awkduck

Retrozilla might work. I think you need to select the SSL option.

There is a very basic program called "Portable Application Creator". I don't know if it ever worked with Win9x. Also "Portable Application Launcher". Interestingly, similar to portable applications is application virtualization, like "Thinstall" (the pre 3 versions supported Win9x).

There was more then one project. Most of them came together as forum projects. Eventually, a few had their own websites. But those are long gone. I can't remember any of their names. There is still "portableapps". They ended Win9x support in 2010. But their tools don't really seem to support the creation of portable applications. They just provide a uniform system for deploying them. I would still do all the things I already do, but just format my package/launcher to their specifications. That isn't very important to me, as of yet. Most of the toolkits were just scripted GUIs, doing what I manually do now. Some were far better then others. There was one that gave you the option to have your registry and changed (portable) files in a hidden folder; named after and located in the same directory as your launcher. But it also provided an option to temporarily load the same data, but then store changes back inside of the launcher file. In both cases the portable application was just one file. There are advantages to both ways. That is how I build them. But it adds some steps in the creation process. Other toolkits often output "portable applications environments" working out of a folder. The main advantage of this method, was that you could view the files like you would in the "Program Files" directory. Also you can overview the portable registry files. It was easier to convert this kind into an actual installed application, if you wished to do so (batch file).

It makes perfect sense. And it makes sense that DosBox would name their project that. But it is still a pain :(

Years ago, I had a handful of ToolKits for making portable apps. As life has progressed, those tools have been lost. Back then I didn't use them much anyway. These days, I often run Win9x from a disk image loaded to ram. But I install programs elsewhere. I can save my settings to the "Live Disk Image" using a couple of different techniques. This saves, the sometimes needed, registry settings. But it is much more practical to create a portable application. In fact, a Live environment is great for that. Right now, I use a bunch of individual tools and notes; collected from various places. It works fine, since I can fine tune each application to it's needs (very hands on). But I was just curious if anyone still had some "Old School" portable application tool kits. This is low urgency. But high curiosity. For the record, this is for personal use and not for the distribution of copyright protected software. In the configuration above, portable applications are obviously a practical solution. In point of fact, this configuration maintains a very clean system registry.

I did notice that some (like 915.inf @ ICH6/win98se) are sparse, like you have said. But others do have registry entries, for configuring drivers (like ich4core.inf @ ICH4/win98se). Some specific windows files are specified for use. But perhaps windows already installed the same. I suspect that is what it ich4core.inf is doing with APM. It removes the driver and only (re)installs it if it is detected/verified. I would guess that most of these drivers work fine "as is" most of the time. Sometimes, settings other than the default may need to be used. As for when the inf files specifies using certain Windows' drivers, for all I know they are the same that Windows would have specified. It does list files to remove, that it does not reinstall. So in some cases it may be anticipated that incorrect files may have been installed or are not needed.

I agree that it is not a driver. I suppose writing "after other drivers" suggested thinking it was. I have had a video driver not work, until the chipset was installed. Windows would boot to a black screen, unless you installed the chipset before the video driver. While researching the issue today, I found instances similar to my own. Sometimes it was related to APCI problems, rather than video. I don't know if VIA chipset installations are different. But I have also had the above video driver issue with Via. With this machine, windows assigned the AGP port as a PCI device. The chipset inf files resulted in it being recognized as an Functional AGP port. No actual driver files of any kind where copied over. But for what ever reason, the video driver worked afterwards. Perhaps there is some brief specification information installed with the chipset? Or associating vendor/hardware IDs with already existing windows drivers, that otherwise may not have been associated?

