I am not 100% sure if I am following your process, but is it possible your trying to install to a FAT32 volume with a version of 95 that does not support it?

That's a damned good question, and I don't know. The CD-Rs I have say "Windows 95 OSR 2" and "Microsoft Windows 95 with PLUS!"

What I can tell you is that when I run the Windows 95a boot disk, the FDISK creates a 2GB partition. If I then plug that HDD into my Windows 98 PC, it shows as FAT, not FAT32.

If I use the Windows 95b disk or the Windows 98 startup disk, FDISK creates an 8GB partition. I don't recall what Windows 98 reports the format as.

If I use FDISK from within my Pentium 3 Windows 98 PC, FDISK creates a 20.4GB partition in FAT32.

Not sure if you've tried this already, but I would fdisk and delete all partitions and create a single 2GB primary partition; do this with a Windows 95 OSR1 or earlier fdisk (i.. supporting FAT16 only) or with Windows 95 OSR2 or later fdisk but selecting "No" when asked if you want to run fdisk with support for large disks. Reboot, and ensure your BIOS boot order will still try to boot from floppy before hard disk, and format the C: drive. If this is successful, you should be able to proceed with the Windows 95 setup ok.

After Windows 95 is installed and running, you can partition and format the remainder of the disk.

Alternately, use a DDO (i.e. Maxtor MaxBlast) and have the DDO utility partition and format the drive. I would still recommend doing a <2GB OS partition (i.e. 2047MB formatted FAT16) and the remainder as FAT32 if using Windows 95 OSR2 or later.

If your version is OSR 2.x, then it should support FAT32, and you should not have a problem with partitions larger than 2GB. Your problem might be related to your BIOS not supporting drives larger than 8GB. You can use Seatools from Seagate or other similar utilities, to format your disk as a 8GB one.

I also suggest finishing partitioning and formatting (with /S parameter - to make the HDD bootable) before starting the OS installation. Then, you can boot from your HDD, copy all the contents of Windows 95 into your HDD and start installing it from there. Would be much more quick and easy. Only thing you need to have is a bootable Windows 95 OSR 2.x or, better yet, Windows 98 floppy with FDISK, FORMAT and SYS on it.

You can then copy your CD-ROM related files (a CD ROM driver, MSCDEX, a simple set of autoexec.bat and config.sys files to load your CD driver). If you can copy all the Windows 95 installation files into your HDD by connecting it to another computer for this purpose, you don't even hassle yourself with CD-ROM related steps.

This is how I would do it.

Use a Windows 95B or C or 98 boot disk to fdisk the drive then format it. Copy the WIN95 folder from the Win95B/C CD to your C:\ drive and then boot off a floppy, then just run setup /is (skips disk check to save time) from C:\WIN95

Your HDD may have a boot sector that is not compatible with DOS/Win95. The fact that it had a "non-DOS" partition on it at the beginning kinda hints to that (if it was used in a NT or NT-derived machine before, such as W2k, XP etc then it would have a NTLDR-type boot sector).

The fix for that is: run "fdisk /mbr" from the boot floppy, then reboot and use fdisk to partition the drive. The /mbr switch makes fdisk write a DOS boot sector on the first HDD in the system (mbr = Master Boot Record)

stamasd wrote:

Your HDD may have a boot sector that is not compatible with DOS/Win95. The fact that it had a "non-DOS" partition on it at the beginning kinda hints to that (if it was used in a NT or NT-derived machine before, such as W2k, XP etc then it would have a NTLDR-type boot sector).

The fix for that is: run "fdisk /mbr" from the boot floppy, then reboot and use fdisk to partition the drive. The /mbr switch makes fdisk write a DOS boot sector on the first HDD in the system (mbr = Master Boot Record)

THIS! I think this might be my answer. I'll certainly give this option a go and let you guys know. I think this drive came out of an old Windows Me computer or something. I don't know what was on it, to be honest, and I didn't care. I just used an old FDISK to delete the partition. I didn't even think about the MBR records. /facepalm

UPDATE: Ok, so I deleted the partitions and stuck it back into the computer. Booted to a Windows 95a boot disk and tried that command. It did something and returned me to the A: prompt. So I rebooted again, entered FDISK, created a DOS partition (2GB), tried a reboot and it's hanging again. No "Starting Windows 95..." prompt at all.

So....same shit.

Ditch the Windows 95A boot disk. There are so many more hassles if you decide to go down that route. Create and use a Windows 95B/C boot disk.

Also, If fdisk and your BIOS is only showing 8GB, you'll need a hard drive overlay manager like tayyare suggests unless you want to use only 8GB from the disk. Do a search for MaxBlast 2 for a nice overlay manager (I think there's even a copy hosted on vogons).

Make sure you also set up the partitions properly in fdisk. Fdisk for OSR 2.x should be asking you to enable large disk support when you first run it. Say yes. Delete all your partitions (assuming you don't want to keep any of the data on the drive) and when creating a new one, make sure you create a primary partition. Fdisk has this tendency to suggest creating extended/logical partitions which won't be bootable. After creating the partition, make sure you set the partition active/bootable and then exit fdisk and restart your PC with the bootdisk still in the drive. After booting, you should be able to format the drive (format C: /s) and, if your CD-ROM is detected using the boot disk, copy the Win95 folder from the CD to a folder on your hard drive before running setup.

Working on it. I'm using my W98 system to make the floppies. I'm using Phil's Computer Lab http://www.philscomputerlab.com/maxtor.html downloads. I downloaded all 4 and started with 4 and I'm working my way backwards. As I type this, #1 is building the floppy.

MaxBlast 3 and 4 both booted in spite of the Maxtor having the FDISK partition created, which is further than the Windows 95 or 98 boot disks got me. A good sign. But they both crapped out to an A:> prompt with the message "files nested too deep."

MaxBlast Plus II failed to boot. I still had the BIOS init screen up when it said "divide error" and then nothing. The system stopped.

So I'm building the one for MaxBlast Plus (1) now. HOPEFULLY this one works. Cross my fingers. Because if this doesn't work, I'll assume that the only way to continue this system is to spend money, probably with a PCI IDE card. They sell fairly cheaply on Ebay.

UPDATE: Ok, first disk said "Starting Caldera DR-DOS..." then said "Divide Error!" /facepalm

If you're getting error messages like those it sounds like there may be some kind of hardware issue going on. Check your memory and CPU and see if they're overclocked. I'd also check your cache settings and even consider disabling L2 cache in the BIOS and see if that improves the situation.

I think I can boot the W95b disk I just redid to get a DOS prompt, then use a Memtest CD to test the memory. I don't think I've done that yet. I have 2x 16MB EDO DRAM sticks and 2x 4MB EDO DRAM sticks in to make 40MB. The BIOS sees it all. Right now the system is jumpered to 66MHz bus speed and a 3x CPU multiplier, giving 200MHz. This is the same speed that's reported by BIOS at the top when it boots "Intel Pentium 200MHz".

I'll at least eliminate the RAM as an issue. I'll also pull out the Diamond Monster 3D II card until Windows 95 is installed and booting fine. I can always put it back in later. And I've never really disabled cache - ever. But I'd be willing to give it a go and spend the time if it'll make it work. I still have the MaxBlast Plus 1 disk made, though I can create any of the 4. Which would you suggest I focus on? The #2 one that straight-up failed? Disks 3 and 4 at least got further (big-ass Blue MAXTOR logo on the screen).

Right now the system is jumpered to 66MHz bus speed and a 3x CPU multiplier, giving 200MHz. This is the same speed that's reported by BIOS at the top when it boots "Intel Pentium 200MHz"

The BIOS will only report the CPU speed on the motherboard, not what the chip actually is. Only the writings on the chip identify what the chip actually is

Which would you suggest I focus on? The #2 one that straight-up failed? Disks 3 and 4 at least got further (big-ass Blue MAXTOR logo on the screen).

Try booting the Maxblast disk again and see if you can install the overlay software.

FFXIhealer wrote:

I used the only spare 3.5" floppy I could find. Formatting it on a USB floppy drive from Windows 10 didn't let the computer read from the disk, so I used my Windows 98 machine to re-format. It found about 9K in bad sectors.

Before pulling any more of your hair out, I would strongly recommend getting a new floppy disk.

Ok, I reused my MaxPass floppy and turned it into a Memtext86 boot disk, since the system won't boot from the CD natively.

Results from Memtest86 v4.3.7
CPU Clk: 199.3MHz
L1 Cache: 8K 173MB/s
L2 Cache: Unknown
L3 Cache: None
Memory: 40M 75MB/s
Time: 10:08
Iterations: 80
AdrsMode: 32Bit
Pass: 1
Errors: 0
Pass complete, no errors, press Esc to exit

So we can rule out a memory error at this point. And the CPU has active cooling on it, so it's not overheating. The CPU is rated at 15.5 Watts TDP. That fan and heatsink should be able to dissapate over 20.

I'd also assume that it's reporting the actual CPU speed, not the MB jumpered settings. It matches what the CPU cover said it was supposed to be.

