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Making Win98SE work


Janne

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5 hours ago, Janne said:

Thanks for all advice.
I got it running quite well now, BUT:

1. The computer can read CD but not DVD. If I remember right, it could read DVD before I installed much of U98SESP3, then not... But it reads USB sticks.
I installed NUSB33e.exe. NUSB36e.exe did not run (maybe corrupt?). How about wtgenusb? But it would probably not help reading DVD...

2. The mouse wheel does not work

1 is important and I am grateful for help.
2 is less important.

I see from the spec sheet for your laptop that it came in models with both CD and DVD drives. Are you certain that your laptop has a DVD-capable drive? If so it should have "DVD" written somewhere clearly on the tray door faceplate. I personally don't use the Unofficial Service Pack but I highly doubt that it is preventing you from reading DVD's. NUSB has nothing to do with drives not connected by USB.

98SE has default support for wheel mice, so it should be working. Do you mean that the "touchpad equivalent" of a wheel is not working? Touchpads may require their own drivers.

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To give a late answer to a question above (I only sometimes in between work on this "project" since there is much else to do...):
The computer has a Pentium 4

The registry entry requested is:

PCI
IRQH0LDER
41
41
43
44
60
61
62
63
VEN_l039&DEV_0001&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_00
   BUS_00&DEV_01&FUNC_00
VEN_1039&DEV_0008&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_14
   BUS_00&DEV_02&FUNC_00
VEN_1039&DEV_0650&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_80
   BUS_00&DEV_00&FUNC_00
VEN_1039&DEV_0900&SUBSYS_00281025&REV_91
   BUS_00&DEV_04S&FUNC_00
VEN_1039&DEV_5513S&UBSYS_00281025&REV_00
   BUS_00&DEV_02&FUNC_05
VEN_1039&DEV_6325&SUBSYS_00281025&REV_00
   00800
VEN_1039&DEV_7001&SUBSYS_00281025&REV_0F
   BUS_00&DEV_03&FUNC_00
   BUS_00&DEV_03&FUNC_01
   BUS_00&DEV_03&FUNC_02
VEN_1039&DEV_7002&SUBSYS_00281025&REV_00
   BUS_00&DEV_03&FUNC_03
VEN_1039&DEV_7007&SUBSYS_00281025&REV_00
   BUS_00&DEV_02&FUNC_07
VEN_1039&DEV_7012&SUBSYS_00281025&REV_A0
   BUS_00&DEV&02&FUNC_06
VEN_1039&DEV_7013&SUBSYS_00281025&REV_A0
   BUS_00&DEV_02&FUNC_06
VEN_1217&DEV_6972&SUBSYS_00281025&REV_00
   BUS_00&DEV_0A&FUNC_00

Took a screenshot OCR-ed on my desktop, so there could possibly be some error, even though I checked it.
 

Edited by Janne
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On 2/7/2017 at 6:38 PM, Janne said:

1. The computer can read CD but not DVD. If I remember right, it could read DVD before I installed much of U98SESP3, then not... But it reads USB sticks.
I installed NUSB33e.exe. NUSB36e.exe did not run (maybe corrupt?). How about wtgenusb? But it would probably not help reading DVD...

Reinstall but skip U98SESP3. You should install NUSB33E or 36E, though, in order to have USB2.0 support. There's no alternative DVD driver for 9x/ME.

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OK, reinstall would be an "option"...
But why give up easy?
At start-up I get an error message that the following line in config.sys would have an error:
LH C:\Windows\Command\Mscdex.exe /D:123
but the same line works in autoexec.bat and does load mscdex.exe.
(If I click mscdex.exe I get the message that it is already loaded.)

What could the be the error in that line?

Edited by Janne
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On ‎09‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 0:39 PM, dencorso said:

Reinstall but skip U98SESP3. You should install NUSB33E or 36E, though, in order to have USB2.0 support. There's no alternative DVD driver for 9x/ME.

14 minutes ago, Janne said:

OK, reinstall would be an "option"...
But why give up easy?

Because, with all due respect, IMO your current installation is FUBAR, so there's no point in trying to rescue it.

