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Problem installing Windows 98 SE OEM Full

arepakiller

By arepakiller
in Windows 9x/ME

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arepakiller

arepakiller

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Hi, I'm new here and happy to be part of this community. I appreciate any help on this issue. I've been trying to install Windows 98 SE on a HP Pavillion DV9000, it's from the XP era. It have 4GB DDR2 RAM and a SSD 120GB as part of this personal project. However, I've been haging problems after the third reboot. After formating, and booting initially the Setup, it goes well, after the first reboot, I change the system.ini file to include

[386Enh]

MaxPhysPage=30000

[vcache]

MaxFileCache=393216

Then the second part of the installation goes well. After finishing that part, on the third boot, it hangs on into "completed updating files continuing to load windows...."

I'm pretty much blank in here, if I could have any light on what I should be doing to fix this problem or probably should change for the installation. I've been using the OEM for this one but with no luck.

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cov3rt

cov3rt

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there can be many variables to your problems. if you actually have 4 GB of ram installed, i would advise running as low as you can as you will have issues when trying to install with more than 512 MB, but usually it happens for me on 1 GB or more for 98SE, where as with windows 95, it seems that it can only do up to 512 MB at first. for the system.ini, i would use the following if you have 4 GB physically installed. "minfilecache=170000" and "maxfilecache=170000", and "maxphyspage=20000", however, this may not be correct or might not work. i advise you go down all the way to 512 MB - 1 GB first, install rloew's ram patch latest version, then you must set the min / maxfilecache to the same amount ( at least, that's what works for me ) and at least 1/24 of your system ram ( apparently some kind of rule that has always worked for me, so i always had to do this anyways, as my system would not work without it ). it's hard to tell though as i never did these modifications before completely installing 98SE. the most i ever installed was with 1 GB on a dell precision m70 i believe. 

Edited by cov3rt
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arepakiller

arepakiller

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On 9/1/2020 at 12:29 AM, LoneCrusader said:

Forget the system.ini tweaking game and install RLoew's RAM Limitation Patch. I would use the /M option with your setup. No more tweaking or jumping through hoops necessary.

Will try tomorrow. Thanks, sad to see RLoew passed away, must have been a genius in Win 9x systems, even still helping after he passed away.

 

Update: I tried the memory patch with no success. it results that I was having problems with the SSD Controllers as this is a SATA or AHCI one. After multiple trials and errors, I did apply the Driver fix (SATA) and worked smooth. Thanks a lot guys for pointing me in the right direction. 

Happy to say I got my first Windows 98 Install on a moderm PC! with 2GB of RAM in the Installation (I spent literally hours doing this since I just had 2GB Sticks). Also my first time using a Command Prompt DOS (Jesus I literally had to read multiple times how to delete files and directories, whata pain)

Well Thanks a lot. Also I want some advice what to do next? I did found my graphics card driver (An Old NVidia GeForcegGo 6150 with drivers for Windows 98 /XP compatible) gonna try that out about some minutes. Should I keep checking what other patches I can use for improving my system? Any Tips?

 

Question: what's the usefulness of DLLHOOK? I mean I do understand what is an API but not sure how practical this can be in Windows 98 for example. 

Also I can't manage to find the NVSIZE Patch for NVidia Graphics drivers.

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LoneCrusader

LoneCrusader

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On 9/1/2020 at 12:41 AM, arepakiller said:

Update: I tried the memory patch with no success. it results that I was having problems with the SSD Controllers as this is a SATA or AHCI one. After multiple trials and errors, I did apply the Driver fix (SATA) and worked smooth. Thanks a lot guys for pointing me in the right direction. 

Happy to say I got my first Windows 98 Install on a moderm PC! with 2GB of RAM in the Installation (I spent literally hours doing this since I just had 2GB Sticks). Also my first time using a Command Prompt DOS (Jesus I literally had to read multiple times how to delete files and directories, whata pain)

Well Thanks a lot. Also I want some advice what to do next? I did found my graphics card driver (An Old NVidia GeForcegGo 6150 with drivers for Windows 98 /XP compatible) gonna try that out about some minutes. Should I keep checking what other patches I can use for improving my system? Any Tips?

 

Question: what's the usefulness of DLLHOOK? I mean I do understand what is an API but not sure how practical this can be in Windows 98 for example. 

Also I can't manage to find the NVSIZE Patch for NVidia Graphics drivers.

Glad you got things running, (partially at least).. :}

DLLHOOK is an API redirector; it's used to fool programs into thinking an API is present where the program expects it, when in reality it may exist in a different place or not exist at all under 9x. This can help you bypass missing exports/etc when programs are run. For Example; some programs expect a function in KERNEL32.DLL "IsDebuggerPresent"; this function does not exist under Windows 95. Using DLLHOOK, you can redirect this call to a different call (in a different DLL if necessary), thus circumventing the error, and allowing the program to run (provided the function you redirect to provides a "compatible" return value!).

