how do i make a startup floppy and install windows ME???

[Dee369]

i am going to make a startup floppy for windows ME so that i can install it and want to make sure that i am doing it the right way...
is this how i would go about the whole operation???

go to add/remove programs...
click startup disc tab...
click create a new disc...
insert the disc when prompted to...
--- i take floppy out after it gets made---

Is this the correct order???

after disc is created will it ask to restart???:confused:



***to see if the floppy drive is the first boot i have to hit F1 before windows starts...***

when get into BIOS choose menus...
look for boot order or something that resembles it...
see list of bootable devices...

the order should be:::
floppy;CD Rom;Hard Drive...

if it is not then use up/down arrows to move them into this order...

once changes are made:
click Save and Exit...
PC will reboot...

***This is the part that is a little bit harder for me to understand...***

after reboot what do i do ???
this is where i get confused...:confused:


***To Install windows ME***

insert both the floppy and the windows ME dics...
restart...then i type:::" setup "...

when i get to the A/ prompt type in :::" format c: "
this will take me to erase the hard drive...

***From this point i have no idea what happens***:confused:

can you tell me if this is right so far???:confused:

[kern]

i am going to make a startup floppy for windows ME so that i can install it and want to make sure that i am doing it the right way...is this how i would go about the whole operation???

After thinking about what we discussed in the Paltalk chat last night, there is an alternative to doing a FORMAT and re-install, being that you already have ME installed.
You can re-install ME to a different folder- no FORMAT is required- so all your data remains intact. You still may need to re-install drivers for modem, etc, AND, you will need to re-install any third party programs such as antivirus, etc...but this is the better way to go.

Here are the steps for a "clean install" of ME, WITHOUT doing a FORMAT.

First create the Startup Floppy Disk as follows:
go to add/remove programs...
click startup disc tab...
click create a new disc...
insert the disc when prompted to...
--- i take floppy out after it gets made---

Is this the correct order??? YES
after disc is created will it ask to restart??? NO. But you need to make sure the startup disk works, and test that the floppy drive is the first boot device as well, so leave the startup floppy in the drive and reboot.

if the pc does NOT boot from the floppy, then proceed as follows:

***to see if the floppy drive is the first boot i have to hit F1 before windows starts...***
when get into BIOS choose menus...
look for boot order or something that resembles it...
see list of bootable devices...
the order should be::: floppy;CD Rom;Hard Drive...

if it is not then use up/down arrows to move them into this order...

once changes are made:
click Save and Exit...
PC will reboot...

after reboot what do i do ???

assuming you can boot from the floppy, you should now be at the A: prompt. at the A; prompt type ---> C:
at the C: prompt type ---> setup

the ME setup utility will begin. watch the screen- you will eventually be asked which folder to install Windows to- type ---> C:WindowsME
NOTE: the default folder is C:Windows - if you accept this you will do another install over the top- which you do not want to do.

setup will continue and the install will begin... should take around 30-45 mins as i recall.

[Dee369]

the ME setup utility will begin. watch the screen- you will eventually be asked which folder to install Windows to- type ---> C:WindowsME
NOTE: the default folder is C:Windows - if you accept this you will do another install over the top- which you do not want to do.

i do not understand...:confused:

can you please explain this to me in more detail???

i just bought 3.5 inch floppy discs...they are PC Formatted...1.4mb...HD...

they are COOL DISCS BY Memorex...the only ones that i could find...are they o'k to use???:behindsofa:

[kelly]

Question here. I've heard of installing Windows to another folder. I heard about it several times on the old PC Talk radio program. What I don't remember is what happens afterwards. At this point, there are 2 Windows folders: Windows and WindowsME.
How does the machine know which Windows folder to boot from?
-td

[kern]

Originally Posted by kern
"the ME setup utility will begin. watch the screen- you will eventually be asked which folder to install Windows to- type ---> C:WindowsME
NOTE: the default folder is C:Windows - if you accept this you will do another install over the top- which you do not want to do."

i do not understand...:confused:
can you please explain this to me in more detail???

i just bought 3.5 inch floppy discs...they are PC Formatted...1.4mb...HD...
they are COOL DISCS BY Memorex...the only ones that i could find...are they o'k to use???:behindsofa:

yes, they are good.

as for setup:
An Operating System, in this case Windows ME, is a program, and it has to be installed into a folder on your harddrive just like any other program. The setup utility is "programmed" to create a folder on the C: drive---> C:/Windows. When you did the OTT install, you accepted the "default" C:/Windows folder, so all the windows system files were installed in the same folder- thus "over the top install".
This time you want to do a "clean install". So when you are prompted which folder to install Windows into, you will type in ---> C:/WindowsME ,instead of accepting the default folder. Setup will now install all the Windows files into the C:/Windows ME folder. This allows you to start fresh without doing a format, AND, leaves your data untouched.
When install is completed, it will auto reboot (it may reboot a few times during the install process). Then as I mentioned, you still may need to re-install drivers, and you will need to re-install all your third party programs.
Once you are sure your pc is working properly(give it a few days), you can delete the old C:/Windows folder to freeup the disk space.

[Dee369]

Question here. I've heard of installing Windows to another folder. I heard about it several times on the old PC Talk radio program. What I don't remember is what happens afterwards. At this point, there are 2 Windows folders: Windows and WindowsME.
How does the machine know which Windows folder to boot from?
-td

actually kelly i already have two windows folders because i used an image file(whatever it was) to do the OTT which is still in my c/drive...i have a windows and a windows 9X in there...:loco:

i am soooooooo confused...:confused: :confused: :confused:

[Dee369]

ok.......

can i do this one step at a time because i am confused????:confused:

can i first make the startup disc without doing the install????:confused:

i just want and need to do things very slowly so that i do this right....:frown:

i will wait to do anything until i hear from you rob...

[Dee369]

just now i burned my drivers...i finalized the cd and i put the disc in and went to d/ and verified that they are there....i think...:D

what will be our next step???? can we make the startup disc and do that and that alone???? is this a possibility???

heres a stupid question...

i want to make the startup disc next...the question is ::::

which way does the floppy go into the drive????:decision:
do i insert the metal part of the disc in first or the plastic part.....:loco:


told you it was a stupid question...;)

[kelly]

You can make the Startup Disk at any time.

Disk goes in metal side toward computer. The side with the metal circle in the middle is the bottom side. On the top side, there is an arrow on the left side that should point toward the computer.

-td

[kern]

just now i burned my drivers...i finalized the cd and i put the disc in and went to d/ and verified that they are there....
i want to make the startup disc next...the question is ::::
which way does the floppy go into the drive????

as Tony mentions, the startup disk is a seperate process, but needs to be done first. metal side in, round circle at bottom.

[kern]

i already have two windows folders because i used an image file(whatever it was) to do the OTT which is still in my c/drive...i have a windows and a windows 9X in there...

fyi, the image file is a "copy" of the ME CD.
Are you saying the image file is in the Windows 9x folder, or are you referring to a different folder?

[Dee369]

fyi, the image file is a "copy" of the ME CD.
Are you saying the image file is in the Windows 9x folder, or are you referring to a different folder?

i am pretty sure that the image file itself is in my documents labled with my name....i have a file in my documents that was sent to me via transfer through another person and then i copied it into C/and installed it that way...i can not be 100% sure...:frown:

but i was told that i can use it over again to do an installation of ME at any time that i want to... also i did not need to make a floppy to do the install of windows ME...:confused:

seeing as the person who did this with me is "unavailable" i am not sure how to use this file...:frown: i will TRY to get ahold of that person but the chanced are slim that i will get a reply...:frown:

[Dee369]

First create the Startup Floppy Disk as follows:
go to add/remove programs...
click startup disc tab...
click create a new disc...
insert the disc when prompted to...
--- i take floppy out after it gets made---

i just made the startup disc...i think...i hope....

there was a clicking noise coming from my floppy drive when the disc was preparing files...do i take this as being a bad sign???:confused: :frown:

i have never used a floppy dive...when i inserted disc i had a blue bar saying it was preparing disc but when the blue bar fully loaded it did not do anything else and i was NOT prompted that the disc was completed successfully or anything like that...it just stopped when it was done preparing and stayed at the insert disc screen...:frown: i waited for a promt for a few minutes but one never came so i took the disc out and stored it away...

did this copy or not??? how can i tell(without doing the installation) if the disc was copied correctly???:confused:

******note*******

my computer has never made a clicking sound prior to this and the clicking noise stopped when the preparing of the disc was completed...

