I need to Format my drive and reinstall windows 98!! Someone tell me how. Its super duper imporant.

well if you only have one drive i would say the best way to go about this project would be too:

reboot into DOS mode and at the prompt type:
format c (or whatever drive letter you gave to your hard drive). now follow any onscreen instructions.

Disclaimer:
please make sure you backup anything you want to save before you do this. i will not be held responsible for the loss of any of your info! and make sure you have your Win98 CD handy with the proper code. after all this, prepare to embark on a long and boring adventure, this will take a while!

edited because i can't spell.

[This message has been edited by the_eleven (edited November 08, 2001).]

I know my files will be gone. And im not sure if i still have my windows98 code.
Ill plan on getting windows2k and using that.

well i know that you *knew* that you would loose everything. that disclaimer was for me. you can never be too careful.

so what's the deal, are reinstalling win98 and then upgrading to 2k?

If your PC can boot from CDROM then go ahead and format it. If not then you will a boot floppy, make sure you get this BEFORE you trash Windows.

Make sure that all of your hardware is compatible. A lot of legacy devices have been left to rot. Also, be aware that Win2k won't necessarily be compatible with a portion of the software that you are running with Win98. You may also have to tinker with your BIOS to make it boot from CD Rom.

[This message has been edited by The Wise, The Grey (edited November 08, 2001).]

Instead of Windows 2000 why don't you try the new XP or maybe Linux?

Yep, it ain't that difficult:
1. Make sure you made back-ups of all your valuable files (especially BG-2 savegames & characters ;) )
2. As the_eleven said: reboot into DOS and type "format c:"
3. After finishing formatting enter the drive name (or not) nd go ahead by typing: "sys c:" this will install a rudimentary OS on your pc (thaks to Kitiara for this hint :) ) - this ins't always necessary but may be helpful.
4. Insert the Win98 start disc and the win98 cd in their drives and press reset. Choose the start-option "start computer with cd-support (or so).
5. Usually there should be a flawless installation process. The option cd-support should automatically install your cd-driver.

You might know this already, anyway, I hope I helped a bit.

[This message has been edited by Ragusa (edited November 08, 2001).]

Don't go for Windows XP... yet.... Many programs don't support Windows XP and many drives aren't suitable for Windows XP, and there are still way too much bugs in Windows XP. Wait a while befor eyou install Windows XP.

If you have to ask us how to format your hard drive, you probably shouldn't do it. Find a friend who's more familiar with it.

If you are going to install Windows XP or 2000, I'm pretty sure you can make it format your drive at the beginning of setup. If you can boot from CD, that would indeed be the simplest way to handle it. Oh, and if you're sure you're not going back to Windows 9x, I'd recommend you to format it into NTFS. However, that would make you unable to return to 9x, as that platform doesn't support this file system.

I put in the 98 boot floppy disk, and then it said invaild disk. I took out the cd and only had the floppy and i still get Inviald disk replace and hit any key to continue