"Windows 98 + ME *still* alive" campaign

[Brian M. Veteran]

I have a basic rule - this may sound stupid

if a computer has 32mb of ram or less, i'll put win me onto it - because anyone using a computer that old will not need the latest and greatest, and although slower than win 98, it will be faster than 2000, and have better hardware support than 98

anything > that, i'll use 2000 or xp

[Quillz]

I have a basic rule - this may sound stupid

if a computer has 32mb of ram or less, i'll put win me onto it - because anyone using a computer that old will not need the latest and greatest, and although slower than win 98, it will be faster than 2000, and have better hardware support than 98

anything > that, i'll use 2000 or xp

I thought WinME had less hardware support because lots of drivers weren't properly tested. And I think just about anyone would recommed Win2000 over WinME.

[etempest]

Great list of links, will be very usefull to me :)

Main reason I still have games that won't run / install in 2k/xp. So I will be running 9x in VMWare emulation :) and this helps to get things up to date very nicely.

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

The 9x line is dead, let it rest in piece.

But, if you have to use it (e.g. legacy programs) or hate the stability the NT code base offers (or can't afford it), then fine, use it, just don't complain about the rest of the world moving on.

Edited August 12, 2006 by The_Decryptor

[Brian M. Veteran]

I thought WinME had less hardware support because lots of drivers weren't properly tested. And I think just about anyone would recommed Win2000 over WinME.

Yes, but theres two reasons why i use ME over 98 and 2000...

If you plug a USB memory stick into 98... what do you get

Plug it into ME, and it works

Also ME has more drivers than 98 IMO - like the VGA drivers for a win95 laptop, which 98 didnt have.

I only use ME however in systems with less than 64 mb of ram. Although win2k on 32mb would be possible, it wouldnt be pretty. And although ME isnt exactly fast, its usable.

[MtnDewCodeRedFreak]

Oh sheesh, this thread is still alive? Why?

I wish a mod would come and lock this thread, seeing as campaigns and petitions are useless in this situation. MS had made the wish come true for 98/ME users once back in 2004; what's the point of them supporting it like forever (after July 2006)?

I personally believe this should have been done a long time ago, like Rudy said. Period. I don't even give a rat's ass if 50 million PCs are running Win 98 and ME. 50 million PCs may run Win98/ME, but they are just not working anymore. My mom tossed her old computer (Win 98 SE) out the window when she got her Dell computer with Win XP, and that makes it 49,999,999 PCs. Whee!

As cited from MS on both the 98 and ME sites, "Effective July 11, 2006, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Me (and their related components) will transition to a non-supported status. After this date, Microsoft will no longer provide any incident support options or security updates. Microsoft is not offering a custom support agreement for these products."

Case closed.

[E t h a n]

Man, all these people who follow Microsoft's sales line as if it contains nothing but verified pronouncements from God Himself need to chill out a bit and get some perspective and maybe live and let live. Is that so hard? ;)

[darkrats]

There are still new working Windows 98 udates for IE6 SP1

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer KB918899 for Windows 98/ME

Anyone have any comments on this unofficial update for IE6SP1? Seems to me that if someone was successfully porting IE Security Updates to Windows 98/ME, it would be of some interests to users of those operating systems. Anyone know anything about the author, or have checked out that it does work?

[Jon 5]

Oh sheesh, this thread is still alive? Why?

I wish a mod would come and lock this thread, seeing as campaigns and petitions are useless in this situation. MS had made the wish come true for 98/ME users once back in 2004; what's the point of them supporting it like forever (after July 2006)?

I personally believe this should have been done a long time ago, like Rudy said. Period. I don't even give a rat's ass if 50 million PCs are running Win 98 and ME. 50 million PCs may run Win98/ME, but they are just not working anymore. My mom tossed her old computer (Win 98 SE) out the window when she got her Dell computer with Win XP, and that makes it 49,999,999 PCs. Whee!

As cited from MS on both the 98 and ME sites, "Effective July 11, 2006, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Me (and their related components) will transition to a non-supported status. After this date, Microsoft will no longer provide any incident support options or security updates. Microsoft is not offering a custom support agreement for these products."

Case closed.

I've got to agree. As much as I hate the idea of MS telling people they *have* to upgrade I think it is needed. 98se was ok back in the day but now with XP and even things like Ubuntu Linux 6.06 it is way too outdated. ME was never good and was just plain terrible if you ask me. XP was a huge upgrade and if most people tried it and could afford it I don't think they would reject it (unless it didn't run well on their hardware in which case I would suggest the latest version of Ubuntu).

