bluejay Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 From what I've gathered only Windows 98SE and later supports wifi cards, but it'd be neat to use Win 95 too so I'll leave that there. I've bought a neat Compaq LTE 5250 that runs 98se to play games, run 64hdd, etc. It'll probably be the bridge between the modern internet and the 8 bit world, to be used for file transfers mostly for Commodore machines. Anyhow, I thought it'd be pretty fun to connect it to the modern internet. I mean, it'd be slow as shit but that's not the point. I just wanna see it work. I'm too lazy to deal with modems and phone lines, so yeah, I won'e be doing any of that. PCMCIA wifi cards seem ridiculously cheap, so I'll probably grab one after I'm confirmed you can actually use it. Has anyone ever had success connecting a Win95/98 pc up to the modern internet using wifi? Any tips, or tricks to get it working right? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 (edited) You will need a card that has win95 drivers, AAAND you will need a wifi client to broker connecting to access points. Odyssey Client is buyware, but works. I have done it successfully with a broadcom based BCM43xx wifi card. https://web.archive.org/web/20170826223448/http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/175486-wpa2-for-windows-9x/ (After work, I will dig for the SPECIFIC win9x driver I used, since not all were created equal. It should still be on my NAS.) Edited August 29, 2020 by wierd_w 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejay Posted August 29, 2020 Author Share Posted August 29, 2020 (edited) 32 minutes ago, wierd_w said: You will need a card that has win95 drivers, AAAND you will need a wifi client to broker connecting to access points. Odyssey Client is buyware, but works. I have done it successfully with a broadcom based BCM43xx wifi card. https://web.archive.org/web/20170826223448/http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/175486-wpa2-for-windows-9x/ (After work, I will dig for the SPECIFIC win9x driver I used, since not all were created equal. It should still be on my NAS.) Alright. I'll check everything out when the laptop arrives. Thanks! Huh, did some research and there seem to be free downloads for Odyssey Access Client. Edited August 29, 2020 by bluejay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 The Odyssey client is a little odd in how it works, and acts like it was really intended for use inside a large organization with some special servers running, but it still totally works as a generic AP management portal. It's just a bit cumbersome and obtuse. The main claim to fame is that it can handle WPA2, *AND* is universal. I have an old Fujitsu Lifebook e1000 (that was given to me for free!) that has a baked in BCM43xx wifi chip, which is why I have already been down this road. Sadly, said lifebook as an AC'97 based audio chip, so it's no good for retro dos gaming. I have it running XUbuntu at the moment, since win9x proved to be... Problematic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejay Posted August 29, 2020 Author Share Posted August 29, 2020 Also kinda off topic, but do bluetooth mouses that use usb dongles work with ps/2 to usb converters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 Be more specific. