grub couldn't run. i've been doing a lot of partitioning and formatting.

[rloew]

Older BIOSes have a limit of 137GB (128GiB) total Drive Size. If your BIOS reports that the drive is 137GB during boot, you will need a newer BIOS or a DDO to provide the needed support.

Windows 98 is limited to 137GB as well. A Patched Driver is needed to support larger Hard Drives.

You may or may not see problems at first, but as you fill up your Hard Drive with data, you will eventually encounter corruption and lost data.

It is not safe to use your 320GB Hard Drive unless all FAT16 and FAT32 Partitions are entirely within the first 137GB of your Hard Drive, and your last (Non-FAT) Partition starts below 137GB.

[cdoublejj]

thats what i wanted to hear about the drivers. when you install ubuntu and xp it down sizes the xp partitions. well i know i want 100 gig to ubuntu and that i want it on the same partition as windows for dual boot, there for!!! the Windows 98 partition must be 110gb so fresh install of widnwos98 then an install of ubuntu resizing the win98 to a safe 10gb. when you partition they show as different drives the fat32 is for storage other than the on housing 98.

windows98 linux storage storage it worked the first in98 but ubuntu didn't work after install it owuld have been the same picture but, with swap and linux at the end and a smaller win98 partition.

Edited March 29, 2010 by cdoublejj

[LoneCrusader]

that what i wanted to hear about the drivers. when you install ubuntu and xp it down sizes the xp partitions. well i know i want 100 gig to ubuntu and that i want it on the same partition as windows for dual boot, there for!!! the Windows 98 partition must be 110gb so fresh install of widnwos98 then an install of ubuntu resizing the win98 to a safe 10gb.

It does not matter what size the partition you create for 98 or any other OS is, a hard disk larger than 137GB will eventually be corrupted unless you have a patched driver for your Windows 98 install.

EDIT:

Excepting the scenario described by rloew above.

Edited March 29, 2010 by LoneCrusader

[cdoublejj]

that what i wanted to hear about the drivers. when you install ubuntu and xp it down sizes the xp partitions. well i know i want 100 gig to ubuntu and that i want it on the same partition as windows for dual boot, there for!!! the Windows 98 partition must be 110gb so fresh install of widnwos98 then an install of ubuntu resizing the win98 to a safe 10gb.

It does not matter what size the partition you create for 98 or any other OS is, a hard disk larger than 137GB will eventually be corrupted unless you have a patched driver for your Windows 98 install.

okay i can understand that. i'd really like to know how do i mod my installer with the patched driver wich i assume makes the check disk go away when i introduce it to a big fat32 partition.

maybe i will need a boot loader or if i go 98/linux/swap/storage/storage

Edited March 29, 2010 by cdoublejj

[dencorso]

The only reason you didn't find good info is that you didn't search enough!

There is info galore about Big HDDs and the 48-bit LBA limitation, both here in MSFN and elsewhre. It's not a matter of creating all partitions with less than 137 GB, it's far from that. You've already got both a 320 GB HDD and an old BIOS: you either take some proactive action (namely update the BIOS or get a DDO) now, or you're gonna regret not having done so later.

DOS relies on BIOS. If the BIOS doesn't support 48-bit LBA one can:

(I) update the BIOS from the manufacturer (if available), or using an unofficial modded BIOS (if available), for free or (II) update the BIOS from eSupport.com (if available) not for free, or (III) use RLoew's DDO (not for free), or (IV) use an add-on HDD controller (say, from Promise), instead of the motherboard's ports, or (V) dump the motherboard and move-on to another one (probably used) that supports 48-bit LBA (this is probably the most work-intensive alternative), or (VI) decide one can live with the 137 GB limit.

[LoneCrusader]

okay i can understand that. i'd really like to know how do i mod my installer with the patched driver wich i assume makes the check disk go away when i introduce it to a big fat32 partition.

maybe i will need a boot loader or if i go 98/linux/swap/storage/storage

Check out this thread on Hard Drives Larger than 137GB.

While I have not attempted a setup exactly like yours, I run a multi-boot system with 98SE, XP, and RedHat Linux 9, using VCOM System Commander as my bootloader. There are several alternatives when it comes to bootloaders.

My system is partitioned like this:

1st Primary - 98SE

2nd Primary - XP

Extended

- Logical 1 - RedHat 9

- Logical 2 - Swap

with storage partitions on a second drive.

My own personal recommendation is that you set up your partitions manually and not allow any OS to "modify" another OS's partition, this can lead to unforseen errors. if you decide to take this route, you may want to check out these tools:

Ranish Partition Manager & XOSL

Edited March 29, 2010 by LoneCrusader

[cdoublejj]

The only reason you didn't find good info is that you didn't search enough!