The "Intel Chipset" is meant to be installed right after a fresh install. I was looking into the issue of installing the "Intel Chipset", after other drivers have been setup (Windows default and third party). I haven't tried it myself, yet, but it seems the "-OVER All" flag might do the trick. Example, "Setup.exe -OVER ALL". This should work with the "infinst_enu.exe" file, but you may have to use the "-A" flag first. Example, "infinst_enu.exe -A -OVER ALL". Otherwise, you can just use 7zip to extract the contents of the self-extracting executable (infinit_enu.exe), then run Setup.exe directly. Supposedly, "infinst_enu.exe -A -A (optional -P [output directory])" will self extract without running setup. Without the optional "-P" flag, the contents should extract to "C:\Program Files\Intel\Infinst". I wonder if this would help with Windows installs ran without the "Setup.exe /p i" switch? Would it correct ACPI issues? As a side curiosity, I have wondered if installing the "Intel Chipset", enumerates pci devices not listed in device manager; on machines where using "Setup.exe /p i" did not do so. I'm sure I will find out soon. Other drivers might need to be re-installed, to correct issues from the chipset having not been previously installed correctly. Anyway, a complete list of "Intel Chipset" install flags is located in the "readme.txt", found with the chipset installer (compressed inside infinst_enu.exe). Anyone have experience with this?

One day I'll dig my hands into those features So much to do, so little time.

Actually, that has been a real annoyance for me. Its been called a "dos box" for awhile. When researching Windows internals (Win3x-9x) many books do refer to it as a dos box. It can make using google almost pointless, as DosBox/DosBox-X will return in most of the results. It makes trying to understand what happens when you run command.com very obscure. This since command.com is ran inside the dos box, not the actual dos box itself. I guess there is a ReactOS cmd.exe, for Win9x, that initializes a similar environment. Reading the source code for that might give me some clues. I have so many projects, that I haven't continued to research it. Looking to get three books, Undocumented Dos/Windows and Unauthorized Windows 95. Maybe they'll give greater detail. But, in this case, it is the win32 side of things I'm interested in. The same problems you had when running shell replacements?

Which driver? VGA 16 Colors? It probably does not matter, but could you type mem at the command prompt? Then tell me how much free conventional ram you have.

jaclaz, thanks for the excellent reading material. Lots of good energy in those posts!

I haven't used BB4Win much. But LiteStep never caused me any issue. There are other shell replacements I've tried, that had many issues. But I imagine if a person's Windows configuration relies heavy on explorer, they would be much happier using the explorer shell. I run a pretty lean install. Long ago, I used to run with Program Manager as my Win98/XP shell. With XP I had to save the XP original progman.exe file, since SP1 replaced it with a non working version. But I had no systray, when using Program Manager. I found something called "Rocket Tray". Or I think that was it's name. But Litestep had it's own systray and on the whole was quite light. But none the less, your XP like start menu, with the MS-Dos Prompt, deceptively looks like an improved version of XP Or maybe not so deceptively

You might have better luck with the newer versions. It could also be that there was an error installing the driver. VGA 16 colors is the default VGA driver that Windows reverts to, when there is a problem. Since VBEMP supports 32bit color, I would suspect the driver is not compatible or did not install correctly. But even the windows VGA16 driver may be enough to tell if the issues is your ATI driver. Wolf/Sod should still work, even if only 16 colors. Remember, VBEMP and VGA16 is not meant as a fix. Just a test to determine if the ATI driver is the issue. If you get the same blackscreen with VBEMP/VGA16, then you know the ATI driver is likely "NOT" the issue; since the black screen affects all video drivers. Not as far as I know. But I am glad you have sound.

If someone could write a more "hardware direct" and "non CPU emulated" win32 dosbox, then HxDos 2.17+ (Ruslan Starodubov) would be a possible option. It would be a nice project, without the interest of using it with HxDos 2.17+. Just not architecture portable.

