nostaglic98

If you can download drivers for Windows 9x for a board, that's really all you need. If you want something that is natively supported by Windows 9x without having to download drivers, youre going to have to go waaayy back... CPU speed is not an issue. Windows 95 and Windows 98FE were affected by a processor clock speed bug at 2.1GHz, but both of these issues have long been solved. Microsoft issued a HotFix for 98FE that fixes the problem, and 95 is solved by FIX95CPU. Windows 98SE and ME are not affected. The computer you refer to is/was terrible for two reasons - Celeron is garbage. Get rid of it and use a P4 chip. Also 512MB of RAM is just not enough for modern machines, especially if you use them for everyday computing tasks. I use Intel 845/865/875 boards + P4 processors for all of my 9x machines and have never had any issues. Also - last ATI AGP graphics cards supported under 9x are the x800/x850 series. Not sure about nVidia, but others here can help with that. I think I confused you there about "Native" support. What I actually meant was the board being "designed" for 9x/Me OSes - the Asus manual that would be included stated compatibility was 2000/XP. Besides, the other board I found was $10 cheaper, and seemed to suit what I want for this machine. Regarding the Intel Chipsets, I can understand that my "problems" were likely the Celeron processor. Even though this is probably the case, it made me apprehensive of getting another Intel based board... Though I will consider the one linked from the Aussie seller for my other PC now: I wasn't initially planning to even bother using it again. As for graphics cards, I found a nVidia GeForce FX5500 256mb graphics car (AGP 8x) that should work nicely. I think its actually "better" than the 8500GT (128mb) that I have - we'll see I suppose. What is point in buying nForce2 chipset for AMD processor when you are having nForce3 which fully support Windows 98, Me, XP and Vista (and with Vista drivers 7 and 8 I suspect) with CPU support until Phenom II X4 (3.5 GHz) ? You can buy this refurbished or maybe even if you are really lucky with your quest "new" MBO ? If you want Intel then you will buy new AsRock 775i65G R3.0. In the end if you want to be funny you will buy VIA processor and MBO with CN896 chipset I was told by a post above nForce 2 was the highest supported. To be honest, I'm not interested in additional cost for this - and Dual-Core processor support in 9x/Me is non-existent - so there is not much point getting "too modern" - especially when drivers might be flaky for the older Windows releases. I won't be using XP on the machine originally being upgraded either - the other machine will Dual-Boot XP/98 (or Me, I'll see). Thanks for your input though.

Oh dear... You've got me in a pickle! But reading over some benchmarks done, I can see that the performance difference isn't all that great. At the top end of the gaming sector, AMD is practically equal with Intel and AMD beats Intel in some 3D-Mark tests. Thanks for the offer though. I may pursue this option if I bring my other PC into the 98 era with this.

Well, that didn't take long! I found an Asus A7N8X with the nForce 2 chipset from the same eBay seller. This has support from 98SE through all versions (at least to XP anyway). http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Asus-A7N8X-X-Socket-A-462-MOTHERBOARD-AMD-nforce2-/120672440524?pt=AU_Components&hash=item1c18a350cc&_uhb=1 This board is also $10 cheaper than the other, which is pretty nice too. This seller IS offering an AMD XP 3200+ , but it will cost $89 total, whereas the other (Athlon XP 2800+) will be $46 - and for a fairly small gain in my opinion. Thankfully, I won't need extra RAM, since I can "steal" that from the current Celeron machine (a single 512mb stick). I'm still tossing up whether to get Windows Me or stick with Windows 98 (which is additional cost, as I already have to "fork out" for Office 2000) - the built USB drivers on Windows Me would be nice, but NUSB is available (though in my experience) can be "flaky." I might dig around here and see what I can find regarding that - do I install the NUSB driver's INSTEAD of the Motherboard USB 2.0 drivers, or use the MB drivers, then install NUSB? Now all I have to do is find a decent AGP 8x card that will give nice gaming performance on 98SE/Me - then I'm all set Thanks for all the help guys! Especially CharlotteTheHarlot - you've given superb advice and have avoided me making a dud purchase too When I get the PC together, I might put in another thread with the full specs and do some benchmarking, see where I'm at.

Yes, I did glance through this, which brings me to realise it isn't natively supporting Windows 9x/Me - you can download drivers, though it seems there may be some glitches, considering it isn't native support But, there are always other motherboards around! I'm sure I can find something decent. Though I'm slightly concerned about CPU speed - I though that Windows 98/Me had issues when going above around 2.1GHz. I know Windows 98 had it for sure - which might explain why the present computer I've used with 98 has been soooo terrible (2.8GHz Celeron, Socket 478 from 2004). I suppose I'll keep hunting. So you recommend an nVidia nForce 2 Chipset for AMD? Looks like I might *just* go and look at Intel, though the current machine we have has i865/ICH5 and was flaky with 98 (Asus P4P-800MX)

Thats what Asus suggests, anyway It may very well support Windows 95, and there is some error. I might check that and get back to you on that

Hi again, I was go through eBay and found this motherboard: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Asus-A7V400-MX-SE-Socket-462-Motherboard-KM400A-NEW-/120755670875?pt=AU_Components&hash=item1c1d994f5b&_uhb=1 Checking Asus' website shows there is support from NT4 right through to XP (and higher, I presume, but excluding Windows 95). Would this board be suitable, or has someone had poor experiences with the board?

