ragnargd

Then, wouldn't taking the other PCIe-Slot help as well? Ah, i would have to test that as well... but i'm just now in the process of installing W10 on my GA-870A-USB3, so this just has to wait a little bit... btw: As far as i remember, this "ressource conflict" was about a dma-controller, and "motherboard ressources", and when i looked at the details, it included the first six byte of the list. Could have been the interrupts, in fact... you may have a look at it?

The GA-870A-USB3 runs stable, meanwhile, with 32GB Ram, and the 8-core Opteron. Multi-booting with different GPUs on different OSs works as well: I installed a GF 7600 GT in the second PCIe-slot, connected it via VGA, set it as primary display in BIOS, and installed the usual driver in W98SE. I installed a GTX 950 into the first PCIe-slot, and connected it to the DVI-D port of the same monitor. W98SE sees it as a non-working Standard VGA device, and as it is the secondary display, i was able to disable it in system settings (this did not work for it as the primary display). So when i start up W98SE, the VGA-port is used on my monitor. On XP, i installed the latest driver for the GTX 950 (GTX 960 being the "latest" GPU still supported on that driver, which does not install anything for the GF 7600 GT). Automagically, the driver / XP chooses the GTX 950 as ist primary card, hides (!) the (unrecognized) GF 7600 GT in system settings, and once the driver takes over, the monitor switches from VGA to DVI-D. If they'd cut off my ears now, my grin would encompass my head full circle... (i hope this does not get lost in translation)... :-)

Funny, on some occasions, i can't find this (or other) threads in the list - and then, sometimes they are there (i put a link in my favs, as that always works). Most probably it's just me needing glasses... O:) Still, i think having a good instruction for that problem would help with many boards, for which there is no W98SE-driver, as very often, the DOS/NDIS2-drivers are still supported by the respective companys. Many links on the interweb on that have died already.

I can understand you look for a board for that CPU (and no 8x0 chipset supports it), but with regard to my really bad experience with the AMD 770 (that has the same SB710 as the 760G), i'd start with a *cheap* board... ;-) btw.: As i look at it, the ASRock 980DE3/U3S3 has 760G, supports your CPU, has two separate PS/2 ports, front and back USB3, a *floppy controller*, and enough slots (being ATX) to adapt to any shortcomings... just my 2ct... just don't blame me if W9x blows up on it... :-D

I'd rather think these ports are some quick hack of an USB 1 port, and without proper initialisation, they get confused... Anyway... :-) At the moment i'm really pressing the GA-870A-USB3 - and it seems to be quite stable with W98SE. Only "issue" are the non-initialising USB2-ports, but this is still ok-ish, as, contrary to i.e. P35 chipset, activating them does not make the system hang - so on a multi-boot system, you can leave them on, and then use them at least on any other (more modern) OS. As i run them with an 8-core Opteron and 32GB of RAM, i may soon join you in the "Day-to-day running Win 9x/ME with more than 1 GiB RAM" top three... O:-) I also try to have two GPUs on it simultanely, the more modern GPU deactivated in W98SE, and the GF 7600GT deactivated in XP and W10, so i can make use of that horse-power (as i.e. a secondary gaming machine). At the moment, this fails, because my power-supply is too weak for my GTX 770... :-) btw: As my thread seems to have gone, can anyone point me to a "howto install an NDIS2 driver for a NIC (in this case: RTL 8111E) after W98 is already installed"?

Yeah, not having a PS/2-port is a real show-stopper. btw: As you already predicted, a PS/2-splitter cable will not work on GigaByte boards (in this case, on my GA-870A-USB3 rev. 3.1). They DO work on on some laptops, and (by reports on amazon and newegg) on some motherboards of some other brands - but 'tis of no help here...

