new hardware wants Win CD 4

[chrisp909]

Whenever I install a new perif on this machine it asks for the Win 98 install CD. How do I stop this. could i just make a d: partition and copy the disk there?

Is there a way to just put the cab files in the windows dir and reset the registery so it automatically looks there?

OEM windows installs don't do this so there must be a way to do it all on the C: partition.

Any help would be appreciated I am totally in the "duh" zone here.

 

[Comtech]

Copy the CD to a folder on your hard drive. Let's call the folder WIN98CD for example.
It involves a registry edit.
Open regedit, and navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

In the right-hand pane you'll find the SourcePath value. Double-click this entry and enter the path to the files you copied (c:\WIN98CD). Verify your changes as OK and exit the Registry Editor.

Cheers,
Jim

http://members.cnx.net/reboot/

 

[chrisp909]

Thanks Comtech!
I don't care what people say, you Canadians are alright. (even if my wife is one)

 

[bf0x]

their are 2 ways to do this usually I do this before I install the OS from DOS. First I make a directory on my hard drive (usually md c:\win98) then I go into the CD-rom directory lets say its e:\ then go into the windows 98 folder c:\win98. from there I do a copy *.* c:\win98. This will copy all the files to install the OS and when the screen pops up for you to insert the windows cd all you have to do is direct it to c:\win98. After an install just make a folder in your c drive labelled the same and copy the files from the cd-rom to the folder you created. this makes my life so much easier. hope this helps.

 

[thatrenowned]

Sometimes you can get away with just pointing it to c:\windows\options\cabs. I've done this a few times when installing hardware, and also when creating a boot disk.

Regards

 

[Comtech]

c:\windows\options\cabs works...providing someone copied the cab files to that location first. HP and PB (the "recovery" disk experts) GAG!!!, are experts at that.

bf0x, that's the way I do it as well, which works great, on a new install. If Windows has already been installed from CD, and you're getting tired of digging it out of the drawer that contains all the junk, accumulated drivers disks for video, modem, NIC, miscellaneous games, and partially burned CDR's, then the way I posted is the only way. Cheers,
Jim

http://members.cnx.net/reboot/

 

[chrisp909]

thatrenowned, do you mean pointing the registry entry to the cabs files?

Seems that would be the cleanest way to do it if so.

 

[thatrenowned]

No, I hardly edit the registry...

All I meant was when it pops up asking for the Windows disk and you click OK, if the disk isn't present it brings up another box where you can point to a directory.

Not a bad idea though....

 

[chrisp909]

Does anyone have an answer to this? I would just try it but I don't have a 98 machine anymore. Comtech's suggestion worked great and I gave the machine back to it owner.

Is it possible to use the same registry entry comtech suggested but point it at the cab files instead.

Giving a "look ma no hands" solution to the Win CD issue at hardware installation, without having to copy the contents of the cd to your hard drive.

 

[Jontmke]

Comtech is correct. And yes you can change that registry entry to point anywhere you want. It is only a reference for windows to use. If it does not find them there it will then ask you. That is what it is doing now, the entry is pointing to the original install location. If you had copied the cd to the harddrive and ran setup from there it would point to that folder.
TIP: For all you professional nerds (like me), if you want you can point that to a networked drive. This will save a little workstation hard drive space.

JON

 

[Comtech]

I have a habit of copying the cab files to HD, and doing installs from there. Lately, I've been doing it with XP, using Jontmke's method of installing over the LAN.
To save even more steps to installation though, I image the working systems over the LAN, and then when it crashes (having two teens in the house constantly messing their computers up!), I restore the image over the LAN, instead of a new install, with all the software.
Initial setup takes some time, but the end result is easier to work with. Cheers,
Jim

http://members.cnx.net/reboot/

 

[Kjonnnn]

all u have to do is copy the w98 folder over to the new machine

if it asks for the CD, browse the C:\w98 folder u just copied.

 

[Comtech]

We know that. We've already beaten that one to death.
What we're trying to explain (in a 'round about way, mind you) is that instead of having to browse to the folder with the cab files in it, you can edit the registry, and stop all the browsing and clicking. :-D
It doesn't matter what the folder is called, nor where you put it, not even what drive/partition it's on, as long as the registry entry I posted above matches the cab file's location, it'll work. Cheers,
Jim

http://members.cnx.net/reboot/

 

[rockerfellerz]

If you don't want to mess with the registry yourself, use an app called "banish cd" from

http://www.analogx.com

You just point it to the directory where you have copied the cab files and it does the rest. If you're going through Hell...keep going... (Winston Churchill)
RocKeRFelLerZ