[jtdoom]

hi
look at content of floppy, and you see what the process did.
if there are no files? then it did not do it.

the win9x folder in root of C: is a copy of the CD I had Di make.

[Dee369]

hi
look at content of floppy, and you see what the process did.
if there are no files? then it did not do it.

the win9x folder in root of C: is a copy of the CD I had Di make.

how do i look at the content of the floppy???

and thank you very much for the reply...it is greatly appreciated...:D

hope you are doing well...:wave:

[kelly]

To look at the floppy's contents:
Insert the floppy into the computer.
Double click on My Computer
Double click on the 3-1/2 Drive (A)
-td

[Dee369]

To look at the floppy's contents:
Insert the floppy into the computer.
Double click on My Computer
Double click on the 3-1/2 Drive (A)
-td

thank you kelly for the instructions....:)

i followed them and there are 24 objects on my floppy....:D

i am going to guess that it worked...i have just made my first floppy disc...:D

however i am worried about the clicking noise that was coming from the floppy drive while i was making the disc...is that normal???:confused:

now where do we go from here??? do i check the booting order now???

if i do that do i do not have to insert the floppy ...correct???

[kern]

the win9x folder in root of C: is a copy of the CD I had Di make.

jt,
Welcome to KH! and thanks for shedding some light on this mystery...
I suggested Diane create the startup disk so she could do a "clean install" of ME into a "new" folder. But given that the contents of the ME CD are on her drive, booting from the startup floppy should not be necessary.

[kern]

thank you kelly for the instructions....:)

i followed them and there are 24 objects on my floppy....:D

i am going to guess that it worked...i have just made my first floppy disc...:D

however i am worried about the clicking noise that was coming from the floppy drive while i was making the disc...is that normal???:confused:

now where do we go from here??? do i check the booting order now???

if i do that do i do not have to insert the floppy ...correct???

being that jt was kind enough to chime in here, the startup floppy probably wont be necessary. you should be able to use the image file as jt described to re-install ME, but this time when you run the setup utility, you will have it install ME to the C:/WindowsME folder as I described.

as for booting from the startup floppy, lets hold off on that for the time being, as it may not be necessary.

[Dee369]

being that jt was kind enough to chime in here, the startup floppy probably wont be necessary. you should be able to use the image file as jt described to re-install ME, but this time when you run the setup utility, you will have it install ME to the C:/WindowsME folder as I described.

as for booting from the startup floppy, lets hold off on that for the time being, as it may not be necessary.

can you please explain to me how i would make the c:/windows ME folder????

and i will need a fresh up lesson on how to do the install from the image file???

i just cant remember how i did it...i am sorry that i have to ask this..:frown:

[jtdoom]

:tea:

hi
finished testing a floppy that can be used as floppy and CDROM boot-image

1; at boot, it offers to run from hard drive or CD (Hard drive is default, and it wait for 30 seconds so you can choose CD. )
(Note, I can change the timer, but find that the original file with 30 seconds works well enough..)

when you choose from CD, it has a menu.
cd support only
no CD support
setup from CD
wipe hard drive, then run setup from CD

default is CD support only
at the moment, it launches a unnattended setup (used deploy tool from 98)
If I want to use this for Di, I cannot use the batch file I made, because I do not have and american version of millennium, but... I do have the feeling that an american win98se is good enought to do this.
(I recall I used a win98 msbatch preset file on ME long time ago..)

that win9x folder is just the win9x folder we copied
I still feel Di needs to make sure she can do a clean setup from CD for one never knows when disaster strikes, and over the top is always picking up things, even when one uses setup switches what ought to prevent it from doing that.

