Uninstalling Windows 98

[Animal]

I'm not sure why you'd want to do this as ME is nowhere near as stable as 98 was even though they're both based on the 9x kernel. My advice is stick with 98 unless you wish to go with XP. Windows XP is the only worthwhile upgrade for 98, but if you still have your heart set on ME....
1. You can install ME over 98 as an upgrade. This will upgrade all system files to ME's. Make sure that when you do this you save a copy of your old system files. You should be asked this during the upgrade procedure. When you get sick of ME crashing, you can easily restore 98 that way. If you don't save your files, you can't revert back to 98. The main problem with this method is all the extra 'crap' that your computer has picked up since your originaly put 98 on may cause problems during the install.
2. By far the best method is to do a clean install. There's several good sites on the net that give detailed instructions on it. The first step is too back up all the files you wish to keep. Then grab any drivers you may need for hardware that ME doesn't natively support and burn these to a CD. After that, do a low level format of the drive which will restore it to factory conditions. The low level format can take quite some time if you have a big drive (I did one an an 80gig which took just under 7 hours) After the low level format, go ahead and install your OS. This is by far the prefered method for most users with even a limited amount of computer knowledge as you are removing all outside variables from the install of the OS!

[Animal]

Originally posted by Megabot: No no no do this Arledrian delete "programfiles" then "windows" then innstall windoze ME and call it "windows" then you are on your way! no more prob !! if you need any more information about this tell or me or mail më i am happy to help you!! ALSO NOT FORMATTING DRIVE C: you understand that?

I'm quite sure this has probably worked for you in the past, but running rampant through your hard drive deleting files and folders is a BAD IDEA! If your going to do this then a full format should be done to preserve drive integrity and OS stability.
It's called nuke and pave my friend, something taught when going for your MSCA

[Megabot]

I'm quite sure this has probably worked for you in the past, but running rampant through your hard drive deleting files and folders is a BAD IDEA! If your going to do this then a full format should be done to preserve drive integrity and OS stability. It's called nuke and pave my friend, something taught when going for your MSCA

What is wrong with this i suggest?? I have ALLVAIS done it this way and of cause i use the "startup disk" to boot the pc den use "deltree" for programfiles and then Windoze! Because many of the programs in programfiles have ini files or files like that who point to Windwoze regestry therfore is it best to kille the files in there!

And for that "format" c: is not an option for me and maby other peoples to because i have 40 gigabytes with other programs on drive c: so shall i kill all this programs to? or move them to an other hardrive?
But one thing that maby can be done is to make an "partition" for windowze only then this partition can be formatted only that is an only option i can se with this formatting tingie!

[ 07-01-2002, 05:33 PM: Message edited by: Megabot ]

[Earthdog]

Personally I think youre all NUTS

XP is fine if you want to buy all new hardware or go through a lot of crap trying to get drivers for the stuff you already own. I had XP installed SEVERAL TIMES and it ALWAYS crashed on me. I did a clean install in an NTFS partition. That was what was recommended. My version of XP was the Pro. it wouldnt even LET me install in a FAT32.

I dont want to have to buy all new hardware just to run a cheesemo operating system. Sure, it looks better than ME but I disagree with it being more stable. I havent seen the proof of that at all.

If you want to run ME I recommend it over 98. 98 has more security holes in it that you would believe. Like Fatal Errors?? 98 will give you plenty of them. My ME PRO is very stable and I never have a problem.

1)Go into BIOS and make sure that Boot from floppy is the first methid used for booting. Have a Windows ME boot disk handy.

2)Get the Disk Manager for whatever brand and model of hard drive you have.

3)ZERO FILL the hard drive before installing the FAT32 partition on it. That way not only have all the registry entries been removed (thats what a format does) it also completely fills your drive with zeros. Now you have a truly clean data free hard drive.

4)Set the FAT32 partition(s) up the way you want them.

5)Reboot with the ME floppy disk and select boot with CD-ROM support.

6)select the drive letter of the CD-ROM type at the prompt D:\setup (D is ususlly the default letter of the CD-ROM)

Windows ME will do its thing and from there youre home free.
After ME goes through most of its installation it will reboot. This time have the floppy out of the drive and select
"boot without CD-ROM support."

ME has a much bigger driver database than 98 and IMO is far more stable than XP. XP is a memory HOG. IF you dont have at least 128 meg of RAM, FORGET XP!. You really need at least 256 meg of ram for XP to run well. No matter what the "minimum requirements" are--double them if you want a machine that will run well on XP.

With XP your drives all need to be digitally signed or your computer will become unstable. Thats the one thing i didnt like about it. They actually recommend that you get NEW HARDWARE thats been digitally signed by Microsoft.

Why buy new stuff just to run their crap??

[Neb]

I suggest keeping Win 98 instead of getting ME, or upgrading to XP if you must upgrade.

[Animal]

Originally posted by Megabot: quote: I'm quite sure this has probably worked for you in the past, but running rampant through your hard drive deleting files and folders is a BAD IDEA! If your going to do this then a full format should be done to preserve drive integrity and OS stability. It's called nuke and pave my friend, something taught when going for your MSCA

What is wrong with this i suggest?? I have ALLVAIS done it this way and of cause i use the "startup disk" to boot the pc den use "deltree" for programfiles and then Windoze! Because many of the programs in programfiles have ini files or files like that who point to Windwoze regestry therfore is it best to kille the files in there!

And for that "format" c: is not an option for me and maby other peoples to because i have 40 gigabytes with other programs on drive c: so shall i kill all this programs to? or move them to an other hardrive?
But one thing that maby can be done is to make an "partition" for windowze only then this partition can be formatted only that is an only option i can se with this formatting tingie! [/QUOTE]Like I said, the only way to ensure OS integrity is a clean install. IF you're running a 9x kernel based OS, you should break your 40gig HD into smaller partitions for better performance and give yourself a smaller cluster size. I'd suggest 5gig's for the OS on C:, 20-25gig's on D: for program files and the remainder on E: for storage. That way it's real simple to reinstall the OS without losing any of your data. You'll have to teach windows where your program files are, but you get much more effiecent cluster size this way and windows is by itself where it can't hurt anyone!
There's nothing wrong with your suggestion per say, but doing a clean install will remove any outside variables from the install.

[/)eathKiller]

Uninstalling windows from your life is easy... it's called buying a mac...