Wunderbar98

Thanks for replies. Harvest done, busy with projects. To clarify my comments are specific to the environment and ravages of climate change. Everyone's situation is different for sure @Drugwash, thanks for the kind words. The need for us to do better is targetted towards those who are in a position to make a change. If someone is impoverished, unhealthy, aged or living in a disaster or war zone, of course focus on survival. For the rest of us, please brainstorm some ways to make a difference. IMHO relying on government is useless, yak, yak since at least the 1970s. World governments are too concerned with the immediate economy and ongoing emergencies. So much greenwashing, churning and wasted energy. To me it's grass roots, house by house, but fear it's too late. Not sure why i fret, we're not supposed to worry, the outcome may be predestined. Lots of insight have you @awkduck. I'm not interesting to converse with, please place public messages here, others may also be interested. In 20 years most of us Windows 9x geezers won't be around, so post whatever, wherever. My efforts are also part selfish. The city owned trees i water, for example, also shade my house and yard. Good to hear from you @UCyborg, welcome back. Something awry when the house may no longer have a roof upon return from work. Seems most have already been directly or indirectly affected. ***** My slower, daily use Windows 98 SE system (800 MHz, 32 MB graphics, 6 GB partition) was upgraded from 384 MB PC100 to 512 MB PC133 RAM. Many have beefier Windows 9x hardware though this would have been a superb Windows 98 system back in the day. My original build was only 450 MHz, 64 MB RAM, 16 MB graphics. Hard to tell if any performance improvement, other than helping avoid swap when multi-booting for a full-featured web browser. My Windows 98 boots will not likely need 512 MB RAM, the swap file may be deleted. ***** Full Windows 98 backup from a GNU/Linux multi-boot to USB stick, as root, example: cp -axv /dev/sda1/* /dev/sdc1/win89_202209 ***** Japan declares war on floppy disks for government use In Japan, 1,900 government procedures still require submission on floppy disk. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/08/japan-declares-war-on-floppy-disks-for-government-use/ ***** Seems newer hardware and OS aren't helping much with website loadtimes. https://www.datafantic.com/how-much-time-do-we-waste-waiting-for-websites-to-load/ ***** Microsoft executives say it's 'wrong' for managers to spy on remote employees' mouse clicks and keystrokes: 'That's measuring heat rather than outcome' https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-executives-call-remote-employee-surveillance-spying-wrong-2022-9 Hmm, well the world needs more humour. A quick search like 'is windows 10 spyware' is satisfying enough. I'll keep it old school with Windows 98 SE (Spyware Excluded edition), surely not whole truth, close enough.

Hi @awkduck, thanks for thoughtful response. To me ignorance is no longer valid. Most everyone has internet, all get news. Being observant of one's local environment, it's obvious there are drastic, rapid changes everywhere. Since ignorance is no longer valid, choosing not to act for positive change is even worse. A special 'for shame' to parents who choose not to act, remember this polluted fishbowl is your children's future. Unfortunately i think societies, and most individuals, are going 'crab bucket'. I think you are correct, Windows 9x is probably the most developed and popular single mode OS of all time. FreeDOS is developed and supported much longer than Microsoft supported MS-DOS, but the user base is small and it can't do cool, old Windows (graphic) sofware. As mentioned before, with an up to date web browser Windows 9x would still be a viable daily use OS. Thanks for the information @jumper and @Goodmaneuver. Since my systems are running well i do not need to troubleshoot these items, hopefully they will help someone else. Thank-you for providing clarification @MrMateczko. ***** If you've got your ears on @UCyborg, hope you're doing well. No response is expected or required. Maybe you're taking a break or moved on to bigger and better things. IMHO social media isn't a healthy place to spend signficant time, including computer forums. ***** This may only be of interest (a little bit) to @Drugwash, since many Windows users have Unix-based allergies, AutoHotkey for Linux is a thing. It's been really nice to use a little AutoHotkey on my Windows 98 systems. https://github.com/phil294/AHK_X11 ***** Doubt many here still fax and also unsure if modern Windows (eg. Windows 10) provides fax functionality. Back when fax was setup here regularly, these links were useful. Fax page to test send, view web page for quality: https://www.faxtoy.net/ Fax page to HP, await response, to test send/receive: https://support.hp.com/bg-en/document/ish_2385619-2276753-16 In GNU/Linux fax is straightforward with a 'hardware modem' and packages like Efax. I have quite a stack of 'WinModems' in the basement from my active Windows 98/XP days, which will not likely get used again. This is the first year my household no longer has an activated old-school copper telephone line. I don't fax for work anymore, though 10 years ago it was still used extensively in many medical and legal offices. Although anything can be intercepted, to me it was more secure than sending attachments via interweb.

