Win 98 on newer PCs?


Recommended Posts

Hi,

I have a P 4 3.0 GHz with 896 MB RAM (1 GB shared), and Physical Address Extension. When I tried to install Win 98, it wouldn't install, and when I asked my computer guy about it, he said that in these new PCs, you can't install Win 98.

Is it true? And is there a way around it?

Thanx.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/630856-win-98-on-newer-pcs/
Share on other sites

What would your chipset have to do with what software it can run?

Pretty sure DOS works fine on today's computers and Win98 is built on top of DOS.

It's not that his chipset can't run it, it's that windows 98 isn't compatible with his chipset! Everyone can run dos fine because it's running inside of something that is compatible with their chipset (ie, windows vista or XP).

Hi,

I have a P 4 3.0 GHz with 896 MB RAM (1 GB shared), and Physical Address Extension. When I tried to install Win 98, it wouldn't install, and when I asked my computer guy about it, he said that in these new PCs, you can't install Win 98.

Is it true? And is there a way around it?

Thanx.

what happen ? any error message ?

You'll be able to install it, no problems, but it's going to suck not having the correct drivers for your system.

That PC sounds like its about 4 Years old and thats when XP SP2 came out, and not many manufacturers were making anymore Win98 Drivers for their products anymore. So you're out of luck unless you can find the drivers for those components.

get either Vista or XP for the system dont bother with 98 cause 98se is not worth using

Every individual is different. You'd be amazed at how many people today still run Windows 95 or 98, both of which were released well over a decade ago. Especially among older people, even Win95 still runs just fine. It has a functional browser, can support an entire office suite, and even most modern software can still be installed on those old OS.

Just because you can't find a use for Win98 doesn't mean someone else can't.

I got the PC maybe five months back; I don't know the chipset, how do you find out. I ran dxdiag, and here's some info:

System Manufacturer: INTEL_

System Model: D11020M_

BIOS: Default System BIOS

Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 3.00 GHz (2 CPUs)

Memory: 894 MB RAM

Page file: 776 MB used, 1389 MB available

My compu guy told me that Win 98 won't install at all on my compu. I already have XP SP 2; one of the reason why I want Win 98 is simply nostalgia, but apart from that, my XP (and I think everyone's XP) is slow, and I thought that for usual works like typing and all, I could use Win 98; that's how I ran my compu till I bought this new one.

So really, I want to install it; is there a way?

Thanx.

There's a large chance that you won't be able to load 98 on it. It often wont have driver support to work with any of the hardware, thus probably preventing you from using it.

The hotfixes to make it work with >512mb ram should still be available, but 98 has long since been unsupported.

If you have a real need to run it, I'd suggest using a Virtual Machine to do it instead.

Good luck!

It's not that his chipset can't run it, it's that windows 98 isn't compatible with his chipset! Everyone can run dos fine because it's running inside of something that is compatible with their chipset (ie, windows vista or XP).

there is no DOS in Vista or XP, the command pro,pt is not DOS.

Sometimes you have to update the bios in order to install different OS's. I had a system that I was trying to put Linux on and I couldn't install it for nothing. Read that something in the bios blocked Linux from being installed and I had to update it to run Linux on it. Installed fine after updating the bios.

The best thing to do though would be to run it in a virtual enviroment. That way if you have stuff that doesn't work with an older OS you still have XP right there and you don't have to go hunting to find all those little patches that make Windows 98 work on modern PC's.

Little side note for all those people with replies like: "LMAO at this" and "Why would you want that crap?". There are many, MANY people who still use Windows 95/98/ME. Older people who aren't hardcore PC users, businesses and schools still run them. I've seen more than a few ATM machines that run on Windows 98 actually. Hell, I got 2 older laptops that have 98 and ME installed on them still and I use them for older DOS games every once in a while and my little nephews are always on them to play older games as well. So stop acting like just because you don't use any of those old OS's then that means nobody else does either.

People who post responses like I mentioned should start getting warnings IMHO. They offer nothing to the thread except one more post to their precious post count.

Yeah, I'd go with what the previous people have just suggested using Virtual PC or VMware if they support it.

Honestly though, things will never seem as great as you may remember them being. I remember AOL and dial up being decent, Diablo having good graphics, and Warcraft II having a higher resolution than it actually does. Windows 98 is no different, being full of BSODs, viruses, and malware. Maybe not initially with viruses and malware, but it does not take long. On top of that, after having used an operating system with such time saving features and added customization, it's really hard to go back without saying things like,"Oh, I can't do that?" Hell, I remember doing the very same using 95 on my grandmother's computer after being on 98 so long.

Anyhow, you say XP runs slow? With the specs you listed, you should be doing just fine, as I'm running a 4 year old single-core machine @ 2Ghz.

Oh, I just want Win 98 to do typing stuff, not for games or anything. The only reason I want it is because whatever I do to tweak XP, Win 98 will still be faster. I don't plan to connect to the net at all with it. You all have spoken about a virtual environment; I have no idea about it; where do I get it?

I am posting a separate topic in the XP section, about my XP being slow, and more than slow, about it taking up the entire C:\ drive (10 GB) partition!

Thanx.

