INFO: Q&A: Windows 98 Preinstallation Questions

The following is a collection of some of the most frequently asked questions by System Builders.

How do I get a System Builder Preinstallation Kit?

You can find the tools to preinstall the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system on the OEM Windows 98 CD-ROM, in the \Tools\Admin folder. For a step-by-step process on preinstallation, refer to the preinstallation guide at the following Web site: Where is the updated Windows 98 Mkpbf.bat file?

You can download the updated Mkpbf.bat file from the following Web site: What is the source of the "SB CD" (System Builder CD-ROM) that is referenced in the preinstallation instructions?

There is no separate CD for System Builders. "SB CD" refers to the Windows 98 Delivery Service Provider (DSP) CD that comes in the 5-pack. The process described in the preinstallation instructions allows you to set up the System Builder (SB) Preinstallation Wizard on your computer. By using the SB wizard and the Microsoft Windows 98 SB CD, you can preinstall the Windows 98 operating system on different computer models.

How can I install Office SBE OEM on preinstalled Windows 98-based systems? I get the following error message: To install Microsoft Office Small Business Edition (SBE), please follow these steps:

1. On the Start menu, click Run.
2. In the Open box, type notepad and click OK.
3. In Notepad, click Save As on the File menu.
4. In the Save As dialog box, go to the Options folder in the Windows folder (C:\Windows\Options).
5. Change the file name to Opkwiz.tag and click Save.
6. On the File menu, click Exit.

Now Office SBE will install. For more information, see the following Web site: Why do I get the following error during a preinstallation? When you are configuring the Preinstallation Boot Floppy (PBF) in the preinstallation wizard, if you create a configuration named ModelA in the Select Your Installation Mode dialog box, you also must enter the same configuration name in the two instances below:

1. On the Real Mode Lines For Factory page in the Autoexec.bat window, in the Set Cfgdir line, you must edit the line Set Cfgdir=ModelA to match the Configuration Set name you chose, in this case "ModelA".
2. In the Save Your Configuration page, ensure that the Configuration Set name is the same as in the Select Your Installation Mode page. In our example, it is "ModelA".

Then you can save your configuration to go through the rest of the preinstallation.

After removing the floppy disk upon preinstallation and rebooting, I get a message right after the Mscdex.exe files loads saying, "Source or config location not found." How do I fix this problem?

You must edit the lines below to remove the "REM syntax" on the left side: Where "p:" refers to your CD-ROM drive letter and ModelA refers to your configuration set name.

Important: It is critical that you correctly set the Source and Cfgdir variables and the CD-ROM command line in the factory Autoexec.bat file. For the Source variable, don’t leave a trailing backslash or spaces and don’t forget the colon (:) after the drive letter. The Source variable tells the preload process where to find the files it needs to complete the preinstallation. If this isn’t set correctly, many errors can occur. Also, ensure that there is no colon (:) after the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive on the Mscdex.exe file command line.

How do I resolve the UDMA shutdown problem? (My CD-ROM does not play audio CDs.)

1. Extract the Mshdc.inf file from the Windows 98 CD-ROM into the C:\Temp folder of the reference computer by using the following command at the MS-DOS prompt:
   extract d:\win98\precopy2.cab /L c:\temp
   (where d: is the CD ROM drive letter)
2. Edit the Mshdc.inf file. This edited file must have the following lines commented out (or removed):
   [ESDI_AddReg]
   HKR,,IDEDMADRIVE0,3,01
   HKR,,IDEDMADRIVE1,3,01
   
   Use ";" at the beginning of each line to comment it out.
3. Copy the updated Mshdc.inf file into the A:\Pre_img\Factonly folder of the PBF (Preinstallation Boot Floppy).
4. Edit the Transfer.bat file under the A:\Pre_img\Factonly folder of the PBF as follows:
   
   Locate this line in the Transfer.bat file:
   copy c:\factonly\%cfgdir%\msbatch.inf c:\windows\options\cabs
   Append the new line after the above line:
   copy c:\factonly\mshdc.inf c:\windows\options\cabs
5. Save the Transfer.bat file, insert the PBF in the target computer, and then go through the preinstallation of Windows 98.

Why is Microsoft Fax not installed during my preload?

Microsoft Fax and Windows Messaging are not available with Windows 98 Setup. They are included on the Windows 98 CD-ROM for backward compatibility and to troubleshoot problems upgrading from Microsoft Windows 95. You must manually install Fax by using the Awfax.exe file in the \Tools\OldWin95\Message\US folder of your Windows 98 CD-ROM.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: I've been getting an occasional error while the preload is copying the files from the CD-ROM to the hard disk. It gets to the end of the copy process (usually one of the last couple of files); however, before it starts the GUI, it gives me a "Copy Process Error Press ^C." If you press ENTER, it will continue but then it gets stuck in the GUI setup with a missing file location.

The Copy Process Error may occur at any time during the file transfer process from the CD-ROM. To work around this problem, don't rely on the generic CD-ROM driver included in the Windows 98 preinstallation, but instead, use the specific CD-ROM driver for the kind of CD-ROM drive that you are using on your target computer.

For example, if you are using the HP Model CD-ROM drive, you might have to use the Hpcdrom.sys file as your CD-ROM driver. When you use the specific CD-ROM driver, you need to edit the following lines in the Config.sys window of the Real Mode Lines For Factory page of the preinstallation wizard:

Replace the following: with the following: where the Cdrom.sys file points to your specific CD-ROM driver file.

Finally, be sure you copy the CD-ROM driver file for the specific CD-ROM drive used on the target computer to the Factonly folder of your configuration set or to the \Pre_img\Factonly folder of your Preinstallation Boot Floppy.

Why do I need to call Microsoft Support? Why aren't the fixes available on the SB web site?

There are three reasons you should call Microsoft Support:

• There are workarounds a Microsoft Support Engineer can provide that would not require you to use a fix.
• Bug fixes are often included in service packs, which are released at regular intervals. Fixes are created between service pack releases, but are not as rigorously tested as the full service pack. Under certain circumstances then, applying a fix may cause system problems. Microsoft Support Engineers can determine whether a fix referred to in a KB article is appropriate for your system.
• Some fixes address very specific hardware or software issues. So, applying a fix to a machine that does not exhibit the behavior the fix was designed for, may leave the system unstable or worse, unusable. As above, Microsoft Support Engineers can help you determine whether the fix is appropriate for the hardware or software problem.

See the System Builder Web site: