Yes of course, the motherboard is not to blame for this.

A few generic tips since you're saying you haven't done it again:
-Make sure the capacity is recognized by the bios. For example make sure you're not using a 64GB card while the BIOS cannot recognize hard disks larger than 32GB
-Always start by fdisk /mbr the card, then delete whatever partition it may already have and recreate it, then format
-If in doubt, get an old and small (1-4GB card) for trials. It will show if the problem is your card (too new) or something else

konc wrote on 2021-09-02, 11:04:

A few generic tips since you're saying you haven't done it again: -Make sure the capacity is recognized by the bios. For exampl […]
Show full quote

A few generic tips since you're saying you haven't done it again:
-Make sure the capacity is recognized by the bios. For example make sure you're not using a 64GB card while the BIOS cannot recognize hard disks larger than 32GB
-Always start by fdisk /mbr the card, then delete whatever partition it may already have and recreate it, then format
-If in doubt, get an old and small (1-4GB card) for trials. It will show if the problem is your card (too new) or something else

Hi, yes I did read a tiny bit online before my purchase and I looked for small size compact flashes. I have 2 no-name chinese 4GB and an 8 GB Transcend card. They are all new, so I have not tried with used cards yet.
I have not done an fdisk prior to installation. I will try that and let you know. Thank you!

Make sure to "set active partition" with fdisk, then format it with another Win98 machine or a floppy with Win98's format.com.

konc wrote on 2021-09-02, 11:04:

-Always start by fdisk /mbr the card, then delete whatever partition it may already have and recreate it, then format

It all worked!!
What I think I was missing was the fdisk /mbr command that changed everything. Before, I was getting all kinds of errors during the installation process.

For the record:

Using windows 98 SE CD, i started the pc with CD-ROM support and from the directory D:\win98 I typed:
c:
fdisk /mbr

The flash drive size is 4GB. I run fdisk and deleted the primary DOS partition already inside the flash drive.
Then I created a new primary DOS partition in it and rebooted.

On reboot, I did start the PC on CD-ROM support as before and run the command:
format c:

I went back to fdisk and made sure C: was set as active, and this is how my partition list looks like this:

I started the Windows installation by typing:
D:\win98\setup

pentotark wrote on 2021-09-04, 17:25:

What I think I was missing was the fdisk /mbr command that changed everything. Before, I was getting all kinds of errors during the installation process.

Almost certain. Great news, enjoy it!

pentotark wrote on 2021-09-04, 17:25:

It all worked!!

Glad to hear that. Another small tip: add /u after format for the undocumented "unconditional" formatting, otherwise DOS/Win9x would start "saving UNFORMAT information" which is really unnecessary when preparing a blank HDD for clean installation.

dormcat wrote on 2021-09-05, 08:35:

Glad to hear that. Another small tip: add /u after format for the undocumented "unconditional" formatting, otherwise DOS/Win9x would start "saving UNFORMAT information" which is really unnecessary when preparing a blank HDD for clean installation.

Thank you for the advice, I will keep it in mind. I am so happy it is finally working!
Now I will load drivers by adding files to the compact flash, but my goal is to make the pc visible on the local network. Lets see if I can make it.

So, a quick update on this. It is true the thing worked... for a while. After the first successful windows 98 installation, I started to get blue screens and errors. From then on, every attempt to install windows failed. I tried 2 other cards of different sizes (2 and 8 GB). I followed the same steps but nothing works and I keep getting errors from the check disk before the installation started.

I am wondering if all the cards I used are now bricked or if there is something wrong with my compact flash adapter. Can you recommend a model you are aware that works?

Ditch the CF adapter and get a PATA flash module (ATA/IDE SSD for industrial computer systems) of the highest capacity that your board will allow. That will work better than a CF card. Today, only some industrial CF cards still properly implement ATA in their controllers and handle the role of a HDD stand-in, while the consumer ones simply won't work well most of the time, if they ever work at all.

pentotark wrote on 2022-01-27, 10:56:

I am wondering if all the cards I used are now bricked or if there is something wrong with my compact flash adapter. Can you recommend a model you are aware that works?

Here's what I use on my Pentium MMX system:

I've been running this setup for almost a year, and I didn't experience any issues so far. That said, I deliberately purchased my CF cards second-hand, and made sure that they were manufactured during the time period when PATA drives were still around.

I have this board with CF, and it works reliably, but it is quirky. It’s definitely something with this Intel BIOS because I have an older 440LX based board from Tyan which can recognize and use even 32GB CF without any problems.

