Non MAC- Windows 98 Stratup disc problems,

[Nitromaster]

I have an old computer,
Windows 98 is currently f****d,
(Modem,Cd rom and floppy dirve arnet working,)


I would like to format the hard drive and either reinstall windows or install linux,


It doesnt boot form cd , i dont think,

I managed to get it to boot the startup disc,


Whenever I try to run any commands , It gives me an error something like: CDR1, Can not read from source or something like that,



I have the cd rom drivers on a floppy,
Is it possible to load them once i have accessesd the startup disc?


Or is there a better floppy disc I should try using? (linux)




Thanks,

 

[PCMacUser]

I have an old computer,
Windows 98 is currently f****d,
(Modem,Cd rom and floppy dirve arnet working,)


I would like to format the hard drive and either reinstall windows or install linux,


It doesnt boot form cd , i dont think,

I managed to get it to boot the startup disc,


Whenever I try to run any commands , It gives me an error something like: CDR1, Can not read from source or something like that,



I have the cd rom drivers on a floppy,
Is it possible to load them once i have accessesd the startup disc?


Or is there a better floppy disc I should try using? (linux)




Thanks,

CDROM access in DOS happens in two stages. First the config.sys file is used to load the actual device driver using a DEVICE=blahblah.sys command. This has to happen on the disc you are booting from. The next stage is the interface software, called MSCDEX.EXE, and this can be loaded after the boot disc has run. So the answer to your question lies in whether your boot disc is successfully loading the device driver or not. If it is, then yes, you can start the CDROM drive up from another disc. But if it isn't loading the driver, then you will need to find another disc that works. However, based on your description of the error message, it sounds like there might be a problem with your CDROM drive itself.

I would recommend pursuing the boot from CD option. If your computer is from the Windows 98 era (less than 8-9 years old), it should support this function. If it's a lot older, then yes, you will probably be out of luck. Check in the BIOS under the 'Boot Order' menus to see if there's anything there that lets you select CD bootup.

Good luck!