Joaquim, wolf4gw does not always automatically enable sound, when detected. You need to change the settings in the "Game's" sound options. If soundblaster is not detected, you may not be running VDMSound correctly. Some "Extra" notes on VMDSound: 1. From the "Same" commandline window that you run "dosdrv.bat", you need to change directory to where you have "wolf4gw.exe". Then run wolf4gw. Otherwise soundblaster may not be detected. 2. You can unload VDMSound by running vxdsboom.exe. 3. The "Tip of the Day" error, when running dosdrv.bat, can be fixed in the registry. REGEDIT4 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Freeware\VDMSound] "NextTip"=dword:00000000 "TipsFile"="C:\\Program Files\\VDMSound\\VDMSound.tips" "ShowTips"=dword:00000000 You can either create a .reg file with the above in it (and double click it), or add the contents manually with regedit. 4. The reason wolf4gw may be working for you, may have to do with conventional memory. Original Wolf3d and Wolfdosmpu both require that you have enough conventional memory. Wolf4gw does not. I believe wolf4gw also supports vesa modes, that the original Wolf3d does not. This is more likely the reason it works for you. If VBEMP fixes the black screen issue, with the original Wolf3d, then your ATI driver may not be supporting the needed modes. I think someone has mentioned that to you before, in another thread. An older or newer ATI driver may fix that issue, since VBEMP does not support "3D Acceleration".

Looks like you had fun. Reminds me of CalmiraXP for Win3x. I haven't gotten around to it, but eventually I'd like to mess around with BlackBox4Win and LiteStep.

If you mean the links for VBEMP, try the middle [?] link. The first ones are dead. Try these command line arguments first. For audio you can try "sod4gw.exe nopro", "sod4gw.exe nosb", "sod4gw.exe nopro nosb", and "sod4gw.exe noal". For your original Wolf/Sod video issue, you can try "wolf3d.exe comp", "wolf3d nocomp", and "wolf3d hiddencard". If any of these fix the video issue, you can try the audio arguments with it. Example:"wolf3d.exe nopro comp"

What fixed the Video?

You are welcome. I hope it/they might be useful to other users, as well. For the sake of clarity, on the "Other Forum" they are suggesting that you "Throttle" the CPU down. I'm sure you understood what they meant. But since people here may not have read your thread "over there", I though it would help to clear things up "here". Most people "here" would assume you mean the Windows 9x CPU patch. Which is completely different than slowing your CPU down "Temporarily" to troubleshoot/play a game. Some "Older" Dos games "do" need a speed tweak, of some kind. I do "not" think Wolf/Sod should require it. If you can run the games in "pure" Dos, even if without sound, then likely speed should not be an issue; in Windows either. But, likely some unique situation(s) exist. Windows adds another layer of complexity, to the situation. Perhaps certain video drivers suddenly support Windows Dos environments better, when the CPU is limited. I apologize for not being more familiar with the "Black Screen" issue you are having. It is highly likely some other user would know more than I. But I have some ideas you could try. It probably won't help, but it has long been suggested to reduce video acceleration, then test if video problems persists. Who am I to argue with many years of trouble-shooters? Just remember to re-enable full acceleration, if it doesn't work. It might not be a bad idea to keep different versions of your video card driver. I seem to remember countless times people needed to upgrade/downgrade their video drivers, to fix various applications, features, and games. It may seem silly, but you could try temporarily installing the VBEMP driver. I've had good luck with the 2010.06.01 version (\VBE9X\UNI\vbemp.inf). On some of my video cards, the newer versions have caused garbled fullsceen Dos windows. But they may work fine in your system. If the black screen issue goes away, then you have "mostly" narrowed the issue down to the video card driver. You could reinstall the correct video driver, and start directing your attention on tweaking that specific device.

Joaquim, you can find instructions here. But the version offered on that page may not be the newest. The link under the title word **ALPHA** may provide a newer version. The file VDMS.INI contains settings. Many games work without changing anything. But it may help to remember to use mpu-401 midi, at port 330. What Video Card do you have? What driver are you using? It seems some Video Cards cause a black screen. I've attached the open source fork(s) for GW. You can try them. But I haven't taken the time to get figure out how to get music working with them. I think they are hard coded to a specific port. I can't remember which one. But there are only so many it could be. You could also try wolfdosmpu. It is for both Wolf and Sod. Wolfmidi is also suggested, as it converts music to general midi. But more importantly, it might cure the black screen issue. 4gw.zip

