Whelp, but down some more money on a new installation system that includes both a CD and a 3 1/2 inch boot disk. Started it up, it was working, and then it said it refused to install on my old HP because it wasn't an IBM. Silly me for thinking "PC" was meant in a general "Windows compatible" sense and not in the "specifically IBM" sense. Anyone know a way around this bullshit?
what is "a new installation system"? My guess is you bought an OS from fleabay and it is an OEM disk made for a different type of machine than you have (i.e. dell). Don't know what sort of OEM checks might be on it. I bought one of those for Win 7 full version. It was Dell branded but I was putting it on a Dell. It installed but didn't validate with MS. I went through their voice prompt phone verification service and it accepted it as long as it was for a single machine.
It's a new CD and 3.5 inch floppy disk for Windows 95. It was brand-freakin' new out of the package with the manual for it and the installation key. Doesn't say anything on there about "For IBM Only," rather it says "For distribution with a new PC only." So, like I said, I was unaware that what has become a general term for any Windows compatible machine apparently actually meant specifically an IBM, as that's what came up on the screen when it refused to install. It's an HP, but like I said, it should be Windows compatible, because it already has Windows 98 on it.
That it specifically states "for IBM only" makes me think it was intended for and licensed only for IBM manufactured PCs. I'd take it up with the seller. I think support from MS has run out on that product.
I don't suppose anyone knows where I could find a version of Windows 95 for HP, do they? Or 3.1, for that matter? Can't seem to find something that specific on eBay.
You just described the time period when I was a skilled PC technician. Alas, I no longer have such skills.
Here's what I think you should do: pretend you are starting out pre-windows anything. Get a DOS installation, probably DOS 5 would be good. Install that. Get a Windows 3.1 installation. It should install over the DOS regardless of hardware, as it is really just a shell. Get a Win95 upgrade CD, let it do it's thing. I can't think of why this wouldn't work, because each step is hardware agnostic.
Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, have a stupid question, how do I take the bookmarks in firefox on one computer to firefox in another.
Bookmarks>Show All Bookmarks>Import and Backup>Backup Bookmarks>Show All Bookmarks>Import and Backup>Restore>Choose File or Bookmarks>Show All Bookmarks>Import and Backup>Export Bookmarks to HTML Bookmarks>Show All Bookmarks>Import and Backup>Import Bookmarks from HTML
Is there a way to get a DOS installation that I could download and burn to a CD, or would this be something I'd have to buy off of eBay? Same thing for Windows 3.1. Another topic: I recently purchased a copy of Aliens versus Predator 2, but really this would apply to a number of games I have, including the first 4 Call of Duty games, the old Medal of Honor games, and the first two Halo games. Is there a way to fool the computer into thinking the disks are in the computer without actually needing to have the disks in the computer, perhaps by creating an ISO copy of the disk that I can store on the HD somewhere? I have to admit that I've become a bit spoiled by Steam, and while it's possible to repurchase the Call of Duty games, it's not possible to do that for all of these old games, and it would be kind of nice to be able to play them without needing the physical disk in the drive. Keep in mind that this is for my modern PC (running Windows 7) and not the Windows 95 project.
Here. WinWorld was created with one purpose in mind: to share and preserve abandonware and pre-release software that has long since fallen out of common use for the public good. Many of us grew up experimenting with old computers and software, and we wish to continue providing the opportunity to learn and experiment with old software for the next generation of geeks. In addition to aiding young geeks like us, we also aim to help people in less fortunate circumstances, who may not have the resources or means to acquire modern hardware and software.
Well, your online thing didn't work, but I have been finding stuff on eBay. So I have a legit version of MSDOS 5.0 on disk (two of them, actually). I tried running the first disk, and it came up with an error, saying that it couldn't be installed on my HD (which is a CF disk) because all the partitions are full or used or something to that effect. It then tried running be through a process to apparently install the disk back onto itself. Anyone know what the issue could be and how to fix it?
MS-DOS won't install on 32 bit or 64 bit systems (your hard drive will be formatted as either NTFS or FAT32, which DOS doesn't understand) as it is legacy and no longer supported natively by modern hardware. You would do best to install a virtual machine. I recommend Virtualbox by Oracle. It's free, and easy to setup. Then you can install DOS, old versions of Windows, Linux, whatever you like. I have a VM that runs DOS 6.22, as well as Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. They work swimmingly.
I'm wondering if I should get a new CF card instead of trying to reuse the one I had in that old Gateway 2000 laptop. Or is there a way to wipe the existing one?
Please turn in your Geek Card. How do you not know this? I have not used MS-DOS in a very long time, so my instructions will not be complete. You can probably Google more detailed instructions. Make sure you Google instructions for DOS, not Linux or Unix. 1. Boot up using the DOS disk 2. At the command prompt, type fdisk and press Enter. Fdisk is a cmd or exe that allows you to partition disks 3. Find the CF card in the list of drives. Delete any partitions already on it. Create a new partition formatted in FAT16 (or FAT32, if your version of DOS supports it). If there is an option to make the partition bootable, select it. The CF card needs a master boot record (MBR) on it to allow the BIOS to recognize it as a bootable drive 4. Type format X: and press Enter, replacing X with the letter assigned to the new partition. Select YES. 5. I suggest copying the contents of the installation disks to a temporary directory on the new partition 6. Restart 7. Install DOS. I suggest running the installation from the files you copied onto the drive if you did choose to copy them. Otherwise, just install from the boot disk. If you're still having problems, I will try to find you a better set of instructions.
Got a new Compact Flash card for a hard drive and so far the setup for MSDOS 5 is running smoothly. Question, though, should I allocate the entire HD to MOS, or only part of it? Keep in mind my next step is to install Windows 3.1. Incidentally I tried skipping right to Win 3.1, but for some reason it wouldn't recognize the disk and start the setup.
Windows 95 was the first MS operating system which didn't require DOS to be installed. MSDOS, is the operating system, Windows 3.0 is merely a program running on it. Allocate the whole drive to MSDOS, Windows will be a subdirectory found in the drive.
The full version I have of Windows 95 won't install because it's not an IBM, so all that leaves me is with an upgrade version that needs an earlier version of Windows.
So I'm looking for a copy of Windows 7 I can just keep against the day I build another PC, and I came across this. The seller has no feedback. Thoughts?
Looks like a good deal. And that will allow you to upgrade to Windows 10 for free as long as MS still offers it. The professional version is good and not overkill for a home user. It has features for networked computers that the others don't have. I was running both professional and a lesser version on different machines at home and was annoyed when the other wouldn't backup to a network location. I've purchased OS discs off Ebay. Each time the included license didn't work and I had to go through an online verification process (windows will prompt you what to do). It pretty much consisted of my promising not to install on more than one system. MS probably checked to see it wasn't. These discs were branded Dell (OEM versions) so that may have been the issue. This copy looks like full retail. You're on your own as far as a seller with no-feedback. I'd use paypal.
It seems legit, and Ebay will refund you if it turns out to be a scam. Windows 7's still a good OS, though it will be completely unsupported in a few years. Since it's Pro, there's a loophole that would let you get Windows 10 for free, but I'm not 100% sure that's still working, as Microsoft's been closing those loopholes.
I actually want Windows 7, though. My current rig actually has Windows 7 Enterprise on it because I built it for my job at the university as a GRA and got to keep it after the research center I was working for closed. Seems like Professional is the next best to that. I've bought plenty of stuff off of eBay before, but never something this new (as evidenced by this thread ), and never from someone that had zero feedback before. Between that and the low price (Amazon and NewEgg are ~$130), I was kind of wondering if this set off any red flags for anyone else.
