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The simplest solution would be to switch the USB controller driver off in the device manager.

I found a problem with the Universal Video Driver. Running a DOS application locks the computer with an interesting screen effects.

I do not believe it is the case. The same happens with copying just a few large files.

I can confirm. I'm using IE6 + Win98, as well. Everything works correctly with Firefox 2.

The universal VBE driver seems to be working fine. I was able co increase the screen resolution to 800x600. Also, I'm able to select any color depth from just 256 up to 32bit. I made quite an interesting observation while copying data from an SD card to SSD drive. Apparently such an operation took just a few minutes in clean DOS, while the Windows 98 explorer did the same job many times longer.

I've managed to get network connection through an external USB network card. An interesting feature of the Eee PC is the very good BIOS support for USB drives. Also, SD cards are supported in the BIOS, as the SD card reader is in fact an USB device. Every USB drive is treated as a separate HDD. It is possible to select any of them as a boot device. So, since the BIOS does the USB storage support and Windows 98 functions are very limited because of the unavailable device drivers, the Windows 95 should do almost as fine as the Windows 98 does.

I've just bought a linux version of the Eee PC 900. So, I connected an external USB hard drive in hope of doing some experiments with Windows 98. I've switched the boot drive to the external HDD in the BIOS, leaving the linux intact on the SSD. The first problem was the setup causes a strange effect on the pannel. It looks like it melts (or something) and the computer feezes. So, I used the SETUPCOR.EXE instead. This time the procedure froze on running scandisk. So, I used SETUPCOR /is. The setup started, the files were copied, the computer rebooted properly,..... The licence agreement screen appeared. I'll see what will come as next. --------------------------------------- The system froze after PnP devices detection. Both keyboard and touch pad are not working. It can have something to do with the USB controller PnP detection. I've started the system from an USB drive. I think I will have to move to the SSD and leave the USB unpopulated during the setup, in the next experiment. --------------------------------------- But, perhaps not. The setup contiunes after a reboot, starting at the point the computer froze. Keyboard and touchpad are working correctly, this time. So, I had an additional unplanned reboot. I does not seem to be a big problem, after all. ---------------------------------------- It seems to be working. The Intel® Chipset Software Installation Utility was useful. But, still, just the standard VGA 640x480 16 colours graphics stretched to the full size of the LCD pannel. No LAN, no Wireless, no Sound.

Have anyone tried to install a Windows 9x on an Asus Eee PC computer?

The DOSLFN can handle the ANSI character only as good as the Windows does. Unfortunately it is not possible to translate all the ANSI characters to the corresponding characters in a DOS codepage. So, it is not possible for a DOS application to copy file names with some ANSI characters included. Only a 32 bit GUI application can do the job correctly, because there is no character translation on the way, in such a case. The conclusion is any application working with the DOS LFN interface will not be able to copy certain ANSI characters. Because, the Windows DOS LFN services extension is the cause. I have to admit I was using DOSLFN and LFNDOS as the same name. In any case I had the DOSLFN on my mind.

Doing the copy in Windows has more advantages than the speed. The LFNDOS can have some problems handling country specific code pages. It can cause some file names to be handled in a wrong way. In case of an English language system, there should not be a problem. On the other hand, the XCOPY itself can have problems with some ANSI characters. So, the only perfect copy can be done with the Windows Explorer (for an instance). The script I've provided will not work correctly in DOS in any case. The reason is the XCOPY command run in DOS and in Windows behaves differently. The amount of switches available in DOS is very limited. This is caused by the fact there are two XCOPY code versions. The 16bit code works just in DOS. In case if the Windows GUI is present the 32bit code wersion is called instead of the 16 bit one. The 32 bit code is much more sophisticated and supports more options.