It seems like you are talking about running Dos games, in Windows. Is that the case? If so, is your ac97 driver VxD or WDM? VxD drivers often support better Soundblaster emulation. The ones I have list Soundblaster emulation in Device Manager. This in addition to the ac97 driver itself. WDM drivers tend to provide, mostly, sound effects. If you take your time to figure out how to use it, VDMSound for Win9x "Beta3" "Alpha3" adds better support. In Windows, I've had a black screen issue running Wolf/Sod. I think it was the version of Wolf/Sod that I was using. Maybe try downloading different versions of the demo, then see it the issue goes away. Otherwise, you can try wolf4sdl and sod4sdl. Even though you may be using Windows, conventional memory can also be an issue. Wolf/Sod usually display a memory message. You can try wolf4gw and sod4gw. In Windows, I have not gotten music to work with them. But I haven't tried setting VDMSound with different Soundblaster settings.

I've used Grub4Dos to control drive designation. It may make for a steep learning curve. However, it is very useful. In your case, it might be like tackling a roach problem with a bazooka. But if you are into really geeking out, I highly recommend it. I once needed Grub4Dos to hide the master drive, after I mapped a drive image as hd0 (map --disable-chs-mode --disable-lba-mode (hd1) (hd1) ), or else the system would not boot; beyond Dos. I needed the master drive to boot Grub4Dos (actually Grub2 > grub4dos, long story), then forget that the master drive existed. The master drive was boot-able, but "statically" disabled in bios, causing havoc for Windows; even when booting from ram. This solved the issue, and provided very useful knowledge for other adventures.

I think its "Inspiron". :) You may need to hunt for drivers one by one. You can search the web for "Dell Inspiron B130" specs. That will give you some info on the hardware you have. There are also programs for Win9x that will provide you with the "Hardware Identification" of the different install devices. But before I go on, you should note that official Win98 drivers for a "Designed for XP/NT" laptop are often non-existent. Dell does off a MSDos driver for the Network device. That might come in handy, as a last resort. The Intel GMA 900 series video card will likely need a universal driver, like from the "Vbemp Project". It will not provide 3d acceleration. You may have to decide if you really need DirectX9 or not, since DX7 is the last to support "software rendering". There are Universal Drivers for USB2. Or you could install one of the unofficial Win98(se) service packs, that include USB drivers. If your audio is not of an AC97 chipset, you may have to try the Win3x(16bit) Driver for the HDAudio chipsets. Otherwise buy a cheap USB audio device, (almost always) supported by the Win98 Generic USB Driver. It might be easier finding out what hardware you have, by making a Bootable LiveUSB stick; with some Linux or KolibriOS. Once booted with Linux, you can usually open a console and type "lspci" without the quotes. With KolibriOS, there is a system panel, from which you can click on the icon for listing PCI hardware. I can't remember the exact name of the icon, but it is trivial to figure out. But then hunting for those drivers, on the net, is getting harder and harder. Especially for a Win9x OS or older. However, I do suspect that you could find a Win9x driver, for the network device. Wifi is a different story. PCMCIA slots can be hit and miss. If you can find out what type of PCMCIA slot you have (chipset), you may be able to use drivers for a different Laptop; having the same chipset. You could maybe search for something like "Operating System Revival", to help ease your hunt. If you get anywhere trying these things, it may be easier to get help for "Individual" driver problems. You will, at that point, be able to list the actual hardware device causing you issues. If you run into a problem with something I,ve suggested, someone may help you with that specific thing or suggest a different option.

I have not tried this program my self, but there is "RedNotebook". I do not know if this will run on Win9x. It does have versions going back to 2008. It mentions export functions, but I do not know if PDF is supported. None the less, is does seem to support images. It is also specifically aimed at Diaries and Journals. If you click on the "Files" tab, you will find versions even up to the current actively developed version. There is also the "Old Versions" folder. You may have to use a version from there. You will be wanting to download the files ending in "exe". Pay attention to the date and descending version number, if you need hunt for an older version. I know this may seem like common sense. But I am attempting to attend to any level of user experience. Update:RedNotebook 0.4.0 is likely the only one to run, on vanilla Win98. It supports export to Html, Latex, and Text. Seems somewhat basic and without image support.