dencorso

A common USB 2.0 to IDE/SATA adapter is probably a cheaper and more versatile option, which however has all the advantages pointed-out for an external hard drive casing. It's another option to consider.

Sure. I still have a working GeForce2 MX 400, so I decided to run GPU-Z on it while I can. Then I decide to compare it with the latest video technology I have on hand, regardless of the wide differences in them. In a way, the GeForce2 (so, in fact the model preceeding the one I actually measured) is where it all began for modern gamers... So what really standed out for me is the comparison of lithography technologies, die sizes and transistor numbers. It's simply awesome! Actual capabilities are, in a way, just a consequence of those differences...

Well, my model drive is: SRD00F2 (Seagate Expansion Drive 2 TB) Hence, the link to follow is the one to the 2 TB drive, of course.

Although RLoew certainly can give you more details, there's a short description of the TeraByte Plus Package at his site. Once there, scroll down and you'll see the link.

Here's an InCtrl Installation Report for KB2934207 someone kindly posted on pastebin and some more info on xp_eos.exe, which PE Timestamp is 0x530D4A69 or Wed Feb 26, 2014 01:59:05 GMT and CRC-32 is 0x9B002121.

Which NUSB are you using, exactly?

I, for one, already consider you a most welcome member of the 9x/ME family here! What you've done up to now more than confirms your comitment to 9x/ME and highlights your patience and persistence, which are qualities seriously needed for one to be able to accomplish most things dealing with 9x/ME, and especially so when newer hardware is involved.

If the VFAT error recurs, you may need the RAM limitation patch, installed with the /M switch, despite having just 1 GiB RAM, due to the way some Gigabit Ethernet controllers use memory. Telltale symptoms of that are VFAT errors. See the quotation below, from an old post by RLoew.

Sorry, I decided to split the thread at this point to separate a successful install just finished from a new one already ongoing (and showing a lot of progress already). So let me add some info at this point. The unofficial modded SNAP drivers pointed by LLXX may be able to gate your onboard video (and maybe sound, too), so you should definitely give them a try. And you might get your SATA CD/DVD going with a DOS driver, like GCDROM.SYS + SHSUCDX.COM. And, although it is an unfinished project, you must definitely read Sfor's thread on the Eee PC 701 for context and some interesting posts.

Wow, THAT is what the updates does?? It would be (mildly) interesting to find out how the updates behaves if you check that box for "Don't show this message again." Let's imagine it removes itself from the auto-run hook (there are so many of them in windows) it normally uses, but remains present on disk. Then one may take one further step and go to Add/Remove in the Control Panel and remove it. At this point it'd be deleted from the disk... But I bet it'd still leave some tell-tale trace in the registry, that reveals it was there once (ostensibly to prevent reinstalation, for instance). Fact is, in any case, MS wins: if one let's it install unaware, then removes it as I just imagined above, on one hand, if one prevents it from installing, as I did (and I presume most of my readers here also did or will do), on the other hand, or even when one simply let's it install and go on nagging unhampered, on the third (!) hand... now no one at all may credibly pretend to have been unaware of the fact XP goes EOS on April 8, 2014, which is what MS wanted to accomplish. Notice, however, that I wrote EOS (End of Support), not EOL. That's because, despite everything, no matter what's said, I'm positive Windows XP will live much longer than that.

Congratulations! You've plunged head-on into a quite difficult set-up problem and have had the necessary persistence to emerge on the other side triumphant!

It sure smells foreboding. As it is, I'd say it's just another device to fulfil the role of making sure nobody'll ever be able to claim he/she wasn't warned in advace. It sure is really invasive, but not unheard of... and, of course, if one leaves Auto Update on, one is giving MS permission to install whatever they deem is needed... And they can always say if one wanted to review every update beforehand, all one needed to do was to disable Auto Update and use the MS Update or the Windows Update sites in manual mode... I do use manual mode and have always recommended it to anyone who asks my advice... but most people never follow it, anyway.... More info about it elsewhere (although they do view it in a more favourable light than we do), and an image, too:

Yeah, but now you've hit jackpot! Install once more using the "setup /p i" (KB186111) and then use my instructions to remove APM (this post and a few following it) too, if that's not enough. But do read both references I've given here before proceeding. It's been a long time since I've seen boards giving problems with ACPI, but they sure are part of the 9x-specific issues (one not partaken by -- or not as serious in -- Win ME). But do add Xeno86's patched VCache.VxD to the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VMM32 folder before the 1st reboot. You actually need it, despite the fact the problems it solves are not the one you were struggling with, after all.