In that case, i'd suggest Windows 2000 and be done with it. I got it down to using 48mb of ram once too ;)

I did install Win 2000 once, but it wasn't as fast as Win 98, and I got rid of it; actually, it was on par with Win XP as far as speed is concerned.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • This AMD RX 9070 16GB GPU that performs close to Nvidia 5070 is under $600 by Sayan Sen With the memory shortage that's prevalent nowadays, discounts are super-hard to get. As such we post good deals whenever they pop up. Recently, we covered a few great discounts on SSDs wherein you can get a 4TB TeamGroup NVMe PCIe Gen4 drive for just $400 thanks to a special coupon. If you want a faster product but don't need all that capacity, you can also opt for Samsung's 990 PRO 2TB that is on sale for its lowest price in over three months. Let's say though that you are on the hunt for a 1440p gaming card. In that case AMD's RX 9070 non-XT can help, and with its 16GB VRAM, you can also run AI models locally without worrying about bottlenecking (check out our recent 9070 GRE reviews for gaming and productivity to get an idea). The PowerColor Reaper variant of the RX 9070 is currently on sale for just $580 which is a very good price in the current state of affairs (purchase link under the specs table down below). The Reaper cooler on this 9070 uses a triple‑fan design with ring‑blade fans, paired with premium dual ball bearings to extend lifespan and reduce friction. "Intelligent" fan control allows the fans to remain idle at lower temperatures, only spinning up when the GPU is under load. A nickel‑plated copper base makes direct contact with both the GPU and memory modules, helping to spread heat evenly. PowerColor also applies Honeywell PTM7950 phase‑change thermal interface material (TIM), which fills microscopic gaps between the die and heatsink for more efficient thermal transfer. The fan shroud is shorter in height as the firm has made it such that it can be used in certain SFF (small form factor) cases. The technical specifications of the Reaper RX 9070 are given in the table below: Specification Value Stream Processors 3584 Units Video Memory 16GB GDDR6 Memory Speed 20.0 Gbps Memory Interface 256-bit Engine Clock Game Clock: up to 2070 MHz Boost Clock: up to 2520 MHz Bus Standard PCI Express 5.0 x16 Display Connectors 1 x HDMI 2.1b, 3 x DisplayPort 2.1a Maximum Resolution DisplayPort: 7680 × 4320 HDMI: 7680 × 4320 Board Dimensions 289mm × 111mm × 41mm 304mm × 127mm × 42mm (with bracket) Slot 2 Minimum System Power Requirement 600W Power Connectors Two 8-pin PCI Express Get the PowerColor Reaper RX 9070 at the links below (you get only a 90-day warranty on Woot): PowerColor Reaper Radeon RX 9070 16GB Graphics Card (RX9070 16G-A): $579.99 (Sold and Shipped by Amazon US) (Was: $700) PowerColor Reaper Radeon RX 9070 16GB Graphics Card (RX9070 16G-A): $559.99 (Sold and Shipped by Woot US) Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • Are they marketed as an entry into astronomy or astrophotography? I do astrophotography. With big rigs, lots of computers, cables and headaches. I love it. And by learning this ridiculously complex hobby, I’ve learned about the objects I’m shooting. Astronomy followed from photography.
    • Microsoft confirms Recycle Bin bug across all versions of Windows by Usama Jawad A couple of days ago, we reported that the latest Patch Tuesday update has seemingly resulted in a lot of issues for many users, including OneDrive and Dropbox access problems, BitLocker recovery lockouts, and BSODs. Although Microsoft is yet to acknowledge these bugs, it has confirmed another, relatively smaller issue across all supported versions of Windows. In an update on its Windows Release Health Dashboard, Microsoft has confirmed that after installing June's Patch Tuesday update (KB5094126), you'll experience unexpected behavior when leveraging Recycle Bin. Basically, when you attempt to delete an item from the Recycle Bin, the confirm dialog will show you the internal file name of that content rather than the actual name. For example, the file may be named abc.png, but the confirm dialog will ask if you're sure that you want to permanently delete $Rxxxxx.png from the Recycle Bin. This is pretty much it for the scope of the bug itself; it just displays the wrong name in the confirm dialog. The correct name will be shown in the list view of the Recycle Bin and if you restore the file, it will return with the correct name as well. This issue affects pretty much all supported versions of Windows client and server, including: Client: Windows 11, version 26H1; Windows 11, version 25H2; Windows 11, version 24H2; Windows 11, version 23H2; Windows 10, version 22H2; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016 Server: Windows Server 2025; Windows Server 2022; Windows Server 2019; Windows Server 2016; Windows Server 2012 R2; Windows Server 2012 As things currently stand, Microsoft is working on a concrete solution that will be released in a "future" Windows update. It remains to be seen if the firm will wait till the next Patch Tuesday or roll out an out-of-band (OOB) fix. The good news is that commercial customers can deploy a workaround right now, but they will have to reach out to Microsoft Support for Business for additional details.
    • They said by this time everyone will have flying cars. WELL...
    • A study by physicist Henry Tye of Cornell University suggests that the universe may not expand forever. Instead, it could eventually stop expanding, begin contracting and end in a "Big Crunch" roughly 20 billion years from now. Maybe not as we now know that time can flow backwards.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Jordan Smith earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Reacting Well
      BizSAR earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • First Post
      AndreaB earned a badge
      First Post
    • Week One Done
      Huge Trailer earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      Classifyskilleducation earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      578
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      184
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      75
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      72
    5. 5
      neufuse
      64
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!