apathetic_loser

VIA chipsets are best for 9x. NForce2 performs really well, but I've found it to be unstable at times. VIA is slower, but it's rock solid. AMD procs are far better in price. A Socket 754 Sempron 3100+ 64-bit is 50 bucks at Newegg. 98SE runs nicely, and newer OSs (Linux, anyone?) will fly on it. Nvidia chips beyond the 6 series are overkill. AGP doesn't allow much of a performance boost, and better cards require higher driver versions that are optimized for NT kernels. I haven't used ATI in years, but I'm told the 9800 is a very good card for 98SE. Wattage is pointless in a PSU. What you're looking for is something that costs at least 30 bucks, from a decent brand. Cheap 500W power supplies almost always blow out by the time you hit 400 watts, dono't waste money on them. With a system like I outlined, you'll never need more than a 350W unit unless you're running a server with a few hard drives. For memory, I've also found brands not to matter much for performance. Quality control varies between brands though, so go with a pretty big name. I'd suggest Kingston, they're affordable and seem to have a low failure rate. Avoid PNY, I know way too many people who had to return those chips. Monitor is all about what you can afford. LCDs need less power and take up less space, but a CRT will have a better picture that some of the cheap LCDs. If the video card has a port the monitor can plug into, then 98SE will be fine with the monitor. This is all just based on my experiences. I'm sure others have had different expierences, so take it with a grain of salt. Hope it helps.

I've been happily using ffdshow and/or QuickTime Alternative to watch QT files. Streaming can be a little dicey, but for the most part I've had success. I'm a little biased though; I got sick of Apple QT refusing to properly play high quality trailers and such, only to have a more versatile media player and the afore-mentioned decoders run through it like it was nothing. I also (and maybe this no longer applies) enjoy being able to full-screen video without having to pay to do so.

From what I've seen of MSN, I'm fairly certain that it uses a lot of IE, so I doubt anything can be done. I can't say for sure, of course, but I'm not optimistic. Sorry.

And for those of you interested in more useful information... http://www.cdburnerxp.se/ http://www.deepburner.com

I use batch files to install a few updates prior to running the USP, but I've always found it an annoying way to run those updates. This looks a lot cleaner, and it's actually easier! Thank you very much, this is great.

I voted for Metapad, because that's my Notepad replacement of choice. I like to install it seperately though, so I'd almost rather have nothing at all. Eh, I won't mind however it turns out. AbiWord in the SP, that's hilarious.

The only thing I can think of that hasn't already been mentioned; did you install the drivers via harware manager, or did you run the actual setup program? The last time I had trouble with wireless in 98SE, I gave up and moved the box to 2K. It made things much easier. Not really suggesting you should do the same, but you might want to think about it, especially since you were getting along so well with Linux.

Sure it's the same topic, but it is still a fun topic for those still rebelling against the upgrade. I'm a big Linux fan, and I'm starting to transition a few boxes to 2K (just in time for support to shut down, hah), but I still like 98SE, and I use it for anything that doesn't involve lots of file serving, internet work, or wireless. I can have a functioning OS plus most of my favorite utilities all in 500 MB, and I finally got the install pretty well automated. Perfect for when I need to setup a few boxes for the next LAN party. So yeah, I'm a fan, and I don't mind revisiting the topic every now and again. Obviously there are a few others who don't mind either. Hey, maybe there should just be a stickied "Why we love Win98SE ever so much" topic, then nobody has to worry about this repeat issue.

I have a copy of NT Workstation with SP4 integrated, and I was able to install IE6 on it without any difficulty. I'm afraid I can't be of any more help than that, since I install NT so rarely that I've never needed to automate the process.

I'm wondering if anyone has compiled an index of all those numbers, and the directories they're associated with? I couldn't find anything on Google, and I figure a complete list would be pretty handy. In case you're thinking I'm an evil little leech of a newb, I'd be willing to do this myself if no one already has.

Athlon XP 2400+, Abit KG7-RAID, 512 MB DDR2700, GeForce MX4000 64MB, Turtle Beach Santa Cruz Intel something-or-other (old Gateway pull), P3 450, 192 MB ram