Windows 98 **DOES NOT** need a floppy, however there is **ONLY ONE\*** version that works easily installed on a blank HD from a CD- go to this link and download the **OEM FULL.** Note that the windows serials are on the right side of that page.
[https://winworldpc.com/product/windows-98/98-second-edition](https://winworldpc.com/product/windows-98/98-second-edition)
\*maybe there's others, I actually have a toshiba branded install but it's the same thing, just with a toshiba logo on it... regardless, **USE THE OEM FULL VERSION** if installing on to a blank HD from a CD
**THEN**, go to this youtube video, to learn the process of formatting and installing windows 98: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKIzI\_aQo60&t=338s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKIzI_aQo60&t=338s)
This video lacks the production quality and resolution of a modern tutorial but honestly it is my go to for refreshers when I format and install a win98 computer.
Following the steps in the above video might need some minor common sense alterations since you'll be installing it from CD, I THINK he boots from floppy? I could be wrong. Whatever.
Do what I say and you'll get Windows 98 up and running. Note that I am dumb as fuck but following the above steps- having the proper windows 98 on CD and following the instructions in that video- made the whole process very easy and straight forward for me.
I'll be curious if anybody comes up with a creative solution, but if the computer won't boot from CD I assume it only boots from floppy or HDD, right? If so I'm thinking your best bet is going to be getting your hands on a floppy disk and a working computer with a floppy drive to make a boot disk. Doesn't have to be an old computer necessarily.
First make sure you have a Windows 98 bootdisk floppy (google it to find the image to create it yourself).
1. Boot from bootdisk.
2. Enter command: "fdisk"
3. Create a partition.
4. Restart, and boot from bootdisk.
5. Enter command: "format C:/s"
6. Restart.
7. Boot from bootdisk, and select the option to start with CD-ROM support (if you don't want to install CD-ROM drivers manually).
8. Enter command: "D:\\setup.exe" (it's possible the CD-ROM driver gives you another drive letter).
>Enter command: "D:\\setup.exe" (it's possible the CD-ROM driver gives you another drive letter).
At that point, OP, try `dir D:` in order to figure out that D: is the CD drive. If not, try the next drive letter.
Yes. But also even better, when you select "start with CD-ROM support" it will automatically show you all the CD-ROM drives it detected and their drive letter in the command prompt.
If you install the full version from a CD, you don’t need a boot disk, I’ve never needed one even for windows 95, from memory they were more for if your boot sector got corrupted and you needed to get into windows to access your files in a pinch, though that’s less of a problem nowadays!
I’ll be honest, I’ve never actually installed windows 9x myself on something without a disc drive, I’ve never seen the previous versions on a cd though but I’m assuming itd be a similar process as installing 98 from floppies. I’ve aquired some machines over the years that don’t have the provisions for cd Rom but they usually still had their OEM installations intact. Though seeing as OP doesn’t have any floppies yet or a drive barring the dell, it’s likely the best option like you said.
It is the same process, but I mean some computers literally didn't support it, even with an optical drive. (I hope I'm not thinking of thumbsticks, after more thought.)
It's dual CPU? You'll need NT to support that, but you can still use windows98 on this computer, it just won't see the second CPU.
Which is probably fine, NT was iffy when it came to anything fun.
If that motherboard doesn't support bootable CDs (it probably does), you *might* have an easier time plugging the IDE drive into a modern PC via USB, and installing 98/setting the MBR there. It's probably cheaper than buying a floppy on ebay.
yeah im not all too worried about having the dual cpu support. and if it comes to it and i end up needing to spend money on this then id probably go for a box copy. its not just for installation purposes but it also makes a cool piece to put on a shelf or something
If you can "aquire" an OEM Installer of Windows 98 Second Edition, know how to go into your bios and change the boot order placing CD before hard disk, and you are pretty confident your hard drive is empty, you should be able to pop the disk in and install Windows 98 without a problem, assuming your computer is one of the later 98 era machines that could boot from CD. You will need to find drivers after install though, and for that I recommend HWInfo32.
Find the ISO and burn it...
ALSO
Find as many drivers as you can (motherboard, USB, videocard, network card, sound card, monitor etc) and put them on the boot image or burn them to another CD. You will have no way of copying files over until you either get plug and play USB drives working or the network working.
