[cybertaz126]

Hey Everyone,
I recently got a Dell Inspiron 3500 with Win98. It had mucho crap on it and a few problems. So i figured what the heck, lets just format it and load windows back. So I formated it and everything went great, but then for some reason it didn't detect my cd-rom so i couldn't load windows. So i tried to load Win 3.1 on it to get it to find my CD-Rom, and then upgrade to 95 and then finally to 98. After setup was done on 3.1 it said restart and i did. After it restarted this poped up:

Invalid System Disk
Replace the disk, and then press any key

the only disk it responds to is the Dell Diagnostics Disk. once i get it to a:\ promt it says all other drives are invalid.

What do i do?

Thanks,
Cybertaz126

[colman77]

It doesn't sound like your BIOS is detecting your drives, which means there's no hope of Windows detecting them, no matter the version.

Make sure your jumpers are set correctly on all of your drives, and test the CD drive in another computer if that's an option.

[Lurker1]

Forget trying to load windows 3.1 and upgrading from there. Its just too much trouble and too many places for things to go wrong.

This is copied from the Dell site. You may need to go there and download the drivers and files you need if you don't have the Dell restore CD that should have shipped with your system. (P.S. Good luck)



What is the proper sequence to perform a complete operating system installation of Microsoft® Windows® 98 on a Dell™ Inspiron™ 3500 portable computer?


Discussion

This is a step-by-step guide for reinstalling the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system, accompanying drivers, and Dell-installed software and applications for the Dell Inspiron 3500 portable computer.

NOTE: In order to perform this process successfully, you must follow a series of ordered steps that guide you through the correct sequence of events. If you do not perform the steps in the proper sequence, you may encounter errors that require you to repeat the entire process.

Refer to the Overview section for the correct sequence of events to follow.

Overview

Remove External Devices
Connect to AC Power
Load the System Setup (BIOS) Defaults
Insert the Floppy Drive Module
Format the Hard Drive
Create the Suspend to Disk File
Insert the CD Drive Module
Install the Operating System
Reinsert the Floppy Drive Module
Install the Video Driver
Install the Touchpad Driver
Install the Audio Driver
Install the LT Internal Modem Driver
Install the Softex Bay Manager Software
Install the PCMCIA Device Drivers
Install Applications and Software
Solution

NOTICE: Performing the following steps will lead to the loss of any and all data existing on the hard drive. If possible, please ensure that all necessary backups have been created prior to proceeding.

Remove External Devices

Remove any external devices from the Inspiron 3500 notebook, such as PCMCIA cards, external mice, external keyboards, external serial or parallel port device, external monitor, external USB peripherals, and port replicator.


Connect to AC Power

Connect the Inspiron 3500 to its external AC adapter and plug the adapter into the wall. This will ensure that your system does not run out of battery power during the software reinstallation process.


Load the System Setup (BIOS) Defaults

Load the System Setup software default values (BIOS defaults). For more information, refer to Dell Knowledge Base Article: FA1035265 "How do I restore setup defaults on my Dell Inspiron system?"


Insert the Floppy Drive Module

While the computer is powered off, insert the floppy drive module into the media bay.


Format the Hard Drive

The first step is to prepare the hard drive by using the format command to format the hard drive. For more information on formatting your hard drive, refer to Dell Knowledge Base Article: TT1036709 "How do I quick-format my hard drive?"


Create the Suspend to Disk File

The second step is to execute the phdisk utility to create the suspend to disk file. You can find information on creating the suspend to disk file under the System and Configuration Utilities section of the Software Reinstall Guide.


Insert the CD Drive Module

While the computer is powered off, insert the CD drive module into the media bay.


Install the Operating System

After the hard drive has been prepared and the suspend file has been created, you are ready to install the operating system. You can find information on installing the Windows 98 operating system under the Operating System section of the Software Reinstall Guide.


Reinsert the Floppy Drive Module

While the computer is powered off, insert the floppy drive module into the media bay.


Install the Video Driver

After installing the operating system, you are ready to install your system drivers. Dell recommends that the video driver be installed first. You can find information on installing the video driver under the Video Adapter section of the Software Reinstall Guide.


Install the Touchpad Driver

Dell recommends that the touchpad driver be installed next. You can find information on installing the touchpad driver under the Input Device Drivers section of the Software Reinstall Guide.


Install the Audio Driver

Dell recommends that the audio driver be installed next. You can find information on installing the audio driver under the Audio Drivers section of the Software Reinstall Guide at:


Install the LT Internal Modem Driver

If your computer was purchased with an integrated modem option, Dell recommends that the LT internal modem driver be installed next. You can find information on installing the LT internal modem driver under the Communication section of the Software Reinstall Guide.


