major windows probs

[vvirtho]

valhallen -
Were you able to figure out the problem with your CDRW? No PM from you so am wondering. Have you checked out any of the ISP directory sites for inexpensive ISPs? I found a US provider for $6.50 a month - unlimited access . . . beats the crap out of AOL!! I am still willing to help out in any way I can.
V.

[Und3ertak3r]

valhallen,

A thought on the CD-RW.. as well as the other comments.. It is possable that your system had its drives setup for "Cable Select" that can bugger up your attempts to get it recognised (that is similar to an earlier comment regarding drive master/slave settings.. )

BTW; had win98 do similar to me.. Upgradeing a customers RAm by replacement.. crashed and burned.. just one of those F$#@%g win98 things..

during shutdown or during the failed boot the registry was loaded then had a part of it overwritten due to an error on the IDE bus .. (loose cable or device error)
believe me this error can and will happen due to the following devices having a problem also, RAM, HDD, Optical devices(CD), AGP (video adaptor).. RaM and IDE being the most common in the past year or so..

I would have attempted installing Win with the new CD-RW.. but then that me..

When you normaly install a new drive (following the advice given to remove it from your hardware list b4 shutting down).
then Make sure the device assignment jumper iscorrent.. if the old drive is Maste then master for the new, Slave=Slave or CS = CS OK..
Be sure the IDE Cable is inserted corectly .. The Red lind should align with Pin 1 on the drive..
check that none of the cables have become loose while you have been working on the machine.. ie cables into the HDD, and on the Motherboard.. (earlier comment looose cable)..
Restart, Win should identify the new drive.. the only drivers you need will be for the burner .. win normaly has all it needs for the reader.. installing the Burner software will fix that job for you..

I trust my all is now working ok...

Cheers..

[valhallen]

thanks for all the help peps
well i got it sorted - think was a faulty ide cable cause allow it worked fine with my dvd drive that was in there before it wouldn't work with cd/r and when i replaced cable everything ran smoothly(!?) just one of the weird things i guess

well got my machine back to fully working order at last everything installed again and all drivers updated which is a huge weight off my mind

thanks again for all your help peps

v_Ln

[vvirtho]

valhallen -
I'm so glad you were able to get your machine up and running again. I checked out the info on your CyberDrive CDRW and as I suspected, there was a notice on the Driver Download page saying the drivers were not needed if running Windows98. I downloaded the pdf Manual, just to ensure I didn't steer you wrong and there were no big surprises there. AND, since I have no life, I even found some FREE ISPs for Ireland! I didn't research any of the sites, but if you're interested . . . here they are: eircom.net elivefree indigo.ie iol oceanfree.net unison utvinternet.ie (I found them at Freedomlist.com).
Just out of curiosity, when you were tinkering with your computer, did you notice the make and model/revision number of your motherboard? I was sort of wondering what the specs were. Now that you have your burner, don't waste any time getting your system files backed up, 'cause I KNOW you don't want a repeat session of 'scramble for the drivers'! TTFN
V.

[valhallen]

heh i know got all drivers backed up on cd now

dunno make of motherboard am afraid is hidden under a cooling system the size of a small country - lol

the machine is an old one given to me by work....its a gateway works ok
specs before i upgraded it

pentium 3
128 ram
on board graphics
floppy drive
no cd drive >_<
on board sound
33.6 modem

specs now...

same cpu
384 ram
gefore 4 mx
same sound
dvd & cd-rw drive
56k modem
100meg network card
webcam
scanner
new cables
new monitor (well bought second hand)
broadband modem on its way!!!! (woohoo can't wait for 1st July when it arrives)

so have done a bit of work to it - lol

oh thanks for looking for isps - but the dial-up is only temp
was hoping to get cable but not in my area so gettin broadband on july 1st

v_Ln

[IKnowNot]

Glad to see it worked out.

You may not want to through out that bad cable though. Rumor has it that IT guy I told you about is renting it to people who want to convince their spouse they need a new computer!

[cutty]

valhallen,

If you hardn't bought a new graphics card as yet you could've looked up a generic driver that closely matches your graphics card. A genetic driver that closely matches your graphics card would give you the desired display along with most if not all the features of your graphics card.

One thing to note when trying to instal generic drivers, windows98 may tell you that the driver you are trying to instal doesn't match the hardware in your system, you would need to bypass this and continue with the installation and see the results for yourself. Because, win98 has bite me many times with that, and I actually had the right driver in a few instances and a generic in another. Just something to keep in mind.

I hope this helps with everything else the others has said. The others have covered the rest of the ground pretty well and so I see no need to repeat any of what they said since it's quite complete.

Just thought I would have added this in case you ever wanted to use your onboard graphics card again.

Glad to see your PC is up and running....

Guidance...