Member Avatar for RUDY65

In Win98 SE, I have done fdisk and format, then tried installing windows again. After I have typed in setup, and after it says copying files, it goes back to the drive prompt. I am assuming I have done fdisk wrong. Do you create a primary partition AND an ext partition, and if so, how do I correctly do this using Fat32? Thanks for any help in advance.

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If Setup copies files then drops you back to a DOS prompt, the missing piece is usually not the partition count but the bootability of the primary partition or a BIOS/disk-translation mismatch. solved this by toggling an "OS/2" option in the BIOS — that shows the problem can be at the firmware level rather than with how the partitions were created. This note explains the recovery steps and the small details the existing replies didn't cover.

To recover when you see "no active partition found" or Setup won't continue:

  • Boot from Windows 98 startup media (or any rescue/live CD/USB) and run fdisk. Use the menu option to mark the correct primary partition as the active (boot) partition, then reboot.
  • If you cannot use a floppy, boot a rescue CD/USB (GParted, Hiren's, or a Windows PE image) and set the partition's boot flag with its partition editor.
  • After the partition is active, if Windows still won't boot, restore a proper boot sector: for Win98 use sys c: from a Win98 boot disk; for XP use the Recovery Console commands fixboot and fixmbr (from the XP CD).

Practical tips and cautions:

  • Only one primary partition needs the boot flag; extended partitions hold logical drives and are not bootable. Win98 expects a bootable FAT32 (or FAT) primary.
  • If Setup copies files and then reboots into the CD/floppy again, remove the boot media so the machine boots the hard disk for the second-stage setup.
  • If toggling BIOS disk options (LBA/CHS, "OS/2", or similar) helped for , try restoring sensible defaults or switching that option if an install fails.

This complements 's partition advice by focusing on the single, commonly-missed step: mark a primary partition active (the boot flag) and check BIOS disk translation when DOS-based installers act like they copied files but will not continue.

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Member Avatar for yogi_bear_2k2

Fdisk is one of those "finiky" programmes you need to be wary of. It does not like anything to be wrong with the hard disk and DESTROYS all the data you have on the hard disk so please backup important data!!. Also, you need to remove the current partition on the hard disk first to use Fdisk. Here are basic instructions on using Fdisk.

1. Run Fdisk (Usually done from the Dos Prompt)
2. Go to the option to Delete Partition
3. (Depending on what partition you had on there,) you need to select the correct option (for example, to remove an XP partition select option 4, to remove an old Windows 98/ME partition select option 1.)
4. It wll then ask you to confirm you want to delete the partition by asking you to type in the "Volume Name" of the hard disk (This is displayed for you on the screen, so just copy it.)
5. After this is done you will return to the "Create Partition" menu.
6. You now need to create a partition, so select option 1.
7. Now, depending on how many partitions you want to create on your hard disk will depend on what options you select here, but usually, its just the one, so click "yes" when it asks you to use the full hard disk for the one partition.
8. That should be it! Now you can re-format the hard disk and start the installation of Windows 98!

Hope this helps!! If there are ommissions or errors, please accept my appology! This is done from memory and its 3.30am! But It should be ok! Any probs, please ask!!

Yogi aka Steve

Member Avatar for RUDY65

Thanks so much for the info. I actually figured it out myself. I had the fdisk correct, so I changed the OS2 setting in BIOS. That seemed to work as the computer took windows. Thanks again.

Member Avatar for ly seima

Hi,I am new user of MSI note book that just buy without include OS,I try to set XP to it.at the first I follow the instruction to set up window,that I must first is to use in comand dos by using fdisk,after that I delete the primary and try to devide drive in to 2 part,but after I finish it,I forgot to set active partition, so after I reboot, I can't use dos like before and I see only the black screen with message "no active partition found"....Now my problem is that I can't use comand dos.My question is that : Is there any way to get back the dos to use command again,if now I can use only BIOS.

Member Avatar for ly seima

please help...........quickly

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