Burt
Mon Oct 20 22:11:33 CDT 2003
Robert,
You might want to look thru this... I think it is what you want..
Burt
*************
This file prepared by Harry Ohrn
Clean Install of Windows 98/Me
without Formatting
On another page I describe in detail how to do a clean install of Windows
98. The instructions guide you through the process of reformatting your Hard
Drive and then installing the Operating System. The Format command basically
erases everything on your drive and prepares it for the install. However
there may be numerous reasons for not wanting your entire Hard Drive
partition to be erased. The instructions below will tell you how to retain
most of your data and information on your drive. You will only be erasing
the Windows Operating System files stored in the C:\Windows directory. The
information stored in other locations such as C:\Program Files, My Documents
and folders you created that reside outside of C:\Windows will not be
erased. The usual warning still applies and that is to make sure you Backup
any important data.
Getting Ready
1) Make sure you have a Windows Startup Disk that works. You can create one
by going to Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs->Startup Disk or you can
download one from here
http://www.bootdisk.com/ . Ensure that the Startup
Disk contains an application file called DELTREE.EXE . If Deltree.exe is not
on your Startup Disk then locate it in C:\Windows\Command and copy it to
the Startup Disk. Try booting with the Startup Disk to ensure that it works!
2) Make sure you have driver disks for your Modem or have your settings
written down for your DSL or Cable connections. Ensure that you have access
to drivers for your Hardware. You can visit this site to find drivers if
needed The Driver Zone
3) If your Windows OS is working then start transferring the data you don't
wish to loose out of C:\Windows to another directory. Remember that you will
be deleting your C:\Windows directory and all subfolders. First you should
create a new folder in C:\ and call it something like Backup. Then copy
these folders into it -
C:\Windows\Application Data - this folder contains your Outlook Express
settings, saved E-mail, newsgroups and settings, Addressbook, and Quick
Launch Toolbar items
C:\Windows\Favorites - this folder contains your Internet Favorites
bookmarks
C:\My Documents - if you save important info to this folder make sure it is
backed up too.
4) Make sure you have the Product Key for your Windows 98/Me CD-Rom
available as you will need to enter it. If you are doing the install with a
Windows Upgrade disk make sure you have a version of your previous OS handy
to satisfy the authenticity check during the Windows setup. Have your ISP
username and password written down as you will need them to setup your
internet accounts after the install.
5) Because this procedure will completely strip out your current operating
system all of the registry entries will be gone. After the install you will
need to reinstall all of your Programs. However because you have retained
the Program Files folder all of the programs will still be on the Hard Drive
usually compete with their settings. For example if you use ICQ then your
database of contacts will remain and you won't have to enter them again. If
you have special setting in PaintShop Pro then you won't need to set these
again either. The same should hold true for your games. However if any
settings were written into the registry they will be gone.
Go For It
1) Boot with the Startup disk and at the A:> type DELTREE C:\WINDOWS
This will erase the directory and all subfolders and their contents. The
process takes a lot longer than Formatting so give it time.
2) When finished you can then change drives to the location of your CD-Rom
and type SETUP.EXE . The setup will begin by doing a scandisk and then will
ask for your Product Key. It will also require an authenticity check if you
are using an Upgrade disk. Windows9x/Me Setup will search for the necessary
files and then prompt you to put the CD back into the drive and setup will
finish.
3) When prompted for the location to install Windows make sure you enter
C:\WINDOWS as the location. Along the way you will need to enter info about
yourself and your system and the system should reboot a couple of times
during the install process.
4) When you are prompted for a Username and Password you can enter your
name as the Username but do not enter anything for the password.
5) You will finally be greeted by the Windows 98/Me Desktop and will notice
that you will have to reset your screen display if you were not using the
defaults before.
Configuring Windows
1) Go to Control Panel->System Properties->Device Manager and check to see
that your hardware has been found and installed properly. If there is a
Yellow Mark (! banged out) next to any of your hardware you will need to
install the drivers for it. Click the Properties button for each device that
is banged out and then choose the Driver Tab. You can click on Update
Drivers Button and follow the Wizard to install the drivers off the disks
that came with your device.
2) Each time you install drivers you will have to reboot. You can save time
by clicking cancel and then moving to the next device if you have more than
one banged out.
