cheap system w/linux - reformat for win98se

[Brooke W.]

The local Fry's is offering a cheap AMD system that has all the basics that
would be perfect for daughter and school. It has Linux already loaded. My
question is this: if I don't really want linux, but would like to just load
one of my cc's of Win98se on it, could I run into any problems doing this
via full reformat of the hard drive? The guy at Fry's told me that since
Linux was already loaded etc, that there could be conflicts with hardware
drivers and such if I were to try and force it to use Windows too. The
sound and video are onbaord, but he said that the motherboard might possbly
be geared specifically for linux stuff. The only other hardware it would be
running is the floppy, a cd-rom, the hard drive, and a modem. I believe he
may have thought I meant could I partition the hard drive to use both, but
if I reformat altogether would I have any problems?

Thanks guys!
bbw

 

[NC]

The local Fry's is offering a cheap AMD system that has all the basics that
would be perfect for daughter and school. It has Linux already loaded. My
question is this: if I don't really want linux, but would like to just load
one of my cc's of Win98se on it, could I run into any problems doing this
via full reformat of the hard drive? The guy at Fry's told me that since
Linux was already loaded etc, that there could be conflicts with hardware
drivers and such if I were to try and force it to use Windows too. The
sound and video are onbaord, but he said that the motherboard might possbly
be geared specifically for linux stuff. The only other hardware it would be
running is the floppy, a cd-rom, the hard drive, and a modem. I believe he
may have thought I meant could I partition the hard drive to use both, but
if I reformat altogether would I have any problems?

Thanks guys!
bbw

If you're gonna repartition the hard drive, you'd have to install
Windows first. This is because the Windows bootloader would overwrite
your MBR and I don't think you can use it to boot Linux. If you
reinstall Linux second, you can set up either of its bootloaders to boot
Windows. How on Earth would a mobo be geared specifically for Linux
stuff btw?

NC

 

[philo]

The local Fry's is offering a cheap AMD system that has all the basics that
would be perfect for daughter and school. It has Linux already loaded. My
question is this: if I don't really want linux, but would like to just load
one of my cc's of Win98se on it, could I run into any problems doing this
via full reformat of the hard drive? The guy at Fry's told me that since
Linux was already loaded etc, that there could be conflicts with hardware
drivers and such if I were to try and force it to use Windows too. The
sound and video are onbaord, but he said that the motherboard might possbly
be geared specifically for linux stuff.

<snipped>

that day has not yet come...
all you need to do is check with the mfg or the motherboard
to get any drivers you may possibly need if they are not picked up by
windows

to get rid of linux you will need to run a recent version of fdisk
and first delete the non-dos partitions

 

[General Schvantzkoph]

The local Fry's is offering a cheap AMD system that has all the basics that
would be perfect for daughter and school. It has Linux already loaded. My
question is this: if I don't really want linux, but would like to just load
one of my cc's of Win98se on it, could I run into any problems doing this
via full reformat of the hard drive? The guy at Fry's told me that since
Linux was already loaded etc, that there could be conflicts with hardware
drivers and such if I were to try and force it to use Windows too. The
sound and video are onbaord, but he said that the motherboard might possbly
be geared specifically for linux stuff. The only other hardware it would be
running is the floppy, a cd-rom, the hard drive, and a modem. I believe he
may have thought I meant could I partition the hard drive to use both, but
if I reformat altogether would I have any problems?

Thanks guys!
bbw

Linux is a modern operating system that has drivers for modern hardware.
Win98 is an antique that isn't going to have drivers for most of the
components on that system. You may be able to load it in some crippled
form then you'll have to go try and find all of the drivers you need,
assuming they exist at all. If you really want to run native Windows on a
new machine you should buy a legal copy of XP. If you want to run Win98
then you're best bet would be to by a copy of Win4Lin and install it on
top of Linux. Win98 on top of Linux is a whole lot more stable than plain
Win98 because it has a real OS underneath it.

