drivers in windows 98

[john_waldrum]

I want to back up the drivers for this old Packard Bell, (since there are no installation disks with it), so I can format the hard drive and start fresh. Where in windows would I go to find them?

 

[Rockn]

Good luck. If it is a really old system that uses DOS mode drivers look in your autoexec.bat and config.sys files for clues to the driver anme and location. If you knwo what the hardware is....Creative Labs and model number, just go to their web site and dl the most current drivers for your OS.

 

[john_waldrum]

appreciate that, but It really did not help me too much, I went into config.sys and saw something there but how am I suuposed to back anyting up to disk?

 

[slipe]

Go to www.belarc.com and install their advisor. It will give you some information about your equipment so you can download the drivers on the manufacturer’s site.

You probably won’t need drivers for the CD-ROM, floppy and hard drives. Windows will handle that. You need to dig up the drivers for your video card and possibly the sound card and modem. If they are integrated into the board you are most likely to find them on the Packard Bell site – you might be lucky enough to find them there for individual devices.

As Rockn says, if it old enough to have real mode drivers you are probably in for more hassle than you want to spend on an old computer. It would have to be pretty old to have those though. If your computer is pre plug-n-play I would can the idea.

Have you looked for drivers on the Packard Bell site? Windows does not usually have drivers for video cards and sometimes not for sound cards and modems. What drivers Windows does have are usually loaded automatically after you load Windows or through the add hardware prompt. You don’t normally have to dig them out of the Windows CD.

 

[john_waldrum]

Ok here is what it said:

Operating system: Windows 98

Processor: 67 mhz Intel 486DX

drives:
341 meg hard drive 19 meg free space
Generic floppy disk drive (3.5")
Generic IDE hard disk drive (340 MB) -- drive 0

controllers:
Standard floppy disk controller
standard IDE/ESDI hard drisk controller

Main Circuit Board:
BIOS: Phoenix Technologies TM 04/19/90

Memory Modules:
20 Megabytes installed memory

Display:
Cirrus Logic [Display Adapter] (unknown monitor)

Communications:
28.8 Internal modem

other devices:
Standard 101/102 keyboard

also I noticed that the cd-rom is no longer working and does not show up in my computer. Also it is not hooked directly to the motherboard. It is hooked to a card that is hooked into another card that is situated on the motherboard?? possibly isa?? I bet this system is not plug and play!!!!