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Windows 98 PC


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Where can I get a Windows 98 PC (I only need the PC, not the monitor, and it should work with USB wireless mice and USB keyboards) easily?

 

I really don't want to use a virtual machine since it doesn't do very well with it and I don't want to use eBay since shipping is expensive.

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Just make sure whatever hardware that's in the PC you want to buy is supported by Windows 98, it would be a bummer to buy a machine only to find there's no drivers for the graphics card or sound chip. If it's been awhile since you last used Win98, it's easy to forget that a lot of the things we take for granted (like plugging in a wireless mouse and just having it work) might not always go so easily on an older machine. Not that I am discouraging you from getting a machine like that, I am personally a huge proponent of using "real iron" instead of virtual machines or emulation. Just letting you know some things will definitely work differently than modern versions.

 

Once you have your PC up and running, you should check out FileHippo.com. They host older versions of software which can be hugely useful when finding things to run on OS's like Windows 98. For instance I needed to find a version of WinAmp that would run on 98, thankfully they had one. I also found a version of Opera and Avast antivirus that would work so I could access my personal file server.

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I echo what TPA5 said above. You mentioned wanting to use a wireless USB mouse and keyboard. If my memory serves me correctly, Windows 98 typically required drivers for USB peripherals. I remember having to install drivers for things like flash drives. Not sure if drivers for mice and keyboards were built into the OS like they are today.

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Okay I see what you're talking about. I'd have to have a PS/2 Mouse and Keyboard, but the problem is that my desk ain't big enough for 2 keyboards.

 

Should I take a picture of my desk? I was considering putting the older PC on the top of the desk and hooking it to VGA on my monitor. And as you said I'll probably need a PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard. Out of curiosity, does Windows 98 work with today's internet connections?

Edited by copper20
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Okay I see what you're talking about. I'd have to have a PS/2 Mouse and Keyboard, but the problem is that my desk ain't big enough for 2 keyboards.

 

Should I take a picture of my desk? I was considering putting the older PC on the top of the desk and hooking it to VGA on my monitor. And as you said I'll probably need a PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard. Out of curiosity, does Windows 98 work with today's internet connections?

Windows 98 should work with modern Internet no problem, though you may need a network adapter if the machine doesn't have it on-board. Heck, even if it does have it on board you will possibly need to go hunting for the drivers if you are doing a reinstall of Windows 98. Even if it doesn't have it on the motherboard Ethernet should be simple with the appropriate adapters. I found a couple internal ones new in box with drivers at my local thrift for cheap. Wifi is not as simple, one option would be to try and find an old wifi card that has Windows 98 drivers. I have seen them once or twice before. Whether or not it will actually connect to your router I am not sure, as wifi has changed quite abit since then. Another option could be an Ethernet bridge, a box that takes your Ethernet connection and turns it into a wifi one. Not the cheapest option by any means however.

 

A good question is why do you want to get online? Web browsing on 98 is sucky, most websites don't work or display incorrectly as standards have changed and everyone wants trendy websites with a bunch of swooshy garbage everywhere. I put my Win98 box online partially because I was curious, and also because I wanted to access my file server.

 

Also you may not need PS2 keyboards/move depending on the machine. If it has USB ports Windows 98SE can use USB keyboards and mice natively. At least, I haven't had issue with it. So you should be good-to-go there. I was just unsure if a wireless keyboard/mouse combo would work.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Don't they sell USB keyboards with PS/2 converters? Mice might be another story though.

 

They do indeed: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812196223(just searched and found that, I haven't used it)

 

That one supposedly works with keyboards and mice, though I have never tried it myself. But Windows 98SE has built-in support for USB keyboards and mice so it should be okay. The only place one might find trouble is navigating the BIOS, I do know some older motherboards did not support USB keyboards in BIOS.

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Just make sure whatever hardware that's in the PC you want to buy is supported by Windows 98, it would be a bummer to buy a machine only to find there's no drivers for the graphics card or sound chip. If it's been awhile since you last used Win98, it's easy to forget that a lot of the things we take for granted (like plugging in a wireless mouse and just having it work) might not always go so easily on an older machine. Not that I am discouraging you from getting a machine like that, I am personally a huge proponent of using "real iron" instead of virtual machines or emulation. Just letting you know some things will definitely work differently than modern versions.