You got me excited @xpandvistafan, unfortunately your Gmail URL didn't work without JavaScript. After entering username, all browsers tested were prompted with a JavaScript not enabled or supported in your browser message without a password prompt to continue the login process. Also trialed the HTML only URL used here, with the no JavaScript request. https://mail[dot]google[dot]com/mail/u/0/h/&nojavascipt=1 Failed with DOS 7.1 (Windows 98) using Links. Failed with Windows 98 SE using RetroZilla. Failed with Devuan GNU/Linux using Links, older SeaMonkey and Firefox 52, including Firefox user agent switcher testing Android, Opera, Windows, GNU/Linux, etc. No unsupported browser notice received, couldn't even get passed the JavaScript message. The JavaScript change was a long time coming, amazing it still worked without it up to a couple months ago. https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-wont-let-you-sign-in-if-you-disabled-javascript-in-your-browser/

GMail's HTML-only via webpage started requiring 'gmail.com' JavaScript domain for login a couple months ago. After login the domain can be disabled via NoScript or similar without loss of function. Before this change GMail worked flawlessly on browsers that do not even support JavaScript, even DOS browsers, oh well. Don't mean to stray off topic, modern Devuan GNU/Linux, for example, can run >20 year old hardware just fine, user just needs to know what they are doing regarding setup, application selection and tweaks. 3D graphic acceleration support on >20 year old hardware in GNU/Linux, i say multi-boot and run old Windows games in a Windows OS and use GNU/Linux for a modern browser or whatever other newer software is needed. There are still freshly maintained, 32-bit distributions available for older hardware. The 23 year old hardware used here (32-bit, non-SSE2) runs Firefox v52 and Firefox ESR v78. Of course with SSE2+ support could then run any browser, wish my Windows 98 was on Pentium 4.

Thanks for all responses, busy getting back to nature. It appears we're doomed but gotta make an effort, gardening, composting, growing trees, reduce/re-use/recycle. Humans disgust me, of which i am too, continuous consumption and pollution, worse than invasive, noxious weeds. Hi @MrMateczko. Permissions was a thorn to me years ago but since i now have a good understanding and can easily manipulate file systems, it's a good thing. But yes running an old OS like Windows 98 is easy and fun. Nice knowing you can make trouble if not careful, DOS and Windows 9x provides that freedom. I do use Windows ME ScanDisk and Defragmenter, mentioned before. The Defragmenter is very fast and efficient, has caused no issues on this otherwise vanilla Windows 98 SE system. Since you SSD nothing to worry about, performance on spinning drives, especially slower RPM drives, defragmenting the filesystem makes a difference. Windows 7 benchmarking below, including SSD comparison, couldn't readily find anything Windows 9x (FAT) specific. https://www.hofmannc.de/en/windows-7-defragmenter-test/benchmarks.html Hi @jumper, makes sense as the option only disables 'write caching'. Perhaps setting both Min and MaxFileCache to 0 (zero) fully disables, don't know, C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI: [vcache] MinFileCache=0 MaxFileCache=0 Hi @Goodmaneuver, disabling DDHELP.EXE has caused no difficulties on the software used here, video or sound related. Concerned users shouldn't disable the service or backup registry beforehand (own risk), any performance improvement is negligible anyway.

Forgot to mention, VCACHE can be disabled entirely for troubleshooting, see first link above.