[gadean]

I have to agree. It's not just about Microsoft making money. Some of the fundamental code in the 9x kernel is outdated and nearly impossible to update to protect the OS against the latest security threats, etc. It would cost Microsoft a lot of resources to update their legacy code and drive up costs of future products. It could result in a viscious downward spiral.

[Quillz]

I've got to agree. As much as I hate the idea of MS telling people they *have* to upgrade I think it is needed. 98se was ok back in the day but now with XP and even things like Ubuntu Linux 6.06 it is way too outdated. ME was never good and was just plain terrible if you ask me. XP was a huge upgrade and if most people tried it and could afford it I don't think they would reject it (unless it didn't run well on their hardware in which case I would suggest the latest version of Ubuntu).

But the thing is, it's not like Microsoft is pushing WinXP through updates or forcing you to upgrade. If it works fine for you, then that's great. They are just ending all support for it.

[Denis W. Veteran]

I thought WinME had less hardware support because lots of drivers weren't properly tested. And I think just about anyone would recommed Win2000 over WinME.

I'd have to agree on this point. My old IBM Aptiva PC, the 2168-A50, had its Mwave card drivers (imagine that, a PCMCIA card with sound, graphics, AND a modem all merged into one. Nowadays we'd consider them onboard components, but this PC's motherboard had none of them) that failed to work in Windows ME. It was probably using some ancient archaic driver model that made it work under Windows 95 and 98, but not ME. A good quarter of the OEM programs on that PC ran in DOS (heh, the good old days of games with cheesy graphics and no 3D card requirement! Although Descent 1 was a kick ass game that came on that PC), so trying a cheap ass trick to shove DOS support under the carpet was more or less a kick in the teeth for me back then.

Add that to the fact that my PC just met the minimum requirements - ME ran like a slow dog. That PC probably wouldn't fare too well with Windows 2000 either. But hey, it's now sitting there right in the closet, hoping for a day that I'll just yank it out for the sake of enjoying those old games and apps once more. ;)

[Quillz]

That PC probably wouldn't fare too well with Windows 2000 either.

You should try Win2000 instead of WinME. Since it's NT based, it's almost WinXP w/o the eye candy and some plug-and-play functionality.

[win 98 fan]

Oh sheesh, this thread is still alive? Why?

I personally believe this should have been done a long time ago, like Rudy said. Period. I don't even give a rat's ass if 50 million PCs are running Win 98 and ME. 50 million PCs may run Win98/ME, but they are just not working anymore. My mom tossed her old computer (Win 98 SE) out the window when she got her Dell computer with Win XP, and that makes it 49,999,999 PCs. Whee!

Case closed.

Because of the other 49,999,999 98/ME users . =)

Yes, but theres two reasons why i use ME over 98 and 2000...

If you plug a USB memory stick into 98... what do you get

Plug it into ME, and it works

Also ME has more drivers than 98 IMO - like the VGA drivers for a win95 laptop, which 98 didnt have.

I only use ME however in systems with less than 64 mb of ram. Although win2k on 32mb would be possible, it wouldnt be pretty. And although ME isnt exactly fast, its usable.

If thats the problem you could use Native USB Drivers like these

or from the Upgrade Pack (the last link from my posting).

But I think everybody should use the OS that one likes to use.

Anyone have any comments on this unofficial update for IE6SP1? Seems to me that if someone was successfully porting IE Security Updates to Windows 98/ME, it would be of some interests to users of those operating systems. Anyone know anything about the author, or have checked out that it does work?

I checked and it worked.

But I have to tell that the url changed and is now to this :

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer KB918899 for Windows 98/ME

I found the Download link on this site :

http://www.w98upg.net.tf

The site is basically about "Windows 98 Upgrade Pack" but there other downloads links too.

So the author should be the one from that site maybe. :)

Edited August 19, 2006 by win 98 fan

[NightmarE D]

Thought I'd get my two cents into this

Most of these people saying that 98/ME is dead are mostly IT nerds that feel the need to always have the most up-to-date hardware or software. They waste money on constantly keeping anything they own updated. Buying new cell phones every few months, getting new laptops or desktops every single time a new series of a system comes out. They have the money to blow on all this or work in places where it's all free or pay pennies for it all.

They're not thinking about how in that 70 million, a lot of those are small businesses and school systems that simply can't afford to buy hundreds or even thousands of new computers every couple years or buy what's needed to keep them up-to-date. Some places just can't do it, plain and simple.

I get really sick of all these computer nerds, and that's what they are, hardcore computer nerds/jerks. That are only thinking about the cool new technology and they think everyone has to have it because they have it. That's what's getting old, not people who still run Windows 98/ME.

