XP/98SE dual boot - hardware dilemma

[Guest]

Hello, techies...
I've just given up trying to set up a dual-boot system - XP-Pro / 98SE - on a new Compaq nx9010. The 98 installer insistantly crashes with a blue screen before completing the installation. HP/Compaq tech support just shrugs... "Not designed for 98... Drivers not available..." The question here is *not* really how to get 98 to install - I'm now about convinced it can't. (The last paragraph has details, if anyone wants to quibble about it.) And, unfortunately, I *MUST* be able to run 98 to support some legacy software. And, no, the software will not run in XP's compatibility mode, nor in a Virtual PC type environment

The real question is this:
Can anyone pinpoint a year, a processor type and/or speed, or some milepost beyond which 98 is no longer well-supported?

I want to use the latest machine I can, but also want to be able to be sure I can get 98 drivers for peripherals and so forth. I assume that any Pentium III machine will work, but I'm not hardware-savvy enough to know that even *that's* a safe assumption. Are manufacturers abandoning 98 support by the time the P-IV is on the scene, or will earlier P-IV machines be *highly* likely to work? I'm trying to figure out: Where lies the near boundary of my universe for choosing a laptop with good 98 support? What do the markers of that boundary look like? (I'd also like to know what laptops tend to be the most physically durable in rugged work environments, if anyone cares to comment.

The promised "Last Paragraph" :
The substrate is a freshly partitioned and formatted disk, partition size about 4.8 Gig, FAT32. The 98 installer crashes at the point where Plug-n-Pray is looking over the neighborhood and figuring out how to deal with it. I can install XP-Pro just fine on the same partition, and it runs nicely enough. I tried using the 98 installer to redo the format. I tried a 1.9 Gig FAT partition installation. I ran the HP diagnostic suite on the laptop and it finds no problems. Eight 98-installer-crashes later, I give up

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide...

 

[DL]

The 'problem' with major sys makers eg Dell, HP etc is that they very often
tweak hardware / drivers specifically for their sys. - this is particularly
relevent with a laptop. Whilst it is easy to obtain / build a clone desktop,
rather than mainstream brand, this is much more difficult with a laptop. You
might want to check the manu.sites for their support on particular models
for 98. MS recently announced that they were discontinueing support for 98,
allthough I believe they might have stepped back, partially?
Its also probable that any new hardware will more likely be designed with
the later o/s in mind.
I'm surprised the software wont run in a Virtual environment, but this may
be due to yr sys hardware, rather than Vpc, which is basically designed to
isolate software, not hardware.
Just my 2 cents
David

Hello, techies...
I've just given up trying to set up a dual-boot system - XP-Pro / 98SE -

on a new Compaq nx9010. The 98 installer insistantly crashes with a blue
screen before completing the installation. HP/Compaq tech support just
shrugs... "Not designed for 98... Drivers not available..." The question
here is *not* really how to get 98 to install - I'm now about convinced it
can't. (The last paragraph has details, if anyone wants to quibble about
it.) And, unfortunately, I *MUST* be able to run 98 to support some legacy
software. And, no, the software will not run in XP's compatibility mode,
nor in a Virtual PC type environment.

The real question is this:
Can anyone pinpoint a year, a processor type and/or speed, or some

milepost beyond which 98 is no longer well-supported?

I want to use the latest machine I can, but also want to be able to be

sure I can get 98 drivers for peripherals and so forth. I assume that any
Pentium III machine will work, but I'm not hardware-savvy enough to know
that even *that's* a safe assumption. Are manufacturers abandoning 98
support by the time the P-IV is on the scene, or will earlier P-IV machines
be *highly* likely to work? I'm trying to figure out: Where lies the near
boundary of my universe for choosing a laptop with good 98 support? What do
the markers of that boundary look like? (I'd also like to know what laptops
tend to be the most physically durable in rugged work environments, if
anyone cares to comment.)

The promised "Last Paragraph" :
The substrate is a freshly partitioned and formatted disk, partition size

about 4.8 Gig, FAT32. The 98 installer crashes at the point where
Plug-n-Pray is looking over the neighborhood and figuring out how to deal
with it. I can install XP-Pro just fine on the same partition, and it runs
nicely enough. I tried using the 98 installer to redo the format. I tried
a 1.9 Gig FAT partition installation. I ran the HP diagnostic suite on the
laptop and it finds no problems. Eight 98-installer-crashes later, I give
up.

 

[Jym]

I think that you need to install Win 98 first to get the boot to work right
, unless you are using a aftermarket partitioning software. And I have heard
that it will except the drivers better if both partitions are set to Fat 32.
Try installing Se with only the mouse and keyboard installed. There is no
reason that a Win 98 product cannot install on a machine that has XP already
installed. Jym

Hello, techies...
I've just given up trying to set up a dual-boot system - XP-Pro / 98SE -

on a new Compaq nx9010. The 98 installer insistantly crashes with a blue
screen before completing the installation. HP/Compaq tech support just
shrugs... "Not designed for 98... Drivers not available..." The question
here is *not* really how to get 98 to install - I'm now about convinced it
can't. (The last paragraph has details, if anyone wants to quibble about
it.) And, unfortunately, I *MUST* be able to run 98 to support some legacy
software. And, no, the software will not run in XP's compatibility mode,
nor in a Virtual PC type environment.

The real question is this:
Can anyone pinpoint a year, a processor type and/or speed, or some

milepost beyond which 98 is no longer well-supported?

I want to use the latest machine I can, but also want to be able to be

sure I can get 98 drivers for peripherals and so forth. I assume that any
Pentium III machine will work, but I'm not hardware-savvy enough to know
that even *that's* a safe assumption. Are manufacturers abandoning 98
support by the time the P-IV is on the scene, or will earlier P-IV machines
be *highly* likely to work? I'm trying to figure out: Where lies the near
boundary of my universe for choosing a laptop with good 98 support? What do
the markers of that boundary look like? (I'd also like to know what laptops
tend to be the most physically durable in rugged work environments, if
anyone cares to comment.)

The promised "Last Paragraph" :
The substrate is a freshly partitioned and formatted disk, partition size

about 4.8 Gig, FAT32. The 98 installer crashes at the point where
Plug-n-Pray is looking over the neighborhood and figuring out how to deal
with it. I can install XP-Pro just fine on the same partition, and it runs
nicely enough. I tried using the 98 installer to redo the format. I tried
a 1.9 Gig FAT partition installation. I ran the HP diagnostic suite on the
laptop and it finds no problems. Eight 98-installer-crashes later, I give
up.

 

[Guest]

Lessee, now...

Installing on a laptop, with only it's own pointing device and keyboard
installed. Not even a mouse in sight. Does that qualify?

Yes, it is necessary for one to install 98 first - and, yes... one was.

Will you please explain to my Win98 installer, which can't finish the
installation, that there's no reason it shouldn't be able to? Maybe
you can convince it... I may have used too much harsh language
in its presence or something. :
====
I think that you need to install Win 98 first to get the boot to work righ
, unless you are using a aftermarket partitioning software. And I have hear
that it will except the drivers better if both partitions are set to Fat 32
Try installing Se with only the mouse and keyboard installed. There is n
reason that a Win 98 product cannot install on a machine that has XP alread
installed. Jy

 

[Jym]

I sure can't explain it. If you say it won't work , then I buy that. You are
the one who is fighting to get it to install. It' like when I go to the
dentist , and he being a paid professional says " this shouldn't hurt" , and
it hurts so bad that I almost pass out. Is he right or am I ? . Jym