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So it seems that U98SESP3 f*cked it up.
What is your opinion, and the opinion of others, about U98SESP3?
Nevertheless maybe someone can let me know what could be wrong with "LH C:\Windows\Command\Mscdex.exe /D:123" in config.sys.
 

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On 2/4/2017 at 7:01 AM, Janne said:

It worked very well and then I could install a driver from the VBEMP 9x Project, and also even most of  U98SESP3.

On 2/7/2017 at 6:38 PM, Janne said:

1. The computer can read CD but not DVD. If I remember right, it could read DVD before I installed much of  U98SESP3, then not...

On 2/9/2017 at 0:39 PM, dencorso said:

Reinstall but skip U98SESP3. You should install NUSB33E or 36E, though, in order to have USB2.0 support. There's no alternative DVD driver for 9x/ME.

53 minutes ago, Janne said:

So it seems that U98SESP3 f*cked it up.

I didn't say that. You said it stopped reading DVDs after you installed "much/most of U98SESP3"... and that means you didn't even install it properly, because there isn't anything like "installing much/most of U98SESP3": you either install it fully, the way it was intended to be installed, or not. And if properly installed, it shouldn't remove your system's ability to read DVDs. At that point you should either have redeployed a previous backup and retried to install U98SESP3 properly, or decided to avoid it for the moment and let it to be tried again later. Failing to do so was the main problem. Anything can go wrong during installations, so that proper backups are of paramount importance between each major new installs. Else one gets back to the start.

53 minutes ago, Janne said:

Nevertheless maybe someone can let me know what could be wrong with "LH C:\Windows\Command\Mscdex.exe /D:123" in config.sys.

Plenty. Both CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT ought to be blank (0 size) or non-existent. Windows 98SE actually does not need either at all !!! Even so, in case there was any good reason for having a CONFIG.SYS, it most definetely must *NOT* have any line loading MSCDEX.EXE, nor any CD real-mode DRIVER, like OAKCDROM.SYS or whatever. Please do keep in mind I do mean no offense at all.

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I've taken a look at the registry, and found these drivers for 98SE:

- The Audio driver is here: http://tim.id.au/static/WDM_A404.exe

(there is a newer A406 driver, but I had problems with it, the A404 works better)

Highly recommend to install DirectX 9.0c for the Audio driver to work correctly: https://download.microsoft.com/download/8/c/9/8c968ecc-8402-49f3-aacb-dc4c5d230a9a/directx_dec2006_redist.exe

- The AGP driver is right here (it makes the GPU working properly): http://www.philscomputerlab.com/uploads/3/7/2/3/37231621/agp121.zip

- The GPU driver (SiS 740 - uvga3_373.zip) is right here: http://download.driverguide.com/driver/SiS740/SiS+Corporation/d845152.html

(they have removed the downloader, now it's a direct link, thank god)

- The IDE driver (makes the drive faster) is right here: http://www.philscomputerlab.com/uploads/3/7/2/3/37231621/ide204a.zip

- The Ethernet (LAN) driver is right here: http://www.techspot.com/drivers/driver/file/information/3871/

These drivers, along side the NUSB33e.exe USB driver, and the Vcache patch should be all you need to have a fully working 98SE installation. I do not recommend to install any Service Packs, if everything works correctly without it. Make a clean installation from scratch.

Edited by MrMateczko
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Running MSCDEX from the CONFIG.SYS File requires the use of the INSTALL or INSTALLHIGH Command, not LH. The LH Command can only be used in Batch Files such as AUTOEXEC.BAT.

Real Mode CD/DVD Drivers can be used but are not needed, nor recommended, unless the Protected Mode Windows Driver is not working.

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i remember when i used to apply almost all available official 98SE updates individually and had to restart the system almost every update but i gave up on that and went with the unofficial 98SE service pack because there were just too many updates and i didn't even have all of them either, the only thing i don't like about the unofficial 98SE service pack is how it changes the way the folder icons look and some other random "unnecessary" add ons that could be removed or an alternative light package could be made instead as there are some files that i can't put in my archived 98SE folder because it becomes too big to fit onto a burned cd-rw, mostly from the 98SE unofficial service pack containing some updates or things that aren't necessarily important or needed, however i still update my 95 osr 2.5 systems with the individual updates way which does takes some time with restarting the system after almost every update but i still prefer to use it and i'd rather not experiment with the unofficial service pack way which would require some other experimenting to get things right. 