 

[Matt]

How on Earth would a mobo be geared specifically for Linux
stuff btw?

A lot of special-purpose hardware such as printers, cell phones, PDAs,
Mars robots, etc. only run Linux. Linux is designed to run on anything.

Systems based on non-x86 CPUs (e.g. Apples) don't run Windows.

But mass-market x86 mobos all run Windows.

 

[kony]

Linux is a modern operating system that has drivers for modern hardware.
Win98 is an antique that isn't going to have drivers for most of the
components on that system. You may be able to load it in some crippled
form then you'll have to go try and find all of the drivers you need,
assuming they exist at all. If you really want to run native Windows on a
new machine you should buy a legal copy of XP. If you want to run Win98
then you're best bet would be to by a copy of Win4Lin and install it on
top of Linux. Win98 on top of Linux is a whole lot more stable than plain
Win98 because it has a real OS underneath it.

It is quite rare to find any new hardware without WIn98
support... it can be difficult to find USB2 drivers, sometimes
not obvious which sound driver to use, but in general a *patched*
win98 will run almost anything, up to limits of the OS (memory
and HDD size support, etc).

Integrated video, sound, nic, & chipset drivers for win98 should
be quite easy to find.

 

[Brooke W.]

How on Earth would a mobo be geared specifically for Linux
stuff btw?

NC

I have no idea - that is why I'm asking because it didn't make sense and I'm
not an expert.
Thanks
bbw

 

[ProfGene]

You could add another hdd since they are quite cheap now and put Windows on
it and you could use either by the booting sequence in bios. Linux might
come in handy and is worth knowing how to use.

 

[JK]

How cheap is it? Why don't you just build a system from scratch?

 

[WebWalker]

How cheap is it? Why don't you just build a system from scratch?

Not everyone capable to build up system from scratch.
If everyone capable to do that, all those big boys such as Dell will be
out of business.

 

[mhaase-at-springmind.com]

The local Fry's is offering a cheap AMD system that has all the basics that
would be perfect for daughter and school. It has Linux already loaded. My
question is this: if I don't really want linux, but would like to just load
one of my cc's of Win98se on it, could I run into any problems doing this
via full reformat of the hard drive? The guy at Fry's told me that since
Linux was already loaded etc, that there could be conflicts with hardware
drivers and such if I were to try and force it to use Windows too. The
sound and video are onbaord, but he said that the motherboard might possbly
be geared specifically for linux stuff. The only other hardware it would be
running is the floppy, a cd-rom, the hard drive, and a modem. I believe he
may have thought I meant could I partition the hard drive to use both, but
if I reformat altogether would I have any problems?

Thanks guys!
bbw

Brooke -

Sure....works fine. I've done exactly that with those machines a
bunch of times.

In fact, I have two of them on the floor next to me waiting to be done
next week. They're 1.8 G machines (I think) and have each got 256
PC2100 Ram, and moderately big/fast HD's. Perfect for
"not-so-demading" work. Well under $400 for both.

I've installed 98, W2k, and XP. They come with a CD that has the MB
drivers on it (for 98 & 2K), and mostly (in my experience) XP has
recognized most of the stuff "on-board".

At worst, you might have to spend a little time tracking down a modem
driver - or you could always pick up a cheapie in the modem aisle that
would have a drivers CD with it.

One thing to check....back a few years ago, they would throw older
5400RPM drives in these. I wouldn't have believed what a bottleneck
they can be - so on several, I have replaced the 5400 with a 7200 and
still come out way ahead price-wise.

Do be sure to completely wipe the disk before you start....there are
any numbers of utilities that should handle that if the standard
Windows stuff can't get rid of it.

BTW, if you're in the San Jose area (one of the places with Frys), you
might check out Surplus Computers @ 1600 Duane Ave. Santa Clara for
good deals on slightly used monitors to go with your purchase. Of
course, they might even have a better "Bare-bones" deals than the
Fry's package.

M