:drum:

[Dee369]

i need some help understanding this and the steps that i need to take...:confused:

i am going to need a step by step doing this...any one that can help to explain this process will be helping me so very much...


:tea:

hi
finished testing a floppy that can be used as floppy and CDROM boot-image

1; at boot, it offers to run from hard drive or CD (Hard drive is default, and it wait for 30 seconds so you can choose CD. )
(Note, I can change the timer, but find that the original file with 30 seconds works well enough..)

when you choose from CD, it has a menu.
cd support only
no CD support
setup from CD
wipe hard drive, then run setup from CD

default is CD support only
at the moment, it launches a unnattended setup (used deploy tool from 98)
If I want to use this for Di, I cannot use the batch file I made, because I do not have and american version of millennium, but... I do have the feeling that an american win98se is good enought to do this.
(I recall I used a win98 msbatch preset file on ME long time ago..)

that win9x folder is just the win9x folder we copied
I still feel Di needs to make sure she can do a clean setup from CD for one never knows when disaster strikes, and over the top is always picking up things, even when one uses setup switches what ought to prevent it from doing that.

:drum:

thank you jaak for all that you have done and all that you continue to do...it means so very much that you are the friend that you are...:wave:

[kern]

i need some help understanding this and the steps that i need to take...

D,
I've been reviewing the various ME install methods, and the bottom line is you will need to use the Startup floppy to do the clean install of ME to the C:/WindowsME folder as I previuosly described. You can use the copy of ME in the win9x folder to re-install ME, but you need to boot from the startup floppy first.

So the very first steps we will try are:
to TEST that the startup disk works, and that the floppy drive is the first boot device.

Do so by inserting the startup floppy in the floppy drive, then reboot.

IF the pc boots into Windows, then the floppy is not the first boot device and you will need to change the boot order in BIOS.

IF the pc boots from the floppy, your screen will remain black, except for some text that will be displayed, and you will end up at an A:/ prompt.
Now you are ready for the next step- installing ME.
But since this is a test, you can simply press the reset button on your pc to re-boot back into ME.

Either way, post your results, and we will proceed with the appropriate next step.

[Dee369]

i made the startup floppy....the problem i'm having now is that the windows ME cd does not work...what i am trying to do now is to take the contents of the windows cd and copy them into a windows 9x folder so that i can burn it onto a disc myself...

now i copied it to the folder but when i explore the folder it is not in there...i searched for the contents and found the empty folder and an icon for the folder instead...:eek:

i must have copied it wrong...:eek:

how do you go about copying the contents of the windows ME cd into a folder that i will make for it?????:confused:

this is the method that i want to go about doing this....:frusty:

[kern]

i made the startup floppy....the problem i'm having now is that the windows ME cd does not work...what i am trying to do now is to take the contents of the windows cd and copy them into a windows 9x folder so that i can burn it onto a disc myself...

now i copied it to the folder but when i explore the folder it is not in there...i searched for the contents and found the empty folder and an icon for the folder instead...:eek:

how do you go about copying the contents of the windows ME cd into a folder that i will make for it?????:confused:

this is the method that i want to go about doing this....:frusty:

the ME cd does not work?? if you mean the cd drive cannot read it, then you will not be able to copy it either.

but you may have another option. the win9x folder jt had you create should contain a COPY of an ME CD. the folder should be around 400mb, and contain around 10 folders and files. if so, you can burn the contents of that folder to a cd.

[Dee369]

the ME cd does not work?? if you mean the cd drive cannot read it, then you will not be able to copy it either.

but you may have another option. the win9x folder jt had you create should contain a COPY of an ME CD. the folder should be around 400mb, and contain around 10 folders and files. if so, you can burn the contents of that folder to a cd.

darn..did not know why i didn't think of that sooner....:doh:

thank you....:)

[mommalina]

Hi, jtdoom! .. :yo:

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