ARMiller's Win98 Clean Installation

Win98

Win98 Setup

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Detailed steps for a clean Win98 installation

See Win98 Setup for more setup help.

1. Win98 copied to hard disk.
2. Win95 CD in drive.
3. Boot with Win98 startup floppy.
4. Type Set to see where Temp is referenced. Move to drive F: if needed.
5. Check that CD works. Drive letter is one larger with ram drive.
6. From floppy, format C:
7. From floppy, Sys C:
8. From hard drive with Win98, run Setup.exe.
9. Type in Product key.
10. Verify upgrade by pointing to Win95 CD in drive.
11. Choose custom setup and pick accessories.
12. Make startup disk. Remove new disk when directed and don't put boot disk back in.
13. Set time zone.
14. Restart computer, type in user name but leave password blank.
15. Select monitor driver.
16. Set monitor by right clicking desktop and pick Properties, Settings.
    • Set screen area and color.
    • Advanced, pick Show settings icon on task bar.
    • Adapter, set refresh rate to 72 Hz.
17. Run Msconfig, General tab, Advanced, Disable fast shutdown.
18. Restart computer.
19. Right-click My Computer, Properties,
    • Check information on General tab
    • Check Device Manager tab for exclamation points.
    • Performance tab
      • Check for 32-bit not DOS drivers
      • File System: Set role to Network server
      • Floppy Disk tab: Remove check for Search for new floppy.
    • Restart computer.
20. Windows Explorer
    • View, Folder Options, View tab.
    • Display full path
    • Hidden file, show all files
    • Smooth edges of fonts
    • Show window contents while dragging
21. Install clouds background
22. Put numlock=on in Config.sys if necessary
23. Right-click bar, Properties, Show small icons.
24. Make Tools folder on Start menu and add shortcut to Startup folder
25. Add C:\Windows\Rsrcmtr.exe to Startup folder
26. Add clock to Startup folder
27. Run Sendtox power toy and remove Mail x4, Any folder, Command line
28. Network Neighborhood, Properties
    • Delete dialup
    • Primary Network Login: Windows Logon
    • TCP/IP, Properties, set IP Address and mask 255.255.255.0, Gateway, DNS Configuration
    • Restart computer
29. Install TweakUI, Explorer, disable Prefix "shortcuts to"
30. Setup animated cursors in C:\Windows\Cursors
31. Make a separate Temp folder on, say drive F, put the following lines in Autoexec.bat, and then shut down and restart the computer

          set temp=f:\temp
          set tmp=f:\temp

32. Restart computer
33. Drop EXPLORER.EXE /e, d:\ on quick-launch bar
34. Install RegClean in C:\Program Files\RegClean, also here.
35. Defrag D, move virtual memory to D with 120MB minimum.
36. Setup system sounds in Control panel
37. Install Intellimouse
38. Register with Microsoft (HKLM,Software,Microsoft,Windows,CurrentVersion,RegDone).
39. Install FreeZip, (also here). This program zips and unzips from the right-click menu.
40. Install Norton Antivirus and then live update
41. Install WS_FTP
42. Install Teraterm telnet
43. Put Directx.cpl in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
44. Install AboutTime
45. Pick Start button, Shut Down and look for Standby option. Pick Cancel. If present, you can remove Standby with the following steps. Right click My Computer, Properties, Device Manager, System Devices, Advanced Power Management, Remove. Restart computer.
46. Start MS Internet Explorer and set to home page.
47. Move MSIE cache to F:\IECache
48. Update Win98 starting with IE 5.01.
49. Install Wintune and run it.
50. Make Fast Shutdown icon on desktop with C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL32.EXE user.exe,exitwindows
51. Program Task manager for Scandisk, Defrag, and Norton
52. Run Scandisk and Defrag, restart computer.
53. Install MS Office, restart, delete Office Startup and Find Fast from Startup folder, run Regclean.
54. Install Adobe Acrobat PDF reader
55. Put vbrun300.dll in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM. Double-click to unzip.
56. Install Shockwave
57. Install Quicktime viewer
58. Restart computer
59. Install X-Win32, needs VBRUN300.dll in C:\Windows\System and Xwin32.ini in C:\Windows.
60. AutoCAD 12 needs acad.ini in C:\win
61. Also check items in Win98 Setup.
62. Back up drives C and E with Drive Image, save images on CD.
63. If "It's now safe to turn off your computer" appears when the computer shuts down, rename or delete the file C:\Windows\Logos.sys. Alternatively, temporarily change the file name to BMP and edit in Photoshop.
64. Change the Default Win Setup Location at HKLM,Software,Microsoft,Windows,CurrentVersion, Setup,SourcePath = F:\WIN98

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Last revised: October 18, 2005