[QUERY: nLite compatible with MCE2005]

I heard nLite doesn't speak MCE2005. I was wondering whether nLite has been updated to recognise and handle MCE2005. Even if not, I can change the startup file (TXTSETUP.SIF which is in the 386-folder).

MCE2005 is really the same build as XP, just with more stuff. So nLite should easily be reprogrammed to handle it.

[HELP: Windows XP OPK woes....]

Wow, no one uses OPK anymore?

[HELP: Windows XP OPK woes....]

Am new to Windows XP OPK and I read the Step-by-step tutorial guide that came on the CD. It mentions about having 2 PCs, technician & master. Then it says to check whether the network card is listed on the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL). My built-in integrated Realtek is listed here at http://testedproducts.windowsmarketplace.c...56-e61103098860

So that should be fine. The documented stated procedure of using OPK is to run the OPK wizard on technician PC. I assume the technician PC hardware doesn't have to match the master PC hardware. The actual preinstallation is done on the master PC and the master PC's hardware will be taken into account of (for the HAL, etc).

The OPK wizard lets you to specify a list of 3rd-party programs that will be installed on the master PC during Audit-mode (automatic preinstallation). It requires you to specify the path of the 3rd-party programs to be from a "network share". Am very curious as to how the master PC will be able to access the 3rd-party programs if network card drivers hasn't been setup yet. From my knowledge, my Realtek network card required me to manually install the drivers after a fresh installation of Windows XP. Is it possible to burn the drivers & 3rd-party programs onto the Windows XP CD and specify the path to the CD-ROM?

When we specify the list of 3rd-party programs to be installed during Audit-mode, do we have to make sure the drivers (motherboard INF, graphics, network) are installed first before the 3rd-party programs if the 3rd-party programs are to be accessed via network share? What about the reboot required for drivers to work?

The entire OPK documentation assumed that the master PC will have a working network card upon Windows installation - for the automated 3rd-party program preinstallations. How does one get around this if his network card is unknown after Windows installation? Is the Factory-mode an alternative to installing the drivers & 3rd-party programs? Is Factory-mode as good as the automated 3rd-party program preinstallation?

[Download the Windows OEM Installation Kit - NEW]

What is this program for? Is it to help facilitate unattended installs?

It does everything from creating your own pre-installed Windows image, to unattended installs, to massive deployment (I think). It contains Win PE & also sysprep.

Is it easy to use? I'm surprised that this hasn't been publicized that much.

It's meant for OEM (Dell, etc.) but non-OEM can use it for personal use. On the CD (ISO image) contains tones of documentation (CHM & Word doc files), with step-by-step guides, and manuals.

[Download the Windows OEM Installation Kit - NEW]

What is this program for? Is it to help facilitate unattended installs?

It does everything from creating your own pre-installed Windows image, to unattended installs, to massive deployment (I think). It contains Win PE & also sysprep.

[Helpful links for WinPE from MS]

this is the address for "Windows Server 2003 SP1 OPK"

<a href="http://oem.microsoft.com/downlhttp://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=16764#

Use%20Full%20Editoroads/worldwide/WinServer2003SP1_OPK/ENsp1opk.zip" target="_blank">http://oem.microsoft.com/downloads/worldwi...PK/ENsp1opk.zip</a>

I think that URL is incorrect. From http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=56488&st=0 it's meant to be http://oem.microsoft.com/downloads/worldwi..._x86fre_opk.zip

Also, would be nice if the post starter put this link in his first post. Saves us all having to read through the entire thread....

And is Windows OEM Installation Kit == Windows OEM Preinstallation Kit? Or is there a difference?

And is Windows OPK the same as Windows PE? Or is WinPE something else totally different?

[Download the Windows OEM Installation Kit - NEW]

This post is so useful. Why isn't it a sticky?

And is Windows OEM Installation Kit == Windows OEM Preinstallation Kit? Or is there a difference?

And is Windows OPK the same as Windows PE? Or is WinPE something else totally different?

[HELP: vob file has no metadata?]

I been collecting free DVDs off a newspaper in UK. I been using http://www.any-video-converter.com/ Free Any-Video-Converter to convert DVD .vob files to iPod Video .mp4 files.

Everything is fine, except one .vob file (VTS_02_3.VOB). Any Video Converter says "Could not read metadata from vob file.

I have yet to get into their website and post to their forums (if they have one). But in meantime, does anyone know what I can do to try to remedy this problem? I even tried FixVTS and that didn't even work.

[HELP: want more than 2 IDE devices when MB got 1 IDE slot.....]

