Building Windows 98 computer

[pcbuilder98]

I want to build a Windows 98 computer. I'm seeking help finding hardware
compatible with Windows 98. I need manufacturer model numbers please.
TIA
pcbuilder98

 

[Al Dykes]

I want to build a Windows 98 computer. I'm seeking help finding hardware
compatible with Windows 98. I need manufacturer model numbers please.
TIA
pcbuilder98

IMO, get a latest and greatest PC and run XP or Vista as you choose
and run Microsoft Virtual PC on it. Run W98 as a VM.

1GB memory should be fine unless you are running some other huge app
along with WM, W98 and whatever w98 app you want to run.


MS VPC is free. I guess there are a few games that can't run under
W98 but it doesn't cost anything to try on whatever machine you have
on hand.

 

[pcbuilder98]

IMO, get a latest and greatest PC and run XP or Vista as you choose
and run Microsoft Virtual PC on it. Run W98 as a VM.

1GB memory should be fine unless you are running some other huge app
along with WM, W98 and whatever w98 app you want to run.


MS VPC is free. I guess there are a few games that can't run under
W98 but it doesn't cost anything to try on whatever machine you have
on hand.

Thanks for replying but I do not want to buy XP. Also I have graphics
software that I cannot afford to update and cannot take the risk that these
programs won't install or run in XP. The only OS I currently own is WIN98
and I want to use that.
Thanks
pcbuilder98

 

[Al Dykes]

Thanks for replying but I do not want to buy XP. Also I have graphics
software that I cannot afford to update and cannot take the risk that these
programs won't install or run in XP. The only OS I currently own is WIN98
and I want to use that.
Thanks
pcbuilder98

It's more work, but you should be able to run W98 under VM on a Linux box.

A VM simulates a very common, standard mobo and video card and the
rest of the interfaces. I'm sure the w98 drivers are easy to get by
design.

 

[~Mike Hollywood]

what hardware are you looking for?

 

[pcbuilder98]

what hardware are you looking for?

Mother Bd.
Processor
Heat Sink/Fan
Ram
Hard Drive (am aware of WIN98 limits so 64GB is my prefered choice to remain
compatiable with Fdisk but would split into more partitions if necessary. A
Hotfix is available to make Fdisk work with drives up to 137GB but it's not
campatiable with 48bit LBA HD's)
Video Card
Sound Card (may use my Creative SB Live Value if the driver is compatiable)
Floppy Drive (don't forsee any problem here)
Atx Tower
Modem (prefer a controller modem but will buy what ever is available)
Thanks
pcbuilder98

 

[pcbuilder98]

It's more work, but you should be able to run W98 under VM on a Linux box.

A VM simulates a very common, standard mobo and video card and the
rest of the interfaces. I'm sure the w98 drivers are easy to get by
design.

Your suggestion intrigues me but VMware costs $189. Also I might be under
considerable pressure to get such a configuration running and fully tested
during the allowed return period for the hardware I purchase. Do you have
experience with VMware? If so I would be interested in hearing more. Can you
give links to info about this setup?
Thanks
pcbuilder98

 

[Bill]

I want to build a Windows 98 computer. I'm seeking help finding hardware
compatible with Windows 98. I need manufacturer model numbers please.
TIA
pcbuilder98

What country do you live in?

Bill

 

[pcbuilder98]

What country do you live in?
Bill

USA. Might help huh!
Thanks
pcbuilder98

 

[Al Dykes]

Your suggestion intrigues me but VMware costs $189. Also I might be under
considerable pressure to get such a configuration running and fully tested
during the allowed return period for the hardware I purchase. Do you have
experience with VMware? If so I would be interested in hearing more. Can you
give links to info about this setup?
Thanks
pcbuilder98

VMWare is great. MS VPC is very good, and free.

Xp/home and free MSVPC would be a good, cheap combo unless you are
ready to jump into Linux.

 

[pcbuilder98]

VMWare is great. MS VPC is very good, and free.

Xp/home and free MSVPC would be a good, cheap combo unless you are
ready to jump into Linux.

