cannie

Maybe you find something here: http://www.technical-assistance.co.uk/kb/usbmsd98.php HTH

No need of updates when old versions run OK, being your OS the same. In many cases new versions are not good for Windows 98 SE users even being compatible: I've had myself some bad experiences with software "for Windows 98", which sabotaged my computer. Well, I suspect maybe it is a way to "convince" you to buy a new machine without spending a cent in ads. I always seek the best version for my needs, no matter if I find it to be the oldest one. Good old versions are also Easy Cleaner 2.0, BoostSpeed 3 and SpeedStartup. A very good freeware new registry cleaner is Glary Registry Repair 2.8.

I was wrong (I understood "notepad"). Please disregard. Don't know any newest model of laptops able to run dual boot. Sorry.

I'm running Notepad++, freeware, version 4.3. It is not the latest version, but I've found no real advantages for me in the new more complex editions.

What's the best firewall for Windows 98 SE today? I never moved from my first ZA 2001, so I only have this experience. Thanks.

I'll try it. Thanks!

I use for this Winrar from inside Win98SE. I have each one in a different main partition, and use fdisk to deactivate the Win98 one (partition 1) and to activate the XP one (partition 2), and Partition Manager to do the reverse when using XP.

You may find it just by clicking in the main page of this forum "Redistributable (June 2008)".

I agree, but they don't care your needs, only theirs. Remember the old proverb: "The best for the hound is the worst for the hare". Greetings.

IMO all means have been used to create a neurotic passion against Windows 98 by those who are interested in selling software and hardware and in controlling our lives and our money. I wonder if there is any obligation, moral duty or legal command to stop doing anything that you do in a legit use of your freedom. As many other people, I like Windows 98 because I spent thousands of hours using it and I am not ready to spend another thousands of hours of my life trying to reach the point of security in the opsys and in myself that I have now. It is something like to stop speaking english to begin talking phoenician. Wow!

Happy to read it! I could not reach to say so much in so few words.

That's it, thanks! When I downloaded the image I did not see any other option. I'll seek what you say. As you see I have not the slightest idea of the Linux OS, but I hope I'll learn it. Thank you very much.

I've got the most recent version of Mandriva on a CD (july 2008), and it runs perfect, but AFAIK I am not able to install it in the HD. Is there any possibility of doing it, or the install version is a different one?. Thank you for your kind answer.

I keep being a Windows 98 user. I was a MS fan until 2001, but since Windows 2000 their products are not the same at all, as many people knows, and I love my personal freedom. In the event that it proved totally impossible to use Windows 98 or Windows 2000 I would no doubt move to Linux. Until now there is no need of it, but nevertheless it would be interesting to know how to make a dual boot Windows98/Linux to begin the learning of the new system in order to be prepared for such a "brilliant" future. Would anybody who has already done it say what's the best way for it? Thank you.

For Eidenk: Win98 is not valid or the best solution for some new apps (DVD burning, film downloads, etc). If that is your case the best for you is multi-boot your system, and use Win2000 or XP for the occasions in which you can't sort out the problem using Win98. Not only you will have the security of enjoying that new apps. You increase your overall security because you gain the possibility of using each system to backup/restore from scratch the other one. The procedure, which I recover and correct from an older post of mine, is as follows: 1 .- Assuming that you have Windows 98 already working, if you want to use also XP (not for 2000) divide your HD into less than 32 GB logical units and format all them as FAT32 (backup everything first). I use for this Partition Manager, not only to create the units but also to format them. You must have a main partition as active and the rest of the HD as extended partition, creating into it so many logical units as needed. In the case that the computer doesn't boot afterwards from DOS use fdisk (freeware, valid for big HD) from A: with the commands fdisk /mbr and sys a: c:, so that the HD starts to work. 2 .- After installing W2000 or XP, Program Files is shared with Win98. There are also the new folders Documents and Settings, and Windows directory. Mind that there's a new My Documents, this time into Documents and Settings! 3 .- Once fully installed the new OS it is convenient to introduce in autoexec.bat the following lines: deltree c: \ recycled> Nul deltree d: \ recycled> Nul deltree e: \ recycled> Nul ... (as many times as logical drives). This is to avoid problems with the trash bin. 4 .- Using Win98 go to Tools> Folder Options, and choose "Show all files and all extensions". 5 .- Create a folder on a different drive unit, and even better also on an external HD, and copy to it all C:\root files (excepting pagefile.sys), Documents and Settings and the new Windows folder. In another folder we copy also the old Windows (excepting the .swp file). For increased security it is convenient to have also all Program Files and My Documents copied somewhere else, and even better on an external HD. 6 .- In the future, to restore any of both OS you only need to boot the other one, delete the problematic OS and restore the corresponding saved copies. Mind not erasing anything of any of both systems while using the other! HTH

