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I haven't installed anything else, just Windows98. From a bare hard disk to DOS 6.22 to Windows3.11 to Windows98. That's the complete history. When you click the DOS prompt it should open a window internal to Windows98, but instead it reboots your computer in DOS. When you're done, you can't exit or re-enter Windows98, you have to reboot into Windows98. There has been no other software installed, so what's happened? What causes this anomaly?

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Basically you answered your own question.

Win 3.11 is just GUI for DOS. Windows 98 can be called that as well, although much more sophisticated. Point is - you can either launch win98 from command line and exit from win98 to command prompt as well. But it's not normal for windows98 to behave like that, true. EDIT (cut-out part when editing answer): What you describe is normal operations when running programs that require MS-DOS (it closes GUI and goes to MS-DOS mode, and not opens command prompt window).

You have three possibilities:

  1. Either DOS is stuck on something or other (in which case type EXIT and press enter - it should continue to restart WIN98), or
  2. program you use in MS-DOS mode has some issues with it, causing hardware lock somewhere, or
  3. What you have is system configured to boot to DOS (as is normal for WIN3.11). Check MSDOS.sys, WINBOOT.ini and then CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.bat, in that order...

My recommendation would be to boot from installation media for windows98 and do fresh reinstall. You will avoid possible compatibility issues between the trio you have installed...

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