[kendo2222]

hi does anyone know if i can copy windows 98 from a pc using norton ghost copying the image of the hard drive to a usb hard drive which comes out of a laptop, and then putting the harddrive back into the laptop, would it boot boot up. i tried doing this process with xp but the laptop wouldnt boot up because xp works on the motheroard and hardware based on the machine it was installed on. i need to just get my laptop to boot up, because i dont have my bios password and the hard disk is blank. thanks

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It won't work with Win98 either! By the way, that's illegal!

To reset your bios password, you need to disassemble the laptop and pull the motherboard battery out for a minute or two. Sorry, can't direct you how to do that. Best to go to the manufactures site and look for a maintenance manual download.

[makai]

It won't work with Win98 either! By the way, that's illegal!

To reset your bios password, you need to disassemble the laptop and pull the motherboard battery out for a minute or two. Sorry, can't direct you how to do that. Best to go to the manufactures site and look for a maintenance manual download.

[kendo2222]

i have a sony vaio pcg f400 and i tried to install xp pro on it over xp home and it asked for sp2 disc 2 and wouldnt install and just stopped at 39mins to install. i have had this laptop for many years and never used the bios thing so i didnt know what the password was, so i couldnt boot from cd. i opened the laptop up but counldnt find the bios battery no info on net too. i noticed the hard disk so i removed it and plugged it into my usb case and reformatted the hard disk. put it back into sony and it says no operating system found, so i am now left with laptop and empty hard disk. no way of getting any o/s back on it or booting up with cd without havin bios password. does this mean i have a useless laptop now. thanks for your quick reply any ideas here.

[makai]

Yes, if you do this...

i noticed the hard disk so i removed it and plugged it into my usb case and reformatted the hard disk

You will get this...

put it back into sony and it says no operating system found

When you format a hard drive, you wipe the OS, so what you ended up with is not unexpected.

As I stated, you need search the web for a maual. What kind of laptop is it??

[kendo2222]

its a sony vaio pcf f400 intel celeron 466, years old now, i used to be able to get layout diagrams from sony when i enter the serial numbers and things but now the serials at the bottom of the laptop has faded so cant get suport no more.

[peterm]

when you start the computer what bios information do you get this will come up before the system trys to load

[kendo2222]

when i turn on the laptop it shows the sony startup screen then blabk screen says no operating system found. the hard disk is empty from formatt. thanks

[Tyger]

You can partition and format the new drive, copy the complete installation files, the win98 folder in it's entirety, to the disk, then place it in the laptop and run the installation. You want to use

format C: /s

so the drive will boot, copy the files over, put it in the machine, when the prompt comes up type in

C:\win98\setup

and hit Enter.

[kendo2222]

so i need to copy the whole win98 folder onto the formatted hard drive, then put it back into laptop. will the laptop detect the folder on boot?. i will try this method and let you know the out come, many thanks for the help.

[kendo2222]

hi i have the windows 98 on a packard bell factory restore disc which comes in 2 discs. i tried installing win98 back onto my pc but couldnt get it to recognise my usb hardisk to transfer to. is there a way i can find the win98 folder in its entirety on them discs and drag and drop onto the usb hardisk whislt using a win xp system. thanks

[Tyger]

Can you use another computer to move the files over? That would probably be easiest, one with a cd-rom drives.

[kendo2222]

when u mean move them over u mean from the factory restore discs or after i installed 98 fully onto pc. i tried opening the factory discs all files are cab files i think these are compressed. so how do i copy the setup file over to my usb harddrive. thanks

[Tyger]

when u mean move them over u mean from the factory restore discs or after i installed 98 fully onto pc. i tried opening the factory discs all files are  cab files i think these are compressed. so how  do i copy the setup file over to my usb harddrive. thanks

The folder with the cab files is usually named win98, you copy the entire folder and all it's contents to the hard drive, after you've formatted the drive with the install system files option. When you've done all that correctly the drive will boot to a command prompt. At the prompt type in C:\win98\setup and hit enter. The setup process will begin, follow all the prompts.

[rvsjimbo]

Hello,

Are you still needing to clear the CMOS on your VAIO PCG-F400? If so, I have good news for you.
I've just managed to do it on mine. There is a backup battery consisting of a pair of button cells in
heatshrink. The battery is located right at the front of the machine, close to where the lid lock is. It is
not connected directly to the motherboard, but to a small daughterboard underneath the trackpad.

If you've not taken your machine to pieces before, get back to me, and I'll send you some photos of
how to do it.

In any case, let me know how you get on :-)

TTFN!

Paul
~~~~