[referee07]

I have an older computer that has Windows '98 installed that has more bugs than a dumpster in the summer. I have purchased a copy of Windows '98SE to install on this computer. (Many people have told me that '98SE is a very stable platform.) I believe that I need to completely wipe the hard-drive clean before in install the newer Windows '98. Does anyone have any ideas on how to do this. I downloaded a program called "Drive Scrubber" but when I tried using this program I got an error message, something about 32 bit. Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

[happyrck]

try dban...read about it and get it here....

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

[referee07]

happyrck, thanks for the info. I went to the site and downloaded the program on a CD but the text. indicated that sometimes dban doesn't work on older computers using CD's and advised using a floppy disk, which I will try as soon as I buy a couple. Thanks again.

[valis]

if you can get it to load to the linux kernal it worked fine. dban is a great app, should always keep a copy around. Very secure.

[referee07]

valis, thanks for responding. I don't have Linux installed on my computer, so would it work if I were able to download the kernal? Also, I am not too computer savey and wouldn't know how to download a kernal. From your posting it looks like you have a lot of training in computers. Good for you. I wish I knew more about them.

[valis]

you don't need linux on your machine; once dban LOADS the linux kernal on your machine, you should be home free. When it gives you an option to type something, type 'autonuke' and see what happens.

just remember; that data is gone, unless you want to spend about 15k retrieving it.

fwiw, you can just reformat the drive with your 98se install disk, and that will accomplish what you need, just not as securely. dban is an excellent app, and i've sold my company on using it exclusively due to it's security, and happyrOck was dead on in suggesting it, as he usually is. formatting, in your case, as you are not giving hte pc to anyone else, will do just as good a job at removing all issues.

[Jonno_93]

Someone Told me a program call Drive Killer ( dont let the name put you off) lol. sorry i dont know the URL

[flavallee]

Referee07:

Go here and click the "Windows 98 boot floppy image" link. This'll allow you to download and save the WIN98_IMG.EXE file. Once that's done, insert a blank floppy disk in its drive, then double-click the saved file and allow it to extract its contents into the floppy disk. Once that's done, go into My Computer and double-click the floppy drive icon. You should see a long list of files. Remove the floppy disk from its drive.

You'll now have a fully-bootable startup floppy disk that'll allow you to fdisk and format the hard drive and do a fresh install of Windows 98SE. It automatically assigns the drive letter X to the CDROM drive so you don't have to guess which drive letter to type in DOS mode.

I've used a startup floppy disk created with this file to do a fresh install of both Windows 98SE and Windows ME and it works fine.

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Is the Windows 98SE CD you bought a full version CD or an upgrade version CD? If it's an upgrade version CD, you'll also need a CD with an older operating system.

The 25-digit product code did come with the CD, right? Without it, you're dead in the water.

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[referee07]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. Here what has been happening so far. I tried to download dban to a 1.44mb floppy but when I tried to download it, I got an error message telling me that there is not enough space on the floppy. I checked at Office Depot and Staples and this 1.44mb is the largest capacity floppy that is made. I tried reformatting the floppy (full format) and got the same error message. Regarding the Windows '98 floppy image, I downloaded the program but I'm not sure how to use it. Do I use the "fdisk" or the "format?" Do I start the computer with the "Image" floppy in the drive or do I allow Windows '98 to open, open My Computer and click or "fdisk" and/or "format?"
I bought a "Full Version" of Windows '98SE which came with the Product Code. Thanks again for the help.

[referee07]

I was able to download dban (I downloaded only the dban exe file) and apparently wiped the hard-drive. I rebooted the computer and got a message asking me to start-up with a boot disk. Should I use the Windows '98 boot disk or create a Windows '98SE boot disk or does it matter? Also, how do I install the Windows '98SE? I thought I would just start the computer with the Windows '98SE CD in the CD drive. Thanks.

[Bob Cerelli]

If all you wanted to do was format the drive, and then do a clean install, you could have simply booted from a Win98 floppy and run FORMAT C:

If you have that floppy you can boot and then start the install from the CD.
If you have a bootable Win98 CD, you can also always boot with that and start the install as well.

One think I like to do is create a directory on the hard drive (after formatting it) and copy the source files from the CD to that directory. Then install from that directory. This way if Windows needs files from the CD, you won't need to get it out. It will just get them from the hard drive.

More details are at:
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/install/win9x_install.htm

[flavallee]

After you downloaded the WIN98_IMG.EXE file from Bob's website, did you double-click it and allow it to extract its contents into the blank floppy disk? If you simply copied the file into a blank floppy disk, it won't work that way.

Make use of the link that Bob provided for you.

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[Bob Cerelli]

And if all else fails, the instructions for using the Win98 boot disk are right there on the web site ;-)

[referee07]

Well, I was able to use the Windows Imaging disk and got to an "A" prompt but I didn't see how to install the Windows '98SE program. I put the CD in the drive but the install program did not begin.

[Bob Cerelli]

So when you read the link with instructions on how to install Win98, how far did you get?