Okay, its been a while, and I'm back - and looking for a suitable 98 machine. The Celeron PC that I've used for this is unstable (being from 2004), even with 98 drivers for its components and very slow, is equally slow on XP for whatever reason. I'm scouring the likes of eBay for computers that are compatible with Windows 98SE or Me. The HP DC7100u that I got in January for my Home-Server (on XP Pro) actually has chipset drivers for Windows 98, Me, 2000 and XP. Though I'm not going to try putting 98 on that (The server will instead be downgraded to Windows 2000 Pro or Server next year). Basically, I'm looking for an older Big-Brand box, capable of playing older games (Pre-2003 or so) - so I suppose a P3 or better is advisable. What models would be capable of this, and aren't giant Pizza-Box (SFF) style models or are mini-towers? The other issue I face is whether to go Windows Me or not. Almost 10 years ago, my 2nd computer ran that OS longer than the previous 98 installations, but I understand that I may not be able to get user created content/old updates on this site, with the OS being "jumped on" by Windows XP 10 months later... So 98 is really a first choice for me. Thanks for any help guys: It is very appreciated!

No, I don't believe this ciomputer uses a Via chipset. It uses the Intel i865 or ICH5/6 one (well, I think, anyway!)

Well, last night after I posted the last reply (via the Windows 98 PC, not the Macbook Pro), I rebooted the Windows 98 system to see if everything would be OK. Well, this morning, I go to turn on the PC, and get that horrible black screen after the starting up splash screen. I use my Safe-Mode trick, reboot to find that Windows is trying to install drivers (again? I've already done that!) I don't think this Windows installation is particularly fond of Wireless internet... By the way, I installed IE6-SP1, Outlook Express 6 and apparently, Media player was supposed to be in there. But I beg to differ! Other utilities include .Net Framework, Microsoft C + +, Microsoft Installer 2 (whichever is recommended for one of the installers), the Microsoft Unicode Layer and the appropriate drivers for my system. The Wi-FI adapater I'm using (Netgear WG111v1 has support for Windows 98, but my guess is that the USB interface causes Windows 98 to have bootup problems. So, I might have to look for a proper PCI Wi-FI card (Note it isn't practical running an Ethernet cable down the hallway, and we don't really have a crawlspace below the house or above the ceiling.) The only other option would be to relocate the PC, which I"m not interested in doing! I've just rebooted now for the 3rd or 4th time, and Windows 98 has managed to wakeup to the proper graphics again. I did disconnect my USB thumbdrive and Wi-Fi adapater before proceeding with this particular reboot, however.

Yep, followed instructions. I'm surprised at myself though. I actually repaired things after around 2 hours of messing around! After installing applications such as IE6 and Wireless drivers, I eventually figured out to go to Safe Mode, open display options and click apply, allowing the system to reboot. I set my desired colour/resoultion via the Intel app, reboot again and Hey-Presto, she's normal again! After installing .NET framework, KernelEx, Microsoft C + + 2005 etc, everything is far more stable as far as I'm concerned. Originally however, I was interested in knowing what other user created updates I should install with WUPG, or if thats generally not advised... During my persuits of running 98SE smoothly, I was considering finding a copy of Windows ME and trying that out instead, since it would be far more suited to this PC. But I'm happy now!

Well. After installing IE6SP1 and appropriate utilitties, my graphics seem to have gone Kuckoo again! I wish I knew the problem. This wasn't actually occurring beforehand either!

Hi Guys, Today, I finally got around to swapping computers with someone I know. This computer has run Windows 98 twice in the past, with various OS(es) (Linux/XP) in between. I installed Windows 98SE and installed the SP3 from your site. Sadly however, after installing WiFi and IE6, Windows 98 would no longer boot with the correct graphics display. So I've reinstalled now, and I'm going to be using the "WUPG" pack from this site instead, which as I understand adds most updates and hotfixes to Windows. What other applications from this forum are recommended downloads? Can any of these packs be mixed together, is it hit and miss? The computer I'm using is from 2004, and isn't as stable as a dedicated Windows 98 system from the day. I am desperately trying to find one of these systems though!

Disappointing, might have to do some more research on that one then! Thanks for your welcome too!