I have also put MaxBlast 4 back on that floppy. And no, this isn't the same floppy I made into a Windows 95 boot disk. THAT one has the few bad sectors. THIS floppy I used as my Windows 98 boot floppy AND used to flash the BIOS on my ASUS P2B. That's probably why I can see 40GB hard drives and the Pentium 3 processor now. It has 0 bad sectors. It now has MaxBlast on it so I can quick-swap between it and the W95 floppy, but yeah I had thought about getting a new floppy. The only problem is....nobody sells floppy disks at Best Buy or Office Depot anymore.

Quick look at your motherboards manual (attached) looks like you cant boot from CD, shame but not unexpected.
If your going to mess round with early systems that don't support booting from CD and cant get access to old disks I'd strongly recommend getting a gotek off ebay and if your just using it to get systems up and running you just need 1 standard drive in your old PC and you can use software to access the "floppys" on your newer system. I wouldn't worry about the HxC firmware upgrade, if all your looking for is bootdisks.

Double check your jumper settings as per the manual, but if its a 200Mhz CPU then it sounds correct. Motherboards weren't very smart back then and cant read what the CPU actually is so just trusts whatever you set the jumpers as. Say If you put in a P166 CPU it'll still say 200 (and then cook itself to death)

Sounds more like a HDD issue at this point. Can BIOS detect the full size of the 20GB? My earlier Micronics board shows the HDD details on the 1st screen after the cylinder, heads, etc, settings.
If BIOS can see the full 20GB we can keep things nice and easy and scrap drive overlay all together.

The direct answer is no. When BIOS auto-detects the HDD, all of the specs such as Cylinders and Heads match the values listed on the HDD's sticker exactly. But it doesn't report 20.4Gb.... it reports 8GB. Actually, what it says is 8,xxx MB. I don't have that system hooked up to my KVM at the moment, otherwise I'd give you an exact number, but I'm sure this is a standard BIOS limit number for its time.

And the CPU says 200 on the cover, the MB is jumpered to 66x3 (200), Memtest said 199MHz, I'm betting that's all set properly. I also notice that when I touch the small heatsink under the fan while the PC is in operation, it is relatively cool to the touch, so no overheating issue yet. Then again, running basic DOS programs like MemTest isn't exactly CPU heavy, I'd imagine.

UPDATE:
Screw it. I hooked it up just to give you guys full information.

BIOS Update Screen (IDE0 Master configuration section)

Autotype Fixed Disk: [Press Enter]

Type: [Auto] 8455 Mb
Cylinders: 16383
Heads: 16
Sectors/Track: 63
Write Precomp: None

Multi-Sector Transfers: 16 Sectors
LBA Mode Control: Enabled
32 Bit I/O: [Enabled]
Transfer Mode: Fast PIO 4

BIOS POST display screen:

PhoenixBIOS Version 4.05 M55Hi-Plus 2Mb 09
Copyright 1985-1995 Phoenix Technologies Ltd., All Rights Reserved.

Micron Electronics, Inc.

CPU = Pentium 200 MHz
0000640K System RAM Passed
0039936K Extended RAM Passed
Fast Page Mode Memory Detected
0512K Cache SRAM Passed
System BIOS shadowed
Video BIOS shadowed
Fixed Disk 0: Fast PIO Mode 4 Maxtor 32049H2
PS/2 Mouse initialized

System Configuration Data updated
Missing operating system_

Now, I will say that I did download what is supposed to be the latest BIOS for this MB to flash. The filename says 55hi2m10b.exe, which suggests a Windows executable, but without windows installed, how the hell do I flash the BIOS so I can update it to maybe detect this hard drive to install Windows on it in the first place? /facepalm Now.... I DO have this big-ass 5.25" hard drive that's only 6GB...I guess I could wipe it and try THAT to get it all started or something. I don't know. The Maxtor drive is definitely newer and would perform better than this old Quantum Bigfoot TX 6GB version).

Ok, so I hooked it up just now and I found a Win98SE partition and an extended partition on the drive. This was for the old MB with the AMD K6-2 300Mhz. Used FDISK to remove them and create 1 large partition using the Windows 95b floppy I made. Rebooted successfully and it's formatting now, one "big" 5,743.79M partition. Looks like I should be able to put Windows 95 OSR2 on THAT HDD, get it running, and then try to update the BIOS. I hope this is the right one and I don't brick the MB. Anyone else want to PLEASE double-check my sources before I flash this thing? Got it from http://www.mpcdrivers.com/apps/filelistdd32.html Yes, the sticker on the MB says Revision B. The stamp on the MB says Revision B5. It looks like this update will bring it from BIOS 09 to BIOS 10b.