Your theory would be easy to test @Kahenraz, just set a low, same-sized Min/MaxFileCache of 1024, for example, and repeatedly test your applications. https://msfn.org/board/topic/177106-running-vanilla-windows-98-in-2020-and-beyond/page/66/#comment-1221053 If your system has a BIOS, did you experiment with disabling BIOS cache options? https://msfn.org/board/topic/177106-running-vanilla-windows-98-in-2020-and-beyond/page/62/#comment-1214425

Agree @Joaquim, sound good, without it games that use sound to cue the player or provide feedback are almost unplayable. The VDMSound config does not appear to provide volume options and i believe the project is dead. There was a VDMSound update 2 or something, not sure whether it would make a difference. In the What's New section: DirectSound support for audio mixing https://forum.hardwareheaven.com/threads/dos-games-static-win2k-xp-vdmsound-project-2-0-4.715/ If you're running an NT-based system, an alternative to try is SoundFX 2000 (no personal experience): SoundFX 2000 is THE sound card emulator for DOS programs running on Windows XP, 2000 and NT4. http://www.softsystem.co.uk/products/soundfx.htm Good luck with your sound volume quest.

Hi @Joaquim. For sure not, probably not with VDMSound either :) Maybe there's an old VDMSound forum for help. You may want to post your exact setup so others can provide better assistance. Sorry i can't help, never had much success with VDMSound. Personal preference, and privilege, is to play DOS games on real hardware with authentic drivers.

If at least one system had a known working floppy drive then the floppy disk is problematic, but with older hardware it could be both floppy drives tested are faulty. These old drives are quite mechanical and get dusty and gummed up with dry grease. If you are so inclined, dismantling and refurbishing the drives to restore function is very rewarding. From your report it does, however, sound like the floppy disk is no good. Did you confirm the BIOS is set to boot from floppy? If the CMOS battery is dead the system won't remember your settings. Boot into BIOS, update system clock and boot options, save BIOS settings, power off computer, reboot in a few minutes and confirm it remembered the updated clock and boot settings. Do you have another floppy to confirm the drive works? If the system has no working operating system then boot a GNU/Linux LiveCD, insert the floppy after booting GNU/Linux and see if it can be mounted and read. Query most modern GNU/Linux releases may not be setup to default read a floppy drive, you may want to trial an old Damn Small Linux release or similar. Recommend inserting your Windows 98 installation CD, changing the BIOS to boot from CD and see if it works. My Windows 98 SE release, purchased new back in the day, came with a boot floppy too, even though the CD was also bootable. I haven't installed a working floppy drive into any system for 15+ years. You won't know until you try. There are methods to install Windows 98 without a working floppy or bootable Windows 98 CD, still options and hope.

Just confirmed, SBEMIXER.EXE mentioned above allows setting separate volume levels for MASTER, Voice, CD and MIDI. It's quite nice if you're planning a soundcard purchase for DOS.

Hi @cyd15. How old is your bootdisk :) Can you test read/write or ScanDisk the floppy on another system? Some Windows 98 releases have a bootable CD, no need for a floppy. You don't provide much information so anyone trying to help needs to play 20 questions.

Hi @Joaquim. It depends on the setup and game. Some DOS games provide in-game options to adjust gameplay and music volumes. Some games user can only toggle between sound effects or music. Here on real hardware, of course external speakers have a physical volume control. My main DOS system uses SoundBlaster (DOS drivers for the Creative Sound Blaster Live! cards), running SBEMIXER.EXE allows setting sound volume. If game is too quiet or loud, exit game, run SBEMIXER.EXE to change volume, restart game. Recommend checking out the software that came with your sound driver.

Hi @Centrix8. Excluding drivespace limitations mutli-boot is the way to go. Windows 7 will eventually fail too for internet facing applications, just like Windows 9x and XP systems are now. You're entertaining a downgrade to Windows 7 because of Microsoft accounts and 'bloatware', i would add security concerns and running an OS full of known, and probably much more unknown, spyware. If Windows 10 isn't agreeable the future of Microsoft OS probably won't be agreeable either. Suggest a triple boot system (or more) and start learning an alternative OS that provides more control and takes you into the future. Perhaps BSD, GNU/Linux or whatever strikes your fancy.

Came across a software mention that sounded interesting, Crap Cleaner. Duh, me a little slow, i've been using CCleaner (v 2.29.1111) for over 20 years and never bothered investigating it's name. Sunday night, don't forget to ScanDisk and Defrag your Windows 9x systems before the start of another busy work week.