Extensive tests were done on compatibility of W98SE with the AMD 970 chipset lately. With only a few modifications (i.e. Ushers Method, unoff. SP 3.0, NUSB 3.6), it was possible to install and run W98SE. This was the first time USB2 worked right from the start (legacy mode set to AUTO), and no sata-patch was needed for running sata devices from port 5 and 6 (set to IDE mode). The big BUT: After installing NVidia drivers, the board became quite unstable, without any clue on what was causing it. RLoew can confirm this as well. A visible problem was a ressource conflict of a DMA-controller with motherboard ressources (although this does not necessarily have to be linked to the problem). Unless someone reports a fix for the problem, i'd not waste time on boards with AMD 9x0 chipsets. Which really is a pity...

It's a shame, really: The (not-so-new-anymore) AMD 970 chipset is unstable (edit: commercial Patch by RLoew is available!), once an NVidia GPU driver is installed (all works fine with XP or W10). But it is the forst AMD chipset for a long time, which' USB-implementation actually works flawless with NUSB (given the right settings in BIOS). Now, as it is instable, i'll try the AMD 870 once more. Unfortunatley, there, USB-components are detected and installed, but don't seem to initialize, so no mouse or USB-stick (or whatever) can be used. All works fine under XP or W10. Does anyone have any advice (beyond adding a USB2-PCI card, which i already did successfully), or idea? Use the patch by RLoew...

AMD 970: Moving the GPU to another PCIe-slot did not change anything, right after using Opera 10.63, the system became unstable. Not that i really expected this to help, but well, another box checked...

Yep, they are said to be USB 1.1. That said, as you mentioned, probably not usable with W95 during installation (didn't think of that, as i only use w98se - there it should work, as the USB 1.1 stack is part of the base build, i think). They are described as usable during boot (i.e. BIOS), but that doesn't mean much. I'd be interested which chipset they use. Some via, i suppose. I'll take my time to experiment. It'll take some weeks before they arrive anyway.

I saw on different sites a PCI card with w98se drivers, that give two PS/2-ports, and, depending on model, either two internal, or two external USB 2.0 ports. Might be interesting for some. Didn't test it out yet, but ordered one. --> This card did NOT work. Note: I sent it back, and got my money back, so trader and OEM were all right...

Regarding PS/2-ports for Boards without enough: http://www.cuc.eu/en/307805.html Maybe compatible with NUSB? Says it comes with drivers.

That is very similar to what i experience when using opera or IE, just that it happens immediately. I will try with moving the cards between slots (i have two PCIe-slots available), as it may be a problem of the w98se or nvidia drivers with interrupt sharing on that chipset. But, all in all, it feels more like a memory overflow error or a memory leak (of the nvidia-driver, in combination with the chipset). Although i suspect the problem may come up with any driver providing DirectX: Did you consider trying out an ATI x800 256MB PCIe? But beyond NVidia-drivers and such, I don't think that a ressource conflict between "motherboard ressources" and a "DMA-controller" is a good sign anyway... The AMD 8x0 chipset seems to be more promising regarding stability (although even this may be misleading, i did not do serious stress-tests yet). Unfortunately, there exist only two AMD 8x0 boards that provide support for (some) Opterons, and have two separated PS/2-ports. ASRock 890FX Deluxe5, and the ASRock 870iCafe R2.0 And they are nearly impossible to find, even in used condition. As i supect USB2 will have to be added separately, such a board would easily be cramped with addin-cards (sound being a must) So even if it works, it is most probably not a solution for everyone (if only because you will be pressed hard to find ANY of those at all... :-) I'll report if i get hold of a test-subject... The AMD 7x0 chipset boards crashed even with everything onboard switched of, only "running" in safe mode, so i suspect some severe incompatibility issues.

I now have the AMD 770 board with me. One thing can be said for sure: AMD 770 is a pain in the a**. :-( Random crashes just after installation, USB does not show up, controller does not show up, whatnot... I'd rather live with the restrictions of the other two chipsets. This seems to be a dead end.

