Windows 95/98 forum: XP Home to Win 95/98

What I find is that most have forgotten how to find drivers. Or that drivers were even needed. So many years have passed that this may be a memory test (of us) and how good we are at finding old drivers.
Bob

As we know, Microsoft does not supply a Windows 95 or 98 CD with the drivers. So unless this is a manufacturer recovery CD which does all this for you, you know the answer.
Bob

While Windows 98 came with some drivers if you can't identify the CD as from Microsoft, the maker then I have to write you get to do the old fashioned install.

I apologize here but I don't know what you remember about 1990 to 1999 and how installing Windows was like then. In short, it didn't get any better. In fact worse as you find less folk to be able to edit the .sys, .ini and .bat files.
Bob

You simply wipe the drive and install the next OS.

To install Windows 98 will test your memory of install problems from years ago. You'll get to use the command line, the fdisk and format /s commands and more.

I don't duplicate web content on this but wonder if you are prepared for all this.
Bob

If you have a choice, install Windows 98 Second Edition (Win98SE), because it is a better system than Windows 95 or the original "first edition" of Windows 98. Fewer things will go wrong if you have Win98SE.

At all times, observe the correct anti-static precautions. Look them up on Google, and follow them rigorously.


Although Microsoft supply a Windows 98 CD, all that it contains is Windows itself. But in addition to that, you will also need driver files for ALL the hardware attached to the computer, that you take for granted: your monitor, the printer, the scanner, the sound card, the USB ports, the digital camera, the pen drives, etc, etc.

About all you get with Windows is a mouse driver and a keyboard driver. Yes! Every damn bit of hardware MUST have a driver file installed, or it ain't going to work!


Those driver files have to be obtained from the manufacturer of the hardware device in question. Some modern hardware does NOT have driver files for Windows 98. In that event, you must buy replacement hardware that does have such drivers. Try eBay.

Even if a Win98 driver does exist, it may no longer be available from the device's manufacturer: which means you must hunt for it on the internet. A long and arduous task, if you have half a dozen devices to find all the drivers for. You might not find it on line at all, and so may have to hunt for it on an auction site such as eBay (perhaps accompanying some second hand hardware being sold off).


The bad news is that some modern motherboards just can't run Windows 98. An old WinXP motherboard may be old enough to be Win98-compatible. Search its motherboard model number on the internet, in Google, to find out whether it supports Windows 98. The model number will be painted on the motherboard.

If your computer has more than 512 MB of RAM memory, you may have problems running Windows 98 (but there are adjustments you can make, once you have 98 installed, by modifying the Win98 startup files to only use the first 512 MB of RAM, or if you're lucky perhaps you can physically unplug the excess RAM from the sockets).


You have to wipe your hard disk clean (fairly easy), and repartition and reformat it for Win98. That means creating a FAT32 file system, in place of its original NTFS file system. And creating FAT32 partitions, each not larger than 126 GB (the upper size limit for Win98).

Hence a 500 GB disk must be partitioned into at least 4 partitions, each of 125 GB. Though a disk of 120 GB or smaller can have just a single partition. Or you can create just one partition, of 120 GB say, and not bother partitioning the rest of the disk.

You can buy a program called Partition Magic 8 that will make the setting up and partitioning of the actual hard disk actually fairly straightforward.


Here's a link to some advice you'll need in order to set up an IDE hard disk to use FAT32 (I don't know if your hard disk is an IDE disk, but if it's a SATA disk then these links won't help you):

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/bridip/recovery.htm

Specific advice on installing a FAT32 hard disk in a Windows 98 system is here:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/bridip/recovery.htm#13