Laser98IX

Is the file available in a different compressed archive? I'm running Knoppix 6.7.1 (Debian build of Linux) to browse the net, and it doesn't recognize the "7zip" format in the "Xarchiver," and my SkinyZip tool on my '98 machines don't either. If I must download 7zip to see this file I'd rather not, but please be kind and say so if there's no other way.

Thanks for the information, LoneCrusader. I just finished looking at the PCA-6176 User's Manual p/n 2006617610 2nd Edition, and it says the user can connect up to two of any configuration of 3.5" and 5.25" floppy diskette drives. That was confirmed by DOS reading both the A: and B: drives. Now I've got to figure out how to get '98 to do the same. Thanks again for encouraging me to verify my assumptions with the printed manual.

EXCELLENT!!! Thanks, jaclaz. I've already read through that page once, and as soon as I saw the IRQ topics I did a head-slap that should have triggered a few Richter sensors in the area. I'll report progress later. 1 = both 3.5" 2 = forgive me for sounding ignorant, but if the cable wasn't the correct one wouldn't the BIOS report an error during IPL - or - DOS report an error during drive access - or - one or both drive lights remain on after power on? 3 = both drives Epson Mod# SMD-300 Internal jumpers on both set to "ID-1". Cables didn't used to have the "twist" in them. Drives were configured as either A: or B: by setting jumpers. No longer -- the "twist" fixes that. DOS sees A: and B: properly, so it isn't the jumpers. 4 = yes, just like the one in the image you've provided Thanks, submix8c. Now for the Mea Culpa: I'm running '98SE (with no problems) on a single board computer Mod# PCA-6176 manufactured by Advantech. If you do a search for "PCA 6176" you'll see lots of surplus companies listing them for sale. I got mine during somebody's garage cleanout. It's unusual [to me] only because everything is on a single board, IDE, FDD, LAN, VGA, serial, keybd, with pins for USB and LPT. I love to collect unusual computer hardware and attempt to run '98SE on as many as I can. Call me a glutton for punishment. ======================= UPDATES HERE ======================= I've downloaded both the DOS & Win32 versions of "HWiNFO". I've run both, or at least tried to. DOS Ver5.5.2 hwinfo -r <enter> ran fine saved the report reviewed the details saw both diskette drives lots of stuff in report -- too much to make sense of for me file can be attached later if requested HWiNFO32_400 (for Win98SE) crashed immediately with BSOD (results below) A fatal exception 0D has occurred at 0020:C197F74A in VXD HWiNFO32(01) + 000002CA. The system application will be terminated. It's obvious I don't know which options to choose on the "Settings" screens Any more ideas or suggestions? ps. I ran both DOS and Win versions on my EZ65, but neither ran. Same results (Exception 0D) in Win, and in DOS is just sits there with the "System Information" screen -- and sits there -- and sits there ------- I finally rebooted after ten minutes. Update 01: @submix8c, #4 above as per image Update 02: @submix8c, #3 above updated Update 03: @jaclaz, I will install both DOS & Win HWiNFO and examine IRQ's next Update 04: @jaclaz, Bad news about HWiNFO32 above (at bottom of post). Waiting for ideas or suggestions ....................

Thank you for the welcome. It feels good to be here, but I've got a lot of catching up to do. For the record my all-time favorite O/S is Win98SE, and I have a feeling it will be for quite a while to come. I don't have any rational explanation for why I feel that way, other than I had to learn the nuts and bolts of that O/S in "cram mode" because of the lateness of my use of it, and because I was successful in making it do so much with only the internet as my sole source of assistance when I was learning and had problems. There were a lot of very smart people out there back then, and I'm glad to see there are even more intelligent and dedicated people still around who enjoy '98SE as much as I do. Thanks again, @Aloha. I hope I can share what I know and contribute to "the cause" while I'm gleaning all the forums and threads.

Windows or Windows Explorer? What happen if you open a command window while booted in GUI Windows 9x? jaclaz My first test was in Windows Explorer. Under "My Computer" I see the 3 1/2 Floppy (A:) but I don't see the second physically installed B: drive. The next item below the A: drive is my C: drive. Here's the test based on your request. While looking at the Win98 GUI I did this (with results): Click on "START" "Programs" "MS-DOS Prompt" Screen goes black and I see this: Microsoft® Windows 98 ©Copyright Miscrosoft Corp 1981-1999. C:\WINDOWS> _ A: <enter> result = A:\> _ DIR <enter> (files seen) and then A:\ _ B: <enter> result = full blue screen with this text centered: MS-DOS Prompt (in white box) Please Insert Diskette for Drive B: Press any key to continue (hit any key) result = B:\> _ -- but back on original A: drive and not on second diskette drive fractions of an inch above it. The machine never "sees" the second physical drive. It tries to use the original "A:" drive as "B:" If I "EXIT" back to the GUI, and then return to MS-DOS Prompt using instructions above the B:\ prompt comes up. I have to type A: <enter> first and then EXIT <enter> for the A: drive prompt to be seen. I don't understand why it's doing this, because if I boot straight to DOS both diskettes are seen. I know I've seen this before years ago, but I've slept since then, and I've forgotten what the solution is.