I got a ECS 915G-A motherboard which has only 1 IDE slot. In the past I had motherboards with 4 IDE slots (for RAID, etc.). I guess these new motherboards are phasing out IDE slots and replacing them with SATA slots. I have a IDE HD & 2 IDE DVD drives. As you can see, I can only use 1 HD & 1 DVD drive. I do not want to buy a new HD. Is there any way to get another IDE device? Do I have to buy one of those IDE expansion boards?

[MS-DOS 6.2 bootable cd]

Okay, I don't need MS-DOS 6.2 anymore since I found out that the best MS-DOS version was in Win98SE. So now am trying to build a MS-DOS 7.0 bootable CD & installation - BUT for games, not generic.

Here's what I found...

In Win98 \WINDOWS\COMMAND\EBD folder contains the Emergency Boot Disk (without the msdos.sys & ebd.sys files for some reason). I extracted the 1.44MB bootable image from the Win98 CD-ROM just to do complete. This is only an Emergency Boot Disk and not tweaked for games. However it's got a good selectable menu system.

In the Win98 \WINDOWS\ there are two files called:

MS-DOS Mode for Games.pif (XMS loading for games)

MS-DOS Mode for Games with EMS and XMS Support.pif (emm386 emulates EMS in XMS)

When double-click either files, they temporarily swap C:\autoexec.bat & C:\config.sys with optimized versions of autoexec.bat & config.sys for games. Why two different pairs of files? Some games were fussy whether emm386 was loaded and other games didn't like it.

So this is a very good idea to embed the differences in the EBD autoexec.bat & config.sys, since there's a choice menu system already programmed in the EBD autoexec & config.

Just needed to copy emm386.exe from C:\WINDOWS\ & also mscdex.exe (from ebd.cab). I also changed RAMDrive to load 16MB (instead of 2MB). Tested CD and it boots perfectly, so user can boot a PC with no harddisk and still run programs that require writing to disk. If the user has a DOS sound card then he can add the drivers to autoexec & config files.

What I want to know is how to install this MS-DOS into a blank C:\ ? Does msdos.sys & io.sys files have to be in the first sector/cluster of the HD? I don't think copying the files directly onto the HD would work?

http://vogons.zetafleet.com/download.php?id=3232

[HELP: Win98SE won't boot on my new PC]

Looking at the logs you provided, your PC seems to hang while initialising esdi_506.pdr. Try starting Windows from DOS prompt with each of these commands:

WIN /D:F

WIN /D:V

If none of these work, boot in safe mode, uninstall (or disable) all HDD Controller drivers and see if it boots in normal mode at least once.

Also you could try looking for a replacement IDE driver, but i doubt you'll find any suitable for your system.

Provide some more bootlogs for booting in normal mode.

Heh, I tried both win /d:f and win /d:v and they fail to start. Then I tried safe-mode and disabled all my HDD controllers. Rebooted in normal mode. Got blue-screen of death, VFAT not detected? However I did get further into the setting up clock/date during the final parts of the installation. And I forgot to provide you with bootlogs...

Nevermind, am going to get a motherboard replacement with Intel 865 chipset (which is definitely going to compatible with W98SE. No, wait, am not really bothered with W98SE anymore, since am hoping to get hold of Sound Blaster 16 off eBay. That way I'll get sound in native DOS mode.. yay \o.

[MS-DOS 6.2 bootable cd]

I had a search around and found an article of someone mentioning they got MS-DOS installation on bootable cd.

I am wondering if anyone who has done this to let me know how they manage to do this?

Best burning program is Nero Burning ROM. It specifies two types of bootable CD-ROMs:

1. CD-ROM (Boot)

2. CD-ROM (EFI Boot)

I guess if I have the floppy disks then the boot image data is easy to get. However if I only backed up my MS-DOS 6.2 files of the disks then I won't have the boot image data. If the latter is the case, can Nero still do sometime to make it boot up (like grab the Windows 98SE boot image instead). Then we have unseen problems such as whether MS-DOS setup/install requires data from A:\ drive. Hmm...

[(for those who own any) Creative Sound Blaster cards]

Thanks for your replies:

I have learnt that the last Creative Labs Sound Blaster card that comes with DOS drivers was Audigy 1. I have also tried DOSBox & VirtualPC. VirtualPC has stated that it has very bad DOS support and won't improve. DOSBox is not good at 3D DOS games, has jerky sounds and can't do programs with extremely fast refresh updates.

I have yet to get MS-DOS/Windows98SE working in VMWare.