There is info galore about Big HDDs and the 48-bit LBA limitation, both here in MSFN and elsewhre. It's not a matter of creating all partitions with less than 137 GB, it's far from that. You've already got both a 320 GB HDD and an old BIOS: you either take some proactive action (namely update the BIOS or get a DDO) now, or you're gonna regret not having done so later.

DOS relies on BIOS. If the BIOS doesn't support 48-bit LBA one can:

(I) update the BIOS from the manufacturer (if available), or using an unofficial modded BIOS (if available), for free or (II) update the BIOS from eSupport.com (if available) not for free, or (III) use RLoew's DDO (not for free), or (IV) use an add-on HDD controller (say, from Promise), instead of the motherboard's ports, or (V) dump the motherboard and move-on to another one (probably used) that supports 48-bit LBA (this is probably the most work-intensive alternative), or (VI) decide one can live with the 137 GB limit.

one as far as the bios i know with earlier 2805 models there is no bios patch for it and with this one there isn't a bios update that mentions any thing about hdd support after this next go at i think i'll install a straight linux install and see what it caps at i have a toshiba 2805 s503 i just did an s202 for a friend with a 160 and ubuntu and it capped at 137 this is later model with extra goodies maybe it has large disk support.

i have been doing manual partition i wasn't aware okay i did do it once on dell with 2 physical drives that linux didn't have to be on the same partition or drive as windows. last time i put the linux partition at the back of the drive so to speak and i got grub error 17 tried it again then tried again grub error 18.

Edited March 29, 2010 by cdoublejj

[LoneCrusader]

one as far as the bios i know with earlier 2805 models there is no bios patch for it and with this one there isn't a bios update that mentions any thing about hdd support after this next go at i think i'll install a straight linux install and see what it caps at i have a toshiba 2805 s503 i just did an s202 for a friend with a 160 and ubuntu and it capped at 137 this is later model with extra goodies maybe it has large disk support.

i have been doing manual partition i wasn't aware okay i did do it once on dell with 2 physical drives that linux didn't have to be on the same partition or drive as windows. last time i put the linux partition at the back of the drive so to speak and i got grub error 17 tried it again then tried again grub error 18.

dencorso is right

First, be 100% sure you have BIOS support for HDD's >137GB.

Second, make sure you have an updated 98 driver for the >137GB HDD.

Once those are done, the rest can be sorted out.

Edited March 29, 2010 by LoneCrusader

[cdoublejj]

alrighty we might just find out pretty soon i'm half way with 98 install if it finishes i can install the driver for it once i get a chance at ubuntu if it fails like the rest i'll straight install ubuntu and see if it caps out. i like this forum you guys have provided insightful info and don't give me crap for liking 98 i'll keep this thread posted. if it does have large drive support can i install ubuntu next to 98 then re-size ubuntu and make more partitions just asking not saying it's an answer.

Edited March 29, 2010 by cdoublejj

[LoneCrusader]

i like this forum you guys have provided insightful info and don't give me crap for liking 98 i'll keep this thread posted.

Yes, we have quite an assortment of 9X'ers here, and we all stick together. Look around, you'll be amazed at all of the things you can make 98 do with the tools floating around this forum and/or created by it's members.

if it does have large drive support can i install ubuntu next to 98 then re-size ubuntu and make more partitions just asking not saying it's an answer.

It should be possible, although I would not recommend it. It is dependent on several factors, the software you plan to use for resizing mainly. I am not familiar with Ubuntu's current setup, I have used it before on a test system, but I didn't particularly like it. Maybe some other member will have more insight on this.

Edited March 29, 2010 by LoneCrusader

[cdoublejj]

yeah, i've seen it kernel ex then the one mod that makes it look like xp. also i saw wmp9 and i think even mod for wmp11!!! 98 beats out dos box specially on games like shadow warrior or blood. this machine is 900 mhz maybe 1ghz if i snag this cpu off ebay. 384mb ram maxed a 16mb geforce 2 go witch is nice earlier toshiba 2805 series do crummy job and screen stretching so this one does decent job the s202 for example letter boxes smaller resolutions or if you want have do screen stretch but, it's so blotchy and i think it is becasue of the crummy savage video chip.

specs

seems the s202 version I have worked with doesn't have as nice udma support if you check out the hdd specs

s202

so far it looks like my install is hanging at 100 prepare for install after the disk formatting so i'm restarting.

[cdoublejj]

woke this morning with some squash errors from ubuntu install, restarted and got grub error 18. this is after selecting the whole drive for install. i should note the installer game me the option to dual boot but, it wanted to resize one of m storage partitions, the one next to the windows install.

Edited March 29, 2010 by cdoublejj