Grazer Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 My hard drive was full of crap and running badly so I backed everything up and formatted it - only prob is I then couldn't install Win98 back onto it. I used the recovery disk that came with the PC but it said something like "sector not found on A:" and then wouldn't read the CD drive. Anyway, I found an old 20GB drive that had an OS installed which I've put in and am using now. Here's what I don't get: I've attached both HDs with the 20GB one as master and the formatted 120GB drive as slave but when windows starts I don't see the other drive. Should it just appear as another drive or am I missing something. I need help as I can't fit much on a 20GB drive!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 You should check for HD drives in the BIOS Just press DEL at startup, and go through the HD settings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 Possibly wrong jumper setting for slave or cable wrong way round. Win should see drive. 50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 Go into the bios and change the secondary drive to Auto detect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grazer Posted January 18, 2005 Author Share Posted January 18, 2005 You should check for HD drives in the BIOS Hmm - no matter which way I arrange the drives and jumpers it says: Primary IDE Master: 20GB Primary IDE Slave: Not detected It even says this when the 20GB drive isn't plugged in!!! Possibly wrong jumper setting for slave or cable wrong way round. The 20GB drive doesn't have a picture on it like the 120GB drive - it says: Jumper J50 Master/Single - On Slave - Off What does J50 mean! Go into the bios and change the secondary drive to Auto detect. The drive didn't show up in the bios. There was an option to auto-detect hard drives and every time I select it the computer crashes! Thanks for the help guys - keep it coming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 J50 is just the name of that Jumper, don't worry about that. Does the PC see the 120gb drive if you set it as Master and connect it on its own (without the other HDD in the PC) and with bios set to Auto? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 It needs to be on auto detect, unless you have the option to put the jumpers onto cable detect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grazer Posted January 18, 2005 Author Share Posted January 18, 2005 Does the PC see the 120gb drive if you set it as Master and connect it on its own (without the other HDD in the PC) and with bios set to Auto? Yes. But the problem is that I can't install my OS on it. I've done this before, and I usually use the recovery boot disk in A: which prompts me to insert the Win98 CDs and installs it all. That's not working this time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffvalenti Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 Make a recovery floppy from win 98 and start the sytem with that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 Yes. But the problem is that I can't install my OS on it. If it's Win98SE the CD is bootable, so change the boot sequence in the BIOS to boot from the CD drive before the HDD or FDD. Then reboot the PC with the Win98SE cd in the drive and install the OS from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffvalenti Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 Is it? I thought it was Win Me that was the beginning of booting from O/S discs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 Well it's been a while since I used 98 but I'm pretty confident . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffvalenti Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 No, its not mate, honest Win 98 has got no .bin files on the root of the disc. It autoruns from within Windows but you can't boot from it. Anyway enough of the Grazer, if you can't make a boot floppy from Win98 PM me your email, and I'll send you a self extracting archive of a boot floppy utils disc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grazer Posted January 18, 2005 Author Share Posted January 18, 2005 Grazer, if you can't make a boot floppy from Win98 PM me your email, and I'll send you a self extracting archive of a boot floppy utils disc. You've got the measure of my PC skills! PM sent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 Long shot, try slave (120gb) with no jumper block in place you do the drive have it at "second" plug in IDE cable dont you? 50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 Hmm - no matter which way I arrange the drives and jumpers it says: Primary IDE Master: 20GB Primary IDE Slave: Not detected It even says this when the 20GB drive isn't plugged in!!! You probably need to do a drive scan from BIOS, is it an old motherboard? (see bottom of post.) The 20GB drive doesn't have a picture on it like the 120GB drive - it says: Jumper J50 Master/Single - On Slave - Off What does J50 mean! That means there is a jumper on the drive board somewhere with 'J50' written next to it or near it, you need to take the jumper plug OFF of it to set it to slave. The drive didn't show up in the bios. There was an option to auto-detect hard drives and every time I select it the computer crashes! If it crashes when you auto detect then you'll need to format the drive again I'm guessing and if it doesn't work then it's a duff drive! Hopefully the J50 removal will get BIOS to see it. You need a win 98 boot disk, boot from it and type 'fdisk'. From there you can delete all partitions of the disk, create a completely new partition (or more if you like) and format it as FAT32 (I think win98 boot disks do FAT 32 don't they?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grazer Posted January 19, 2005 Author Share Posted January 19, 2005 Ok - just looked at my CDs with win98 on them - "for Packard Bell computers only, will not function on other computer systems" I forgot I bought a new PC recently - not a PB Is there a way round this, or should I be thinking about splashing out for XP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffvalenti Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 You need a "backup copy" of Win98 XP is OK, but it depends on the spec of your computer as to whether it will be a trouble free installation. PM me your snail mail if you want a backup of Win98 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 If it's Win98SE the CD is bootableNo, its not mate, honest Win 98 has got no .bin files on the root of the disc. It autoruns from within Windows but you can't boot from it. Hi Geoff I think you're talking about Win98 and I'm on about Win98SE My copy of Win 98 SE is definetly bootable. I don't think vanilla Win98 was though. Grazer, Email me you address if you want me to post you a copy of Win98se or Win XP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grazer Posted January 19, 2005 Author Share Posted January 19, 2005 XP is OK, but it depends on the spec of your computer as to whether it will be a trouble free installation. It's a PIII 800MHz with 512MB RAM - would XP run ok on that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 It's a PIII 800MHz with 512MB RAM - would XP run ok on that? Yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffvalenti Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Hi Geoff I think you're talking about Win98 and I'm on about Win98SE My copy of Win 98 SE is definetly bootable. I don't think vanilla Win98 was though. Grazer, Email me you address if you want me to post you a copy of Win98se or Win XP Hi Jake, I'm talking about Win98SE also How can I put this Is your copy of Win98 a real one or a backup? Or is it a branded copy supplied by Dell HP, PB or the like. I know that manufacturers created bootable system restore discs and some people put boot files on "backup" copies but I'm sure the original (retail) ones didn't have them. I could be wrong though, you never finish learning in this business Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tDR Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Win98 SE WILL boot from the CD, I'm certain of it as I've done it a number of times in the past. This is a fully licensed retail version I'm talking about, not an OEM special. Cheers, Brian. No, its not mate, honest Win 98 has got no .bin files on the root of the disc. It autoruns from within Windows but you can't boot from it. Anyway enough of the Grazer, if you can't make a boot floppy from Win98 PM me your email, and I'll send you a self extracting archive of a boot floppy utils disc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffvalenti Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Alright 2 onto 1, I'll admit defeat Just seems strange that it promts you to create a recovery disc during the install process if its unnecessary. Typical Micro$oft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffers Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Howdo mate... Not sure if you got both drives working on the same cable but I've been guilty of this and its bitten me in the arse - I've actually reversed the IDE cable round completely so that I could have a slighly longer ribbon between the two drives and in a lot of cases - the IDE bus doesn't like you doing this and will pi$$ you around when trying to detect both drives on the bus. If you did unplug the IDE cable from the motherboard and plug the other end in to give you more cable then this is likely to cause it to fail. There isn't much else to check really - I suppose you've tried another IDE cable and all that lark. It's just a thought, as it had me ripping my hair out once a few years ago! Good luck mate... Paul :upside: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.