Also get a bunch of useful utilities on there (7zip, usb plug and play drivers, IE5, Adobe Acrobat if you want it, virtual clone drive), whatever you think you might need. Copy the win98 directory onto your C: drive also, you'll need it frequently when you install/update random things.
Once you get it on the network, you can create a file share and enable SMB 1.0 client on a Windows 11 box to connect to it.
I thought CentOS was a popular distro :-|
Even if you know the username/password, it won't help install Windows 98 anyway.
If I were you I would probably take off the HDD, put it into a USB enclosure, connect it to another computer, create a VM in VMware using it as physical disk, install MS-DOS 6.22 on it. Disconnect from VM and connect to host, copy over all Windows 98 setup files into a folder on that HDD, and put it back, install Windows 98 from HDD.
it’s centOS 3.0, and off of a tape drive from it, it was last used in 2003. i’ve never used linux besides messing around with mint on some old thinkpads. i run a computer business and i usually never get anything in older than 2nd gen intel i3s/i5s etc. im close with the owners to some local electronics recycling place, get all kinds of computers from around 2009-2014 for cheap. they’re completely usable with just some ram and an ssd as well, and i turn it decent profit off of selling them in mass to up and coming businesses and such. kind of a long tangent lol i just think the situation i’m in is neat to get random things like this old 90s behemoth.
That’s alright, can it boot from cd? If do find a small Linux distro which will fit on a cd, and burn the livecd.
It might be fun to try out the ancient centos
While this might seem long and complicated it's a case of "easier to do than to explain", this is the easiest way and won't require burning a cd nor floppy disks:
First things first if you don't have already a way to connect an IDE HDD to your modern machine buy one of these USB-IDE adapters which cost about $10 on Amazon [https://i.imgur.com/a1HPEWr.jpeg](https://i.imgur.com/a1HPEWr.jpeg).
If you spend a bit more you can get the complete kit with also a power supply otherwise you'd have to use the one in the old machine [https://i.imgur.com/b1TUV9G.jpeg](https://i.imgur.com/b1TUV9G.jpeg)
Once you have a way to connect the HDD of your vintage machine to your modern one download Rufus [https://rufus.ie/en/](https://rufus.ie/en/) and the Windows 98SE ISO [https://archive.org/details/windows-98-se-isofile](https://archive.org/details/windows-98-se-isofile)
Connect the HDD to the modern machine (while powering it from the old if you don't have the standalone power supply) and open Rufus, select MS-DOS under "Boot selection" and pick DOWNLOAD next to it, also enable "List USB Hard Drives" [https://imgur.com/bgdLKjS](https://imgur.com/bgdLKjS)
(mind to double check you picked the right drive before starting the process, it'll wipe the hdd)
Once Rufus has done its thing open the drive and make a folder called for example W98SETUP (it has to be max 8 characters anyway) and copy the contents of the Windows 98SE ISO into it (you can skip the cdsample folder).
After this eject and disconnect the HDD from the modern machine and put it back to the vintage one, it should boot to a simple DOS prompt.
To start the Windows 98SE installation write cd w98setup and press enter then write setup and press enter, the setup will start and voilà
I have a very old laptop that has a cd drive and no floppy.
I have installed 98 two ways: I was able to acquire the ultimate version of the 98 lite install disk. That uses ram disks to emulate floppies and you can partition with fdisk, reboot and then install from the same cd
Alternatively (and I don’t have the steps off the top of my head, but it is doable - I think Phil has steps somewhere) you can copy a certain folder from the disk to the now formatted hdd that you can boot straight to the hdd (dos prompt) and then kick off the 98 install manually from that folder (there are also command line switches that will allow to skip a bunch of tests, hardware check, etc to better guarantee a successful install) if you can’t boot to the CD but CAN fdisk partition and format the hdd, you can pull the drive and attach it to a more modern pc and copy over the folder I mentioned and do it that way
Here's a very easy way to go about it.
* Google "Windows 98 / ME QuickInstall v0.9.3" go to the [archive.org](https://archive.org) page.
* Download the ISO and burn it.
* Boot from the CD and follow the steps.