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I found that most of the official updates want to restart the system but it is not necessary to restart in between them more than once.
I bundled my update package into two parts. I can run the first part, reboot, then run the second part and reboot to finish.

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16 hours ago, Janne said:

So it seems that U98SESP3 f*cked it up.
What is your opinion, and the opinion of others, about U98SESP3?
Nevertheless maybe someone can let me know what could be wrong with "LH C:\Windows\Command\Mscdex.exe /D:123" in config.sys.
 

Since you asked, I do not use or like the Unofficial Service Pack (or any other 98SE "update packs" for that matter other than NUSB). Any such creation almost inevitably ends up being a product of the author's tastes and desires (and there is nothing wrong with that, any project maintainer has the right to take his or her project in any way they so desire) rather than a bare-bones, strictly updates only package. Other choices were made during it's development that I disagree with, but if you really want to learn more I suggest you read the U98SESP3 thread in its entirety.

Why are you trying to load a DOS CDROM Driver/File System Interpreter in the 98SE CONFIG.SYS anyway? Are you planning to boot into pure DOS for some reason where you would need CDROM access before Windows loads?

You also never answered my question about your Optical drive. You should verify physically that it is capable of reading DVD's. Even though I don't like the Unofficial Service Pack I still highly doubt that it is the cause of your problems. If your drive is DVD-capable, then reinstall without the USP as instructed. If your problem goes away, then you have your answer. If not, I would say you have some faulty hardware.

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On my Windows 98 SE i had a very similar problem with my Samsung DVD Drive which destroyed 7 DVD-R discs. My DVD ROM hooked to my motherboard via PCI to SATA adapter could read and write CD and only read DVD. I fixed it by downloading firmware for it here:

http://www.firmwarehq.com/index.php

After i downloaded the file i figured it was the same version i had but i decided to install it regardless to refresh it. After restart i decided to try another test burn and it worked just fine. 

You may need a small screwdriver to get the drive out and read THE EXACT Manufacturer, MODEL, speed and anything else important. 

There's no drivers for DVD drives, Windows got native support.

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U98SESP3 is not an all-or-none SP. It presents a long list of updates, modifications and add-ons from which you can choose the ones you want.

It is true that autoexec.bat and config sys are not needed for Win98SE, but they can be useful in the DOS mode. Therefore, I think that the question about the entry in config.sys is motivated. When starting in the DOS mode, there is also the message about “invalid command”. If I REM that line out, no such message comes. This concerns the line LH C:\Windows\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:123 that is suggested in some texts.

My modified (maybe rather than f*cked up…) installation works well and obviously uses more RAM than the original one did. The mouse wheel does work, after all – only not in one or two simple applications. And I can read a DVD through an external drive connected to USB. I can read even big USB sticks.

Incidentally, the author of “How to install Windows 98SE on a modern PC” (http://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=41065#p384748 ) writes at the end: “Install unofficial 48-bit LBA patch from mdgx's site http://www.mdgx.com/files/ATADRV98.EXE. After in-stalling you can now re-enable 32-bit protected-mode disk drivers (clear the checkbox which you previously selected in last step), have DMA for HDD, and access your CD-rom drive. Personally couldn't use DMA for CD-rom drive. Had to use cd-rom drive via usb to avoid that problem. But it works fine without DMA.” I do not know if U98SESP3 installed that patch … but will try to investigate. Maybe that has to do with the problem in my case.

But in case someone has positive suggestions that help understanding what is supposed to be wrong in the entry in config.sys, and can also enable reading DVD also from the built-in drive in the laptop (that actually is a CD/DVD drive), I will be thankful. Maybe the latter problem does have to do with the MSCDEX problem in config.sys? Maybe MSCDEX.exe should be loaded in another system file?

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