The DOSLFN driver needed by the system switcher can be found here http://www.geocities.com/jadoxa/doslfn/ and here: http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/.../system/doslfn/ The switching script seams to be working correctly. On the other hand it would be good to be able to make system copies in an automated way, as well. As for me I do prefer to do it manualy. As, the system folders retain the proper attributes, that way. Still the proper folder attributes are not required for the system to be working correctly. So, it is possible to make a system copy using XCOPY command. Here is what I have came up with: ECHO OFF if not exist C:\W9\nul SET SYS=9 if not exist C:\W8\nul SET SYS=8 if not exist C:\W7\nul SET SYS=7 if not exist C:\W6\nul SET SYS=6 if not exist C:\W5\nul SET SYS=5 if not exist C:\W4\nul SET SYS=4 if not exist C:\W3\nul SET SYS=3 if not exist C:\W2\nul SET SYS=2 if not exist C:\W1\nul SET SYS=1 Echo %SYS% xcopy /E /H /I /C C:\WINDOWS C:\W%SYS% xcopy /E /H /I /C "C:\Program Files" C:\P%SYS% What it does is a copy of the Windows and Program Files folders in the first free system switcher slot. It should be run under Windows. The file copy operations under DOS are slower, and the DOSLFN driver would be necesary to be loaded, in such a case. So, it is simpler to do the copying, when the Windows is working.

I'm sure the AdMuncher is a very interesting application. Still, the router does what I want, and it protects the entire network without tweaking any internet connection settings.

I've added a "MaxConnections"="200" registry value in the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\MSTCP] registry key. And, I see a significant improvement.

I've been playing with my routers URL blocking function. It does redirect the browser to a simple page with "This URL was blocked" text. It works quite well with blocking the commercial banners in the entire network. The problem is the TCP ports from the connections redirected are not closed as they would be in other case. The ports are kept open untill the time out. So, after fast oppening a few pages the amount of open ports is quite high. The IE starts acting weird in such a case. It does not download the pages completely leaving some page elements unloaded. The conclusion is, there is some TCP open ports limit in the Windows 98. I'm curious if it is possible to increase it.

When comes to testing some software or system patches it is a very good idea to make a copy of the Windows and Program Files directories. There are many easy ways to do it. But, the things are getting a bit more complicated when it comes to restoring the system. The simplest way for me was to doot to DOS and run the DOSLFNMS.COM and then to switch the directories with RENAME command. After a few times I felt tired with constantly typing: RENAME P1 "Program Files". So I've decided to make a script. The script grew with time. The idea is to keep up to 9 backup system copies with W1,W2,..,W9 (Windows) and P1,P2,...,P9 ("Program FIles") folders. The switching script displays the list of available copies, then exchanges the current system with the selected backup copy slot. The slots are simply named W1,W2,...,W9, but it is possible to provide additional description through placement of a INFO.TXT file in Wx folder. The script and the DOSLFNMS.COM driver should be placed in the C:\ folder. It is possible to call it directly, or from AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS files. Echo OFF doslfnms.com cls Echo Current OS: if not exist c:\windows\info.txt ECHO No decription. Type c:\WINDOWS\info.txt Echo. Echo. if exist c:\w1\win.com Echo 1 - W1 if exist c:\w1\info.txt type c:\w1\info.txt if exist c:\w1\win.com Echo. if exist c:\w2\win.com Echo 2 - W2 if exist c:\w2\info.txt type c:\w2\info.txt if exist c:\w2\win.com Echo. if exist c:\w3\win.com Echo 3 - W3 if exist c:\w3\info.txt type c:\w3\info.txt if exist c:\w3\win.com Echo. if exist c:\w4\win.com Echo 4 - W4 if exist c:\w4\info.txt type c:\w4\info.txt if exist c:\w4\win.com Echo. if exist c:\w5\win.com Echo 5 - W5 if exist c:\w5\info.txt type c:\w5\info.txt if exist c:\w5\win.com Echo. if exist c:\w6\win.com Echo 6 - W6 if exist c:\w6\info.txt type c:\w6\info.txt if exist c:\w6\win.com Echo. if exist c:\w7\win.com Echo 7 - W7 if exist c:\w7\info.txt type c:\w7\info.txt if exist c:\w7\win.com Echo. if exist c:\w8\win.com Echo 8 - W8 if exist c:\w8\info.txt type c:\w8\info.txt if exist c:\w8\win.com Echo. if exist c:\w9\win.com Echo 9 - W9 if exist c:\w9\info.txt type c:\w9\info.txt if exist c:\w9\win.com Echo. Echo 0 - Exit Echo. Choice /C:1234567890 Select slot if Errorlevel 1 Set SYS=1 if Errorlevel 2 Set SYS=2 if Errorlevel 3 Set SYS=3 if Errorlevel 4 Set SYS=4 if Errorlevel 5 Set SYS=5 if Errorlevel 6 Set SYS=6 if Errorlevel 7 Set SYS=7 if Errorlevel 8 Set SYS=8 if Errorlevel 9 Set SYS=9 if Errorlevel 10 Goto END rename WINDOWS WX rename "Program Files" PX rename W%SYS% WINDOWS rename P%SYS% "Program Files" rename WX W%SYS% rename PX P%SYS% :END The DOSLFNMS.COM is a part of the DOSLFN package. It's function is to provide the long file name support in the "Clean DOS".

