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Installing Win95 on The Omnibook 600

By: Jean-Jacques Moreau.

The cleanest and easiest way to successfully install Win95 on an Omnibook 600.

1. Backup your data.

2. Upgrade your BIOS to 4.01 (from HP's Web site).

3. Obtain a CD-ROM for Win95 (* see caveats).

4. Find another computer with: 1) a free PCMCIA slot; 2) a CD-ROM drive

5. Insert your C: drive into that other computer's free PCMCIA slot, and format it.

(FORMAT X: /s) --- /s is required to make it bootable.

6. Copy the Win95 install directory onto your drive (i.e. all the CAB files, setup.exe, ...).

7. Reinstall your drive into your Omnibook.

8. Boot your Omnibook, cd to the Win95 install directory, and run setup.

(following the exact instructions given on HP's Web site; e.g. press the reset button when they say you should press the reset button).

9. As per HP's instructions, when your Omnibook runs Win95, and has been rebooted as least once's, install the 600c's HP's special drivers.

10. If you have a PCMCIA network card, you can now install it, and access another's PC CD-ROM drive, so as to install Office 97, etc. (you can also use Dial-Up networking instead).

11. Once you have access to a remote CD-ROM, you can safely delete the Win95 installation directory on your Omnibook.

Caveats:

* However, you can install Internet Explorer 4.01 if you wish (although without the shell integration, which again renders the configuration unstable).

* Do not plug in your floppy drive when you install Win95, or LPT1 will not be properly detected.


Alternative floppy disk drive.

Here is a replacement/alternative drive for the original HP floppy drive.

(Omnibook 530-800 only).

Big Micro has a $12.50 floppy drive that has been reported to work with the
Omnibook 530, 600 and 800, using the HP floppy drive cable.

For the drive visit:
Big Micro Page 17 of their online catalog.

The HP floppy disk cable can be ordered from the HP Direct Ordering Department for :

$53.00 PartNumber: 8120-6921
Phone: 1-800-227-8164


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