I preformed my installation of Windows 98 SE using the Windows 98 Second Edition Updates CD available from Microsoft for $19.95. The installation program requires you to have Windows 98 installed first, so a "pure" clean install isn't possible using this update. However, I do have everything up and running, so a good install is possible.

The first installation I did was an upgrade. My previous installation of Windows 98 had been running for about 6 months. Needless to say the registry and my Windows directory was already full of fodder from uninstalls that didn't completely uninstall. The installation went normally, and everything seemed to be fine at first. I didn't experience any problems with startup or shutdown. However, thing were not working "right." My system was plagued by system crashes and blue screens of death at regular intervals. So, I don't recommend that you do the upgrade installation.

I started over a did a clean install, and everything is working well now. I haven't had any shutdown problems, and things are running much better. Here are some questions that were covered in the Windows 98 update guide. They still apply here:
 

Should I use the PIIX4 Installation Update (setupex.exe)?

I give this one a big a resounding NO. Can you use it? Yes. Will it mess things up? Usually. Windows 98 supports all of the hardware on the AL440LX, so the patch is really unnecessary. The same goes for the USB and AGP patches used in my Windows 95 Installation Guide.

Should I use Intel's Bus Master IDE drivers (bmide_95.exe)?

Again, another big resounding NO. Can you use them? Yes. Will the mess things up? Definitely. Microsoft included a good set of bus master drivers with Windows 98, which usually yield better performance. Also, the Microsoft drivers don't cause the conflicts that the Intel drivers do.

Now that the big questions have been answered, lets get on with the installation guide:
 

• Prepare your yourself


Whether you are building a new system, upgrading an old one, or just installing (or reinstalling) Windows 98 SE, make sure you have all of the necessary files before you start the process. There is nothing worse than getting halfway though the process and then realizing that you forgot to download a file or don't have the current drivers for your hardware.
 
 

• Prepare your system


This installation is best accomplished with minimal hardware inside your computer. I recommend you remove all of your add in cards (with the obvious exception of your video card) and disconnect any peripherals from your parallel, serial, and USB ports (again, with the obvious exception of your keyboard and mouse).
 
 

• Take care of your hard drive


I highly suggest starting this process with a clean hard drive. It just makes life so much easier. Before you do this though, you'll need a boot disk.

 
Create a Windows 98 startup disk

Create a boot disk using a computer that is already running Windows 98, or use the boot disk creation utility found on the Windows 98 CD. On the Windows 98 CD, run the program fat32ebd.exe which is found in the \tools\mtsutil\fat32ebd directory. This is a DOS based program, so there aren't any problems running it from DOS, Win31, or Win95.
 
 

Reboot your system from the floppy. Double check that you can access your CD-ROM and that all of your important data has been removed from
your hard drive. Format your hard drive (you don't need to copy the system files):

               format c:
 

If you don't want to reformat your hard drive, exit Windows 98 and restart the computer into MS-DOS mode. Once you're in DOS, delete the Windows directory. This won't be as "clean" as the method described above, but it will work. You're likely to retain some garbage files from all the programs you've installed and later uninstalled. Funny how uninstall doesn't get rid of everything.

I don't install any of my programs into the Program Files directory. As a result, deleting the Windows directory, the Program Files directory, and everything in the root directory allows me to purge everything from the previous installation of Windows. (Some of the files in the root directory are hidden and read-only, so you may have to alter their attributes before you can delete them.)

 
 
• Update the BIOS on your motherboard


Make sure you using the most up to date BIOS for the motherboard (or the one that works best for you). You can obtain the BIOS and update utility from Intel's site, or you can check out my BIOS page. I'm currently using BIOS 14, which seems to be relatively bug free. I haven't experienced any of the problems encountered with shutdown in Windows 98, and so far everything has worked well.
 
 

• Clear the ESCD portion of your BIOS


Regardless of whether you just upgraded your BIOS, or already had your favorite BIOS version installed, you need to clear the ESCD portion of the BIOS. The ESCD portion of the BIOS is a writeable part of the system BIOS where Windows 95 and Windows 98 store configuration data for your computer, such as I/O addresses and IRQs for PNP devices.

To clear this portion of the BIOS, enter the BIOS setup and set "Reset Configuration Data" to "Yes." This will clear the ESCD portion of the BIOS on reboot.
 
