bpalone

Being 2007 vintage, you can probably manage to find drivers for the video, and sound. They may even be available on the manufactures web site, but I'm guessing that you won't be that lucky. Laptops are notorious for being hard to find drivers for OS's other than the one that came on it. If you strike out on the manufactures web site and you don't know who made the video or sound chips, load a live linux distro and from a terminal run "lspci" without the quotes. That will give you a list of many of the internal components. Then you can try the chip manufactures web site for drivers. The next issue you will likely face is RAM, having to much. Rloew, who frequents this board, has patches available (not free) that allow for dealing with to much RAM as well as other things. Get a good hardware list together for what the computer has and have it ready to post here. You are in the right place to get it going, as there are some really knowledgeable people here that are more than willing to help you out. The folks here are the greatest!! Good luck and don't get discouraged if you run into trouble. Just be ready and willing to follow advice and instructions given from the more knowledgeable members here.

I'll concur with 090624's response. I didn't really think about it when I went through through the process with my set up on a CF card. I also made the switch to USER Defined in the BIOS and all went well after that. The unit is down now, though waiting on the delivery man to bring the replacement LCD. Until the LCD laid down it worked fine. Good luck.

You may want to look at using an older version of ZoneAlarm. I use a really old version when I'm running my Win 2K either natively or in a VM. I think it is ver. 5.55 or something like that. You can find the older versions here I know it is oooold, but I like the old stuff. Good luck, tracking it down.

Thanks for the input. Just disabled the swap/page file. Word 2K and Excel 2K both loaded without a whimper. So.... I guess I'll just go without having a swap/page file. We'll see how long a card lasts. The smaller (storage capacity) IDE laptop drives are getting harder to find and then you may end up going the used route. If a card will last a reasonable amount of time, then for $15 to $17 a pop for an 8 gig card isn't too bad a price. Thanks again.

In your wildest dreams, possibly. I don't think they have any interest whatsoever in resurrecting an old OS. Doesn't make financial sense. As you have seen here, there are people getting it to work on modern systems, so it can still be done. However, at some point in time it will become cost prohibitive to try and run it.

My question is: Should I be concerned about temp files and other writes to the CF card? If so, could someone offer some suggestions as to what to do and hopefully some guidance as how to do it? I have forgotten most of what I knew about DOS and have become a GUI weanie. Which is odd, as I came into the GUI world kicking and screaming. This for an old Compaq Presario 1600 XL laptop, that has JBL sound system. The primary use is to play my music and a movie once in a while. It has a double purpose of being an emergancy back-up unit in the event my main laptop were to go T.U. while out on the road on a project. This past year it would of seen quite a bit of use, but will probably only see 3 to 4 months out of a year use in a normal year. Running 98se, 196 meg ram, 500 Mhz Pentium. Currently only has OS, programs (WordPerfect, etc) and music files on it. I want to copy it over to another CF card to have as a backup to slide in when it does fail. That will be done with GParted Live. But, before I make that image I want to have all my tweaks in place. Thanks in advance. This place is the goto place for good information.

Another distro that would be easy to pick up, is Mint. I just read that they are staying with the old Gnome desktop, at least for a while anyway. Is not free of bloat, but is easy to pick up and since it is based off of Ubuntu, there should be plenty of online support. Just remember that what you know about Windows and DOS, you didn't acquire overnight. So, don't expect to pick up everything about Linux overnight either. I would recommend going the dual boot setup, that way you can use either and get used to Linux.

First things first!! What ever you chose to use, IT IS ONLY AN OPERATING SYSTEM and if it does what you want and you like it, THEN USE IT. Everyone has pretty well said it all, and I concur. Personally, I have never liked XP. 98se and 2K were the peak for Microsoft, everything since has been down hill. I left the upgrade treadmill about 4 years ago and have gone almost entirely over to the Penguin. But, I still use 2K and 98se almost daily because there are some software packages that I use that are not available for Linux and they don't work well in WINE. So, if I were you, I would probably go with 2K. But, as has been mentioned set up a dual or treble boot machine (98,2K and XP) and see what suites your needs best. You may find that one does 98% and the other is better for the other 2%. It's a personal choice and you have to make it. Good luck. I think I hear 2k shouting pick me, pick me. edit was to correct an error.

One method is to determine what chipset the MB has and go directly to the manufacturer web site. If HP is no longer offering their 98 drivers (if there were any), that is the best way. You could also do a google search for device drivers and go to some of the sites that keep old driver downloads available. You know the usual cautions with such sources, but sometimes it is the only option. Most of the time they are clean, but be sure to satisfy yourself. I don't know, or can't remember, how to get the hardware information using DOS or Windows. Someone here will hopefully chime in with an answer to that. If not, get your hands on a Linux LiveCD and from a terminal enter "lspci" without the quotes. That will give list of most of your hardware. Assuming it will boot from a CD. Good luck.