@jaclaz, rather than hijack the thread I'll just say I've seen that web page and instructions before. Too complex for the average curmudgeon. Thanks for the reminder, however.

Win98SE installed and working fine, but with two diskettes installed the second drive, "B:" isn't seen in Windows Explorer, nor can I run any prog's from it using the "RUN" prompt from the "START" button. After I couldn't see the B: drive I shutdown, rebooted, hit the F8 key to get to the command prompt, and DOS "sees" and can read/write to both A: and B: no problem. But if I boot to Windows I still don't see the drive. What the heck is going on??? It's obvious I've forgotten something, but what could it be? (As soon as someone provides the answer I'm going to smack my forehead and ask myself why I didn't think of that.)

Laser, I think you can run Win XP on this computer. You can choose to use classic theme, classic start menu so that it looks just like Win 98. Win XP will help you with the USB stick problem. Understood and agreed, but why would I want to buy another license of XP when I've already got multiple licenses for Win98SE on the shelf? To be fair I'm not a complete Luddite. I've got two desk-side Dell GX-620's with their own XP licenses, and they work great and are fast. However, I own many more legit licenses of '98SE that need a cold circuit of silicon to warm up, and I've purchased some expensive S/W for '98SE that would break my wallet if I wanted to purchase new and updated versions for XP. If the truth be known I'm very familiar with my '98SE installations. Unless something horrible happens, and I'm able to keep finding faster hardware to support it, I'm going to continue rolling along with a solid and friendly O/S that I know and love. Yeah, I'm hard-headed and stubborn, but those are just my good qualities. Thanks for the welcome. It feels good to be among people who know, use, and appreciate Win98SE. It may sound silly to the "old timers" here, but seeing so many people familiar with and willing to keep '98SE running brings joy to my heart and warms my soul. As far as using multiple O/S's, I still have DOS, Win3.1, Win3.11, and uninstalled copy of Win95 somewhere, a dozen lic's of Win98SE, two XP machines, Knoppix, Puppy, DSL, and various other O/S's somewhere in the closet. Being old has nothing to do with loving '98SE. I think it's a matter of practicality and thriftiness. Indeed yes! I don't have any SATA drives in my back pocket to test at the moment, but that problem will be resolved quite soon. I've been using Knoppix (a "Live CD" Debian build of Linux) since V3, and the V6.7.1 of that O/S enjoys the full capabilities and speed of the EZ65's hardware. Two @ 1.5Tb external drives run just fine connected to the machine, and I can "see" any USB stick I have, but only in the Knoppix environment. After I install SP3.3 and NUSB3.6 I hope to announce my success. I have plenty of hardware for all the work I need to do. I think I'd rather have a dedicated machine doing all the work it can with a few more nearby. It makes my office look more like Mission Control at the MCC than a home office. Right now I'm running my EZ65 machine doing hard-drive maintenance, one '98SE machine testing some diskettes for an old install of AutoCAD, a Knoppix Live CD so I can connect to the web, and a laptop that's screaming at me to do some writing. Yeah, I'm a computer hoarder.

I'll presume this is a typo... Good catch. Because of my old age and poor memory I didn't remember that Win3.1 didn't come out until 1992. I was using DOS to run Lotus 1-2-3 or VisiCalc, some plain text editing tools, and modem software (at 1200 baud) to connect to BBS's and my company mainframe. My head hurts now I that I remember all that stuff. Thanks, Tripredacus. My post has been updated and the dates corrected.

I use Win98SE everyday, I have been since 1999 when I upgraded from Win3.11 because of the Millennium issue, and my solution to malware probably isn't that unique. Sure, I've been infected a few times, from a customer diskette that had a boot sector virus on it I accidentally left the thing in the drive when I turned it on next time [*]from software that I downloaded from a site I *thought* I trusted, [*]from a hard-drive that I bought used but didn't check, [*]and from an open port attack that was very hard to trace, but I've been fortunate because I keep multiple backups on different machines. My solution to minimize or completely eliminate my exposure was to stop using my '98 machines for browsing the internet. Instead I run a Linux "Live CD" O/S when I want to check my email, download software, and communicate with the world. Someone might be able to follow my activities and load a Java-script bug on my machine in RAM, but it's impossible to write to a CD-ROM disk, so my O/S is stable, boots clean each time I power-up, and I have a distinct separation of machines so my valuable hardware and software isn't affected by some mental ant who has nothing better to do with their time. I still use multiple '98 machines everyday, and I recently installed '98SE on a screaming shoe-box computer that I got second-hand. I paid lots of money for some very expensive and useful software designed for '98 for the last 15 or 20 years, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let some jerk-wad force me to stop using something that works just fine. Now, if someone could write a Win98SE "Live CD" I'd be able to run all of my software and not be affected by malware. Okay -- I'm all better now.

