BleepingComputer.com: 98SE R.I.P.

Raise your hand if like me you hate windows 98se! In fact HATE is to kind of a word and does little to describe my distane for the thing! However it was not like that in the beggining.

When at first my wife was given this computer with 98se on it from a coworker, I was gratful to have it.
Even though it did not come with the 98se start up disk. Now, over time it has developed problems.

I'm not going to sugar coat it, I'm sure I am the reason for all its ills! The problem is, the more I try to fix it, the more I screw it up! Sure, I'm like a blind man driving a car on a road I've never been on before but I still insist on driving!

I have the product key on the side of the computer. Surly there is a way to down load a fresh copy of 98se and use my key to activate it without violating some copyright law? It seems like everything I try to down load ends up saying I'm missing some sort of file so all my efferts are in vain. I need to just wipe the system clean and start over.

What would you do?

buckshotdad1960, on Feb 9 2009, 04:03 AM, said:

I don't hate it I love it.

buckshotdad1960, on Feb 9 2009, 04:03 AM, said:

No you can't download Win98SE legally. Your best bet is to search eBay the prices are reasonable for a genuine CD. Or even WinME if you fancy going up a gear.

You haven't really said the spec of this computer. Processor speed, RAM.

The other thing you will have to watch if you do get a Win98SE CD and you want to do a format and rebuild is you have all your drivers for your additional hardware e.g. graphics card, sound card, printer, scannner etc. You will get most of these from DriverGuide. The Win98SE CD is bootable so you shouldn't need a boot disk just change the boot sequence in the BIOS/CMOS.

go to C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS and see whats there and see if the windows 98 install thing is there
not all computer have this

Keithuk, on Feb 9 2009, 06:38 AM, said:

LOL why is the first thing you think of always spend money spend money? LOL Perhaps you didn't get the memo, I'M CHEAP! Dosent the word FREE have any meaning to you? If I listened to you I would be homeless by now and selling pencils on the corner for a living! Surely theres another way? I'm sure your advice is sound but it reminds me of those scared straite videos the police make you watch! LoL If I have to spend money, I'm buying windows xp! However, I ll sandbag your advice just in case all else falls, which with my luck probably will! Thanks!

starcraftmaster, on Feb 9 2009, 06:47 AM, said:

Ok, starcraftmaster I did that. So what am I looking for and what do I do with it?

P.S. Check out Kieth up above. He a great guy but he tried to get me to spend money! LoL He don't know me very well, do he? Now I have him on my al quadda watch list!

There's always Linux
https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

buckshotdad1960, on Feb 9 2009, 06:26 PM, said:

No you're just a typical web user that wants to download everything for free.

I bought a genuine WinME CD last year of eBay for £15 incl P&P. You're telling me you can't afford £15 if your English.

garmanma, on Feb 9 2009, 01:43 PM, said:

Yeah, I'm going to have to do something! I would just as soon have my xp os back! 98se gives me gas! I'd like to nurse this thing along untill summer when I launch a new business for my son. Then there will be new computers and hopfully my children will be able to teach me to run one! As you can probably tell computers and me don't get along to well! I guess I'm just to old school! Thanks for the gamma rays! Everytime I see your avatar I get a sun tan! LOL

Keithuk, on Feb 9 2009, 02:34 PM, said:

OOOOOHH! Someones still mad about 1776! LOL First off always assume I am your friend and that I'm just kidding around (most of the time) even when I'm pretending to be mad! Remember I am a comedian and sometimes you may have to read between the lines to understand what I'm saying! I'm sorry, I'ts just my handicap! Second, I have no idea how much Mexican money that is! LOL That little broken leg f always confuses me! Money is not the problem! I have issues with spending it! So yes, I like getting things for free! I do appreciate your help, stay in touch!

C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS
and see if theres a file called setup.exe

starcraftmaster, on Feb 10 2009, 04:29 AM, said:

Yeah, I went to start - find - files or folders - look in c:\windows\options\cabs + Named: program files.
I opened the file folder and there where 4 files called Arsetup, Dcom95, Midfiles, and Vbrun60. I opened Arsetup and it ran as though it unloaded some files. Was that supposed to happen?

buckshotdad1960, on Feb 10 2009, 05:06 PM, said:

The c:\windows\options\cabs folder is where builders put all the cab files of your Win98 CD because they doesn't want to give you a new CD with your computer, its called pre-installed. If you are doing an ungrade for something and Windows asks for the Win98SE CD to be inserted you click the browse button and look in c:\windows\options\cabs.

You say you've looked in c:\windows\options\cabs and there are only 4 files so the 50 cab files weren't put in there. So its back to my first suggestion eBay.

Keithuk, on Feb 10 2009, 02:14 PM, said:

Good evening keithuk, long live the queen! And no, if I just looked in C:\windows\options\cabs without puting anything in the (Named:) box, it says I have 219 files.

buckshotdad1960, on Feb 11 2009, 02:35 AM, said:

But non of them are cab files then?

well insted of going find folder and crap
go to C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS lol
then go to the address bar and take away cabs and tell us all the folders you see
so C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS first and see whats in there and tell us and then go to C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS and tell whats in ther