Tip for people loading software from CDROMs a lot

[Pete]

I read a few posts from people whose Windows original
CDROM had become unreadable. One easy way to avoid this
if you're adding/repairing bits a lot is to backup the
entire CDROM contents to hard disk (e.g. to a folder
called C:\Copies\Windows98SE\). I do that with most of my
software CDROMs, and I believe it's quite legal to make
backup copies in this way.

When I get a prompt asking to load the CDROM, I just click
on the (almost always present) "Browse" button a go to the
appropriate top directory, and from there on the
installation proceeds from hard disk instead of the CDROM.
I've done it in particular for Windows and MS Office,
which seem to be needed a lot (adding cameras, etc).

Anyway, just a thought - keep those CDROMs pristine!

--Pete

[Travis Swift]

Considering these days large harddrives are quite cheap;
all you really need to copy to your harddrive is the
Drivers folder and the folder with all the Cabs in (if I'm
not mistaken). Point is you don't need to copy the CD
Sampler folder as well unless you need it.

This way you can (re)install much faster, without needing
CD rom drivers in dos, and you don't need to insert your
windows CD when you install new hardware. You can also
change in the registry the drive you installed from to the
directory where you put your windows 98 cd backup and it
will look there. This way you can leave your win98 cd same
in its jewel case.

[Bert Kinney]

Hi Pete,

Most OEM's already place the Cab's on the drive.
They or often located in the C:\windows\options\cabs folder.
If not look for them by doing a search by going to Start - Find -
Files and folders and search for win98*.cab.

Here the procedure or copying the Cab files to the hard drive:
Create a folder on the drive named Win98 in the root of C:\
then Drag the Win98 and Drivers folders from the Windows CD to it.
At this point the cab path in the registry will have to be reset. Make
the change in the Registry to set the SourcePath by going to the
following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Setup

In the right pane look for "SourcePath" and set the path to C:\Win98
This path will vary depending on where the Win98 folder was copied to.

If you are not comfortable editing the registry there's a small utility to
automate the SourcePath change in the registry. Go to the following
web site and download the "Change the path for Windows setup files"
utility, and run it.

Windows 9x VBScript Tools by Bill James and download
"Change the path for Windows setup files"
http://billsway.com/vbspage/?r=my&r=Earthlink&r=VBScript&r=Page.

Another option is to create a bootable CD, then place the same Windows
Cab and drivers folder on it. Then all you would have to do is tell the BIOS
to boot to the CD ROM. Needless to say the bootable CD will boot much
faster than a floppy. For instruction on how to create a bootable CD
look at www.bootdisk.com .

--
Regards,
Bert Kinney [MS-MVP DTS]
http://dts-l.org/
How to Configure Outlook Express for Internet News:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=171164


"Pete" wrote
> I read a few posts from people whose Windows original
> CDROM had become unreadable. One easy way to avoid this
> if you're adding/repairing bits a lot is to backup the
> entire CDROM contents to hard disk (e.g. to a folder
> called C:\Copies\Windows98SE\). I do that with most of my
> software CDROMs, and I believe it's quite legal to make
> backup copies in this way.
>
> When I get a prompt asking to load the CDROM, I just click
> on the (almost always present) "Browse" button a go to the
> appropriate top directory, and from there on the
> installation proceeds from hard disk instead of the CDROM.
> I've done it in particular for Windows and MS Office,
> which seem to be needed a lot (adding cameras, etc).
>
> Anyway, just a thought - keep those CDROMs pristine!
>
> --Pete

[Travis Swift]

Quote:
>Another option is to create a bootable CD, then place the
same Windows
>Cab and drivers folder on it. Then all you would have to
do is tell the BIOS
>to boot to the CD ROM. Needless to say the bootable CD
will boot much
>faster than a floppy. For instruction on how to create a
bootable CD
>look at www.bootdisk.com .

Not to mention any 3rd party drivers/utilities and apps
like IE6 so you don't end up swapping cd's like made
everytime you need to reinstall.

[Bert Kinney]

Sure, you could add anything you want. Another nice
addition would be the "Win98 Security Update" that
used to be available from MS.

--
Regards,
Bert Kinney [MS-MVP DTS]
http://dts-l.org/
How to Configure Outlook Express for Internet News:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=171164

"Travis Swift" wrote
> Quote:
>>Another option is to create a bootable CD, then place the
> same Windows
>>Cab and drivers folder on it. Then all you would have to
> do is tell the BIOS
>>to boot to the CD ROM. Needless to say the bootable CD
> will boot much
>>faster than a floppy. For instruction on how to create a
> bootable CD
>>look at www.bootdisk.com .
>
> Not to mention any 3rd party drivers/utilities and apps
> like IE6 so you don't end up swapping cd's like made
> everytime you need to reinstall.