Introduction

During the installation of Windows 98, you may experience errors.  This page will list the possible errors and how can avoid or fix the problems causing these errors.  If you don't see your specific error or need more information refer to the SETUP.TXT that came with the installation disks or CD.

Tip:  MAKE A STARTUP DISK DURING INSTALLATION!  This can help you recover if setup hangs later in the installation.

Windows 98 Setup Error Messages

Setup detects that an earlier version of SetupX.dll or NetDi.dll is in use:
There are open applications during installation.  Either choose the option to replace the file and reboot or cancel and close all running applications.  If you still receive this error, install Windows 98 from DOS.

Setup cannot create files on your startup drive and cannot set up Windows 98. There may be too many files in the root directory of your startup drive, or your startup drive letter may have been remapped (SU0018):
The root folder of a drive holds a maximum of 512 files and/or folders. You'll have to move or delete some files in order for setup to continue and then restart setup.  In remote cases, this error occurs when there is a LASTDRIVE=C: in CONFIG.SYS or C: has been remapped to another device.

Unrecoverable Setup Error. Setup cannot continue on this system configuration. Click OK to quit Setup:
Install Windows 98 from DOS.

Not Enough Memory:
Not enough conventional memory to continue the installation.  Comment out lines in CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT one-by-one until you have enough memory to continue.  This will not load the TSRs and free up conventional memory.

Not Enough Disk Space:
Delete any unnecessary files or try the clean-install method to format the hard drive and start from scratch.

Setup Cannot Write to the Temporary Directory:
There is not enough room in the temp directory.  Clear all the files out of C:\WINDOWS\TEMP (or the temp directory specified in AUTOEXEC.BAT by the line TEMP=...)  If you have space on another drive, use the following command to change the temporary directory location: SETUP /T:<drive letter>:\TEMP

CAB File Error Messages:
One of the following conditions has probably occurred: PC infected with a virus, low conventional memory, bad media, or hardware, especially CD-ROM drives.  Try the clean-install method for setup.  This method will eliminate problems caused by a virus or low conventional memory.   If you have a bad CD or CD-ROM drive, you'll probably have to have it cleaned or replaced, but in the meantime you can try to copy the cab files to the hard disk and run setup from there.

SU0010, SU0012, SU0015, or SU0016:
These messages refer to errors you may receive if installing Windows 98 on an NT or OS/2 machine.  Refer to the SETUP.TXT that came with Windows 98 for more information.

SU0011:
You have your PC password-protected.  Remove the password (usually in the BIOS setup) and restart setup.

SU0013:
You do not have an MS-DOS boot partition for Windows 98.  If you have a HPFS (OS/2) or NTFS (NT) partition, you must create an DOS boot partition before running Setup.   If you have disk overlay software installed, try installing Windows 98 from DOS.

Standard Mode: Invalid DPMI return
Standard Mode: Fault in MS-DOS Extender
Standard Mode: Bad Fault in MS-DOS Extender
Standard Mode: Unknown stack in fault dispatcher.
Standard Mode: Stack Overflow.
If you receive any of these messages, remove all memory managers (such as EMM386.exe, QEMM, or 386Max) from your CONFIG.SYS file, and then run Setup again.

Setup Could Not Back Up Your System Files:
Your hard drive does not have enough free space to back up the system files.   Remove any unneeded files.  NOTE:  Uninstall can require up to 75 MB. If Setup is not offering you the choice of saving your system files, you may be very low on free disk space.

Cannot Continue on This System Configuration:
If you get this message, you may have an older, incompatible disk partition. Before you run Setup, you will need to back up your data and then repartition your disk.

SU0167:
A file or folder called DESKTOP exists on your computer. Rename or move your current DESKTOP folder, and then run Setup again.

SU0410:
Setup cannot open a required file, possibly because the file is missing or damaged, or because your computer does not have enough memory.  Try installing Windows 98 from DOS.

Cannot Copy File:
Try skipping the file; it may not be essential. If Setup does not complete successfully, or Windows 98 will not run, quit Setup, shut down your computer, insert the Startup Disk into the floppy drive, and restart the computer. Then run Setup from the DOS command prompt.

SU99xxxx:
SU99 is a prefix that is added to all errors that Setup does not have a specific error message for. These errors are often caused by low conventional memory.  Try installing Windows 98 from DOS.

Setup does not have enough conventional memory to check your computer's hard disks. or Setup could not check the hard drives on your computer.:
If you receive either of these errors, Setup was unable to run SCANDISK to check your hard drives. This could be because of low conventional memory or your disk contains errors that SCANDISK cannot fix when run from Setup.  Since the setup process only runs SCANDISK with minimal options, you should reboot to DOS and run SCANDISK /ALL.   This will use all SCANDISK options to fix the problem.  If you still have problems after this,  SCANDISK /ALL /SURFACE. This will take a lot longer, but it will check the actual physical media of the hard drive to ensure your hard disk is in good shape. If, after running SCANDISK with these options, Setup still won't continue, you should run SETUP /IS to bypass SCANDISK. NOTE: Bypassing SCANDISK is not recommended and should only be used if you are positive your disk(s) contain no errors. If there are still errors, Setup may fail and your system may no longer boot.