How to Install Windows 98 Into a New Folder

ID: Q193902

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

When you upgrade Microsoft Windows 95 to Windows 98, you may not have the ability to install Windows 98 to a different folder than the existing Windows 95 folder. However, there may be situations where it is necessary to install Windows 98 into a new folder, such as in the following situations:

When you install Windows 98 into a new folder, Windows 98 Setup ignores previously installed programs and registry settings.

This article describes how to install Windows 98 into a different folder than the existing Windows 95 folder.


MORE INFORMATION

To install Windows 98 into a different folder than the existing Windows 95 folder, use the following steps.

NOTE: Before you attempt to install Windows 98 into a new folder, verify that you have enough free hard disk space. For information about the free hard disk space required for the different Windows 98 installation methods, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q182751 Minimum Hardware Requirements for Windows 98 Installation
  1. Create a Windows 98 Startup disk using the Fat32ebd.exe utility, which can be run in Windows 95 or MS-DOS. For information about how to create a Windows 98 Startup disk using the Fat32ebd.exe utility, please see the "How to Create a Fat32 Emergency Boot Disk" section of the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    ARTICLE-ID: Q186892
    TITLE : Windows 98 Fat32ebd.txt File

    NOTE: The Fat32ebd.exe utility creates a 3.5-inch, 1.44-megabyte (MB) Windows 98 Startup disk.

    Depending upon your hardware configuration, the Windows 98 Startup disk may provide access to your CD-ROM drive from a command prompt. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    ARTICLE-ID: Q190303
    TITLE : How to Use Real-Mode CD-ROM Drivers from Windows 98 Startup Disk


  2. Restart your computer using the Windows 98 Startup disk, and choose Start Computer With CD-ROM Support from the Windows 98 Startup menu.


  3. Insert your Windows 98 CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, type the following command at the command prompt, and then press ENTER
    <drive>:

    where <drive> is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive.

    If you can gain access to your CD-ROM drive in MS-DOS, follow the steps in the "Running Setup from the Windows 98 CD-ROM" section later in this article. If you cannot gain access to your CD-ROM drive in MS-DOS but can in Windows 95, follow the steps in the "Running Setup from a Folder on Your Hard Disk" section later in this article.




Running Setup from the Windows 98 CD-ROM

  1. If files in the Program Files folder are damaged, installing Windows 98 into a new folder may not resolve your problem. To ensure that damaged files do not prevent your problem from being resolved, rename the Program Files folder. To do so, type the following commands at the command prompt, and then press ENTER
    cd\
    c:\windows\command\move progra~1 <oldprog>

    where <oldprog> is the folder to which you want to move your existing Program Files folder.


  2. If you want to use "Windows" as the name of the folder in which Windows 98 is installed, rename the existing Windows folder to a different name (such as Oldwin). To do so, type the following commands at the command prompt, and then press ENTER
    cd\
    c:\windows\command\move windows <oldwin>

    where <oldwin> is the folder to which you want to move your existing version of Windows 95.


  3. Insert your Windows 98 CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, type the following command at the command prompt, and then press ENTER
    <drive>:\setup

    where <drive> is drive letter of your CD-ROM drive.


  4. Follow the instructions on your screen. When you are prompted to provide a destination folder for Windows 98, click Other Directory, and then click Next.


  5. When you receive the following prompt, click Yes:
    If you install Windows 98 in a new directory, you must reinstall all of your Windows-based programs to make them work properly under Windows 98.

    You cannot run your programs under Windows 98 by copying .grp and .ini files from your Windows directory.

    Do you want to continue?


  6. Follow the instructions on your screen to finish installing Windows 98.


Running Setup from a Folder on Your Hard Disk



  1. Click Start, point to Programs, and then click MS-DOS Prompt.


  2. At the command prompt, type the following commands, pressing ENTER after each command
    cd\
    md <winflat>

    where <winflat> is the folder on your hard disk from which you run Windows 98 Setup.


  3. Insert your Windows 98 CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.


  4. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER
    xcopy <drive>:\win98*.* c:\<winflat>\*.* /s

    where <drive> is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive.


  5. Once the Windows 98 Setup files are copied to the <setup folder>, restart your computer. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then choose Safe Mode Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.


  6. If files in the Program Files folder are damaged, installing Windows 98 into a new folder may not resolve your problem. To ensure that damaged files do not prevent your problem from being resolved, rename the Program Files folder. To do so, type the following commands at the command prompt, and then press ENTER
    cd\
    move progra~1 <oldprog>

    where <oldprog> is the folder to which you want to move your existing Program Files folder.


  7. If you want to use "Windows" as the name of the folder in which Windows 98 is installed, rename the existing Windows folder to a different name (such as Oldwin). To do so, type the following commands at the command prompt, and then press ENTER
    cd\
    move windows <oldwin>

    where <oldwin> is the folder to which you want to move your existing version of Windows 95.


  8. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
    c:\<winflat>\setup



  9. Follow the instructions on your screen. When you are prompted to provide a destination folder for Windows 98, click Other Directory, and then click Next.


  10. When you receive the following prompt, click Yes:
    If you install Windows 98 in a new directory, you must reinstall all of your Windows-based programs to make them work properly under Windows 98.

    You cannot run your programs under Windows 98 by copying .grp and .ini files from your Windows directory.

    Do you want to continue?


  11. Follow the instructions on your screen to finish installing Windows 98.


Additional query words: clean install 


Keywords          : kbsetup win98 
Version           : WINDOWS:
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: April 13, 1999