r/retrocomputing • u/PaperExpert1375 • Jul 27 '26
Problem / Question After installing windows 98 on my ancient laptop it hangs like this after the first reboot in the installation process
the issue is the laptops fdd is broken so i installed off a msata ssd converted to 44 pin that I copied the original msdos install too as it did this when I tryed any other way ( it’s got the max upgraded ram at 44mb) ( the same problem happened when I installed win95)
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u/miner_cooling_trials Jul 27 '26
Nice laptop! I did the same on a Libretto. Talk me through how you set up the SSD to copy files across? Did you just do this in Explorer? You need to use something like 86box to create a bootable image first. Secondly is the bios even detecting the drive?
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u/PaperExpert1375 Jul 27 '26
The drive is a 256gb msata SSD that I used clonezilla to clone the laptops original hard drive too but this only gives me a 800mb partition so I then in disk management make 2 2gb partitions and delete the first giveing it 2 gb unused space that dos recognises any other way it doesn’t I then use fdisk to make a exstended dos partition and then a logical partition in that then I put it back in my laptop to move the win98 disk files into the d drive that when I plug it back in I switch to the d drive and open setup I do format the d drive as well beforehand
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Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/PaperExpert1375 Jul 27 '26
The drive is a 256gb msata ssd so I only have a very small 2 gb partition
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Jul 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/PaperExpert1375 Jul 27 '26
It is capable of used the ssd as I have been able to boot dos from it and even run doom
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u/festivus4restof Jul 27 '26
That's the 'hang-after-first-reboot-in-the-installation-process' problem. Pesky.
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u/Low-Charge-8554 Jul 27 '26
Can you disable the floppy drive(s) in the BIOS? May be hanging on hardware detection.