I would consider Linux but can't afford $189 for VMware. Any free
alternative to VMware that is usable with Linux? How cheap is XP Home? My
prefered path would still be to use hardware that is compatiable with WIN98.
In the future however I would be very interested in running WIN on Linux if
it can be done free or cheaply.
Thanks
pcbuilder98

 

[Al Dykes]

I would consider Linux but can't afford $189 for VMware. Any free
alternative to VMware that is usable with Linux? How cheap is XP Home?

There are a bunch of VM tools under Linux. Do some reading.

 

[Franc Zabkar]

I want to build a Windows 98 computer. I'm seeking help finding hardware
compatible with Windows 98. I need manufacturer model numbers please.
TIA
pcbuilder98

This question is covered periodically at
microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion.

Search the Google Groups archives for posts by "98 Guy":
http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search?hl=en

- Franc Zabkar

 

[bushwhacker]

I want to build a Windows 98 computer. I'm seeking help finding hardware
compatible with Windows 98. I need manufacturer model numbers please.
TIA
pcbuilder98

Try a Goodwill store or any of the other second hand thrift stores. You
should be able to find many older PC's that will work for you.

 

[Paul]

Mother Bd.
Processor
Heat Sink/Fan
Ram
Hard Drive (am aware of WIN98 limits so 64GB is my prefered choice to remain
compatiable with Fdisk but would split into more partitions if necessary. A
Hotfix is available to make Fdisk work with drives up to 137GB but it's not
campatiable with 48bit LBA HD's)
Video Card
Sound Card (may use my Creative SB Live Value if the driver is compatiable)
Floppy Drive (don't forsee any problem here)
Atx Tower
Modem (prefer a controller modem but will buy what ever is available)
Thanks
pcbuilder98

The Nforce3 is the last Nvidia chipset to support Win98.

BIOSTAR NF325-A7 754 NVIDIA nForce3 250 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138247

Examples of drivers here (WIN9XGART):
http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/mb/driver.php?S_ID=201

The last S754 processor left on Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819104249

Board uses DDR RAM, which you shouldn't have a problem shopping for.

S754 is single channel, so no need to match memory sticks (as there
is no dual channel function).

This is not the latest technology, but it might meet the Win98 requirement.

On the Intel side, I'm afraid you may have missed the boat. There were
some 865G boards with LGA775, which would run an FSB1066 processor.
I think they're all but gone from retail. (Asrock had some, Asus had
P5PE-VM, and those would be ones I'd go looking for. I expect a dual
core processor would be "half-wasted" on Win98, but the machine
would scream )

There might be some older VIA chipsets, maybe K8T800 ? That had AGP I think.
It is a fun research topic, that is for sure.

Note that, it is possible that a lot of motherboards can be
coaxed to load Win98, but the video might be limited to 640x480
the same as the BIOS screens. I suspect that the Intel chipsets
have a compatibility mode, so that disks still work. But video
is the "weakest link". I don't think, if a board has PCI Express,
that Win98 is a candidate. So you're looking for AGP systems, as
being more likely to do the job.

If the system is dual booting, there is a hack for Win98 (MaxPhysPage),
where you can trim down the detected RAM. That would allow a bunch
more RAM to be installed, and then when Win98 boots, it is
forced to only "see" 512MB or whatever you select. Then, the second
OS can work with more available RAM, without having to worry about
Win98 compatible amounts of memory.

Good luck,
Paul

 

[DaveW]

You'll pretty much have to buy older used parts off of a site like eBay.
Win 98 compatible hardware has not been manufactured for several years.

 

[Bill]

The Nforce3 is the last Nvidia chipset to support Win98.

There're still some Via
Chipsets around.

BIOSTAR NF325-A7 754 NVIDIA nForce3 250 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138247

For Intel: BIOSTAR P4M80-M4 478 VIA P4M800 Micro ATX Intel
Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138262

Examples of drivers here (WIN9XGART):
http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/mb/driver.php?S_ID=201

The last S754 processor left on Newegg.

Several Intels:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?
Submit=Property&Subcategory=343&Description=&Type=&N=2+50001157+
40000343+1051707443&srchInDesc=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&PropertyCodeValue=
509%3A7003

http://tinyurl.com/3xttrh

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819104249

Board uses DDR RAM, which you shouldn't have a problem shopping for.

S754 is single channel, so no need to match memory sticks (as there
is no dual channel function).

This is not the latest technology, but it might meet the Win98 requirement.