Install the Softex Bay Manager Software

Dell recommends that the Softex Bay Manger software be installed next. You can find information on installing the Softex Bay Manager software under the System and Configuration Utilities section of the Software Reinstall Guide.


Install the PCMCIA Device Drivers

Dell recommends that once all these drivers have been installed, that you install the drivers for any PCMCIA devices (usually modems and network cards) that you may have purchased for your computer. You can find information on installing Dell PCMCIA device drivers file under the Communication section (for modems) or under the Network section (for network cards) of the Software Reinstall Guide.


Install Applications and Software

Dell recommends that once all drivers have been installed, that you install the software and applications that accompany your Dell computer. You can find information on installing applications and software under the Applications section of the Software Reinstall Guide.

[cybertaz126]

Ok here's an update. I found an Emergency disk and somehow i got it to detect C drive. but now if i start it up without a disk it says

Missing Operating System

So by using the disk i can get to a dos prompt at least. But that leaves me stuck with the floppy drive in the computer and the only operating system i can load with a floppy is 3.1 and that'll put me right back were i started.
Any Idea's?
Thanks,
Cybertaz126

[cybertaz126]

ohh.....thanks Lurker. You musta posted a few seconds before me. I'll try that and get back to ya

[cybertaz126]

Ok first, i do have some kind of dell system Cd.
When i get to the part about formating the hard drive its says Incorrect MS-Dos Version. The version is COMPAQ MS-DOS Version 5.00. Thats weird because the Compaq part and last night when i was workin on it it was version 6.20.
Now What?

[Squashman]

In order to load windows 3.1 on a system you need a full version of Dos loaded first. I am not sure what the requirement is. I would think you would need Dos 6.22 but I am not sure. But you are going about this the wrong way.

Download a Windows 98 boot disk from http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm

The bootdisks on this site are executable files that will create a boot disk. So dont just copy it to a floppy and expect it to work. Execute it from within windows. Reboot your computer with the floppy in the drive. These bootdisks will install a generic cd-rom driver when your computer boots up. Watch the boot sequence, because it will tell you what drive letter it assigns to the cd-rom.

Reformat your hard drive and then run setup from your Windows 98 Cd.

[cybertaz126]

Ok.....all that with the 98 startup disk was going well until this poped up:

Device driver not found: 'MSCD001'.
No valid CDROM device drivers selected

Also will this even work since i can only have either the cdrom in or the floopy drive in(can't use them both at once)?
But on the brighter side it got rid of all the error messages on startup.
Thanks,
Cybertaz126

[Squashman]

Originally posted by cybertaz126:
Ok.....all that with the 98 startup disk was going well until this poped up:

Device driver not found: 'MSCD001'.
No valid CDROM device drivers selected

Also will this even work since i can only have either the cdrom in or the floopy drive in(can't use them both at once)?
But on the brighter side it got rid of all the error messages on startup.
Thanks,
Cybertaz126

1)Do you know if your Windows 98 cd is bootable. It might be a bootable cd-rom. Some were and some were not depending on what manufacturer you got it from. See if you have an option in you laptops bios to boot from the cdrom.

If that dont work try this.

2)I did not realize you could only do either floppy or cdrom. Boot with the bootdisk in your floppy drive. Reformat your hard drive. format c: /s Copy the contents of the floppy drive to your hard drive. copy a:\*.* c:\. It may want to overwrite some files because of the /s option on the format. Shutdown and put your cd-rom drive in your laptop. Reboot the computer.

[cybertaz126]

You da man Squash.......I was so excited that it was workin up until i had to enter the product key. Now I have to find the box it orginally came in, but thats my problem.
Thanks Ya'll,
Cybertaz126

[Squashman]

Originally posted by cybertaz126:
You da man Squash.......I was so excited that it was workin up until i had to enter the product key. Now I have to find the box it orginally came in, but thats my problem.
Thanks Ya'll,
Cybertaz126

Was your Cd bootable or did you copy the floppy to your Hard Drive.

[cybertaz126]

I copied the floppy to the harddrive

[Mcruz]

Hello.
I got as far as Formatting my hard drive - FORMAT C:/S
I copied the files from floppy drive as instrucred - Copy a:\*.* c:\

Turned off the laptop and insert cd-rom drive.
turned laptop on........ and here's where the problem start

"Not ready reading drive A"

I have changed the sequence of boot device in the Bios but still get the message .

Both my Retail Windows 98 & 98SE does not boot up from CD-Rom.


Please HElP.......maybe I am missing a step (procedure)


thanks....... Mcruz (newbie)

[colman77]

Now that the files from the floppy disc are on the HDD, you've changed the boot sequence to start with the hard drive, right?

At this point, if everything went right, your hard drive basically is a big, big boot disk.