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arepakiller

arepakiller

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On 9/6/2020 at 2:48 AM, LoneCrusader said:

Glad you got things running, (partially at least).. :}

DLLHOOK is an API redirector; it's used to fool programs into thinking an API is present where the program expects it, when in reality it may exist in a different place or not exist at all under 9x. This can help you bypass missing exports/etc when programs are run. For Example; some programs expect a function in KERNEL32.DLL "IsDebuggerPresent"; this function does not exist under Windows 95. Using DLLHOOK, you can redirect this call to a different call (in a different DLL if necessary), thus circumventing the error, and allowing the program to run (provided the function you redirect to provides a "compatible" return value!).

Thanks, well after many hours and attempts at getting  the drivers to work (Jesus christ!, I don't know which one is worst, a GeForce Go 6150, or a Conexant HD Audio conected to a AUU MS Bus) I finally gave up. I found a gem, a Compaq Armada E500, in a cheap price of 20$ fully working. That will be a breeze with a Pentium III, 256MB RAM, and Graphics dedicared ATI one. I mean I would love to have this HP working withh good graphics driveer but that was to painful for me to get it working as there is no much support for that graphics card driver.

Do you know a good old laptop that have a good video card for dual booting xp and Windows 98SE and/or Windows ME (I know Me was unstable as heck, but that was the OS that I grew up with)?

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LoneCrusader

LoneCrusader

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3 hours ago, arepakiller said:

Do you know a good old laptop that have a good video card for dual booting xp and Windows 98SE and/or Windows ME (I know Me was unstable as heck, but that was the OS that I grew up with)?

It's been a long time since I did any research into this, but previously I settled on the HP ZD8000 (or Compaq NX9600) for my own attempt at a high-end 9x laptop. It features a high-end P4 CPU, uses a desktop chipset so is capable of >2GB of RAM* (*3GB visible to OS with a BIOS mod; search for my name and "ZD8000" over at BIOS Mods), and has an ATI Mobility Radeon X600 graphics chip and AC'97 audio that can be made to work with available 9x drivers. These laptops have their quirks however, and it took me many failed attempts to achieve anything close to success.

When I last worked on it, I had 98SE up and running without any major issues left to solve, but I just haven't had time to spend on it...
Too many projects; too many real-life responsibilities; too little time. :}

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arepakiller

arepakiller

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On 9/11/2020 at 8:29 PM, LoneCrusader said:

...but I just haven't had time to spend on it...

Too many projects; too many real-life responsibilities; too little time. :}

Happens to me, and its funny this takes as much time as a project by itself. I finally settle up on the Compaq Armada E500 for the Win98. Works great and I love the old look it have as a 5 kg brick haha. Just need a new LCD which I actually found cheap and the palmrest which needs to be changed and will look really good. Question, do old LCD get dimmed in  brightness over time? This one certainly look like doesn't have much brightness. I will probably find a normal PC to install XP into it. 

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LoneCrusader

LoneCrusader

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On 9/14/2020 at 5:50 PM, arepakiller said:

Question, do old LCD get dimmed in  brightness over time? This one certainly look like doesn't have much brightness.

I've heard that this does indeed happen, but I don't have any experience with it. I'm a CRT monitor die-hard, lol. I have a few LCD monitors in my collection but I never use them. (Of course with a laptop you're stuck with it...)

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jaclaz

jaclaz

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Is it the LCD or the actual backlighting?

The latter is more probable, old laptop used CCFL's it is possible that the "inverter" does not provide (anymore) enough "juice" or that the lamp has lost some of its lighting power.

Replacing with spares is doable with a minumum of dexterity and a LOT of patience, *like*:

http://www.laptoprepair101.com/replace-laptop-backlight-ccfl-lamp/

http://www.laptoprepair101.com/replace-screen-inverter-fix-backlight/

the issue is understanding if it is the inverter, the lamp (or both :ph34r: ) and finding proper spares.

If you go down this rabbit hole, you could also look for led replacement kits, see this as a reference:

or - but it costs more - replace the whole screen with a new (or used) one,  it is much easier.

Being (notoriously) cheap :w00t: I would procure an inverter board (you should be able to get one for anything between 8 and 16 USD + shipping and try replacing it (it is much easier to replace than the actual lamp) and if it doesn't work, get also a suitable CCFL lamp, that will set you back another 15-20 USD.

BUT from time to time you can get an used replacement screen for roughly the same amount of money a the inverter+CCFL lamp on e-bay and similar, example:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Compaq-Armada-E500-Original-Display-14-1-Zoll-LCD-LT141X7-124/163916560120?hash=item262a3036f8:g:ENwAAOSwTbFfNgtv 

if you can find one of these, go for it, the amount of trouble to replace a CCFL lamp is huge.

jaclaz

 

 

Edited by jaclaz
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