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General discussion

If Can Install WIN98 SE, without Junk Components

Nov 18, 2003 2:36PM PST

Franky is in trouble again with Win 98 / SE
============================================

I want to re-install the O/S on clean HD.

Is it possible to exclude some junk components, like

Windows Media Player

Microsoft Chat

Net Meeting

MacroMedia Flash & Shockwave


They don't show up in 'Select Components',
which is the screen just after Set-Up Option
>>>> Custom


Thanks


Franky

Discussion is locked

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Re:If Can Install WIN98 SE, without Junk Components
Nov 18, 2003 4:21PM PST

Microsoft doesn't make life easy for people who hate the company, but are reluctant to switch to Apple or Linux for some reason.

I wonder if macromedia's software is installed from the Windows CD. As far as I know, you have to download it yourself. Anyway, the version on the CD is so old as to be unusable, I think.

Mediaplayer, Chat and Netmeeting are Microsoft software indeed. If there's no setup option to exclude them, they will be installed (however, try the minimal install?). But, of course, you're not obliged to use them, and things will go quite OK if you just delete the exe's afterwards (associate the media file extensions with your favorite alternative program first). The advantage, besides your feeling good, is a few Mb saved on a lot of Gb.
Fervent Microsoft-haters might like to clean the registry also, to remove the last trace of these programs, not to mention dll's that are only used by one of these 'junk' programs. But that's a lot of rather unnecessary work.

How about Notepad (Notepad+ is better), Wordpad, MS Backup and a lot of other Windows supplied programs you don't use (check the command-folder also)? Consider them junk? Same recipe.
Renaming is more safe then deleting, because you can use MS-DOS to rename them back in case of fatalities which you can't when they are in the recycle bin.

It's a pity you need IE for Windows update. Otherwise you could eradicate it, and use Netscape for the full 100%.


Kees

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Re:If Can Install WIN98 SE, without Junk Components. Absolutely.
Nov 18, 2003 8:19PM PST