win98 crashes while trying to install new mobo!

[jad1097]

I can not install my harddrive w/win98 on this board it crashes every time! I have tried a different drive and still the same thing. I have tried everything I could think of and found on the web with no luck.
It does boot and win98 starts to install the new motherboard but it always locks up.I have tried diffent drivers also.
The harddrive I want to install has EZ-BIOS installed on it I have uninstalled it and still the same thing happens? I have tried to reformatt the drive and install windows but I always get a INVALID COMMAND.COM error? I could go on forever about this!

[Dominus]

You have to re-install Win98 everytime you change motherboards. It's crashing all the time because your Win98 install on your old HDD thinks the motherboard is the old one, which causes untold problems.

Just use a Win9x boot disk to boot to a DOS prompt, and delete the "windows" and "progra~1" directories. Then re-install with the Win98 CD you got with your original system.

[Pantion]

You partitoned, format and even used a different drive right?

Hmm... what motherboard do you have?
More info about your comp. please /forum/smile.gif

[drdeath]

dominus - you do NOT need to reinstall win98 everytime you switch a mobo - ive done it plenty of times - win98 should start up, and detect the new hardware and ask for the drivers for the new mobo. im not sure why it would be crashing like that all the time, but it is not because "you need to reinstall win98 everytime you switch mobos" - that is not a correct statement

[Dominus]

It's been my experience that a re-install of the OS is the best thing to do when changing motherboards. Everytime I've ever ghosted a drive and installed it into a system that used a different archetecture (as in from a Pentium to K6-2 system), I've recieved nothing but BSODs and other yummy errors.

Perhaps if you put a drive with Win98 on it in a system with a simalar motherboard, you won't have the same problem. I guess my experience isn't vast enough to make such sweeping statements successfully.

[Pantion]

Same here... changed my motherboard around 4 times and I always got win9x go nutz trying to reconfigure itself for the new hardware.

I tried to give windows a hand, but still was forced to resintall.

[jad1097]

OK It is a Biostar M5ALA vers 1.0 mobo with a k6 3-400 32 meg pc100 sdram. The hardrive is a maxtor 8.4 gig it came out of a 486. As i said before I have tried to reinstall win98 with no luck from both a Dos pront and ERD. I have the win98 files on the hardrive. I get invalid command.com errors.
Now I had to install the maxtor software(EZ-DRIVE) to get the bios in the 486 to see the drive. I have tried to uninstall it for the new system. SO that should not cause it to crash, right? The IDE driver that came with the board can cause a conflict with ez-bios and dos cd drivers both have been removed though.
Also as I said before I have reformatted the drive with fdisk and format. And tried to use the ERD or bootdisk or whatever you call it with and without cd suport.
I think I will just buy BEOS and do away with windows. But then I will lose all my software and have to start all over again. So I guess I will just stick with windows for now. I am just tired of messing with it.

[Pantion]

The Maxtor drive came with a floppy that has utilities that will enable you to cut and format the HD. Try them out first and the try to install windows. Also check the HD jumpers there is one that blocks some cylinders for oldie computers... maybe it doesn't have to do anything, but it doesn't hurt to check it out.

Also you could check your mobo manufacturer website for any BIOS update that may solve such problem.

[jad1097]

Already tried it. set the jumpers differnt used maxblast to format the drive etc... I also tried adiffernt drive. An old 640mb seagate the same thing happens. Bios are also up to date.
I do not understand why I am having this problem. It should be allot easier.

[drdeath]

are you daisy-chaining 2 hard drives together? cuz i know some hard drives, when you daisy chain them, have a jumper setting on the drive for "dual master" and you have to have it on that one - if it is on just plain "master" or "single master" it wont read properly. your hard drive might or might not have that particular jumper setting...
also, are you sure you have the hard drive plugged into the primary ide plug on the mobo? and, does your comps BIOS correctly identify the drive and its paramaters?

[jad1097]

No only one drive in the computer and yes I have it in the primary ide plug. And yes the bios are right and I have tried the 3 different options the bios gives me for the drive.
No I got it used from a freind it did work when he took it out. He said he had no problem. Hell I paid $100 for the mobo and a k6 3-400. If we can't get it to work I am sure he will give me some of my money back. I am going to see if he can get it to work. Maybe if he can get one of his drives to work in there I could just use drive image and copy his drive.

[This message has been edited by jad1097 (edited 11-16-1999).]

[Pantion]

Is it w mobo? If it is well seems like it "maybe" defective. If still wana wait for more replies and see if the problem can be solve well wait a little longer... if it's new and still have receipt... go and ask for a another one.

[pickel]

jad1097: one question.. Did you flash your BIOS for the K-6-3 Processor. I have the
1.1 version and am planing on getting the same processor but will need to get BIOS update for ,I believe, April 1999 from Award.
I have the site bookmarked if you need it /forum/smile.gif

The pickel

[jad1097]

Yes and it was working fine in my freinds system. We just can't seem to get it to work with my drive for some reason. The drive works fine in my 486?
There has to be some kind of conflict with the drive(8.4 gig MAxtor) and the mobo. I think it is the software provided by Maxtor to install the drive(EZ-BIOS). It seems alot of people have the same problem as I do, But no one ever seems to post how they have fixed the problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[now99]

What I've found helpful in a mobo swap is to first go into Device Manager and Remove every resource under System devices BEFORE taking out the old mobo. In fact, Remove as many items in Device Manager as you need to (such as sound cards, etc. if your new mobo will have sound built in, etc.).

[now99]

ADDENDUM:
Try booting into Safe mode with your new mobo and trying the above in Control Panel/System/Device manager.

[jad1097]

I tired that on the 2nd or 3rd try. It's not the board it is the dam EZ-BIOS! What it does is make a small partion on the drive that FdISK will not remove so I will try a program from Maxtor to try and remove that partion.
I now wish that I waited till I finished buying everything before using the drive in the 486 but I got tired of having a compressed drive. Then I would of had no problems. DAM EZ-BIOS!!!!

[socalgal]

I don't know how much help this will be, but I had a problem uninstalling EZ-BIOS once from a old WD hdd. It took several EZ uninstall attempts (after trying and failing fdisk again and again) and I just kept trying the EZ uninstall and finally it "took" (Or who knows, maybe I was doing it wrong the first few times...), but EZ-Anything is anathema in my book.

I hope you find a solution.

Another thought, perhaps the floppy software files have been compromised somehow. Maybe you could download another from the Maxtor site or acquire another disk and try again with known good files.

[Pantion]

It must be the floppy, since I too bought a Maxtor Drive and it had the EZ-BIOS installed. I just inserted the disk, booted did 2 or 3 steps and that's it.

If ya want I can send you my disk... I don't need it anymore, but better download the files from Maxtor Site first and see what happends.