Running Windows 98 in 2020 and beyond...

[ABCDEFG]

14 hours ago, Wunderbar98 said:

looks like a user could selectively copy only the packages and dependencies they want for a project to minimize the hard drive footprint. The libraries appear newer than the Enhanced Cygwin-Lite franken-collection. Curious what you have used Cygwin for in Windows 98?

If you possess a cygwin installer and local copies of cygwin packages you can select which package to install.

And yes, this version is newer than Cygwin-Lite.

A customer asked me to port some software to 9x platform for in-house use, so i use it to recompile that software...

[Wunderbar98]

Thank-you ABCDEFG, will hunt for a Windows 98 compatible installer. Vaguely remember local install option, will do more homework. On hold indefinitely until i free adequate space for the download and extraction. May need to wait for another Windows 98 build on a much larger partition. Full version Cygwin definitely more involved. Suppose in the Windows 98 era it would have been easier, could have just remotely installed what was necessary from a working mirror. Thanks again.

[Wunderbar98]

Starting to assemble relevant information and links for the RetroZilla Community Edition member project. For the most part, it will just be a collection of the most important links, downloads and posts, don't want to waste time reinventing the wheel. Note below to anyone reading this long thread in reverse chronological order, like most probably do.

RetroZilla is the only open source browser that still connects to websites properly in vanilla Windows 98. Most relevant RetroZilla discussion begins on page 13 of this thread onward, beginning with the post linked below. All prior discussion regarding other vanilla Windows 98 compatible web browsers (Dillo, Firefox, SeaMonkey) is historic though no longer relevant, as they fail to connect to most HTTPS websites.
https://msfn.org/board/topic/177106-running-vanilla-windows-98-in-2020/page/13/?tab=comments#comment-1174444

[Wunderbar98]

A RetroZilla Community Edition thread was started as a member project.
https://msfn.org/board/topic/181416-retrozilla-community-edition/

Edited April 16, 2020 by Wunderbar98

[Wunderbar98]

A Windows 9x Web Helper (9xweb) thread was started as a member project.
https://msfn.org/board/topic/181417-windows-9x-web-helper-9xweb/

Edited April 16, 2020 by Wunderbar98

[jumper]

Links, please. (Not urls) Here and in target pages.  TIA.

 

[Wunderbar98]

Hi jumper, the two new member projects mentioned above were hyperlinked.

[Wunderbar98]

Spent time recently reading and researching. The older you get the more you realize how little you know. There is still so much DOS and early Windows information on the internet. This continues to amaze, hopefully it will all be archived a long time. Thank-you to all who run servers and sites, maintain software, etc. Just dropping some recent bookmark-worthy sites (no JavaScript needed).

Directory of DOS websites.
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~ak621/DOS/Websites.html

Comparison of DOS operating systems.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_DOS_operating_systems

QDOS -> 86-DOS -> MS-DOS.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/86-DOS

Microsoft DOS and Windows command line.
https://www.computerhope.com/msdos.htm

Windows 98 pages.
http://www.putergeek.com/windows_98/

MDGx mega-site.
http://www.mdgx.com/newtip98.htm

[Wunderbar98]

Income tax time again. Didn't use tax software until 2005, slow to adopt. The first tax software used in this house was during my Windows XP days. Did this for years then for the last few found tax software that ran well on GNU/Linux using Wine. Unfortunately the vendor increased licensing costs, now back to a free version using Windows XP. Of my favourite Windows operating systems (98, 2000 Pro and XP), Windows XP remains the most capable for modern computing.

Haven't submitted yet, the tax software installed and works well in Windows XP. It reportedly needs TLS v1.2 which updated Windows XP appears to support. Where i live, not sure how the government got into this outsourced tax software mess. Personal opinion, if they want you to pay tax and prefer electronic tax returns, they should develop and provide unified in-house software ported to all platforms (Microsoft, Apple, GNU/Linux, BSD) free of charge. Actually a sophisticated spreadsheet that contains the required formulas and macros would be cool, just submit the spreadsheet file. If it supports a reasonably recent version of LibreOffice, it would automagically work on all platforms.

