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

    • Umm, read my answer again! If you have something to add or contribute, feel free. Otherwise my point was that you apparently dont want faster updates... so you want slower updates by process of elimination. If you have something to contribute, meaningful answers are better.
    • These features described above are good, but far from what developers will like the most. The main feature that developers will care and love the most it's called "Bring Your Own Models". It gives us the ability to connect to LOCAL AI models running on Ollama. The feature it's located on GitHub Copilot tab -> On the model picker where you can select "manage models" instead of paid models and then it will show you the "Bring your own models" window where you can now select Ollama and the endpoint of your local server. So if you have a beefy spec machine you can now use your own model 100% local inside Visual Studio 2026 18.7.0
    • Microsoft Teams is getting a controversial location tracking feature that users may hate by Usama Jawad Image generated with Microsoft Copilot Earlier this year, Microsoft planned to roll out a controversial location tracking feature in Teams, but following customer feedback, it decided to delay its release. The bad news is that the company has decided to launch it later this year, but it's based on roughly the same design that was shared earlier, which means that many users still have good reason to worry. Basically, Microsoft Places and Teams have received workplace check-ins via Wi-Fi. The idea is that if an employee arrives at the office and connects to their enterprise network, their profile status indicator will show them as being present in the office. For example, if you arrive at work, open Teams on your PC, and connect to the "Studio B" company Wi-Fi network, your Teams profile will indicate that you are present in "Studio B", as shown below: Microsoft says that this feature is basically a replacement for physical workplace check-in peripherals, it reduces the need to manually update your status, and it also enables co-workers to know that you're at work so that they can coordinate in-person meetings with you. IT admins can enable this workplace check-in capability at a tenant level, and users have the ability to control whether they want to enable it or not. Of course, all of that sounds great on paper, but naturally, many Teams customers may still have concerns, as they did before. This is because it enables your reporting manager and other members of the organization to track if you are at the office, when you arrive at the office, and where you are right now. This could be problematic for people who work in what they consider to be flexible work environments or hybrid setups, and this kind of location tracking could be considered an invasion of privacy. Microsoft has tried to alleviate some of these concerns by letting users know that they can manually set their location easily, which essentially overrides workplace check-in if they feel uncomfortable with it. However, that doesn't really solve the problem because your organization could enforce a workplace policy that mandates that this feature remains enabled. The Redmond tech giant has also assured users that this capability does not store historical data and is only a real-time indicator of location. Finally, it only generates a signal when you connect to a corporate network, which means that if you are working from home and connect your PC to your personal Wi-Fi, it won't broadcast your location to your employer; you will simply be shown as "Remote". Microsoft has encouraged IT admins to prepare for this change and begin informing users so they know what to expect once it begins rolling out later this year.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Very Popular
      AndrewSteel earned a badge
      Very Popular
    • Veteran
      Taliseian went up a rank
      Veteran
    • One Month Later
      Clizby earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      Timaximus earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Timaximus earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      516
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      162
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      157
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      82
    5. 5
      ATLien_0
      81
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!