How to properly install all those new win98SE patches/updates?

[keropi666]

Hello!

Sorry for the newbie question, but how to install those late updates (like autopatcher, unofficial service pack , etc) on a win98SE setup? I have been struck with the >137GB limitation and since I had no idea about it I lost files I only had the unofficial SP2.1a installed...

So how to make a *good* new installation? Is what I have in mind correct?

1. install win98SE and on first boot replace the ide driver with the patched one

2. after installation install IE6

3. then autopatcher98 updates

4. and lastly the beta unofficial service pack

does that seem OK? I am open to corrections (I will be using a single partitioned 200GB FAT32 formatted HDD for the installation btw)

thanks for any info/help!

[Jolaes]

Hello,

the order is OK as far as I know,

but stay on the safe side and dont create large FAT32 partitions ( bigger than cca 120 GB). This way older disk utils will still work under Win9x.

[keropi666]

thanks for the confirmation

I am getting some scandisk/dos errors about the "last cluster of my hdd" and it wants to do a surface check... I checked the hdd with windows scandisk and XP (no errors) so I just disabled scandisk/dos....

a dumb decision? perhaps the hdd was formatted with "fat32 formatter" and there are no bad sectors on it...

[systemchris]

i'm kind of havign the same dilemma

so far i'm thinking

1. 98se

2. drivers for lan, sound and video

3. ie 6sp1

4. auto patcher

5. unofficial service pack

would this be a wise way of doing it? or do i have to add the MD usb drivers in there somewhere?

[Jolaes]

That order is OK as well.

If you don't have working proprietary drivers for your USB device then install the nUSB patch.

Generally, the more patches, fixes you install, the more wise it is to make backups of the last well working configuration. Keep in mind that there are overlaps among the different user-made packages and fixes,

so it might happen that you install a fix that changes/reverts core system files and it does solve problems for one application, but makes another inoperable. Installing only what you REALLY need will spare you some headache.

I did this the last time, works so far:

1. 98SE (Rloew's Ram limitation patch after 1st reboot)

2. chipset drivers (IDE, SouthBridge, SATA, AGP) + Rloew's Terabyte Plus package

3. Audio card drivers

4. video card drivers

5. IE6 SP1 + unoff. fixes

6. unoff. Service Pack

7. 98SE TO ME

8. DirectX 9

9. onboard USB

10. onboard LAN

11. KernelEx

12. applications, games

[Fredledingue]

I would even say to create a "small" partition for Windows and program files and perhaps current documents. Something between 20 and 50Gb, and the rest of the HDD another partition for voluminous files.

As far as the installation order goes it seems ok to me too.

There are so many things to do that it's too long to list them all here, especialy since they have been mentioned here many times already.

One day I posted a bat script for the famous first reboot fix and I forgot where it is now on thsi forum.

I install windows 98 only once every 4 years or so, so...

But we are never short of new informations.

There are about 4 or 5 w98se upgrade packs all of them ,forcibly ,older than another at some point in time.

IMO it's not necessary to install them all. On top of uSP3-beta4, I'd take the most recent one (with caution). Or to install updates posted by MGDx individualy, they are also available on my website (see signature).

Once the most important updates and fixes are installed it's not necessary to be perfectionist.