We have an older laptop, a Toshiba Satellite, that I had lent to a friend for the past eighteen months. He returned it recently, and I thought that could use it mostly for writing and some basic other tasks, and transfer data from the laptop via our home network.
The problem is this - the machine is Win 98se, and in the past (2 years ago) I attempted to upgrade to XP unsuccessfuly.
I have the original Netgear (non-wireless) networking card that I used to use in there, but when I go to re-install the drivers for the card (as it is disabled in device manager) the OS requires that I insert the Windows 98se CD-ROM, which of course I no longer have nor have I seen in quite some time.
I have the complete updated driver package for the exact card. I’m actually in the process of installing a wireless card as well, so I can use the laptop in coffee shops (my G4 tower is a little big to fit in my attache).
The floppy drive on the laptop no longer works, although the CD drive is just fine.
Now I legally own the computer, and the copy of the OS, I even have the original manual with the license from Micro$oft. I don’t want pirated software, and besides, who pirates discs of archaic OSes anyway?
I can’t find a copy of this CD anywhere. Anybody have any thoughts on how I can legally workaround this problem?
I have one with a product key. Email me with a land address, and it’s yours. It is a full install version, but it should work for this purpose. If you need to resinstall Win 98se, you’ll probably have to reformat your hard drive and start fresh, however.
You might also give linux a shot if the windows 98 thing doesn’t work out–the newer versions are relatively painless to set up. They come with everything you need to do what you want to do. Mandrake is the most newbie friendly that I’ve tried.
Yes, I’ve actually just set up a Red Hat Box on our network as a file server. I had considered trying some Linux on the laptop, but the last time I that with a laptop was one of the most stressful computer experiences I’ve ever had.
Will it let you try the old trick of simply looking for the file you need in the Windows directory? Lots of times you can get past needing the disk by simply hitting the “Browse” button (if there is one) and pointing it to the Windows directory (folder).
Before you wipe the hard drive, check whether there’s a folder called c:\Windows\options\cabs\win98 - if there is, it contains everything you need for the reinstall, bar the product key, of course, which can be retrieved from the registry.