To be fair it isn't because I've avoided the internet or stopped using Win98SE. The simple answer is ignorance. I've been stomped on by more tech-savvy friends who crave the newer and faster for so long that I've pretty much stopped looking for new features and "toys" for my '98 machines. No longer! With a very fast machine to run my '98 installs I've been smiling a lot more these last few days than I have in months. This resource (the MSFN forums) has invigorated me and instilled a kind of renewed passion that will have a positive effect on things outside of '98. And you're right ... I truly am stodgy. But I like using things that work, and KEEP working. A better term for someone like me could be "conservative," but I kinda like being a curmudgeon most of the time. :angrym: Thanks, jaclaz

Recently got my hands on a used Aopen XCcube EZ65 "shoebox" computer. Motherboard ID: 10/15/2003-Springdale-G-6A79AAB9C-00 Motherboard Name UX4SG-1394 (EZ65) Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG EZ65 R1.1 Oct.15.2003 AOpen Inc. Besides being able to run Win98SE M/B has integrated CD audio player on BIOS hit INS key during BOOT Did a complete, successful, fresh, and easy install of Win98SE 4.10.2222 A w/o errors. Then I loaded each of the device drivers in this order: Chipset VGA Audio USB LAN All drivers from AOpen site loaded fine. Then installed an AGP add-on card (V7100Pro64) All web searches say V7100Pro64 does not support W98SE. The card is actually nVidia NV11 GeForce2 MX-400. Found drivers and card works fine. Max System Bus = 800Mhz (according to manual) Max FSB Clock = 200Mhz (according to manual) Max CPU Core Freq = 3200Mhz (according to manual) Intel Pentium-4 478-pin CPU (Celeron 2.4Ghz installed) - (Faster CPU is possible?) Intel 865 Chipset + ICH5 2Gb DDR266/333/400 max - 2 slots (1Gb installed) AGP 8X slot 1 @ PCI slot 3.5" floppy capable (installed) 2 @ PATA (ATA33/66/100) 2 @ SATA 1 @ Integrated SVGA (EZ18 has 2 @ connectors) PS/2 keyboard & mouse Parallel printer port (DB25) Serial port (DB9) Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit LAN (RJ-45) 10/100/1000 3 @ IEEE 1394 (Firewire) Interface ports (2 Front, 1 Rear) RCA coax port (EZ18 has S-Video) S/PDIF (fibre optic TOSLINK connectors) IN (Rear) OUT (Front) AC'97 Codec & H/W supports 5.1 channel sound output (includes front & rear stereo + subwoofer capability) AOpen site still offers drivers: (in "select a product" box search for "XC Cube" and in "select a Model" box search for "EZ65") BIOS VGA M/B chipset 1Gb LAN audio USB2.0 Also Quick Installation Guide and complete manual in PDF format. Will be installing Win98SE-SP3.3 & NUSB3.6 on test hard drive soon.

Knoppix: Latest stable version: 7.0.3 on CD (as of 2012-06-25) "Knoppix version 7.0.2 (update), including Kernel 3.3.7, is now available as DVD image." Pros: Lots of software on CD. CD burner integrated. Browser (IceWeasel) is clone of FireFox® and will run same/similar plug-ins.. Word processor (Libre) is clone of OpenOffice® and will run same templates. GNU image manipulation program is clone of Gimp® and will open/modify/save same files. Will run from CD or RAM, but much faster if "TORAM" option is added during boot. Can be booted to RAM w/minimum of 1Gb; faster with more RAM. Excellent hardware detection and reporting. Will detect and allow use of almost every USB stick w/no problem. Hard disk install not necessary. Any computer with RAM, keybd, mouse, display, net-card, & CD-ROM can access internet. Even older hardware w/o hard drive works (minimum RAM requirements make ancient H/W difficult). Solid, safe, and very stable O/S. Cons: CD burner slow. On Ver6.7.1 some JAVA app's don't behave very well. Not all web videos, "Flash," or videos will run. No planned updates to make "Flash" run because of licensing issues. Can be difficult for a novice to configure and use browser the first time. Puredyne: Latest stable version: 9.11 (carrot and coriander) on CD/DVD/USB (as of 2010-03-26) "Puredyne is developed for artists, by artists. It's used for live music, installation art, hardware hacking, teaching, and more." Based on Ubuntu and Debian Live. Pros: USB stick installation. Fast, minimal package. Targeted to electronic, audio, visual artists. Optimized for use in realtime audio and video processing. Low latency kernel. Runs Pure Data, Supercollider, Icecast, Csound, Fluxus, Processing, Arduino, more. List of available S/W is extensive. Cons: Not meant for typical internet browser user. Musix: Latest stable version: 2.1 for USB (as of 2010-04-27) 2.0 for CD and DVD (2009-11-28) "One CD and you have it all: office applications, net, graphics, programing, midi, audio" Pros: Heavily geared to musicians and performers. Lots of audio and music software included. Multiple languages supported: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, English. Cons: Not Debian based: "A different approach: a didactic O/S" Primarily Spanish language development; English secondary consideration. Not all site URL's currently stable; may be gone soon.