But am hoping to grab a few Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 PCI/ISA off eBay to stick in my near-future iBASE MB865 or some other Intel 865 chipset motherboard. Intel 865 chipset motherboards were the last to support Windows 98SE. I have a socket 775 P4 3GHz so I don't want that to go to waste.

Windows 98SE CD is indeed bootable with CD-ROM support. (but obviously not made for EMS loading games and sound).

Is it possible to take original 3 MS-DOS 6.2 floppy disks, and burn them onto CD? Has anyone done this before? Install/setup files or already-installed MS-DOS?

[(for those who own any) Creative Sound Blaster cards]

1. DOSBox is getting better and got some ok results from it. Though 3D via DOSBox is very very slow. And if the DOS app has fast refreshes or updates then DOSBox can't handle it.

2. VDMSound is okay but doesn't always work very. I ran Blood before and it was jerky. VDMSound is a discontinued project. It will not run under 64-bit Windows unfortunately.

3. VirtualPC has very bad support for DOS sound and joystick. Searching on the web & google groups I find people reporting this as a fact. They all say DOS games run chuggy.

4. I have yet to get DOS sound to work in VMWare. Just installed Windows 98SE. Getting DOS sound to work looks fiddly (from web & google group searching). And performance wise is again chuggy.

[(for those who own any) Creative Sound Blaster cards]

I've been toying with soundcards lately and I found the YAMAHA YMF724 chipset cards work real good and they are dirt cheap.

It's got dos support too.

I couldn't even get 98se to recognise my SB Live5.1

Also some SB cards have a adjustment GUI that you can boot into, but it is quite complicated.

PCI or ISA? And is it 100% Sound Blaster compatible?

Could you test to see if you can run those PC demos above?

[(for those who own any) Creative Sound Blaster cards]

I've been using an SB AWE64 Gold and an SB Live! in native MS-DOS for quite a while.

Cool. Do you have a multi-boot PC with MS-DOS 6.2 in one partition? Or are you using Windows 98SE MS-DOS 7.0?

Could you see if you can run this:

Ambience: http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=2879

Solstice: http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=106

Fluid Motion: http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=3535

Juice: http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=69

Robotnik: http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=81

Verses: http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=67

in native DOS mode. Is your SB AWE64 Gold & SB Live! backwards compatible with Sound Blaster Pro 100% compatible? (you'll see what I mean when you chose your sound card in those PC coder demos).

[(for those who own any) Creative Sound Blaster cards]

If I bought a Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 PCI (eg. from ebay):

- will there be MS-DOS drivers available?

- will I be able to install MS-DOS drivers and get it working on a P4

3.0GHz mobo that uses Intel 8xx series chipset?

I really want to play/run DOS games/programs under native DOS. No

emulation whatsoever (I've tried the emulation and they're very buggy

and not 100% reliable).

If anyone has any Creative Labs Sound Blaster card, please can you let

me know what model it is and whether it works on a P4 mainboard under

Windows 98SE native MS-DOS.

[QUERY: Looking for motherboard still support Windows 98...]

If I remember correctly, G means it has integrated graphics, E are higher-spec parts, etc.

865PE (Springdale)

875P without PAT, though it was possible to enable PAT in some early revisions. Also lacks ECC Memory support.

Sub-versions:

865P - The same as 865PE, but only supports 533 MHz bus and 333 MHz memory.

848P - Single memory channel version of 865PE.

865G (Springdale-G)

865PE with integrated graphics. PAT never supported in any revisions.

Sub-versions:

865GL - 865G without external AGP slot.

So, the 1st & 2nd best ones are (ignoring integrated graphics): 865PE, 865G

865GL? Do you mean 865GV? And what is PAT? So PAT is not supported in any of the 865G series....

[QUERY: Looking for motherboard still support Windows 98...]

I currently own a ECS 915G-A mobo (socket 775) Intel P4, with 512MB DDR (400

or 333 DIMM, not sure). GeForce 4 440 Ti AGP. I have a hard time trying to

get my Intel 915 chipset mobo to work with Windows 98 and everyone knows

that's virtually impossible. So am going to sell my mobo and buy another one

which will support Windows 98 and also can take my socket 775 P4, DDR & AGP

card.

I now got lots of recommendations from people:

1. http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/bv/index.htm

2. http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/

3. http://www.epox.com.tw/eng/products_content.php?ps=323

4. http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelme...l2=11&l3=26

5. http://www.asrock.com/product/K8%20Combo-Z.htm

1. The Intel Desktop Board D845GBV looks small and am not even sure if it'll

fit nicely into my tower case. Though it says it's ATX form factor so I'll

do some measurements. It says it supports P4 in a micro-PGA478 socket???