I cannot guarantee these device to work on any machine (i own both of them, and they work on *most*of my PCs, though), but have a look at this: http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-ZM-VE350-External-Enclosure-ZM-V350B/dp/B019C23H06/ref=pd_sim_147_1/179-3543810-9613406?ie=UTF8&dpID=41sdysKGggL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=16A7KY5DDKJJ84HZ9C1F http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-2-5-Inch-External-Enclosure-S2510BU3ISO/dp/B00E6EBPBO I did not try this one, but it might also be worth a look: http://www.amazon.com/Elegant-Invention-isostick-revC-isostick/dp/B008S4XY08/ref=pd_sim_147_5/179-3543810-9613406?ie=UTF8&dpID=41%2BHBJxXZZL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=16A7KY5DDKJJ84HZ9C1F Be aware there ARE motherboards, on which the W98SE-bootable-iso doesn't work from these devices, while on others W7- or W10-boot-isos don't work. Seems to be a controller/BIOS issue. Still, i found having at least one of those being an investment that saved me a LOT of time, and thereby justified in any case. You cannot imagine how a small SSD in an USB3-device can bring so much joy, compared to a DVD... :-) Cheers, Ragnar G.D.

Regarding DMA on AMD 970: My SSD was also unaffected, was able to use DMA-setting, and generally was fun to use. Together with the perfectly working USB2, that really made me exited at first. It was the DVD, that annoyed me, but what really spoiled the fun, was the behaviour of the system while browsing. Is suspect that is related to the DMA-problem. And that means, this is something you cannot simply circumvent with an addin card, here patching the old drivers would be necessary. And even that has absolutely no guarantee of successs, as ít might be an architectural problem. Regarding the NIC, i did not have the patience to make the onboard 8111E run with the NDIS2-driver, as described by XRayer, but in the light of events, it might actually be worth trying. I'm not overly optimistic, though, the problematic DMA-controller might make problems later on, when you least expect it. Additionally, the fact i wasn't even able to INSTALL without ushers method (and i mean: with 1GB of RAM!), and the FireWire-controller making the system hang, makes me wary about that chipset. I will only ivest more energy on that one, if the AMD 770 is a letdown, too. On the USB2-problem on AMD 870: I used a GF 7600GT 256MB, and later on a GTX 7900 512MB with your patch (on the AMD 970, these worked like a charm). I did not try any other card (as these are my favourites anyway), but i might at least try something else. In case: Do you have a suggestion? ... Anyway, i share your sentiments about the single-port PS2-ports on GigaByte (or any other brand), they *really* are annoying, because even with the USB2-addIn card, i can't use a mouse via my KVM-switch (which supports USB-mice on the KVM side, but on the PC-side, seems to work on PS/2-ports only). All-in-all, you can't get new AMD 870 boards with socket AM3+ any more anyway, even used ones are quite rare. All the while, you can still buy brand-new shiny AMD 770 boards, and those also have better layout, support more CPU-types (like, i.e., the Opteron 8360 HE), occasionally have a SATA3-controller, have separate PS/2 ports for mouse and keyboard, and possibly much more. I now eagerly await those, and hope, they prove fit. Hope dies last, they say... :-)

Hi, i have the same problem, on all my machines, once the nvidia driver is up. With my ATI 9700 Pro, no such problem, though. In consequence, I did rule out any kind of "suspend" or screen-blanking on the nvidia machines. And as i usually turn off the computer once done with my stuff, it's not a big deal regarding waste of energy. Cheers, Ragnar G.D.

Hi, i'm in the process of researching the compatibility of AM3+ boards. So far i tried the 970 chipset (ASrock 970 Pro3 R2.0), and the 870 chipset (GigaByte GA-870A-USB3 Rev. 3.1). Upcoming are two boards of the 770 chipset. I'll report extensively about this later. At the moment, i have some problems, and perhaps some of you tried this as well, and have some advie. I know that at least RLoew could... While the 970 chipset all-in-all is a great installation experience (no immediate need for IDE or USB AddIn cards, USB2 works PERFECTLY with NUSB! have to set legacy-support to "auto", though), i have that problem with the yellow exclamation mark on the DMA-controller. RLOew has this exclamation mark with his Asus-board as well (though i don't know if he has the same problems). Consequently, i cannot set my ide-devices to DMA-mode (system crashes), and as such, copying from the IDE-DVD is painful, to the degree of making the system nearly unresponsive until reboot (which is not working thereafter as well). Furthermore, when using a browser, using an add-on 8111B GBit PCIe NIC (which works fine in other machines), the same happens: System gets nearly unresponsive, reboot is somewhat difficult. Is there a way to solve that problem, that is, getting the DMA-controller to work? If there was, this would be the perfect board for W98SE... With the 870 chipset, i don't get the onboard USB2 to work (devices are recognized, a driver installed with NUSB, but USB-devices don't work - and i have to disable any kind of USB2-legacy-support, as otherwise W98SE won't even start), and as the GigaByte devices of that chipset don't have separated PS/2-ports, without an add-in-card, there is no mouse possible. Maybe things improve a bit with a special PS2-splitting-cable, but it's not here yet... Does anyone have experience with this? Cheers, Ragnar G.D.

