Recently I purchased a second-hand computer with Windows 98 installed. An article I read said the best way to clean up the hard drive was to uninstall and reinstall Windows 98. I have attempted this procedure, but a message appears saying the version of Windows 98 on my computer is more up-to-date than the version I am attempting to install. How do I tell the difference, and should I reinstall Windows?

This message is appearing because you have tried to run the Windows 98 setup from within Windows. This would normally be done to upgrade from a previous version of Windows (e.g. Windows 95) to a more recent version (e.g. Windows 98). However, the version of Windows 98 installed on the machine is a more recent version than the version on the CD. Windows 98 has two major versions: Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition. It is likely the version you have installed on the machine is Windows 98 SE and the version on the CD you are attempting to install is Windows 98. You can tell which version you have installed, by going to the ‘Start’ menu > ‘Settings’ > ‘Control Panel’. Open the ‘System’ control panel. In the window that appears, click the ‘General’ tab. On this tab, the version of Windows will be displayed either as:
- Windows 98: 4.10.1998; or
- Windows 98 SE: 4.10.2222 A

Whenever you get a second-hand computer it is always a good idea to format the hard drive and reinstall Windows, in case there is any data on the drive from the previous owner. You will need to complete the install through DOS, since you cannot do a clean reinstall of Windows through Windows (as this would require the system to delete files which are in-use).

Firstly, you will need to make sure your Windows CD is the full-version of Windows. You will not be able to do a clean-install with a Windows upgrade CD. Assuming the CD is the full version, we will need to create a Windows 98 boot disk with CD-ROM drivers. Put a blank floppy disk into the floppy drive and go to the ‘Start’ menu > ‘Settings’ > ‘Control Panel’. Open the ‘Add/Remove Programs’ control panel, click the ‘Startup Disk’ tab and then click the ‘Create Disk’ button. Once the disk is created, open the disk contents and check if the FORMAT.COM file is on the disk. Otherwise, you will need to copy this file to the disk from the C:WINDOWSCOMMAND directory.

When finished, put the boot disk into the drive and restart the computer and the computer should boot from the floppy. When you are at the command prompt, we need to check the CD drivers have loaded. Put the Windows 98 CD into the CD drive and then change to the CD drive by typing the drive letter at the command prompt, for example:
D: [ENTER key]
Once you have changed drives, type the command:
dir [ENTER key]
to list the contents of the drive. If you have listed the contents of the Windows 98 CD, you should see entries like the SETUP.EXE file and the WIN98 directory. We should also make sure the Windows Setup will run. Type the command:
SETUP [ENTER key]
and the Windows setup should appear. Now we have confirmed the setup will run, you can exit from the setup at the first opportunity.

Now we need to format the hard drive. Be aware - this step will delete all data on your hard drive. Only proceed provided you are absolutely certain there is no data on the drive you wish to keep. If you wish to continue, enter the command:
format [drive letter] [ENTER key]
For example, where the hard drive is C you would type ‘format c:’. If you are unsure of the drive letter of the hard drive, switch to the drive letter you suspect is the hard drive and type the dir command (to list the contents of the drive, allowing you to check it is the correct drive). Once the format is complete, switch to the CD-ROM drive and run SETUP to start the Windows Setup.