FFXIhealer wrote:

Now, I will say that I did download what is supposed to be the latest BIOS for this MB to flash. The filename says 55hi2m10b.exe, which suggests a Windows executable, but without windows installed, how the hell do I flash the BIOS so I can update it to maybe detect this hard drive to install Windows on it in the first place?

I downloaded the 55hi2m10b.exe file, renamed it to 55hi2m10b.zip, and opened it.

It contains 5 files:
Flash.bat
m55hi2mb.10b
Phlash.exe
platform.bin
Readme.txt

The contents of Flash.bat is phlash m55hi2mb.10b so phlash.exe appears to be the flashing utility.
The contents of the Readme.txt is

Pentium M55Hi+ Motherboard […]
Show full quote

Pentium M55Hi+ Motherboard

55HI2M10B.ZIP will upgrade M55Hi+ revision Bx motherboards with BIOS revisions
9b or 10b to rev 10b.

1 Make a copy of the settings in the CMOS (They may be lost during the
upgrade).
2 The flash BIOS file should be expanded to a clean non-system floppy or
a directory on the HD. (ie. PKUNZIP 55HI2M10B.ZIP A:).
3 Power up system and boot clean off the hard drive (Press F5 when you see
"Starting MS-DOS" or Shift-F5 when you see "Starting Windows 95").
4 Insert the disk that the expanded files are on.
5 Change to the disk or directory where the expanded files are.
6 Type in FLASH.BAT or PHLASH M55HI2MB.10B to run the flash program.
7 The program will then go through two steps: a) erase current BIOS,
b) write new BIOS. The system will power off.
9 The message "Press <F1> to resume, <F2> to setup" and/or "checksum error"
will come up at this time. You will need to go into the CMOS and
check/change the values to the correct values. After checking everything,
exit CMOS, save the values and reboot the system.
10 The BIOS is now updated.

Since the Readme mentions "55HI2M10B.ZIP" and not "55HI2M10B.EXE" the file must have been changed from a zip to a self-extracting exe at some point.

Well, at least I have some good news now.

Using that Quantum 6GB drive, I was able to reformat it and install Windows 95 OSR2 on it. Once that was done, I dropped that EXE file on the hard drive and ran it. It is a self-extracting executable, as you found out, with all the files you listed. I was able to open the Readme.txt file and read it. So I rebooted using my Windows 95b floppy and did the Shift-F5 thing and it bypassed everything and dropped me to an A: prompt with access to C:. I performed the BIOS flash successfully and the system did POST properly.

The bad news....it still only sees the Maxtor drive as 8.4GB.

The good news.... the MaxBlast 4 floppy booted successfully and is now formatting the drive with a 20GB FAT32 partition. We'll see if I can get Windows 95 to install to that when it's done.

UPDATE 1: The Windows 95 boot disk works fine as long as I let the Maxtor overlay software on the HDD take over first. Looks like I need to change the BIOS boot order to hard drive only for this build. I'm starting the Windows 95 setup right now.

UPDATE 2: I copied the Win95 folder from the CD to the hard drive and ran setup from there. It seem to be running pretty fast on the install.

UPDATE 3: Windows 95 is installed and running. In fact, it's currently installing Internet Explorer 4.0 (garbage), even though no network device is present in the system. Now I can move on from troubleshooting to driver installs. I have three big ones:
1. ATI 3D Rage IIC PCI
2. Diamond Monster 3D II PCI
3. Built-in Vibra 16C chip

Oops, nevermind. Windows installed a Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 driver that seems to be working for now. Plugged my speakers in and it worked. Now just gotta take care of the ATI driver. I'm looking at http://www5.ncr.com/support/support_drivers_p … ibrary_ati_clr2 and they have a driver version 2.08 that might work. Thoughts?

FFXIhealer wrote:

Now I can move on from troubleshooting to driver installs. I have three big ones: 1. ATI 3D Rage IIC PCI 2. Diamond Monster 3D […]
Show full quote

Now I can move on from troubleshooting to driver installs. I have three big ones:
1. ATI 3D Rage IIC PCI
2. Diamond Monster 3D II PCI
3. Built-in Vibra 16C chip

Oops, nevermind. Windows installed a Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 driver that seems to be working for now. Plugged my speakers in and it worked. Now just gotta take care of the ATI driver. I'm looking at http://www5.ncr.com/support/support_drivers_p … ibrary_ati_clr2 and they have a driver version 2.08 that might work. Thoughts?

The SB16 might need additional configuration before you get sound in DOS mode.
For the Rage IIC I'd try the drivers listed under Rage IIC here
http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/archive/legacy-98me
or here
https://www.vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?fil … 858&menustate=0

Congratulations on getting Windows 95 installed on the 20GB drive.