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[Solved] ForceWare driver question and Win98SE


newb1e

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Hello folks,

I'm brand new, so bear with me here! I'm trying to get a Dell Dimension 4400 running with Windows 98SE for vintage gaming. I noticed that whenever I "Reboot to MS-DOS mode", I can't get back into Windows (e.g. I type "exit", it just sits at "Windows is now restarting..." I went from a fresh Win 98SE install driver by driver and determined that once I install the ForceWare 81.98 drivers for the Nvidia GeForce 2 MX, it corrupts my ability to start Windows 98 from MS-DOS mode. Now, boot / rebooting normally into Windows is fine. Can someone please explain what's going on and how I can hopefully correct it? I'd like to learn. In case it matters, I have 1 GB RAM installed.

Thanks again!

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Do try the nVidia drivers 77.72. But don't remove nVidia drivers with add/remove or unistall. Do it using the great freeware Driver Cleaner Pro Version 1.5 (*NOT* Driver Cleaner .NET !!!). The Add/Remove applet or nVidia's own uninstallers don't do quite a perfect job in removing previous nVidia drivers, only Driver Cleaner Pro is able to remove them completely.

If you have time, read the full nVidia drivers 82.69, suddenly!. I'm sure you'll find it most instructive.

Both the 82.69 and the 81.98 drivers do not work OK with a a GeForce 2 MX (I shoulld know... I use an MX 400). You can get the 77.72 and/or even earlier drivers either here or here. And the thread "nVidia GeForce and Win 9x/ME - Relevant Threads" has pointers to some further interesting threads.

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Thanks for the replies. Joe, "win" refreshes the screen for a split second, then just hangs with a blinking cursor.

Dencorso - thank you! I'll reinstall Win98, load 77.72 and report back tonight.

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I have used even older drivers with my GeForce 2 MX100. I have tried versions since 10.82 or something like it (don't remember second number exactly). Optimal one was 45.something. It gave about triple performance as the latest unoficial

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I've used the driver mix described below for a long time, before moving on to the 77.72 I presently use. IIRR. before I added Rloew's RAM Limitation Patch (with the /M switch), that driver mix was the highest version drivers that didn't cause neither the shutdown issue nor "the Restart in MS-DOS and back" issue for my GeForce 2 MX 400.

It's complicated... Which driver causes the shutdown problem seems to depend on which nVidia Card one has.

And it *is* possible to mix files from different versions, but some experimenting is necessary.

For my rather ancient GeForce2 MX400, the right mix is using the 29.42 drivers, but with nvdd32.dll and nvopengl.dll from version 32.20, for added compatibility with DirectX and OpenGL (see post #69, above). For those who decide to experiment with the nVidia drivers (as I said in my post #290, above), I recommend not to remove the nVidia drivers with add/remove or unistall, but, instead, to use the great freeware Driver Cleaner Pro Version 1.5 (*NOT* Driver Cleaner .NET !!!). Version 1.5 supports Win 9x/ME, despite that not being explicit in the on-site information. The Add/Remove applet or nVidia's own uninstallers don't do quite a perfect job in removing previous nVidia drivers, only Driver Cleaner Pro is able to remove them completely. I consider this the safest way to test nVidia drivers.

Even so, before begining to experiment with video card drivers, do create a full backup of your system!

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