For the first time in many years I get to talk to others about Win98SE, and I don't have to try to explain my preference of an OpSys to anyone. I don't have to feel embarrassed nor have to put up with people who mock me because of my "old" OpSys. As I've told people for years, "If it works, leave it alone. If it works well, why spend money unnecessarily?" I've been called antiquated and stodgy for years. Brief history: Started using DOS around 1982. I bought Win3.1 in 1995 to run a laser engraver for my new business. Updated to Win3.11 around 1996 when I needed networking capabilities. Ran a single computer operation via NetBEUI on a small 10Mb hub with laser cutters and printers on a Cat-5 print server. Added more Win3.11 machines for separate business purposes. Upgraded three machine licenses to Win98SE because of the Millennium issue. Still have the original upgrade licenses for 98SE and have collected more full licenses cuz I love the O/S. Have been running on various machines, including 1Ghz AMD and Intel proc's for business, and Dell laptops for personal use. Hardware keeps failing and gets replaced, but my Win98SE O/S keeps plugging along provided I can find the correct drivers. Oh yeah, I finally decided to buy some newer used Dell desk-side machines with WinXP, but I only use them if absolutely necessary. Recently got my hands on an Aopen XCcube EZ65 "shoebox" computer second-hand. Intel Celeron 2.4Ghz with 1Gb RAM with an Asus V7100Pro64 add-on AGP video card. Did a search online and saw a brief description of Win98SE capability on Asus site. Couldn't resist a challenge, so I had to know if it really would run. Located one of my uninstalled licenses and began to search for M/B & video drivers. It took a while, but I located all of the original Asus drivers: on-board BIOS, VGA, M/B chipset, LAN, audio, USB2.0. Cool!!! Next was the V7100Pro64 -- does not support W98SE. Bad news, but I could live with on-board VGA. Couldn't put it down. Saw spec's of V7100Pro64, so I had to find drivers. Nothing on the internet at all. Alternate method for discovery: Run Knoppix "Live CD" O/S, which provides very good computer discovery information. The video card is seen as nVidia NV11 GeForce2 MX-400, so I did a search for that driver and found it. Burned all drivers to CD and installed Win98SE on test harddrive. Installed clean, no BSOD, no 0E exceptions. Only one hiccup because I originally installed drivers in wrong order. Installed AGP video card and then drivers. The machine works like a champ, and the O/S is really snappy!!! Machine is the fastest Win98SE installation I've ever had the pleasure to use, and I'll never let anyone tell me the O/S is a POS. *Remember* I don't make changes unless they're absolutely necessary. However, since it does not support USB sticks larger than my 512Mb SanDisk Cruzer Micro I boot Knoppix. That O/S sees all the hardware fine, USB sticks of any size (so far to 16Gb & 1.5Tb external drives). I can connect any 1.1 or 2.0 USB device and Knoppix sees them. I transfer very large files (greater than 512Mb) using Knoppix, and then boot Win98SE. Runs fine. Searched for some updated prog's and information on Win98SE for my new install. Looking mainly for tips and tricks on Windows Explorer for a while. Pretty soon I had three windows and twenty tabs open -- it's easy to get carried away. I saw "unofficial Win98SE ServicePack2.1A" on a free S/W site, and I couldn't resist. Have downloaded the SP2.1A and SP3.3. Will do proper research before installing SP3.3 on a mirrored drive for testing. Also looking into NUSB3.6 to see if it will allow Win98SE to "see" larger USB sticks. Hopeful. I still use my Win98SE machines everyday for various tools and in various locations. I only surf with Knoppix or Ubuntu since they can't be hacked, and I don't have "safe" virus S/W -- yet. I'm hoping to test the SP3.3 update on the mirrored drive with the existing configuration. Once everything is working I'll test NUSB3.6 to see if I can use larger USB memory sticks. So that's it. It's good to be here, and I've got a LOT of reading to do.