Naaah, it's more like the Energizer Rabbit, it keeps going and going and going and going........

First off, all it is, is an operating system. If it does what you need and you like it then, by all means, use it. Now, you can't expect an operating system that was left in the dust by its creator, to run the latest and greatest software. But, if the software you have for it does everything you need to do, then why would you want to upgrade? You can keep your hard earned money and use for other needs/wants. Now, someone has taken the time and effort to create a package such as KernelEx that has extended the usefulness of the OS, is nothing more than a gift from heaven. 98 is a good operating system and in my opinion it and Win 2K were Microsoft's peak, everything since has been down hill. My opinion and you r mileage may vary. If you really wish to use a newer OS for some of your surfing, etc., then try dual booting with a light version of Linux. That way you can have both and decide which one to load at boot up time. All of my computers, except a 98se laptop are dual boot. I personally quit the MS Treadmill with 2K and have no regrets, at this time. 9x is not dead, just not supported in the mainstream anymore. The audiance here is not the normal everyday computer user. It is a far more technically educated bunch of users that see no reason to retire a perfectly good computer and operating system before it croaks on its own. In fact, if you do some searching you will find there are still some folks using DOS and finding ways to continue using it with new hardware. So, 98 is not dead. Have a good day and consider the dual boot option.

I agree with Jaclaz that your message is a bit confusing. If you are just wanting to recover your important files, I'll offer a couple of suggestions: 1. Remove the hard drive and hook it up to another machine, as a secondary drive, and then copy the files off of it. 2. If you don't have access to another machine and your current machine is capable of booting from a CD, then get your hands on a live CD of Linux and use it to gain access to your files and get them copied to another medium. Knoppix is one possibility, there are others. Just be aware that you may have to find an older version of whichever one you decide to use, since even Linux has started dropping some support for older hardware. The Live CD could also be used to get around the permissions/attrib for copying the files over. Just be careful if you do this, as Linux doesn't have all the "Are you sure you want to this?" safety attitude. It just does it, assuming that you know what you're doing. Good luck getting it figured out.

My problem had been if I left the machine and had a meal and came back, the mouse was froze. It would accept keyboard input, but the mouse was dead. (The mouse was USB) I figured that BIT ROT had finally gotten to me, since that install had came from 9x update and had gone through a few motherboard upgrades as well. I knew I had been pushing my luck. So, I did a complete re-install hoping that would fix it. But, it didn't, so thought I might have some memory going bad in the LOW addresses. Ran the memory test x86 or whatever it is that comes on most Linux CDs and found nothing. I even tried moving memory to see if that would do it. The problem persisted, but only in 2K, not in my Linux install. Finally, about a week to ten days later it did it to me in Linux. At that point, I accepted that it was a hardware issue. So... I'm assuming that you have tried a fresh install, and have eliminated the memory as a possible cause. If so, then I would start to lean towards hardware. Do you have a USB device you could use to stress the USB circuits on the mother board? I am just thinking out loud, hoping that something I mutter might light the light of inspiration to solve the issue. Good luck at getting it diagnosed.

- The PC is too slow for virtualization of DOS, or Windows 9x. I virtualize with a 1.4 Celeron and 2.0 Ghz AMD Athlon and am quite happy with how everything works. Both are single core CPUs. Now, I must confess that I am using the Penguin for the host and using VirtualBox. In order to run DOS and 98 you have to do some tweaking and install some additional software to slow the CPU down and keep tempuratures in line. I don't know how well VirtualBox does under Windows as I quit the treadmill at 2K. I would go to the VirtualBox forums and see what you can find out about using XP or above as your host and setting up for DOS and 98 guests. There are other programs for virtualization, but I have no experience with them. They may allow for more functionality of DOS and 98 than VirtualBox, it was written and optimized for 2K and above, so some features are not available for the older stuff. Hope this helps you a bit, if you decide to try the virtual route.

Do you happen to have another machine you could try to reproduce the issue on? I had a motherboard fail on me, that only acted up on Win 2K, for a spell. But, it finally did it in my other OS a few weeks later. I tried most everything else, before I finally had to allow that it was the motherboard. I still have the motherboard and could use it in an absolute pinch. Just a thought to try and reproduce the issue on another machine. Good luck tracking the issue down.

How has this turned out? Just curious.

Another thought for copying the track 0, is to use a Linux live cd and use "dd". Be very careful with dd, as it assumes you know what you are doing and does it without asking twice. You can hose yourself in real short order. I can't remember the command syntax for dd and I'm on the road away from books. However, I think it was Kyle Rankin wrote an article in Linux Journal a year or so ago covering using dd to copy the MBR. I know this is a Windows forum, but tools are tools. Another thought, is that in bulk erasing you may of wiped some marker off of the disk that it needs to orient itself. Might search for info on the layout of the recording surface on the LS-120. Hope this helps. Also, hope you get it solved with what you have and are trying. The article I mention can be found here.

