danasaur

I always use GRUB, and run 98, 2Kpro, XPpro, Vista (OMG, how totally lame), Solaris, Suse, Fedora, PCLOS, along with a few other (transient) Linux flavors. Not a blind obsession, I need to test my apps on all platforms. But my first partition for the past 10 years, is always W98SE, and it is the ONLY WinTel I ever trust on the net! Of course, that is after a lot of castration... removing the MS-Malware: MSIE, MSOE, WinUpd, WSH, WinJava (ruled illegal in DOJ Sun suit anyway). Once that is done properly, I have never found a virus that doesn't bring up a "duh, whattayawannaopenthisthingwith?" dialog. Nothing left to "collaborate with the enemy". Absolutely immune to all viruses ever made, once FireFox w NoScript/Flashblock have been configured sensibly. Of course, there is no way any of my Win kernels will get any software updates from MS.com after all this, but who wants someone lifting up my gal's skirt on line, anyway? W98SE was quite simply, ostracized by its own daddy, because of its potential invulnerability and stability, not its "security hazards" as MS claims. Removing the lift-and-peek built-in back doors from W98SE makes the most stable Win platform ever made, since 622. That is why they pressure Sandisk, Kingston, PQI and all the other USB manufacturers to deny 98 compatibility... specifically (all manufacturers who provide W98 USB access natively get removed from standard driver packages in the newer editions). MS-Blackmail, the usual suspect. This is so they could force ignorant consumers to use an OS on line that would totally lay down and drop its drawers for any probe... and more importantly, data collection. The first time I registered my W2Kpro on line, I got barraged with spam in my (previously) spam-free mailbox, overnight. All the spam was personal, addressed to the ("user") name I used on line in that registration. Some was rude, obscene, proving beyond a doubt just how few moral scruples MS has about "to whom" it sells its registered user database. So I participated in your poll, not to boast, but to explain why I have a scrolling menu list at boot time, and why W98SE is the only MS entry I ever punch while the 10-100 is plugged in. So I really appreciate this forum, which seems to have attracted all the sensible folks who (know) the MS spin against 98, and unjustified abandonment, is BS. It is the ONLY safe 32-bit progeny of a rogue corporation, so we will never allow it to be annihilated. We will keep it alive -and vital. I suspect MS will order this entire comment removed... but I will send all here, big kudos anyway.

Just FYI, regarding the problems several of you report with the Mitsumi/IBM FDD. Be aware that FDD is one of the current industry standards. It is designed specifically as a laptop/desktop boot drive (besides being a super speed drive). For example, I am obsessed with the EePC now, so much that I haven't used my "big cumbersome" laptop in months. The Mitsumi is the ONLY "recommended" FDD for the EeePC. Why? Because the driver is contained in BIOS. Therefore, even before USB is detected, the Mitsumiit is automatically installed in Windows desktop (even if USB has not yet been installed)! This is a boot function, only true if it was plugged in BEFORE post/BIOS. Most newer laptops have the Mitsumi FDD resident in BIOS. Check that by deselcting BIOS "quiet boot". If the Mitsumi shows up, you have newer BIOS that already supports the FDD. So it doesn't need a "driver". Otherwise, if you add a "generic/universal" that includes Mitsumi, then desktop/kernel adds ANOTHER driver (like GenGuide) the drive will have TWO registries, thus TWO processes trying to command its IO. That always results in a problem. Like Colon Powell and Rumsfeld, two "bosses" tring to run a show... recipe for failure. So if your Mitsumi/IBM is to be used with a "universal" USB driver, containing multiple storage devices, then you should NOT have it connected at boot! That way, only the "universal driver" will load, and all will be fine. Myself, I just strip the Mitsumi from all my USB .inf files/registry, so that it is ONLY controlled by BIOS. The performance is MUCH better that way. Maximus is a great solution, but let your "universal" or "Maximus" control everything EXCEPT the Mitsumi. That is your best arrangement, since BIOS controlled devices have more powerful friends "higher up in the kernel" (earlier in the load).