...been unable to resolve my issues..I want to format with Windows however leaving a partition for adding Ubuntu once i get back on line(i am currently on here via,Ubuntu live Cd)..once i have Windows as my OS(My God! i never wanted to say that again!!)i would like to have a partition for adding Ubuntu and then i will work on fixing these unbelievable Graphics issues!!!...How do i set it up when installing from Windows 98 CD??,its all i have unfortunately..LINUX!PLEASE GET THE BUGS OUT!!..THIS IS SCARING AWAY A LOT OF POTENTIAL WINDOWS HATERS! IT ALMOST DID IT FOR ME, HOWEVER I LOVE A GOOD FIGHT..I have loved Ubuntu and will keep trying to resolve my problems(see million other threads lol)however i need to have an Os back on my disk that will boot..I only have a windows 98 cd which im sure will suffice for now, untill i can figure out my issues and then hopefully return to Ubuntu as my main OS...
Please offer some advice
Thanks

You don't seem to have major problems with Linux, it isn't a bug, just a simple misconfiguration. You can't expect an OS to know what to do with every piece of hardware on the market on its own. You haven't said what you have tried to do to resolve the issue, you have gotten many suggestions, but given no feedback. You have to help us help you.

Win98 is OK if you have a system that is old enough for Win98. Support for that POS system has been dropped for a few years now, so if your system is relatively new you could easily find yourself in trouble installing it.

Please keep in mind that most of the problems that people have with Linux are problems that are solved for you by the hardware vendor when it installs Windows on the pre-built system that you purchase. If you do a clean install of Windows on a system you have built yourself, you often will find yourself fighting issues very, very similar to those which occur when you install Linux - and often you will have a harder time solving those problems in Windows because Windows is so bad about logging vital information pertaining to errors and activities

Of course, it is true that not all hardware vendors provide decent (or even any) Linux support, so if you have unsupported hardware, that just sucks for you (we've all been there and have learned to support hardware vendors that support Linux).

All that said, I don't really understand the question. When you start up the Windows installation CD (even the Win98 CD) one option will be to format the HD. Just let it do that, and specify a partition size for the FAT partition that will hold Windows such that you have plenty of unallocated space on the drive. You then will be able to at a later time create new partition(s) in the unallocated space to use as you choose.

Thanks for your reply.I have tried so many things from the advice ive been given i am running circles and just need to approach one thing at a time..
Maybe you could give some instructions,i will follow those and then get back to you..Maybe if i stick to one person for a bit and try that, i may have some success..I have been juggling, as so many people are offering advice. I will slow down and do things step by step.
Thanks

If you're trying to install Windows 98 overtop of an existing Linux install (of any sort), I hate to break it to you, but it will fail.

Windows (not even XP) can not recognize non-FAT and non-NTFS partitions; it treats all other filesystem types like a damaged drive. What you will have to do, is completely erase all partitions on the drive, and not format the drive in any way.

What steps do i take to do this?

Can i format the drive through bios? Just completely erase it?

No. How I always did it, was I threw in a Linux install disk (Debian, as of lately), and used the paritioning tool that's in practically every Linux installer. Just erase all of the partitions, and write the changes to the partion table.

Then, when you go to install Windows 98 (as it were), the installer should be able to see the drive.

That sounds like a good plan....

Here we go again with more advice than what was requested...

Does MS still support Windows '98? I have been a bit concerned as to whether Win2K would be supported. I am still teetering on the edge of getting rid of it but, until I do, I cannot re-install it with out 2 hours of on-line updates and reboots. I don't know if Win '98 is similar.

Editorial:
Windows 1998 vs Linux 2008 is probably like comparing a 1998 Toyota to a 2008 Lexus. Both will get the job done, but one will do it quantums better. The analogy of course fails because Linux is free......

This is sometimes called "peeing into the wind". Unfortunately, there is no Linux CEO to which this can be addressed. But I can assure you that there a a bazillion developers out there doing what you suggest.

If you are specific as to what bug you are talking about, then help is abundant.

No, Microsoft doesn't support 2000 any more (let alone 98). I get the sneaking suspicion Microsoft is getting ready to drop support for XP in the next 2 years, or so.

<<UPDATE>>

I just booted into win2k and ran Windows Update. No hint of MS not supporting it.... If I can get the updates, what is the significance of saying they don't support it? (I did read something about the latest version of IE not being offered for Win2K.)

Hi dave

Here are some clear instructions in getting setup. I have done this a bunch of times and it has always worked for me. As for the graphics issue, I dont know what to say.

1. Download gparted and burn on disk. It is a great partitioning program. Pop in cdrom and reboot your computer. Make sure bios is set to look at cdrom before hd for boot instructions.
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/

2. Partition hard drive into three parts. Windows, swapdisk, Linux. Im not sure which format win98 will run on. Im not sure but, NTFS might not work if it came into effect after win98. FAT should work. Partition swap between 512-1G. Partition the rest for Linux. How many partitions you want for Ubuntu is up to you and you should be able to find lots of threads on the subject.

3.Install windows first.

4. Install linux. DO NOT DO AN AUTOMATIC INSTALL of Ubuntu. Do the manual install so you do not accidentally overwrite the windows partition and have to start all over again.

As I said before, if Ubuntu does not work for you, try something else. Try a different distro and see if the graphics works.

As for the graphics problem, it is either a hardware or software problem. I don't know much about about the graphics issue. If it is a graphics issue you could try the following:
Try editing your /etc/X11/xorg.conf to adjust your display to 800x600 as a test to see what happens. Prior to doing any editing of xorg.conf back it up first.
Check out the following link on editing your xorg.conf read it carefully.
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...11%2Fxorg.conf

Arrange your display so that 800x600 is first. Then restart your computer.

hope this helps