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USB Flash Drivers for 98SE

HoppaLong

By HoppaLong
in Windows 9x/ME

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HoppaLong

HoppaLong

Posted
Posted

My copy of 98SE was originally customized by a business partner. It now resides
on a IBM ThinkPad that was built to run XP.

I have three OCZ Rally2 USB drives. When they were purchased several years ago,
OCZ provided drivers at their site. I still use this ThinkPad because it has unique
software that was created for a now extinct business.

Google lists a blizzard of generic drivers for USB flash. I remember downloading
several collections of these drivers. I use GoBack v4.0 that lets you mount a virtual
drive. Without frequent complete backups or using an app like GoBack I would never
tinker with flaky software!

I'd like to buy some new USB drives for this ThinkPad. Are there one or two moderately
priced brands with downloadable drivers that are guaranteed to work with 98SE?

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jaclaz

jaclaz

Posted
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I am not sure to understand.

A USB disk drive (or flash stick) *needs* not any particular, specific driver.

It is the USB interface (on the PC) that needs those drivers.

If you prefer, once a USB port on the PC is functional you can connect to it *any* USB drive.

There used to be (and possibly they still exist) "special" drivers for some particular sticks, I remember Buffalo ones that used a special transfer mode to make the data transfer quicker, usually having something like "turbo" in the name, but those sticks worked as well (though slower than when used in conjunction with the specialized drivers) on *any* PC.

jaclaz

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Arminius

Arminius

Posted
Posted

My copy of 98SE was originally customized by a business partner. It now resides

on a IBM ThinkPad that was built to run XP.

I have three OCZ Rally2 USB drives. When they were purchased several years ago,

OCZ provided drivers at their site. I still use this ThinkPad because it has unique

software that was created for a now extinct business.

Google lists a blizzard of generic drivers for USB flash. I remember downloading

several collections of these drivers. I use GoBack v4.0 that lets you mount a virtual

drive. Without frequent complete backups or using an app like GoBack I would never

tinker with flaky software!

I'd like to buy some new USB drives for this ThinkPad. Are there one or two moderately

priced brands with downloadable drivers that are guaranteed to work with 98SE?

You can't be serious. You would have as much luck finding a fast food restaurant that serves Brontosaurus burgers.

I still use an mp3 player that came with its own driver for 98SE but that is because I bought a few of them when the store had a clearance sale back in 2008.

Even if you were to find "old stock" I wonder how long the USB sticks would remain functional given the fact that they would have been manufactured a decade ago. There is a button battery built into them which manufacturers guarantee for 10 years, and with luck lasts several years longer. Once the battery runs out the USB stick will no longer hold data.

If the USB ports on your Thinkpad are USB 1.1 then I suggest you download the drivers Flasche provided the link for and use those. USB 3.0 drives are now on the shelves and one can only wonder how long USB 2.0 drives will be available. USB 2.0 drives are backward compatible to USB 1.1 but USB 3.0 drives are only backward compatible to USB 2.0.

And what do you mean by "moderately priced"? The price of USB drives has come down so much over the years that where I live a 32GB drive cost less than a bottle of booze and a 16GB drive costs less a pack of cigarettes.

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bphlpt

bphlpt

Posted
Posted

There is a button battery built into them which manufacturers guarantee for 10 years, and with luck lasts several years longer. Once the battery runs out the USB stick will no longer hold data.

?????

To my knowledge, basic USB sticks do not have batteries of any kind and do not depend on power from any source to hold their data.

Cheers and Regards

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jaclaz

jaclaz

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To my knowledge, basic USB sticks do not have batteries of any kind and do not depend on power from any source to hold their data.

That is good :), as also advanced and highly advanced USB sticks completely lack batteries, no bases for making a classist distinction ;) among them.