I don't like any Gruyère cheese OS. The best way to avoid anyone using backdoors against your will and without your knowledge is not having any backdoor at all. As it is commonly said, "your home is your castle".

I've spent in my self-made computer for Windows 98 SE more than I needed to buy a new one with preinstalled Vista. You may find a lot of information about how to do it in several threads in this same forum, which has been very useful to me. I'm sure it pays in terms of security, privacy and simplicity: no backdoors, no supervision of anybody at all and no Internet at start. Resources are limited, but I notice it very rarely. Using Unofficial SP-2 and some other unofficial improvements I never see the BSOD. If you use the Internet it is rather difficult to be affected by any virus. In case of trouble I have a cloned drive to change instantly from one drive to the other and it takes 2 minutes to rebuild from scratch the main one. IMO it is worth also to use Microsoft Office 97 and many old programs made specially for Windows 98 because they are more simple, easy and secure than the sophisticated ones that they are offering nowadays. Of course, if you want to play games it is better to have a playstation, and for DVD films you'd rather use the best DVD player-recorder and the widest plasma TV screen instead. Maybe MS doesn't like to hear that any customer prefers their old products, but they cannot avoid it and should be more attentive to the needs of people instead of going higher and higher in their technical and financial goals. The computer has become a very serious thing in our lives and IMHO the real goals for many users are simplicity, security and privacy, as I have already said.

Most individual users of XP never needed really any upgrade at all, because Windows 98 SE was enough for their simple needs and definitely a very stable OS after many years of experience, enjoying thousands of software for everything which is not only compatible but designed for this OS. I wonder how many users of Win98 would have upgraded if they had not been forced by the pressure used by all means (preinstalled software, ads, lack of support, stop of drivers supply, and so on) to defend the economic interests of Microsoft, the hardware dealers, the computer retailers and maybe some other instances which take profit of the many new unknown backdoors. This multiple pressure created since 2001 a feeling of being a poor fellow, an oldfashioned foolish or even almost a sinner for not upgrading to XP among Windows 98 SE users , the same feeling that they try to expand now among XP users for not upgrading to Vista (does any normal app really need such a giant hardware and software amount?), even when on the other side they offer you as an advantage the possibility of "downgrading" to XP, and even running Windows 98 through a "virtual machine". IMO there is an "abuse of dominant position", as EU says, and not only in Europe.

Of course I would never try it in that case. Nevertheless, if you allow me an opinion, using Windows 98 it is always convenient to divide the HD into two partitions: a main active one and another extended with at least 1 logical unit, by using Fdisk (from DOS) or Partition Manager or similar (from Windows). If the HD is small you may leave 1 GB for unit C (for Windows) and the rest for unit D (to preserve My documents and Program Files). So you avoid to have "all eggs in the same basket", as it is commonly said. This way you could also use D to have an alternative cloned Windows to use it inmediately at any moment by simply using the boot floppy. All this gives you a lot of security and freedom. HTH