The high school I went to didn't have a computer lab until late 1996. They just now got new computers running Windows XP for the school year that just started this past Thursday. 10 years...TEN YEARS....before they had enough just to get new computers running Windows XP. You can see how bad that is when Windows Vista is pretty close to being released. Windows Blackcomb/Vienna will be out by the time they have computers running Vista.

And about the whole "Windows ME is the worst OS ever created". Funny how I've had it running on a computer since it was released and I rarely have issues with it, works perfectly fine for me. Anyone who jumps on the bandwagon of people saying its the worse OS ever created has most likely never even used it once. They just hear all these others talking about how bad it is and feel the need to join them simply because people like me, who don't care what anyone else has to say or thinks, will come out saying they like it and never have issues with it. Then the next thing you know, the nerds show up to talk their trash simply because you use or have used Windows ME. It's all completely ridiculous and that's what's getting old these days. All the idiot computer freaks out there that have nothing better to do and don't think about all the real-world issues.

The stuff is just too expensive for some people, plain and simple. Not every person, school or company has the money to spend on upgrading constantly.

That's what you all need to get over

[Quillz]

And about the whole "Windows ME is the worst OS ever created". Funny how I've had it running on a computer since it was released and I rarely have issues with it, works perfectly fine for me. Anyone who jumps on the bandwagon of people saying its the worse OS ever created has most likely never even used it once. They just hear all these others talking about how bad it is and feel the need to join them simply because people like me, who don't care what anyone else has to say or thinks, will come out saying they like it and never have issues with it. Then the next thing you know, the nerds show up to talk their trash simply because you use or have used Windows ME. It's all completely ridiculous and that's what's getting old these days. All the idiot computer freaks out there that have nothing better to do and don't think about all the real-world issues.

I do agree with you here. If WinME has worked fine for you, that's great. But, however, it is a proven fact that compared to Win98, there were a lot of untested drivers and applications, causing WinME to overall be less stable than Win98 was.

[[email protected]]

Is it too old? :no:

[Tech_Dude_5000]

seems this turned in to "keep this thread alive" campian.....

Windows 98 is old if you want to contune using it, go in a windows 98 basied chat room gather some other geeks and forum your own little world in the middle of nowhere and call it "MSDOS"

[sanctified Veteran]

seems this turned in to "keep this thread alive" campian.....

Windows 98 is old if you want to contune using it, go in a windows 98 basied chat room gather some other geeks and forum your own little world in the middle of nowhere and call it "MSDOS"

Wow. Seems some tech dudes need an attitude checking :rolleyes:

This thread is not about asking MS to keep support but about creating an user-based community to mantain this OS that is still widely used and not just because lack of money for an upgrade, something that a "tech dude" must know.

[Tech_Dude_5000]

Wow. Seems some tech dudes need an attitude checking :rolleyes:

This thread is not about asking MS to keep support but about creating an user-based community to mantain this OS that is still widely used and not just because lack of money for an upgrade, something that a "tech dude" must know.

um.... ok :|

I'm gonna change my user name. my friend set it up for me and i hate it,so he got it :shiftyninja: only thing is I dont know what to change it to so till then its stays "tech dude" :x

and my attidude was fine, unless ur psychic and it some how mess up :blink:

[Windam]

I love Windows 98

but ME?! For God's sakes!

[1WayJonny]

This thread and campaign is horrible

[Quactaur]

seems this turned in to "keep this thread alive" campian.....

Windows 98 is old if you want to contune using it, go in a windows 98 basied chat room gather some other geeks and forum your own little world in the middle of nowhere and call it "MSDOS"

That's utter bull****. The majority of small businesses use windows 98, most institutions that only use DTP never upgrade their machines and still run NT, 98 and ME because they see no need to upgrade. The NHS are still in the process of a rolling upgrade of machines. Last year our surgery got updated, we were still running windows 98 on machines that are both connected to the internet and connected to the national patient database. While we've been upgraded to xp, i'm positive that there are still many small hospices and gp surgerys which haven't, which accounts, along with small businesses and allmost all small LEDC businesses for a massive pre-windows 2000 userbase.

[Apple Fanboy]

Well, some people love S&M..

[dagamer34]

Using 95/98/98SE/ME is find for old computer just kicking around but I would strongly recommend anyone to upgrade if it were their full-time computer. Honestly, manufacturers don't care about anything pre-2000 and I don't blame them, because it really is an archaic OS when there' so much better out there.

With someone using these old OSs, this is the only time I would recommend a person get a computer from Wal-mart, no matter what they want. It's a real shame when I see people use computers stuck in 1998.