Have always used desktop tax software offline, then just connect online long enough to upload the tax file to the government. Sensitive files are not stored on a hard drive, only encrypted USB sticks. Definitely not a fan of website-based taxes, no thanks. If no longer able to do taxes in Windows XP or GNU/Linux, will probably revert back to a paper return. Recently read the government will likely provide a paper return option for at least the next 10 years, at least until most of the older non-computer savvy generation has passed away. Just curious if anyone remembers submitting income tax returns electronically using Windows 98 back in the day?

[Bruninho]

My dad still uses the brazilian government tax software to send ours. He has a VM with an exact copy of the XP install used on his old (we do not own it anymore) HP laptop. Early 2000 years.

He is not using XP to declare actually - he just keeps snapshots of some years we declared the taxes for future reference.

Now he declares it from a newer VM. Which Windows version hes using I can’t remember. We just got p***ed that there is no macOS version.

[Wunderbar98]

Thank-you for the input Bruninho. No Apple release isn't fair, no equal access, this should also apply to GNU/Linux and BSD despite the small user base. Spent a couple days in Windows XP land, updating to last working Firefox, securing the OS, completing and submitting income tax. Pretty cool this almost 20 year old OS can still be used for such tasks. Although Windows XP remains very functional and fun, nice to get back to Windows 98. The forum seems quite slow lately, hopefully everyone is keeping safe and healthy, hopefully better days ahead.

[Wunderbar98]

These retro hardware maintenance tips have served me well for years. Some will disagree or have variations, that's fair, YMMV. A couple posts were submitted earlier on tower component maintenance:
https://msfn.org/board/topic/177106-running-vanilla-windows-98-in-2020/page/19/?tab=comments#comment-1176827

and CRT monitors:
https://msfn.org/board/topic/177106-running-vanilla-windows-98-in-2020/page/20/?tab=comments#comment-1177004

Most computer tower panels in this household are permanently removed to minimize heat build up and allow maximum air exchange during runtime. This also makes it simple to quick vacuum the internals every month betweeen major maintenance, monitor fan function, swap drives, re-seat connections, etc. For the most part my old hardware lasts a long time with rare burnout or failure. Depending on the components, the only drawback is slightly more fan and hard drive noise. Some drill holes or use water cooling, to me this is not necessary. Note removing panels is not recommended for households with young children or roaming pets.

Avoid using netbooks and laptops on soft surfaces to minimize heat build up. A cardboard box, cut with airflow holes and wired with a hacked USB powered cooling fan is excellent. Search 'DIY cardboard laptop cooling pad' or similar for ideas. If you don't mind tinkering, depending on usage laptops should also be opened up and cleaned periodically. They accumulate a fair amount of internal component dust and due to their compact design have compromised heat dissipation compared to old school computer towers.

In general, if the primary goal is to keep hardware alive as long as possible, avoid the temptation to overclock. Better to build a second system with faster components, then use the system (faster or slower) best suited for the desired task.

[jumper]

Rain for cooling, sw bus overclocking for temporary speed bumps.

 

[Bruninho]

6 hours ago, Wunderbar98 said:

Avoid using netbooks and laptops on soft surfaces to minimize heat build up. A cardboard box, cut with airflow holes and wired with a hacked USB powered cooling fan is excellent. Search 'DIY cardboard laptop cooling pad' or similar for ideas. If you don't mind tinkering, depending on usage laptops should also be opened up and cleaned periodically. They accumulate a fair amount of internal component dust and due to their compact design have compromised heat dissipation compared to old school computer towers.

I just have a DYI laptop stand for my rMBP. Now to tidy up the cables and find a way to keep it cool. 😎 

[siria]

My old laptop is just standing on additional, extra high rubber feet. Occasionally it gets a bit too warm for my taste, then switch on a little USB table fan, standing netxt to it. Blowing from the outside in, just sideways. No idea where the air gets in, and not much obviously, but glad it seems to help too ;-)