Ryder252 Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 Good morning! In Windows 98 SE, using any version of the 9x drivers for the D-Link AirPlus XtremeG DWL-G520 v.B3 pci card results in a VFAT init error on the 2nd reboot. This card worked with a previous 98 installation on the same Dell Dimension 4100. I realize online support for these cards is quite limited, so any help provided is appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pangoomis Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 What is the device ID of the card? Try installing only the wifi driver after fresh system install, no other drivers. Are you using Odyssey Client? Try these drivers: https://shell.stare.pro/~mrmateczko/Atheros_Wi-Fi_Win98SE_Latest.zip Try renaming ESDI_506.PDR file from WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IOSUBSYS folder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryder252 Posted May 19 Author Share Posted May 19 On 5/15/2024 at 5:59 PM, pangoomis said: What is the device ID of the card? Try installing only the wifi driver after fresh system install, no other drivers. Are you using Odyssey Client? Try these drivers: https://shell.stare.pro/~mrmateczko/Atheros_Wi-Fi_Win98SE_Latest.zip Try renaming ESDI_506.PDR file from WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IOSUBSYS folder. Hey, I apologize for getting back so much later. Device ID: PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0013 As it has worked before, I am confident that installing after a fresh slate would work - however, I do have many registered programs, settings, and games on this install and would like to avoid reinstalling if possible (easy, but it's time-consuming for me). If by chance there was some type of backup program for 9x that could preserve my registered configurations, I would be more than willing to go this route. I tried Odyssey Client today, but it did not seem to make a difference in my situation. I tried those Atheros drivers, which did specifically list 0013 as a supported ID, but they had the same result as the D-Link drivers I have tried. If I may ask, what do you mean by renaming ESDI_506? I have seen some documentation online regarding this file, but I'm afraid I don't know too much about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mockingbird Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Look through RLOEW's patches for the VFAT fix... It occurs when you have is memory patch installed and then install a network card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryder252 Posted May 20 Author Share Posted May 20 57 minutes ago, mockingbird said: Look through RLOEW's patches for the VFAT fix... It occurs when you have is memory patch installed and then install a network card. Eureka!!! It took a "reinstall" after the initial install using 'patchmem /M', followed by a restart due to a temporary bsod involving winsock, and before I knew it I was on Firefox Nightly browsing away. I suppose it really was just that first low 16MB of RAM that the chipset required, which may have been crowded out by something - causing the VFAT error. What an oddly specific, ludicrously difficult problem to diagnose. I'm just happy I didn't have to reinstall Windows with all the work I put into it. I thank the late RLoew, and I thank you guys for your help. It's much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pangoomis Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 On 5/20/2024 at 1:39 AM, Ryder252 said: If I may ask, what do you mean by renaming ESDI_506? I have seen some documentation online regarding this file, but I'm afraid I don't know too much about it. ESDI_506 is the 32bit protected mode IDE driver giving you proper 32bit disk access for Win9x (and no warnings in System Control Panel). Renaming/deleting it forces Win9x to use legacy 16bit BIOS disk access which can be useful for troubleshooting. And yes, PATCHMEM /M is the proper way to use PATCHMEM (don't think there are any downsides to using /M switch). Good thing it helped you with your problem. I would have suggested it too if I knew more about the specs (maybe I should start assuming everyone is using PATCHMEM by default ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryder252 Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 7 hours ago, pangoomis said: ESDI_506 is the 32bit protected mode IDE driver giving you proper 32bit disk access for Win9x (and no warnings in System Control Panel). Renaming/deleting it forces Win9x to use legacy 16bit BIOS disk access which can be useful for troubleshooting. And yes, PATCHMEM /M is the proper way to use PATCHMEM (don't think there are any downsides to using /M switch). Good thing it helped you with your problem. I would have suggested it too if I knew more about the specs (maybe I should start assuming everyone is using PATCHMEM by default ) Thank you, I will have to remember that. The internet seems to have a surprising lack of information regarding the low-level specifics of older versions of Windows (sometimes even Archive.org and the Wayback Machine don't yield much), so it's nice being able to consult with people who know much more about them than I do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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