Limit yourself to 16GB (meaning don’t go any larger; I don’t go over 16GB for Windows 9x as it is)
Record your BIOS settings.
Next pull all power and the battery.
Setup your BIOS again, but don’t reboot.
Finally, go to the IDE config section and manually set the drive to whatever is listed for your CF model. I think you’ll be able to set the drive size, also.

If you use auto, you’ll keep having this problem among others (when I used auto and/or 32GB drives, the system would fail to boot eventually. I could occasionally get it work after many power/battery pulls, but who wants to go through this every time? Plus, your drive will get corrupted at some point.)

I’m winging this, and I have to plug in the system to verify the exact steps. I can check it later. I might have left out a step.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-01-27, 12:17:

Here's what I use on my Pentium MMX system: […]
Show full quote

Here's what I use on my Pentium MMX system:

I've been running this setup for almost a year, and I didn't experience any issues so far. That said, I deliberately purchased my CF cards second-hand, and made sure that they were manufactured during the time period when PATA drives were still around.

My adapter looks exactly like yours, also using the same 8GB card. Maybe mine is broken? I'm confused.

pentotark wrote on 2022-01-27, 12:56:

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-01-27, 12:17:

Here's what I use on my Pentium MMX system: […]
Show full quote

Here's what I use on my Pentium MMX system:

I've been running this setup for almost a year, and I didn't experience any issues so far. That said, I deliberately purchased my CF cards second-hand, and made sure that they were manufactured during the time period when PATA drives were still around.

My adapter looks exactly like yours, also using the same 8GB card. Maybe mine is broken? I'm confused.

It’s not the adapter. It’s the BIOS.

Meatball wrote on 2022-01-27, 12:42:

Finally, go to the IDE config section and manually set the drive to whatever is listed for your CF model. I think you’ll be able to set the drive size, also.

If you use auto, you’ll keep having this problem among others (when I used auto and/or 32GB drives, the system would fail to boot eventually. I could occasionally get it work after many power/batter pulls, but who wants to go through this every time? Plus, your drive will get corrupted at some point.)

From what I remember, Auto is the only thing that works for me. But I will try once more while following your notes. Thank you!

RetroGamer4Ever wrote on 2022-01-27, 12:03:

Ditch the CF adapter and get a PATA flash module (ATA/IDE SSD for industrial computer systems) of the highest capacity that your board will allow. That will work better than a CF card. Today, only some industrial CF cards still properly implement ATA in their controllers and handle the role of a HDD stand-in, while the consumer ones simply won't work well most of the time, if they ever work at all.

I am not familiar with this. How does it work? You just plug into the ide slot in place of the hard disk cable and that's it? Thank you.

Meatball wrote on 2022-01-27, 12:57:

It’s not the adapter. It’s the BIOS.

It is what makes more sense. It looks like the card works but the windows installer does not know what to do, returning all kinds of file system errors during disk check. I will focus on the bios and let you know how it goes. Thanks!

pentotark wrote on 2022-01-27, 13:04:

Meatball wrote on 2022-01-27, 12:57:

It’s not the adapter. It’s the BIOS.

It is what makes more sense. It looks like the card works but the windows installer does not know what to do, returning all kinds of file system errors during disk check. I will focus on the bios and let you know how it goes. Thanks!

Follow the steps I listed above, and you’ll be up and running in no time. You may or should probably reinstall, though.

pentotark wrote on 2022-01-27, 13:02:

RetroGamer4Ever wrote on 2022-01-27, 12:03:

Ditch the CF adapter and get a PATA flash module (ATA/IDE SSD for industrial computer systems) of the highest capacity that your board will allow. That will work better than a CF card. Today, only some industrial CF cards still properly implement ATA in their controllers and handle the role of a HDD stand-in, while the consumer ones simply won't work well most of the time, if they ever work at all.

I am not familiar with this. How does it work? You just plug into the ide slot in place of the hard disk cable and that's it? Thank you.

It's basically a flash drive with an IDE port at the end. For something that just boots and runs basic software, you can go up to 4GB. For a full OS/programs install, you use a PATA SSD, which goes up to the 128GB limit found on older computers.

Meatball wrote on 2022-01-27, 12:42:

Finally, go to the IDE config section and manually set the drive to whatever is listed for your CF model. I think you’ll be able to set the drive size, also.

I followed your steps and now I need to enter the parameters here. As Primary IDE Master I need to select IDE Removable I guess? Then all the other parameters I don't know what they mean or relate to my CF model. Could you help me out with this?

Thank you!