Thanks for your comments @Nandor. Web proxies and rendering proxies were brought up before. To each their own, personally i don't see the point in running two computers just so the old(est) connected system can browse the interweb. Having said that i'm a hypocrite, as my old single core 800 MHz Windows 98 box gets connected via quad core cellphone and dual core router. I can see why most young people are good with just a cellphone and laptop, so efficient and mobile. If this old hardware gets wiped out in a disaster, heaven forbid, it will be missed but not replaced. It's probably safe to say the hardware and OS is high mileage, BIOS date July 1999. Happy 23rd birthday, and mannny mooore, a pinch to grow an inch. Still booting Windows 98 SE (Serendipity Edition) daily for news, weather and general computing, plus DOS boots for browsing and games. Don't mean to sidetrack this thread, no response required, just finished reading 'Choose your browser carefully'. Good stuff, though most of the browsers used in this household aren't even mentioned. Thankfully these old operating systems can utilize numerous browsers that still respect the user. --- Choose your browser carefully - Conclusions In my humble opinion it is absolutely mind-boggling how poor the current state of the Internet is regarding privacy issues. Almost no matter what website you visit you cannot avoid getting a microscope shoved up your a** (yes, I said it!) by some web developer who insists on running Google Analytics on the website (some even though they are not even running any Google Ads) instead of using something as simple as the build-in web server statistics, or at least one of the much better Open Source and privacy-respecting alternatives. It is not that ads are bad in themselves. It is a fact that ads drive a huge part of the economics behind the Internet and many websites and YouTube content creators depend upon the income of ads. However, it is the way the ad business is conducted that is very problematic - in some cases even borderline immoral and highly controversial. The companies that run ad businesses need to understand that many users will actually allow ads, what users will not allow is to be spied upon and tracked without consent. These companies need to ask for permission and they need to run a completely open door policy such that all user data is transparent and available to the user. They also need to stop manipulating prices based upon tracking information, which in real life is called cheating, not business! The Mozilla foundation is no longer the trusted organization they once were. Today it has become a "business" that depend upon revenue from big corporations like Google, which is why we're witnessing a slow but steady move away from proper conduct. If the foundation wants to gain the trust of the users once more, they need to stop the double standard and live up to their promises. With all that said it is important to understand that the real problem lies with us - the Internet users. We seriously need to stop using the bad browsers and we need to either stop visiting all the bad websites or at least disable JavaScript on these websites! We need to educate ourselves and others better in the technology we're using. This is much easier said than done, because website developers have gone crazy, but once you eliminate JavaScript from running in the browser you no longer need a complex browser like Firefox or Chromium and once you don't need a complex browser you no longer have to worry as much about privacy issues - at least not from the browser point of view. Split your browsing up in between a complex browser and a simple browser. Only use the complex browser when you really need it, and use the simple browser (perhaps a console based one) when you don't require any JavaScript or other complex features. As I said, I know that this is easier said than done, and I also know that companies will still collect as much data as possible about you (such as your IP address), but without a bad browser or JavaScript enabled the fingerprinting tactics becomes much more difficult to implement. I firmly believe that the power lies in the hands of the users and we need to make a choice every time we use technology. This is no different from boycotting harmful products because you care about yourself and your family health, or because you care about how animals are treated. We - the consumers - have the final say. When we boycott all the bad stuff, the producers have no choice but to stop the production because there are no more customers. https://unixsheikh.com/articles/choose-your-browser-carefully.html ---