 

• Check your BIOS settings


While you're in the BIOS resetting the ESCD portion of the BIOS, go ahead and check your configuration settings. Here are my suggestions:

Reset Configuration Data            YES                This will reset the ESCD portion of the BIOS

Plug and Play OS                       YES                Windows 98 is a Plug and Play operation system, and works well with this selected

Legacy USB Support                 Disabled           I've found that if you install Windows 98 with this option disabled, things will usually work fine. The
                                                                          shutdown problems encountered with 95 and 98 RC1 usually don't resurface. However, if you install
                                                                          Windows 98 with this enabled, Windows 98 seems to become dependent on it, and I've encountered
                                                                          shutdown problems on some systems when you disable it. Start off with Legacy USB support disabled. If
                                                                          you run into shutdown problems, then you should try enabling Legacy USB support.

If your CD-ROM drive is on the secondary IDE channel, I also suggest setting it to "None" vice "CD-ROM." Both Windows 98 and MS-DOS will be able to detect the CD-ROM, so the settings seems to be a moot point. In general however, I've run into fewer problems with "None" selected. And that's what it's all about, right?
 
 

• Install Windows 98


First, you'll have to install Windows 98 (not Windows 98 SE). Boot your system using your Windows 98 boot disk. Switch to your CD-ROM drive, and run the setup program using the following command:
 

setup /p j


This will force Windows 98 to install the appropriate ACPI drivers.

Important: Towards the end of the installation, Windows 98 may ask you to install drivers for your hardware. If it pops up a window telling you that it is now installing drivers for some piece of hardware, make sure that you click on "Cancel". We don't want to install any more drivers from Windows 98 than we absolutely have to. If it asks about your video card, set it to a "Standard Display Adapter (VGA)" video card.
 
 

• Install Plus! 98


If you want to use Plus! 98, install it now. Installing it later will "mix the old with the new," causing some problems.
 
 

• Install Windows 98 SE


Now for the moment you've all been waiting for. Reboot your computer, again clicking "Cancel" if Windows 98 tries to install any new drivers. When you first insert the Windows 98 SE CD, Windows will tell you that the CD contains a newer version of Windows, and ask you if you wish to update your current installation. When this window comes up, tell it no and cancel the installation.

Now, from either the DOS prompt or the "Run" window, start the installation using the following command:
 

d:\setup /p j
Where "d" is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive. Again, this will force Windows 98 to install the appropriate ACPI drivers.
 

• Enable DMA support for your hard drives and CD-ROM drives


Windows 98 SE provides built in support for Ultra DMA/33 devices. The only caveat is that you have to configure it manually. To do this, open the Device Manager. Under Disk Drives, double click on each hard drive to display the properties window. Under the Settings tab, check the DMA box for each hard drive that supports this feature. Windows 98 SE will come up and warn you that your drive won't work if it doesn't support this feature. It comes up regardless of whether or not your hard drive supports DMA, so don't take the warning as a sign that your hard drive doesn't support DMA. To enable DMA for your CD-ROM drive, follow the same procedure.

• Install your video card drivers

Windows 98 includes drivers for most of the new video cards on the market. If you're like me however, you're always looking for "more power!" Most video card manufacturers provide drivers that are further accelerated than the Microsoft drivers (the Viper drivers are an example).

ATI Technologies Inc.            http://www.atitech.com/
Diamond Multimedia              http://www.diamondmm.com
Matrox Graphics                    http://www.matrox.com/mgaweb/home.htm
STB Systems Inc.                  http://www.stb.com
 

• Install your remaining hardware drivers and software


You're done setting up the motherboard. Now it's time to finish installing any hardware that wasn't properly setup by the Windows 98 SE installation, such as:

Sound Card
Scanner
USB Devices
Modem
Printer
Mouse
Zip/Tape drive

The detection algorithm for Windows 98  SE for detecting new hardware is better than the one in Windows 95. However, I still suggest that you install your remaining hardware one item at a time, rebooting between installations. Once you have all of the drivers installed and the device is fully operational, move on and install the next one. The install will go much more smoothly this way.
 

 
• Check things out
 
A lot of people have asked me questions about what items should be in their device manager. Here's a picture of the devices installed under System Devices in the Device Manager on the computer. I don't know any reason why yours should be different, you can use this to QA your installation.
 

This is what I have found so far to be the best way to install Windows 98 SE on the AL440LX motherboard. If you're still having problems, or want a second opinion, I suggest checking out the sites of some manufacturers which use the AL440LX in their computers. Some companies which use the AL440LX are:

AST Research               AST Bravo MS 6300                             http://www.ast.com
Dell                               Dell Dimension XPS D300                      http://www.dell.com
Gateway                        Gateway G6-300XL                               http://www.gateway.com
Micron PC                     Micron Millennia XKU 300                    http://www.micronpc.com
NEC                              NEC Direction SPL 300                         http://www.nec.com
 

Comments? Questions? Write me email and I'll see what I can do!

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