I am running windows xp and I have another hard drive that I would like to insert in the computer and install windows 98SE on. I then would like to remove that hard drive and install it in another computer. The other computer is running windows ME but has crashed with registry problems. I would like to make the windows ME computer run with win 98SE. I realize that I need to save all of the data on the ME machine, and I will do that by removing that hard drive and later inserting it into my XP computer, making it a slave and then copying the data. Is it possible to install 98SE on a slave hard drive in my XP computer, remove the slave and then install it in another computer and make it the master?

Why not remove the ME drive from the older system, install the other hard drive, then set active the Primary Partition on that drive and format it? I can't see any reason why you would have to install the OS on one system and then install that drive on another, unless the older system can't access the CD-ROM. Besides, installing 98 on a slave drive in your other machine imposes a problem since the 9x/ME all require the installation drive to be the Primary drive and designated C:. The NT based OSes will install on any partition of your choosing.

Thanks. I will do that. However, I have discovered another problem. The new hard drive that I have has been formatted before. It is actually a 40G hard drive, but when I view it in my XP machine, it says that it's a 2G Hard drive. How do I fix that problem?

Secondly, can you point me to a link that has the detailed steps and commands for partitioning, formatting and installing an operating system on a new hard drive.

Here's a complete step-by-step on reinstalling Windows 98.

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It is actually a 40G hard drive, but when I view it in my XP machine, it says that it's a 2G Hard drive. How do I fix that problem?

This is related to ATA/SATA/IDE conflict (mostly when you connect, for example, a SATA HD on an IDE slot, or vice-versa)

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It is actually a 40G hard drive, but when I view it in my XP machine, it says that it's a 2G Hard drive. How do I fix that problem?

I would suspect that drive was partitioned using FDISK & the FAT16 file system. Most utilities limit FAT16 partitions to 2 gigs.

Use the XP Disk Manager to remove the 2 gig partition and create a new FAT32 partition to cover the whole drive (or make more than one partition if you desire), then format the newly created partition and make it Active. It's now ready for installation into another computer for W98 installation.