2. There are too many gigabyte mobos to go through.

3. & 5. EPoX 9nDA3-J & AsRock K8 Combo Z are both socket 939 (AMD). Last

year when I upgraded I should have waited. It was not until after I bought

my P4 that I started to like AMD Athlons because they're 64-bit and Intel is

still lagging behind with 32-bit processors.

4. Should I sell my ECS mobo with P4 together and keep the DIMM and migrate

to AMD side? Or keep the P4 and buy that Asus P5P800SE because it supports

LGA775 & AGP8x?

Hmm, decisions decisions......

PS: motherboard 775 AGP Intel 875 865P 865PE 865G 865GV 848P 845GV 845GE - what's with all the P PE G GV GE letters???

[QUERY: Looking for motherboard still support Windows 98...]

The mainboard listed in my sig (EPoX 9nDA3-J) supports windows 98 and has built in 8.1 surround sound + 1GB Lan. Using a 380watt PSU at the moment so it's not exactly very power-hungry either.

Chipset support?

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=63394

best/fastest hardware platform that supports 98SE

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=63394

I Want To Build A Computer Using Windows 98

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=77492

Nice, I had a look around and found GigaByte, ARock, to still support Windows 98SE. I'll have a look at EPoX too. And thanks to that other guy who mentioned Intel 800 series chipsets support Windows 98SE 100% (hope he is right). Asus is also a common name too. I'll have to compare these 4 motherboard brands...

'Chozo4' - so you have a working Windows 98SE system, and the sound & network builtin are Windows 98SE compatible? What's the CPU?

be easy to get a xp3200 and above setup to do the same, I run my xp3200 win98 system when I need to

What's a xp3200 system?

[QUERY: Looking for motherboard still support Windows 98...]

I am wondering if anyone knows if there exists a motherboard with built-in graphics, sound &/or

LAN that still supports Windows 98. I am not the sort of person who buys 2nd hand due to lemon-

market (untold over-clocking, etc). If anyone out there has a motherboard, and definitely knows

their MB manufacter still provides Windows 98 drivers on their website then please let me know. If

the motherboard has built-in graphics & sound (&/or LAN) that are also compatible with Windows 98

then that's a bonus.

I don't want assumptions about whether motherboard will support Windows 98. I need

definite/specific facts. Motherboard can be any CPU chipset (AMD, Intel variations, etc.)

Cheers

Okay, am not too fussed with Windows 98SE, but at least the built-in graphics, sound and/or LAN in the motherboard is supported by MS-DOS drivers. I don't want to do any emulation with VMWare, DOSBox or VirtualPC.

[HELP: Win98SE won't boot on my new PC]

I just thought of something that could be important. In addition to installing IE6.0SP1 and the unofficial service pack, make sure that you also install the latest version of DirectX. Since it's mentioned in the order of installation thread, you probably already realized that you should get and install it as well. But in case you didn't...

Phil

Assuming I can install DirectX in safe-mode......

[HELP: Win98SE won't boot on my new PC]

What is 98lite? and how would that help? Does it have updated drivers? If so then that could help..... is it possible to boot/run 98lite of CD-ROM? I do not have a floppy disk drive....

98lite is a kind of removal/customization utility. See http://litepc.com/ for more info. Don't worry about it now, though, since it probably won't help. I would download IE6SP1 (the whole thing, not the net installer) and the unofficial service pack and burn them onto a CD using another computer. Then boot the problem PC into Safe Mode and try to install them.

Phil

Hmm, am confused by that order of installation thread.

does IE6SP1 contain the entire IE6 or just SP1 for IE6?

[HELP: Win98SE won't boot on my new PC]

Some other things to consider...

Did you install IE 6? If not, then try it. Then try reinstalling the drivers-- it might help with any drivers that have been giving you trouble. I'm not sure if IE 6 will install in Safe Mode, but go ahead and give it a try; you have nothing to lose.

Regarding 98lite, I should have added that some people prefer to install Windows first and then install 98lite later. For more on that, and other ideas about the best way to set up a Windows 98 SE system, be sure to study this message thread:

install order of win98 system

Good luck.

Phil

What is 98lite? and how would that help? Does it have updated drivers? If so then that could help..... is it possible to boot/run 98lite of CD-ROM? I do not have a floppy disk drive....

[HELP: Win98SE won't boot on my new PC]

I noticed that you said that the HDD is IDE, but you didn't say how big it is. That's a rather important detail that you omitted.

Phil

It's 120GB HD but I created a 2 GB partition for Windows 98SE (or was it 1GB?)