Thanks for the information @jaclaz. QEdit Advanced v2.15 for DOS (evaluation purposes) was downloaded and briefly tested. Nice, does word wrap, lots of features with a small footprint. In 1991 the software could be purchased for $54.95 USD plus $3.00 shipping to Canada plus $6.00 billing fee for orders under $100.00. https://texteditors.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?QEDIT There is apparently a non-free MS-DOS editor named EDIT! (exclamation mark) that's similar to EDIT.COM with word wrap. Since not free i will leave it be. Second attempt success to get Dillo web browser running in DOS, from FreeDOS repository. The DILLO.BAT file was significanlty hacked (why so complicated) and a very basic WATTCP.CFG file was setup (crazy, long default config). Other components were manually loaded before testing (mouse, packet driver). The browser runs okay but, unless i'm missing something, wouldn't connect to secure sites. Shame as it displays images and graphics nicely and provides a tabbed browsing experience with mouse support. Hopefully this DOS port will get some love and attention. For now goto DOS web browsers i believe are still Lynx (text only) or Links (graphics). Good old DELTREE.EXE was used to purge Arachne web browser from this system, as it can only connect using TLS v1.2 and v1.3 with hacking, explained in the Arachne member project page. This method is too quirky and cumbersome to be functional. There's was some chatter on the DOS Ain't Dead forum, doubtful but maybe a developer will pick it up for updates. Removing sofware in DOS is simply satisfying, gone is gone. Well, there is UNDELETE.EXE :)

Sorry for late reply @RainyShadow. I don't see a computer or desktop management entry. Notes below from poor memory, not sure how it relates. As indicated earlier, running MMC installer made Microsoft Management Console functional with the ability to add snap-ins. This created an empty 'My Administrative Tools' entry in Start -> Programs. There was also a newly observed Add/Remove Progams -> Windows Setup tab entry for 'Group Policy' (or similar). Group policy was installed and C:\WINDOWS\INF\GROUPPOL.INF information is pasted below. After install, unfortunately, Group Policy was removed from the Windows Setup tab, so no idea how to remove it. It's also not in Add/Remove programs. At present this Windows 98 computer is setup as a single user system. ; GROUPPOL.INF ; ; This is the Setup information file to install group-based policies ; as an Optional Component. ; ; Copyright (c) 1993-1998 Microsoft Corporation

MS-DOS Text Editors MS-DOS EDIT.COM's inability to word wrap still bugs me, today a simple and common feature. It can be launched with the 'load binary file' switch, specifying number of characters wide but is not true word wrap, breaks up words, displays carriage returns and extra characters, doesn't word wrap newly created files. Many text editors were tested and despite limitations MS-DOS' EDIT.COM is still my favourite. I was going to review individually but nobody wants my opinions. To me they all had shortcomings. Most don't word wrap, many don't support mouse, many are cumbersome to open existing files, may need to learn too many keyboard shortcuts, poor interface, quirky, etc. Some of the editors reviewed and/or tested are listed below. The only one i'm keeping for now is Elvis, personal preference for 'vi' in text only environments, but the self-contained binary is huge (ELVIS.EXE 419 Kb vs EDIT.COM 69 Kb). Elvis word wraps but doesn't support mouse and only handles one file at a time. The other noteworthy editor to me is EDIT.EXE from the FreeDOS base repisitory. Although it seems good and word wrap is apparently supported, selecting the option did not word wrap an existing or newly opened file on this test system running MS-DOS v7. - Breeze Word Processor - EDIT.EXE (FreeDOS official) - Elvis - MSEDIT (Mateusz's Saucy Editor) - SLED - TDE (Thomson-Davis Editor) - VIM (Vi Improved, not tested, huge 12 MB download)

Thanks @MrMateczko for clarifying Windows 98's role, still pretty cool. Any C:\WINDOWS\SYSBCKUP\RBBAD.CAB entry was always curious when backing up the Windows registry's RB*.CAB files to other media. This MS MVP, Ron Badour, is a name encountered dozens of times in the Windows 9x heyday. He surely helped a lot of users, thank-you Ron. --- Once the registry restore screen appears, select the date of the registry that you wish to restore by highlighting it and then click enter. If you see a registry named: Rbbad.cab, that is a copy of the registry that has already been restored. Regards Ron Badour, MS MVP W95/98 Systems https://microsoft.public.win98.gen-discussion.narkive.com/fumseQ5X/vkd-windows-protection-error-win98 --- DOS Fun Retrieving and watching YouTube in DOS is possible. Links web browser, ported to DOS, loads an Invidious instance without JavaScript, including video search, dropdown MP4 quality select and video download. MPlayer was also ported, the release from FreeDOS was used to watch an MP4. Video playback was good but sound didn't work. Tried another MPlayer port too, despite this SoundBlaster working fine for DOS games. Tried all switches, ran 'mplayer -ao help' for help, tested against two known working videos. YMMV. QuickView Pro v2.61 was tested but i couldn't get it to play an MP4. DivX codecs are apparently needed, i couldn't readily find these using a DOS or vanilla Windows 9x browser, didn't search hard. The media player reportedly supports MP4 and even the system speaker (system beep) with a special driver and configuration (SPEAKER.SDR). Note QuickView Pro is Shareware, max 3 week trial, pay to register. No assistance requested. DOS is fun but clunky, sometimes frustrating (carefully worded in polite company), never get tired of playing with it.