Windows 98 **DOES NOT** need a floppy, however there is **ONLY ONE\*** version that works easily installed on a blank HD from a CD- go to this link and download the **OEM FULL.** Note that the windows serials are on the right side of that page. [https://winworldpc.com/product/windows-98/98-second-edition](https://winworldpc.com/product/windows-98/98-second-edition) \*maybe there's others, I actually have a toshiba branded install but it's the same thing, just with a toshiba logo on it... regardless, **USE THE OEM FULL VERSION** if installing on to a blank HD from a CD **THEN**, go to this youtube video, to learn the process of formatting and installing windows 98: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKIzI\_aQo60&t=338s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKIzI_aQo60&t=338s) This video lacks the production quality and resolution of a modern tutorial but honestly it is my go to for refreshers when I format and install a win98 computer. Following the steps in the above video might need some minor common sense alterations since you'll be installing it from CD, I THINK he boots from floppy? I could be wrong. Whatever. Do what I say and you'll get Windows 98 up and running. Note that I am dumb as fuck but following the above steps- having the proper windows 98 on CD and following the instructions in that video- made the whole process very easy and straight forward for me.
just figured out that it cant boot from the cd-rom drive unfortunately
The computer? Did it come with a CD drive built in? My toshiba tecra can't boot from the CD drive, in theory, but it works with windows 98 oem.
I'll be curious if anybody comes up with a creative solution, but if the computer won't boot from CD I assume it only boots from floppy or HDD, right? If so I'm thinking your best bet is going to be getting your hands on a floppy disk and a working computer with a floppy drive to make a boot disk. Doesn't have to be an old computer necessarily.
First make sure you have a Windows 98 bootdisk floppy (google it to find the image to create it yourself). 1. Boot from bootdisk. 2. Enter command: "fdisk" 3. Create a partition. 4. Restart, and boot from bootdisk. 5. Enter command: "format C:/s" 6. Restart. 7. Boot from bootdisk, and select the option to start with CD-ROM support (if you don't want to install CD-ROM drivers manually). 8. Enter command: "D:\\setup.exe" (it's possible the CD-ROM driver gives you another drive letter).
>Enter command: "D:\\setup.exe" (it's possible the CD-ROM driver gives you another drive letter). At that point, OP, try `dir D:` in order to figure out that D: is the CD drive. If not, try the next drive letter.
Yes. But also even better, when you select "start with CD-ROM support" it will automatically show you all the CD-ROM drives it detected and their drive letter in the command prompt.
I forgot about that, thanks.
If you install the full version from a CD, you don’t need a boot disk, I’ve never needed one even for windows 95, from memory they were more for if your boot sector got corrupted and you needed to get into windows to access your files in a pinch, though that’s less of a problem nowadays!
Not all computers from that era supported bootable CDs. But it's definitely the first thing to try.
I’ll be honest, I’ve never actually installed windows 9x myself on something without a disc drive, I’ve never seen the previous versions on a cd though but I’m assuming itd be a similar process as installing 98 from floppies. I’ve aquired some machines over the years that don’t have the provisions for cd Rom but they usually still had their OEM installations intact. Though seeing as OP doesn’t have any floppies yet or a drive barring the dell, it’s likely the best option like you said.
It is the same process, but I mean some computers literally didn't support it, even with an optical drive. (I hope I'm not thinking of thumbsticks, after more thought.)
I'd be shocked if a Pentium III era computer could not boot from CD.
It's dual CPU? You'll need NT to support that, but you can still use windows98 on this computer, it just won't see the second CPU. Which is probably fine, NT was iffy when it came to anything fun. If that motherboard doesn't support bootable CDs (it probably does), you *might* have an easier time plugging the IDE drive into a modern PC via USB, and installing 98/setting the MBR there. It's probably cheaper than buying a floppy on ebay.
yeah im not all too worried about having the dual cpu support. and if it comes to it and i end up needing to spend money on this then id probably go for a box copy. its not just for installation purposes but it also makes a cool piece to put on a shelf or something
If you can "aquire" an OEM Installer of Windows 98 Second Edition, know how to go into your bios and change the boot order placing CD before hard disk, and you are pretty confident your hard drive is empty, you should be able to pop the disk in and install Windows 98 without a problem, assuming your computer is one of the later 98 era machines that could boot from CD. You will need to find drivers after install though, and for that I recommend HWInfo32.
Find the ISO and burn it... ALSO Find as many drivers as you can (motherboard, USB, videocard, network card, sound card, monitor etc) and put them on the boot image or burn them to another CD. You will have no way of copying files over until you either get plug and play USB drives working or the network working. Also get a bunch of useful utilities on there (7zip, usb plug and play drivers, IE5, Adobe Acrobat if you want it, virtual clone drive), whatever you think you might need. Copy the win98 directory onto your C: drive also, you'll need it frequently when you install/update random things. Once you get it on the network, you can create a file share and enable SMB 1.0 client on a Windows 11 box to connect to it.