On the Intel side, I'm afraid you may have missed the boat. There were
some 865G boards with LGA775, which would run an FSB1066 processor.
I think they're all but gone from retail. (Asrock had some, Asus had
P5PE-VM, and those would be ones I'd go looking for. I expect a dual
core processor would be "half-wasted" on Win98, but the machine
would scream )

There might be some older VIA chipsets, maybe K8T800 ? That had AGP I think.
It is a fun research topic, that is for sure.

Note that, it is possible that a lot of motherboards can be
coaxed to load Win98, but the video might be limited to 640x480
the same as the BIOS screens. I suspect that the Intel chipsets
have a compatibility mode, so that disks still work. But video
is the "weakest link". I don't think, if a board has PCI Express,
that Win98 is a candidate. So you're looking for AGP systems, as
being more likely to do the job.

If the system is dual booting, there is a hack for Win98 (MaxPhysPage),
where you can trim down the detected RAM. That would allow a bunch
more RAM to be installed, and then when Win98 boots, it is
forced to only "see" 512MB or whatever you select. Then, the second
OS can work with more available RAM, without having to worry about
Win98 compatible amounts of memory.

Good luck,
Paul

Bill

 

[Bill]

Thanks for replying but I do not want to buy XP. Also I have graphics
software that I cannot afford to update and cannot take the risk that these
programs won't install or run in XP. The only OS I currently own is WIN98
and I want to use that.
Thanks
pcbuilder98

This will go much faster if you state exactly what software you want
to run and how much you're willing to spend on this pc. I hate pulling
teeth.

Newegg.com will probably be your best reference for available
hardware.

Bill

 

[Peter]

Thanks for replying but I do not want to buy XP. Also I have graphics
software that I cannot afford to update and cannot take the risk that these
programs won't install or run in XP. The only OS I currently own is WIN98
and I want to use that.
Thanks
pcbuilder98

Possibly your best option would be to look for something a couple of
years old, 2nd hand. You can always replace the HD and hopefully add
more memory as well if it doesn't come with much but windows98 will run
just dandy on 64Mb of memory and my guess is a 2 year old computer
should either come with more than 64Mb anyway or at least support up to
512Mb.

Other than that, things like sound and video can always be replaced over
time if you're not happy with them.

 

[pcbuilder98]

The Nforce3 is the last Nvidia chipset to support Win98.

BIOSTAR NF325-A7 754 NVIDIA nForce3 250 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138247

Examples of drivers here (WIN9XGART):
http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/mb/driver.php?S_ID=201

The last S754 processor left on Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819104249

Board uses DDR RAM, which you shouldn't have a problem shopping for.

S754 is single channel, so no need to match memory sticks (as there
is no dual channel function).

This is not the latest technology, but it might meet the Win98 requirement.

On the Intel side, I'm afraid you may have missed the boat. There were
some 865G boards with LGA775, which would run an FSB1066 processor.
I think they're all but gone from retail. (Asrock had some, Asus had
P5PE-VM, and those would be ones I'd go looking for. I expect a dual
core processor would be "half-wasted" on Win98, but the machine
would scream )

There might be some older VIA chipsets, maybe K8T800 ? That had AGP I think.
It is a fun research topic, that is for sure.

Note that, it is possible that a lot of motherboards can be
coaxed to load Win98, but the video might be limited to 640x480
the same as the BIOS screens. I suspect that the Intel chipsets
have a compatibility mode, so that disks still work. But video
is the "weakest link". I don't think, if a board has PCI Express,
that Win98 is a candidate. So you're looking for AGP systems, as
being more likely to do the job.

If the system is dual booting, there is a hack for Win98 (MaxPhysPage),
where you can trim down the detected RAM. That would allow a bunch
more RAM to be installed, and then when Win98 boots, it is
forced to only "see" 512MB or whatever you select. Then, the second
OS can work with more available RAM, without having to worry about
Win98 compatible amounts of memory.

Good luck,
Paul

Thank you Paul. Newegg no longer has the processor you mention or any s754
processors at all. I have found them at other sites but I have no experience
with these vendors: geeks, starsurplus, compuvest. Can you give a link or
site address to a reliable vendor who has processors that are compatible
with the BIOSTAR NF325-A7.
Thanks
pcbuilder98