Strange, but the most of Windows 98 users would give much to get rid of the shell integrated with IE. Some are deliberately removing the Windows 98 shell replacing it with the Windows 95 one. The IE and shell integration was one of the most buggiest Microsoft creations, I believe.

According to my observations the Shell98 update solves just a part of the problem. It is better to use both Shell98 and browser dll replacement fixes, at the same time.

I've tested the Go OO 2.4.1 version of the OpenOffice. It seems to be working as good as the OpenOffice.org 2.4.0. The most important difference seems to be the DOCX support and a bit different installation system. As, there are no Java plugin and Google Toolbar in it. It looks a bit different, because the icons are different (bigger).

An interesting point of view. Because I hate USB keyboards and mices. They are much less reliable when something is going wrong with the computer or system. A computer without a separate port for a keyboard or/and mouse is something I would not buy, for sure. I think, in your case the simplest solution would be to disable the USB controller driver used by the Windows 98 and to use just the BIOS legacy USB keyboard and mouse support.

I can confirm the GoOO 2.4.1 does work in the Windows 98SE. It does not have the Java plugin and the Google Toolbar plugin, as the UX version of the OpenOffice 2.4.0 has. So, I'm satisfied, because the java plugin kills the Microsoft Update system in the Windows 98. I'm not the Google Toolbar user, as well. I tested just the Calc application. The two differences I've found so far are the DOCX support and a bit different icon and button style.

The GOM player seems to be working quite well. But, I had to uninstall the KernelEx 0.3.4. As, the GOM Player hanged with the KernelEx present.

I found nothing particular with the Dependancy Walker. I do not have experience in using it, anyway. It's possible the problem is related to some enviroment checking (like enviroment variables or something like that).

I had to run the openofficeorg30.msi file directly. There were no wrong windows version communicate, in my case. The Setup.exe will not finish, even with the kexver.ini forcing a newer OS version for the Setup.exe. Still, the OpenOffice does not start after the installation. I think it is doing some unusual check (or something) when running. I was using OOo_3.0.0beta_20080429_Win32Intel_install_wJRE_en-US.exe

The message just says "too low version or missing". So, it is not possible to tell which the case it is.

The OpenOffice team is simplyfying the code to use the newer API functions. Still there is a possibility to keep the OpenOffice 3 able to work with the KernelEx extension. Here are the posts from the OpenOffice.org: ------- Additional comments from sb Thu Jun 12 07:57:54 +0000 2008 ------- At least some (but strategically important) code now uses the Unicode (...W) versions of Windows functions, which, AFAIK, are not available on Windows 98/ME, and the emulation code we used before has either been removed or is no longer reachable (due to the distribution of code to three layers). It is IMO a fruitless (and even counterproductive) effort to try and get OOo running on Windows 98/ME, after it has been decided to drop support for that platform, and developers started to take advantage of that in their code additions/modifications (read: simplifications). ------- Additional comments from mh Fri Jun 13 08:13:59 +0000 2008 ------- mark issue as unassigned, since I will not work on that issue. If there are people volunteering for this effort, I recommend to create an childworkspace (cws) for these efforts to collect necessary changes for keep this run on Win98 and to have the impossibly to keep those efforts in sync with latest OOo relaseses. @sb,hro: I recommend not to "simplify" the code not to fast, to raise not too high hurdles for people who want to volunteer for this effort. @forsoft: Simplifying code is quite important for maintainability and code quality, so I think we have to find volunteers for this effort quite fast otherwise we need to continue "simplification". I believe, the first step would be to collect the informations about the API functions implemented in the KernelEx, and the Windows 98 incompatible API functions used in the OpenOffice 3. The OpenOffice 3 code simplification is progressing just as we speak. It would be good to stop the OpenOffice team from using the KernelEx unavailable functions, if they did not do it, already.