Note to less than perfect eyes (like mine), back to back single quotes appear to be a double quote. This snippet contains three single quotes, escaping and re-wraping a single quote. '\'' Logging in without JavaScript the code snippet appears to have been pasted and interpreted correctly by the forum software. Take care.

Hi again @Henric. After reply i realized above probably wasn't what you wanted but didn't have a chance to revisit computer. Below is a one-liner that replaces exactly the string you provided. Slashes are used to escape quotes and special characters. Since the entire sed command is wrapped in single quotes, any single quotes inside the command need to be escaped and re-wrapped, suspect this is where you encountered difficulty. Note this is just a cut/paste of what you provided in first post, including spaces. If there are line breaks or anything else that changes things, you did not elaborate. sed -i 's|9023 AAAA \"this is a AAAA\" \"AAAA\" \"\*\:\;AAAA'\''\" Aaaa \" Because AAAA\" \" aaaa \" AaAa|9023 XXXX \"this is a AAAA\" \"AAAA\" \"\*\:\;AAAA'\''\" XXXX \" Because AAAA\" \" aaaa \" XXXX|' test_file

Hi @OldSchool38. You could just load an Invidious instance (web page) in your favourite browser, no extra software or even JavaScript needed. Search and video quality dropdown works too, if not try another instance. I'm able to download YT even from a web browser ported to MS-DOS.

Hi @Henric. I don't know gsar. Basic sed solution below, two passes, one for each instance. This assumes a flat text file. As @jaclaz indicated carriage returns and such, it would be useful to see the full layout of the file being modified. sed -i 's| AAAA | XXXX |g' test_file sed -i 's| AaAa| XXXX|g' test_file Simple one-liner to keep the sed commands separate, if && is available: sed -i 's| AAAA | XXXX |g' test_file && sed -i 's| AaAa| XXXX|g' test_file Above uses the -i switch, modify file in place. If this option isn't available then direct output to temporary files and overwrite original or keep working from newly created files. sed 's| AAAA | XXXX |g' test > test_file.tmp mv -f test_file.tmp test_file Note the 'g' (global i assume) option is also used in sed example above. This will change all instances it finds in the entire file. So if there is more than one instance of ' AAAA ', for example, they will all get changed. Removing the 'g' will just replace the first instance it finds. sed -i 's| AAAA | XXXX |' test_file sed -i 's| AaAa| XXXX|' test_file If you need to change only one line, and other instances of the same patterns are present, it gets more complicated but doable, don't know exactly from your description. Unix tools like 'sed' work best in partnership with others, so 'head', 'tail' or 'grep' would be useful too. If there are more instances but you're always changing the exact same line number, then the line number can be specified in the sed command too. PS I'm not trolling you @jaclaz, just saw this interesting topic on an otherwise slow forum :)

Thanks for the information @jaclaz. All hardware used here is manufactured 2010 and older, fortunately never came across anything that couldn't be reset via battery. Windows XP Media Centers seem 2005-ish. Not sure why laptop was mentioned twice as the original post makes no mention of hardware, laptop or otherwise. They came as desktops and mini-towers too. Personal preference is to open up newly acquired used hardware anyway, before significant runtime, to ensure proper fan operation, airflow, etc. Easy enough to remove the CMOS battery then or search for a motherboard jumper. Though laptops are harder to dismantle, it's usually worth refurbishing them properly. Only thing, does Windows XP squak when a CMOS battery is replaced (ie. trigger hardware change or product re-activation). Hope not, wouldn't think so. Good luck @frank woolf, should be straightforward, quick hardware research. Nice, beefier than regular Windows XP hardware, could be a great system. https://web.archive.org/web/20071023062707/http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/using/setup/default.mspx