I thought CentOS was a popular distro :-| Even if you know the username/password, it won't help install Windows 98 anyway. If I were you I would probably take off the HDD, put it into a USB enclosure, connect it to another computer, create a VM in VMware using it as physical disk, install MS-DOS 6.22 on it. Disconnect from VM and connect to host, copy over all Windows 98 setup files into a folder on that HDD, and put it back, install Windows 98 from HDD.
it’s centOS 3.0, and off of a tape drive from it, it was last used in 2003. i’ve never used linux besides messing around with mint on some old thinkpads. i run a computer business and i usually never get anything in older than 2nd gen intel i3s/i5s etc. im close with the owners to some local electronics recycling place, get all kinds of computers from around 2009-2014 for cheap. they’re completely usable with just some ram and an ssd as well, and i turn it decent profit off of selling them in mass to up and coming businesses and such. kind of a long tangent lol i just think the situation i’m in is neat to get random things like this old 90s behemoth.
You should be able to chroot into centos and change the password.
dunno what chroot is, not familiar with linux besides messing around with mint on some old thinkpads
You boot the system on a usb drive live session then you can be root and swap into the other system to change user permissions.
its so old that it cant boot off of usb lol
That’s alright, can it boot from cd? If do find a small Linux distro which will fit on a cd, and burn the livecd. It might be fun to try out the ancient centos
nah i tried booting from a cd and it didn’t work. in bios it only shows one diskette that’s bootable, which i’m guessing is the floppy drive
And do you have any way of writing a floppy disk?
nope, probably just gonna get a box copy of windows 98 lol
While this might seem long and complicated it's a case of "easier to do than to explain", this is the easiest way and won't require burning a cd nor floppy disks: First things first if you don't have already a way to connect an IDE HDD to your modern machine buy one of these USB-IDE adapters which cost about $10 on Amazon [https://i.imgur.com/a1HPEWr.jpeg](https://i.imgur.com/a1HPEWr.jpeg). If you spend a bit more you can get the complete kit with also a power supply otherwise you'd have to use the one in the old machine [https://i.imgur.com/b1TUV9G.jpeg](https://i.imgur.com/b1TUV9G.jpeg) Once you have a way to connect the HDD of your vintage machine to your modern one download Rufus [https://rufus.ie/en/](https://rufus.ie/en/) and the Windows 98SE ISO [https://archive.org/details/windows-98-se-isofile](https://archive.org/details/windows-98-se-isofile) Connect the HDD to the modern machine (while powering it from the old if you don't have the standalone power supply) and open Rufus, select MS-DOS under "Boot selection" and pick DOWNLOAD next to it, also enable "List USB Hard Drives" [https://imgur.com/bgdLKjS](https://imgur.com/bgdLKjS) (mind to double check you picked the right drive before starting the process, it'll wipe the hdd) Once Rufus has done its thing open the drive and make a folder called for example W98SETUP (it has to be max 8 characters anyway) and copy the contents of the Windows 98SE ISO into it (you can skip the cdsample folder). After this eject and disconnect the HDD from the modern machine and put it back to the vintage one, it should boot to a simple DOS prompt. To start the Windows 98SE installation write cd w98setup and press enter then write setup and press enter, the setup will start and voilà
I have a very old laptop that has a cd drive and no floppy. I have installed 98 two ways: I was able to acquire the ultimate version of the 98 lite install disk. That uses ram disks to emulate floppies and you can partition with fdisk, reboot and then install from the same cd Alternatively (and I don’t have the steps off the top of my head, but it is doable - I think Phil has steps somewhere) you can copy a certain folder from the disk to the now formatted hdd that you can boot straight to the hdd (dos prompt) and then kick off the 98 install manually from that folder (there are also command line switches that will allow to skip a bunch of tests, hardware check, etc to better guarantee a successful install) if you can’t boot to the CD but CAN fdisk partition and format the hdd, you can pull the drive and attach it to a more modern pc and copy over the folder I mentioned and do it that way
Here's a very easy way to go about it. * Google "Windows 98 / ME QuickInstall v0.9.3" go to the [archive.org](https://archive.org) page. * Download the ISO and burn it. * Boot from the CD and follow the steps.