My bad. Sorry! I should have suggested you rename the vmm32 folder instead of deltreeing it. No matter. At this point the only thing to do would be to start from scratch, once again. This time, however, prepare a pendrive or diskette to boot DOS from, and boot plain true DOS instead of letting it reboot into windows, like it would want. Then apply the RMA lomitation patch from DOS with the /M command-line option. Then reboot it once again, and let it go on to the second phase of windows installation.

It might not have worked right during the patching phase... You should be able to install RLoew's patch from DOS. Check whether you do have a C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VMM32.BAK... If so, from plain true DOS (not a DOS box inside windows) rename C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VMM32.VxD to VMM32.NOT, then rename C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VMM32.BAK to VMM32.VxD, then deltree the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VMM32 subdirectory, then create a new, empty, C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VMM32 subdirectory, then run RLoew's patcher with the /M option. Cross your fingers, take a long breath, and reboot.

Well, I really wouldn't expect MaxPhysPage to work any miracle in your case, but it had to be tried, anyway. Please double-check that the onboard video is fully disabled. Yeah. The above was going to be my next suggestion... Please do it. @RLoew: welcome onboard! This sure is a difficult case...

Can you reduce the RAM to 512 MiB just for installation or is all your RAM a single stick? Since you've got exactly 1 GiB of RAM and have added Xeno86's Vcache.VxD, Usher's method should make no difference for you. What are the contents of your config.sys and autoexec.bat? Do you have a system.cb? What are its contents, if so? Also bear in mind that you cannot use anything higher than MaxPhysPage=40000 (since 40000 means 1024 MiB), else you'd be telling windows to use RAM that isn't there.

You now should have a .reg file (which is readable text), with the full contents of ENUM. That should be a handy reference. Save away a copy of system.dat, too, just in case. Then, if you can, save an image of full ME instalation (at least a partition image). Then proceed with the 98SE install and, before the first reboot, add the VCache.VxD modified by Xeno86 to C:\WINDOW\SYSTEM\VMM32\). Take care to avoid letting the machine reboot by all means before adding Xeno86's VCache.VxD. Then reboot the machine: it should go straight to the desktop and at least start detecting the hardware. Good luck!

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ENUM or, perhaps, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ENUM

Yes it could. But more than that, look at the device manager and see what's detected, so we know what to expect on 9x. And look for yellow exclamation points, too, so we see what it doesn't like. Post a screenshot of the device manager window. Furthermore, export ENUM to a .reg file for future reference and maybe even merging it to the 9x registry, if nothing else works. And tell how much RAM does ME detect, exactly, please.

Maybe, if you use both RLoew's RAM Limitation and SATA patches, together with RLoew's or LLXX's 137 GB patch, you may have a thin chance of succeeding. The SATA and 137 GB patches are a must, in your case, there's no avoiding them at all. You may be able to do without the RAM Limitation patch, but it'll make your life easier and result in a stabler system, in case of success. Then again it may prove impossible to get Win 9x/ME to run stably in your machine at all... the only way to find out is by trying, but be aware you'll be in for *a lot* of frustration from the start. All the info you need is in the threads linked from my signature here below (or linked from them). And you're wrong: there are DOS generic drivers for SATA CD/DVD/Blu-Ray drivers around.

I think remove 98 and install Me from scratch to a wiped HDD (preferably real PATA IDE). Can you accomplish all that you did before? Does it finish setup and boot normally? If so, let Me there for the moment, and let's use it to diagnose the motherboard. If not, then the motherboard is degrading and should be discarded.

So the controller is a Phison and the pendrive is a common garden-variety Kingston. This may or may not have anything to do with the issue you reported but, whatever file system you use, you should abstain from using names containing spaces, like "Stick it"... you never know when some part of the OS will balk just because of that.

No you don't. There's no 512 MiB RAM limitation (but there is a RAM limitation around twice that amount) nor any FSB frequency limitation whatsoever. Search the forum and read: all the info you need is here, in much detail.