"Does this new hard disk addressing scheme apply to drives of 250 GB or less storage capacity? " I believe it does, but I have been wrong before. Rleow may know for sure, he has several patches available for 98se including something for the new addressing scheme. I recall a thread here about a year ago that talked about the coming change. The thread is here. I know that I assumed it did and have acquired a good supply of hard drives.

I do still have and use 98se, but am more a 2K user. I have also made hardware acquisitions to have on hand to get through the years. So, if you are serious about staying with your chosen OS, then I would advise building a hardware war chest or supply closet. The one issue you haven't addressed is the change in the Hard Drive addressing scheme that is supposed to affect XP and older systems. They are supposed to start showing up this year. Supposedly they will come with a jumper to afford compatability with older OSes. So, start picking up hardware and keep it on hand. I just had an eye opener here. Was setting doing some things and it hit me that maybe I had better check into getting a backup printer. The new printers won't support the older OSes. In fact, HP doesn't even have the old 98 drivers available anymore. I guess some licensing issue with Microsoft is the reason. So, yes hardware does and doesn't become an issue, it depends on how much you are willing to pay for a part someone has. As a final note, remember this. What ever you use, it is only an Operating System. If it works for you and you like it, then use it. (I have moved mostly to the Penguin, but still use 98se, 2K & XP and will continue to until my demise.) Good luck.

Just to throw in here with dencorso. Find and buy the hardware designed to run with OUR beloved older OSes. That is what I've done. In fact, I am probably hardwared up through my demise. If something lays down, I just go to the storage bin and get what I need. Yes, it does tie up money, but I also won't be the one paying $300 for a $100 part because I need it and they are the only place I can get it. If you really want to save, hit the yard/garage sales and the thrift shops. A lot of older hardware can be had from those sources at reasonable prices. Long live 2K!!! (Even though it is not the first option on my boot up screen.)

PCWorld just did a review on full suites. The least intrusive as to memory usage was Trend Micro. Don't have any idea whether it will run on 2K or not. I went with Avast because they appeared to be fairly lightweight and figured that they would support 2K quite a spell since they just did drop 98se support. Good luck on finding something light enough.

For your books, customer data, etc., you might want to find an older version of Intuits's QuickBooks Pro. I use their 2007 version and run it on 2K. I did a quick Google search and found that you can still buy new versions. If you go this route, be sure to write down and keep the number they give you when you register it. It will save hassle if you have to reinstall. You will loose the ability the bank online and loose the ability to automate your 1099's. Other than that it will function just fine. You quite bit of functionality for a reasonable price and will keep everything together in one place. Just be real religious about backups. Not that it is prone to errors, but I had a hard drive failure years ago and had to redo 1.25 years books. I have since became very religious about book work backups. As for securing it, the best way is to just never let it see a connection. Other than that, I am sure there are people with far more knowledge in that area than me that can give you good advise. I'm sure you are going to hear to not do it, but it is what you want and you understand the risks. I use old versions of Zone Alarm for the firewall, and being behind a NAT. Most of the Antivirus products still work with it, so no recommendations there. Good luck.

Xeno86, thanks for the lead on the video driver. I had thought of trying that, but you saved some leg work. It did work to enlarge the screen. So, now it is on to see where and what is missing. It will be a while before I get back to it, as I'm headed out of town for a few days. But, it isn't going anywhere, so I guess time is a bit on my side, for a change. Thanks again for the lead and your work on KernelEx.

M()zart thanks for the reply. I did mess with it a bit last night (for far to long) and did have minor success and minor failure. This was done with VB 2.2.xx (I know not the latest and greatest, but it ain't broke.) running in Ubuntu Hardy 8.04.x. Guest additions in VirtualBox are not supposed to run/work with 98. With Kex installed, it partially loaded, complained a couple times and completed the install. The end result, was I still had a small screen (640x480), had USB support, couldn't get to files on the host, but could connect to the internet. So, it is close but no cigar. I guess I may have to check into dependency walker and step through the installation to see where/what is missing. I'll mess with it more later, but need to work so I can eat. For those not familiar with VirtualBox, they state that it will run 98 but it is not supported with guest additions. It does run it and you have to install Rain to get the CPU to settle down due 98's not using the hlt command. If I can, or someone else can, figure out if it is even possible to get the guest additions to work with 98, then it may offer another place for 98 to continue an existence in the future when it may be almost impossible to find hardware that runs 98.

Has anyone tried Kernelex with a virtual machine in VirtualBox? I'm wondering if one could get VirtualBox's Guest Additions to load and work with kex installed? Just looking for any prior experiences. Might save me hours and what few hairs I still have left on my head. Thanks in advance.