True. But this device weighs about as much as an USB-Stick, and needs just an USB-port for power, so it NEARLY is as good as an USB-WLAN-Device (while most bridges are quite bulky). As close as you can get for Windows 9x. Or do you have any device of similar size? (Seriously: I'd be interested in that...)

For the GPU, i recommend the inofficial driver. I've been using all of GF6 and 7 types, on PCIe and AGP, and they all work (but with manual installation, as the setup.exe of the inofficial driver is ... not working as desired very often...) . GF6200 is the lowest of their kind. I recomend the 7600 GT, as it ist fast enough for anything i can throw at it on W98SE, (and needs no extra Power-connection if used as a PCIe-card). I personally use a GF 7900GTX PCIe with 512MB Ram with help of RLoews driver-patches on two machines, and a GF 7900 GT AGP 512MB (again RLoews patches) on another. I use the SoundBlaster Live 512 PCI with the original drivers from Creatives homepage with no problems, but prefer the Audigy PCI or Audigy 2 PCI (as they work better with W10 on Dual-Boot).

I repeat: Use the TL-WR802N. It exists. I use it. Can use it even from DOS. You can buy it in shops, new, today. It has WPA2, 802.11n, and 300Mbps-speed - something you'll otherwise never have on W9x (or on DOS). Here: http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/TL-WR802N.html#specifications You don't even need a driver, just a LAN-port, to which you connect that, and a free USB-port for powering it.

Just a side-note: Occasionally, when the questions are more games-specific than hardware-specific, i find this forum (on Vogons.org) quite helpful: http://www.vogons.org/viewforum.php?f=8&sid=bf77d8380ac0cf2d6e45950221218a81 The community there is aware of us W9x-diehards on msfn.org, which is nice, too.

I can still recommend TL-WR802N: http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WR802N-Wireless-Repeater-300Mbps/dp/B00TQEX8BO I use it on a regular base for a W98SE-laptop, that does not have a decent internal WLAN-device. I connect it to the LAN-port, and power it from the USB-port. Don't forget to install a firewall on your machine, though, it does not have a NAT-firewall in that constellation.

Hi, Can anyone point me to a "how to install an NDIS2-driver AFTER having installed W98SE" ? Reason: I got a PCIe NIC with the RTL 8111B chipset working, no problem, Realtek deliveres a driver. By looking at the inf-files of that driver (from 2008), 8111D should be possible. Unfortunately, there are some AMD-boards by i.e. Gigabyte (GA-870A-USB3, rev. 3.1), which have a 8111E, for which there is no driver for W98SE. btw: A fairly complete discussion took place between rloew and xRayer here (but without the howto): http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/97588-modern-motherboards-which-are-working-with-windows-98/?page=14 hint: I bought a Digitus PCIe 8111E/8168E for experimenting. On my MSI-Z77A-G45, it works. On My GA-EP35-DS3R, the PC hangs when the NIC initializes, before even able to enter the bios... so probably don't use it on older boards... Cheers, Ragnar G.D.

Do the USB2.0-ports on your Asus M5A97 work with the NUSB-drivers? Could you give a screenshot of your "System", so i could see what is "not working"? Does "AHCI crashes" mean, you have to disable it in BIOS? (Man, i really would like to retire my ALiveDual-eSATA2, and run my Phenom II X4 on W98SE with a more modern MoBo...