3) Run the Internet Connection Wizard to reestablish your connection for
Internet Explorer. If the modem does not connect at first try a reboot
before you try reinstalling software. Some modems seem to require an extra
reboot even though you are not instructed to do so!
4) Go to the Windows Update Site and download all of the relevant patches
and upgrades starting with the Virtual Machine (even though it is not listed
first). This can take some time and requires reboots along the way. You can
also go to the Windows Corporate site and download and save many of the
updates
5) Install WinZip and Tweakui first off.
6) Go to Start->Settings->Folder Options->View Tab and uncheck "Hide file
extensions for known file types" and check on "Show all files"
7) Open any folder and go to View and uncheck "As WebPage" then go to
View->Folder Options->View Tab and click "Like Current Folder" . You can
always go back and reset these later but for ease of reinstalling I find it
best to keep it as friendly as possible.
Tidying Up
1) Run Go to Start->Run type DEFRAG and hit Enter key and defrag your disk
2) Go to Start->Run type scanregw and backup your registry. This step is
unnecessary if you use Windows Me
Helpful Hints
- Before you get into this ensure that you have the latest drivers for all
of your hardware. Take nothing for granted, remember that Windows 98 was
released in June 98---that is a long time ago in computer years <G>
- Make sure you have backups of all your important data. Use My Own Backup
v2.1 rather than the MS backup utility.
- You will need to reinstall all of your applications and programs again so
if you have downloaded programs make sure you know where to find them. The
same holds true for additional screensavers that you like.
- Remember to backup copies of your Address Book and e-mail folders as these
will be lost during the reformat. If you use OLE you can find your Address
Book at C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book with the
extension .wab. Your e-mail folders are found at C:\Windows\Application
Data\Microsoft\Outlook Express. I simply made a backup of the folder
C:\Windows\Application Data and then copied it back onto my C:\Windows
directory. I then had my Address Book and all of my e-mail folders intact.
If you changed the name for the user when you where installing Win 98 you
will need to change the name of your Address Book to reflect this. If you
can't remember the name you used you can find it by launching OLE and then
looking under File. It will be listed in "Log Off". You must make sure your
Address Book has that name. Just make the appropriate change to the .wab
file. (My Log Off says "Harry Ohrn" therefore my Address Book is called
"Harry Ohrn.wab")
- Backup a copy of your Favorites folder. This is found in
C:\Windows\Favorites. Just save the entire Favorites folder and then copy it
back onto the C:\Windows directory again after the reinstall. It will
overwrite the Favorites folder that is created during the re-install and you
will have your Favorites back.
- Make sure you have recorded the settings for your internet connection from
both Dial Up Networking and Internet Properties as you will have to
re-establish all of those. An easy way to do this is to open a window then
press Alt+PrintScreen to take a snap shot and save it using MsPaint as a
.gif file. You can then open these up after the reinstall and see your
settings. A great little freeware program PrintKey simplifies this process.
- Remember that Tweakui and Windows Messaging will not auto install so you
will need to get these yourself. The version of Tweakui on the Win98 CD is
buggy you can get a functional version by going here Tweakui For 98 and
checking out Tweakui For 98. Make sure you have a copy of WinZip to install.
You can link to that site from WinZip 8.0
"Robert Wright" <roberthwright@highstream.net> wrote in message
news:002e01c3972e$8f672fe0$a501280a@phx.gbl...
Thanks for your help. Not what I'm looking for, but
thanks.
The article I'm looking for discussed the pros and cons of
installing an OS upgrade "over" the old OS which retains
all the settings for the installaed programs versus
a "clean" install which sets the old OS aside and installs
a complete new OS where the programs all have to be
reinstalled.
>-----Original Message-----
>Hello Robert;
>This is a good place to start.
>
http://support.microsoft.com then search for Knowledge
>Base Article number 271673. I hope it helps.
><~~~~~~~~~~~melvin~~~~~~~~~~~>
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>I have read an article in either PC World or Smart
>>Computing regarding a "clean" install when upgrading
>>operating systems. According to the article, the user
>>gets to decide during the upgrade installation if he
>wants
>>a "clean" install of the new OS only or one that
upgrades
>>the old OS's and retains its settings. Can you direct
me
>>to this article?
>>.
>>
>.
>