 

 

THIS is a very good point for anybody thinking of building a Win98 machine!! If you are not careful you will run into all sorts of problems getting video and sound cards to work properly... Win98 did not come with many drivers on the disk, which means you will need to find them ONLINE...and that can be tough. And THEN you need to get them burned on either a CD-R or floppy drive... My recommendation would be to buy an old LAPTOP if that works for you. Much simpler since everything inside came from the manufacturer...

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Awesome to see someone interested in Windows 98. I love that OS, much nostalgia. Sorry if someone already brought this up, but be aware that some games require 3D graphics cards. So if you can, find out the graphics card of the PC you want to buy. You could always replace the graphics card if it's only a 2D one.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Out of curiosity, does Windows 98 work with today's internet connections?

TCP/IP hasn't changed since 1998, but as others have said, the web sure has.

A good question is why do you want to get online?

Windows 98 hasn't had any security updates since forever. Going online with that OS means you're simply begging to get hacked. My advice would be to keep it offline, and use your local network or sneakernet via removable disks to move files around. Don't put anything you care about on that machine and don't use it to access anything sensitive or private.
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I used Windows 98 for about 5 years on the internet with no issues. I never updated it or used anti virus. The same week I upgraded to Windows 2000 I got a virus. I then tried XP and it crashed in about 2 weeks. Vista lasted 1 day. After that I loaded Ubuntu 10.04 and it lasted a couple years before I upgraded to a light version of Ubuntu. I never used Internet Explorer as I heard most viruses came through it, but it didn't seem to matter when I started upgrading to newer versions of Windows. From my experience I would say that Windows 98 is the safest of the Windows.

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You don't say when this was, nor what you used it for. There are a lot more drive-by pieces of malware in the last few years, and I think you're doing the original poster a real disservice by suggesting that your individual experience of "nothing happened to ME" is somehow the same as being "the safest version of the Windows." It reminds me of the older people on Facebook who say, "like this post if you bounced around in the back seat without a seat belt and survived" as if that were somehow a good idea.

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Also remember that most attacks under Windows 98 were viruses. And the large bulk of those viruses came from P2P and obscure .exe downloading.

I have a firewall and an antivirus on my actual machine, but because I care about where I go, nothing ever triggered it... Except an old floppy that I had from way back then, that still had a virus on it (maybe this was a collectible virus? :D )

So using Windows 98 to get on AtariAge and Home of the Underdog to download some old abandonwares? safe.

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I've never used Windows ME. This all happened about 5 years ago. I doubt too many hackers are targeting Windows 98. I wouldn't put any sensitive info on it though.

 

 

Also remember that most attacks under Windows 98 were viruses. And the large bulk of those viruses came from P2P and obscure .exe downloading.

I have a firewall and an antivirus on my actual machine, but because I care about where I go, nothing ever triggered it... Except an old floppy that I had from way back then, that still had a virus on it (maybe this was a collectible virus? :D )

So using Windows 98 to get on AtariAge and Home of the Underdog to download some old abandonwares? safe.

 

While usually I recommend to leave machines like Windows 98 offline, I do agree with the above statements. Depending on where you go and what you do, the odds are you'll be safe. I highly doubt there are many malwares or viruses that you could encounter in the wild that would infect a machine. More likely than not you'll find most websites simply don't work that well with Windows 98. I run Opera 9.64 because, as far as I know, that's the last version that works with 98. It runs quite well though, at least for the basic tasks I require of it.

 

One thing you may also want to look at is KernelEx (http://kernelex.sourceforge.net/) it's an open-source compatibility layer that can help some programs designed for 2000/XP run on 98. It's not perfect and won't run everything, but it could be worth a shot depending on what you're looking for.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have a w98 machine I built a while back. My advice is to find a suitable motherboard (pentium II era), and a proper case. Remember, this is going to be IDE, so you'll want to get the proper drives.

 

And Windows 98 natively supports USB. At least Win98 SE does. My motherboard actually has a single dual USB 1.1 port. Mind you this is a Slot 1 computer.

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95 osr2 (aka b) "supports" USB as well but you pretty much have to have a driver for everything outside of a basic keyboard or mouse

 

Same with the first Rev of 98, 98SE is more like the USB people think of today because but all of the above should support at least a hod mouse and kb

Edited by Osgeld
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