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How To Install Windows 95/98/ME From Scratch

Use this guide if you have a windows machine that you want to format, and install
windows from scratch. This guide can also be used, omitting the formating information, to install windows
on top of a current windows install.

1. Make a Windows 98 Boot Disk
   Get to a computer running Windows 98. If the computer is running Win98 Second Edition, even better.
   The reason we use windows 98 is because Windows 95 generally doesnt have FAT32 support, and Windows ME will not allow you to create a boot disk in the way we want to here.Pop a fresh floppy disk into the floppy drive.
   Click on “Start”, and select “Run”.
   In the Run box, type in this command:

   format A: /q /s

   This does a quick format to save time, and puts the basic DOS files on the disk.

   Now, download this package, and extract the files to the floppy disk.

   When you are done you will have a floppy disk with FAT32 support, a Generic CD-ROM driver, full memory support, and a few other tools.

2. Format Hard Drive
   NOTE: If you have any important information on your computer, now is the time to back it up. I will not go into detail on how to backup your data.NOTE: This guide does not tell you how to partition a hard drive. If you need to know how to partition a hard drive,drop me a line.
   Put the newly created floppy into the target computer, and power it on.After about a minute, the computer will boot into DOS, and will display some information about cd-rom drives and such.Note what it displays as your CD-ROM drive letter.NOTE: if using this guide to upgrade/install a version of windows already installed, skip to step 3.When at the command prompt, you will want to type this command:

   format C: /q

   This command will do a quick format of your hard drive to save time.
   If you wish to do a full format to overwrite all data on the drive with zeroes, just remove “/q” from the command.

   After a few seconds, or up to an hour or so if you decided to omit “/q”, you will be asked for a lable name. You can put whatever you wish here.

   When finished, you will have a freshly formatted C: drive.
   If you have more hard drives in your computer, you can format them using the same command as above, by simply changing the drive letter in the command to correspond with the drive you wish to format.

3. Copy Windows Setup Files
   Now you are ready to copy windows setup files to the hard drive. The reason we want to copy them to the hard drive, and not install windows from the CD is because windows installs off the hard drive much faster than from the CD-ROM drive. Also, if you need to make changes to your configuration after windows is installed, windows will not have to ask you for the Windows CD.If you are planning on using this guide to install windows overtop a current version, and you
   have an OEM version of Windows ( i.e. a copy of windows that came with your computer when you purchased it)
   or the full retail version, then scroll to the bottom and read the important notes about OEM/Retail versions of windows.First, you will want to make a directory for the windows setup files to reside.
   To do this, type the following commands.

   C:\

   md win(XX)

   cd win(XX)

   these lines put you on the C: drive, make a directory, then change to that directory. You can replace (xx) with your version of windows, i.e. 95, 98, ME, or you could just name the folder anything you wish. Its a good idea to name it like stated, it can help prevent someone from deleting it later, because the name looks important. )

   Next, we want to copy the files onto the hard drive. Put your windows cd into the CD-ROM drive.
   Now, type the following commands:

   D:

   cd win98

   ( this may be different for your version of windows. see notes below. )

   dir

   copy *.* C:

   These commands change you into the setup directory on your windows cd. the win98 needs to be replaced with different things, depending on the version of windows being installed. for windows 95, it will be win95, for windows 98, it will be win98, for windows ME, it will be win9x.

   Some may say that the “dir” is unnecesary, but I have found on some cd-rom drives, that if you do not do a “dir”, the files will not copy. Also, some may say to use xcopy instead of copy, because xcopy will copy all of the folders contained in the setup directory. These extra files contain information and software not necessary for installing windows, so all I use is copy.

4. Install Windows
   After you have copied the setup files, its time to install windows. YAY!
   Now we will want to switch back to the hard drive, and install windows.
   To do this, type the following commands:

   C:

   setup

   This will begin the windows setup. from here all you need to do is follow the instructions given to you on the screen.

   NOTE: if upgrading/installing on top of a current windows installation, setup may ask you for the directory to install windows into, and usually puts “C:\WINDOWS.000″ as the directory. You will want to change this to the name of the directory that your current windows installation is installed in, which is usually “C:\WINDOWS”

Notes about OEM/Retail versions of Windows:

If you are installing a copy of windows over top of a current installation, and you have an OEM version of windows (i.e. a version that came pre-installed on your computer when you purchased it ), or a full retail version ( a version bought in a software store that is not an upgrade version ), you have one more step to follow other than the directions listed above.

The OEM/Retail version of windows checks to see if a version of windows is already installed. It does this by checking to see if a copy of WIN.COM exists in your windows folder. If it detects WIN.COM, it will stop installing, and give you an error, telling you to obtain the upgrade version. To get around this protection, simply rename the win.com file to something else, win.old is the reccomended name.

Now, we need to know how to rename the file. Type these commands at the command prompt:

cd C:\windows

ren win.com win.old

That should rename your version of win.com, and allow the OEM installer to install windows without a hitch. It will even preserve your previous settings, as if you had installed the upgrade version!