I should have this cross-posted on the Win98 and Linux forums
I'm trying to install Windows 98 on a client's server and it's freezing at the "Please wait while Setup initializes..." screen after it formats.

The machine has a unique setup: originally an HP Pavilion m7780n
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13 GHz
2GB DDR2 RAM
2 x 250Gb SATA
DVD-RW
HD-DVD Rom
bells, whistles, etc..

It's running Fedora 8 Xen kernel (2.6.21-2957-fc8xen)
So what I'm actually doing is setting it up as a vitual machine
It completes the format of what it considers it's "C:" and goes to initialize the setup and then nothing. I give it about a half hour and then shutdown the VM console and reboot.

The Windows XP VM install went without a hitch.

Any clues?

Have you set Zen to only show a single CPU core to the Win98 VM? Windows 98 was never designed for dual core. Easy to overlook.

Initially, it was set to show both CPU cores but I've backed it down to just one. Still hangs when setup initializes

Never tried 98 on xen but 98 does work on QEMU and VMWare under Linux.

GL

I'll propose QEMU and VMWare to the boss as alternatives to Xen.

Other forums have said Win98 alters the boot sector as part of its installation. The BIOS fires a virus attack warning which the installer does not like. Perhaps this is what it stalls on.

If this is the case, any ideas how to overcome this

This reason for all this madness: My client runs a critical 16bit app that doesn't run well thru emulation. Anyone know of any open-source geological surveying apps?

I'm not a Xen user but certainly under VMWare you can alter the virtual BIOS settings. You might be able to turn of the virus warning under Xen.