I'm actually beginning to wonder whether a HP DC7100u might be an idea... Would the Windows 2000 drivers run under 98 with KernelEx installed? Might have to attempt this in my VPC 2007 installation of 98SE... Can anyone think of a name brand PC that would have been widely used that has 98 compatibility? I think of IBM/Lenovo when I say this... Maybe I should just pickup the system that reminds me of my P3 system from 08-09ish.

Hi guys, Noticing how Windows 9x is dying off these days, I've decided to come join in what's left of the community. Here is some basic history with me and computers: First computer used: White-box Clone 450Mhz Celeron Processor 480MB of RAM 20GB Western Digital, failed in 2004/2005, 80GB Maxtor installed Windows 98SE, upgraded to XP Pro w/ SP1 in 2003/4. XP SP2 Pro 3 Dial-up modems (went through them like stink!) Onboard sound + Soundcard Sadly, PSU issues caused this puppy to "go bust" in late 2007. First personal computer: Acquired around this time of year 2002 Windows 98 (unsure of version) Two Hard disks (again, unsure) MS Office 97 Had AT/5 pin DIN keyboard, Serial mouse CD-ROM + Floppy Unknown processor, assumed AMD K6 (common in those systems with 2 parallel/serial) Add in Graphics and Sound card Due to "experimentation" at a young age with Windows 98, this computer met it's match at the end of 2002. It was a free computer... 2nd Personal Computer: Acquired early 2003 "Windows 95/NT4 Compatible" Acer Desktop (Pizza box style) Pentium 2 w/ MMX "slot in" processor (heatsink,fan, cpu as an all in one style that slots into MB) 3GB Quantum FIREBALL HD! Unknown RAM - Enough to run XP like stink! (Faster than a 2.4GHz Celeron we have today!) Acer monitor - 17," nice 'n' big OS(ses): Windows 98, reinstalled so many times it isn't funny (experimentation my friends!) Ran Windows ME in from early 2004-September(ish) 04. Then up to Windows 2000 for 2 weeks, then Windows XP (for the rest of its life). Stopped working December 05 - keyboard stopped responding after loading screen, mouse port dead, Com2 port used for mouse support. Due to an accident with the voltage switch, I took out "everything" on this computer in May of 2005. Used the "First computer used" until May 2007. 3rd Personal Computer 1.83Ghz Core 2 Duo E6300 250GB SATA Hard Disk IDE DVD-RW 2GB of RAM Windows XP Home (supposed to have come with Vista - no discount or anything with XP, peed me off a lot!) Still running today as a gaming system for Flightsim etc Also acquired in 2007: AMD K6 3GB Quantum Fireball Windows 98 Same ports etc as my first system. Worked great, until I reinstalled Windows 98 w/o sound drivers!!! Had a 24MB S3 Trio in it. Monitor cable was "messed up" by some dodgy pins (bent out of shape). A similar system to this was acquired in mid 2003, but sadly, the PSU "just stopped," but still allowed power to the monitor. That thing had just 1 1GB Seagate disk!!! 4th Personal Computer (2nd of my own machines): "CDM" from 1999/2000 800MHz Pentium 3 384MB of SD-RAM (upgraded by the school computer tech just for me!) 10GB IDE HD Windows XP Pro SP1 (this was in August/September 2008!), with all apps etc still present (computer was supercharged by being disconnected from the school network). Decided to install Windows 98 + Ubuntu 10.04. Took a while to get it, but everything worked splendidly. Back to XP in late 09 in preparation for selling, acquired first laptop, and had to get rid of this thing. I believe this machine is actually advertised in a 2nd hand goods newspaper in a locality near to where I was. Might be worth dragging her back - I spent $50 on an IDE DVD burner for that thing! 5th Personal Computer: 1.5GHz Pentium M 30-40GB of Hard Disk 480MB of RAM XP Pro, then Home SP1/3 Xubuntu in its final days. Took me lots of work to get the integrated graphics function though. 6th Personal Computer: 13" Apple Macbook Pro, Late 2011 4GB of RAM 500GB HD Superdrive FaceTime HD iLife MS Office 2011 OS X Lion Been a great system! Other systems in the house include a 2004 custom built with XP Home, 2.4GHz Celeron on a P4P800MX board with 480MB of RAM (I lost the 1GB stick I had for it). This system was on Windows 98SE until very recently, just 2 days ago. I just didn't have the software to keep it going. I am looking into coming back to Windows 98, but need a good computer from the time, preferably one that was 100% plug 'n' play, similar to the system from 2007. It would be great to have that sort of thing back in my life, a personal system with older games such as Midtown Madness 1/2, old Age of Empires, V-Rally Expert Edition 2 (from a cereal box!), etc. Is it even possible to build Windows 98 compatible systems today on a cheap budget? Or are components starting to get more expensive because of lack of use, etc? Greatly appreciated guys, and thanks for reading the above info!!! I treasure these old computers, so it would be nice to get them back into me