BUT extremely highly advanced :w00t: may actually have them, example:

http://www.istorage-uk.com/datashur.php

As a OT and very side note, the actual security of this kind of "secure" device is - generally speaking - to be verified, see:

http://spritesmods.com/?art=security

Now, if Arminuis was making reference to a USB MP3 player, even if it is normally seen as a "Mass Storage Device", just like an USB flash stick is (and has a battery) is not properly (or not only) a "USB stick".

jaclaz

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dencorso

dencorso

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I love pendrives. I have several Corsairs, some Kingstons, two Sony, one Patriot and one OCZ (the great OCZ ATV Turbo 8 GB, out of production for a long time already). I've opened some and read many in-depth reviews that involve full disassembly, and I'm positive the common garden-variety pendrives do *not* contain nor need any type of battery whatsoever, and the same holds for SD (and SDHC) cards, too. Moreover all USB 3.0 pendrives are compatible with USB 2.0 (operating in what they call "USB 2.1 mode") and use to be much faster in that USB 2.0 than any native USB 2.0 device ever was. Last, but not least, Maximus-Decim NUSB should be the sole driverpack ever needed to recognize and use any USB pendrives and/or external HDDs on 9x/ME.

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HoppaLong

HoppaLong

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Flasche, that link you posted looks like a good bet.

I'm sure you've all seen USB sticks that are waterproof and can
survive being dropped from a tall building or run over by a truck.
These sticks are very expensive! That's why I said "moderately priced."

Thumb drives are powered by the USB port. There may be some very
unusual thumb drives that require more power than an ordinary USB
port can provide. I have never read about or seen a stick drive that
required a battery.

I asked for brand names because I was hoping there was a generic
driver that a forum member used successfully with one or two specific
brands. I don't want to experiment.

Any thumb drive with a USB 2.0 plug will fit the "Squid Hub" that's
connected to my ThinkPad.

Well, if I buy a couple of sticks in a local Walmart or Target I can
always return them.

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dencorso

dencorso

Posted
Posted

I'm sorry I cannot help with brand recommendations... most of the pendrives I own are precisely those that claim they can survive being put through some cycles in the washing machine, being dropped from tall buildings and being run over by a truck (although I've never put any of them through such resistence tests). That said, any "el cheapo" pendrive that's honest enough to actually be the size it claims to be should work fine with NUSB and give you no headaches under 9x/ME at all.

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ZortMcGort11

ZortMcGort11

Posted
Posted (edited)

Brand: Tech Universe

Size: 2 Gigabytes

Model: TU1417

Version: USB 2.0

Drivers:

http://techuniverseproducts.com/customer_care/drivers

Store: Rite Aid

(the box says compatible with Windows ME, which is the reason I buy them. I have about ten of them. They work great with Windows ME. Their website has drivers for Win98. I'm going to assume that the drivers work. Why else would they offer drivers for Windows 98 if they didn't work?)

Does this at least partially answer the original poster's question? Or am I completely, totally LOST?

Edited by LostInSpace2012
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Flasche

Flasche

Posted
Posted

Brand: Tech Universe

Size: 2 Gigabytes

Model: TU1417

Version: USB 2.0

Drivers:

http://techuniverseproducts.com/customer_care/drivers

Store: Rite Aid

(the box says compatible with Windows ME, which is the reason I buy them. I have about ten of them. They work great with Windows ME. Their website has drivers for Win98. I'm going to assume that the drivers work. Why else would they offer them?)

You know any generic thumb drive should work with Me. Me unlike 98 has a generic driver already.

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ZortMcGort11

ZortMcGort11

Posted
Posted (edited)

I know, that's why I also put the link for the Windows 98 drivers :-)

I thought he wanted drivers for a Windows 98 USB flash drive?

If there's no Rite Aid store nearby, you can order here (if they're still in stock):

http://www.matelectronics.com/computer/computer-accessories/tu1417-usb-2gb-flash-drive/

Edited by LostInSpace2012
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jaclaz

jaclaz

Posted
Posted

Again, there is NO such thing as "specific" USB flash sticks "compatible" with 98 or Me.

If the OS has USB drivers (for mass storage class) *any* will work (talking of "base" features, i.e. set aside encryption, particular partitioning/formatting, etc.).

jaclaz

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dencorso

dencorso

Posted
Posted

Flasche had already given a link to MD's NUSB elsewhere, now I add the thread about it here, too.

Maximus-Decim: Native USB Drivers (NUSB) for 98 SE

If your still looking for "a" usb driver then here's your bet. http://www.technical-assistance.co.uk/kb/usbmsd98.php.

No specific driver is needed. Everybody and his/her cousin knows NUSB works flawlessly!

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