I also had this problem myself, long ago. Don't worry: Win98 is the easiest and more transparent of all. If you allow me a suggestion, next time you do the install, before changing anything at all, make a clone of it, and afterwards update your clone every time you reach a fruitful advance. This way you will never more go backwards. In case of trouble you may do a fresh restart from the point where you were before. I've used for years cloning as an excellent substitute of any other backup system, because it allows you to work as having two, three or more computers on the same machine spending only a few minutes to create each one of them. Supposing you have your Windows directory in C: and you have a D drive (you may repeat it in all drives you want), the procedure is as follows: 1.- Download and install Notepad + +, an excellent editor, preferably an older version (freeware). 2.- Copy C: \ Windows with all its subdirectories in D: \ (copy-paste), excepting Win386.swp. Then go to D: \ Windows, select all files (no subdirectories), click "Properties" and remove all their attributes. 3.- Run Notepad + +. On the toolbar click File> Open. Find D:\ Windows and select "*. ini". You'll find about 10 programs. Open all at once. Click File> Open again and select *.dat. You'll see System.dat and User.dat. Open also both. 4.- Go to the toolbar and click "Replace" button. On "Search" write "C:\Windows", and on "Replace by" write D:\Windows. Click Replace on all files and wait a few seconds. You'll get a message saying that about 2,500 changes were made. Then confirm and click on the toolbar button "Save all." That's all. You have now two computers. 5.- To boot D: \ Windows you have two options: Option one: Replace "C: \ Windows" by "D: \ Windows" on AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS and MSDOS.SYS (in this replace C by D at HostWinBootDrv). Option two: Create a boot floppy by formatting it and copying from C:\ the files IO.SYS, COMMAND.COM, AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS and MSDOS.SYS, and then do the same in all them. You don't need to touch your present OS on drive C: you may boot using D:\Windows by simply booting your system with the floppy. In the future you will never more get hung, because you have the possibility of booting this way even when C:\Windows were totally destroyed. And you can delete C:\Windows and restore it from a previously saved .rar or .zip file at any time. For best results it is convenient to empty the bin and defrag C before unzipping. It is a great pleasure to have the possibility of trying all kind of software or downloading all kind of things having the security that you may restore your whole system this way in less than 5 minutes. (I have posted this before to help other people. Maybe it would be good to fix it somewhere else because or its real importance, to avoid repeating, but AFAIK I don't know where). HTH

I've used for years cloning as an excellent substitute of any other backup system, because it allows you to work as having two, three or more computers on the same machine spending only a few minutes to create each one of them. Supposing you have your Windows directory in C: and you have a D drive (you may repeat it in all drives you want), the procedure is as follows: 1.- Download and install Notepad + +, an excellent editor, preferably an older version (freeware). 2.- Copy C: \ Windows with all its subdirectories in D: \ (copy-paste), excepting Win386.swp. Then go to D: \ Windows, select all files (no subdirectories), click "Properties" and remove all their attributes. 3.- Run Notepad + +. On the toolbar click File> Open. Find D:\ Windows and select "*. ini". You'll find about 10 programs. Open all at once. Click File> Open again and select *.dat. You'll see System.dat and User.dat. Open also both. 4.- Go to the toolbar and click "Replace" button. On "Search" write "C:\Windows", and on "Replace by" write D:\Windows. Click Replace on all files and wait a few seconds. You'll get a message saying that about 2,500 changes were made. Then confirm and click on the toolbar button "Save all." That's all. You have now two computers. 5.- To boot D: \ Windows you have two options: Option one: Replace "C: \ Windows" by "D: \ Windows" on AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS and MSDOS.SYS (in this replace C by D at HostWinBootDrv). Option two: Create a boot floppy by formatting it and copying from C:\ the files IO.SYS, COMMAND.COM, AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS and MSDOS.SYS, and then do the same in all them. You don't need to touch your present OS on drive C: you may boot using D:\Windows by simply booting your system with the floppy. In the future you will never more get hung, because you have the possibility of booting this way even when C:\Windows were totally destroyed. And you can delete C:\Windows and restore it from a previously saved .rar or .zip file at any time. For best results it is convenient to empty the bin and defrag C before unzipping. It is a great pleasure to have the possibility of trying all kind of software or downloading all kind of things having the security that you may restore your whole system this way in less than 5 minutes. HTH

Many of us did the same. Welcome to freedom. "Don't worry, be happy..."

You are not the only one. I'm sure you will enjoy it even more if you clone your installed W98 on another drive to have the possibility of booting it in that second drive to restore the original if needed. Very easy and it gives you a 100% security. I've used it for years. Look at this post: http://www.msfn.org/board/Clone-Win98SE-on...-D-t118623.html Best wishes.

A wise advice. An old proverb says: "Limit your needs and you will limit your worries". I have enough with Win98.

No Forrested Gump at all! I use a desktop with an AMD motherboard built yr 2001 and updated firmware yr 2003 , 512 Mb memory and 900 Mhz processor, and it is so fast using Win98 as XP or Win2000 (double boot). You are right: misinformation pays! BTW I normally run Win98.