win 98 doesnt start up
 

I have recently tried to install a usb wireless adapter (Belkin) on a desktop PC with Windows 98.
The software installation went fine, however when i plugged the device in, the system crashed. ON start up, it goes through the motions and stops at the desktop part but no icons or task bar. just a mouse arrow.
Sometimes I am able to start up in safe mode, obviously unable to do much.
Any suggestions on a fix?
I Know the software is okay as it worked fine on another laptop.
Cheers

98 or 98 Second edition? There's an awful lot of USB products that will not work reliably with 98, and are still less than completely stable with 98 SE.

It might be worth checking with the manufacturer's web site to make sure that there are no issues with 98 that they are aware of.

A check on line to see if there are any relevant 98 patches might also be worth doing, but it's getting to the point where Microsoft are not doing much support wise with 98 any more, their attitude is that 2000 & XP are now around for so long, 98 is effectively old hat and no longer front line product.

Sorry can't be more helpful, but that's the way the computer industry is headed, obsolete almost as soon as you get it in some areas.

The software may be OK but the installation might have gone adrift.

Try removing it and reinstalling.

All of the above is true - 98 SE handles USB in a different way, but thereagain, 98 per se, is about as stable as Charles Manson on one of his better days. Belkin support should help you out if in doubt. The warranty on some of their stuff these days, suggests a decent tech support system in place.

May your blue screens get fewer,

Conan

Cheers,
it is win 98 se.
At one point, I managed to get into Safe mode and uninstall. Things seemed okay for a while! When I tried again it messed up again. Now I just wanna get in to be able to copy files over to CD!!
Cheers guys

Still nothing! I called up the Belkin Support and they suggested to download the latest drivers from the website and use those instead.
However, before I can try this, I need to get my Windows 98SE back to normal. I tried to reinstall but now it seems to freeze at the setup screen at the "Programs on Start Menu".
Even leaving it for a long period has no effect.
Would a complete full installation wipe all my files etc? Once i have managed to copy these to cd, i can experiment about!!
thx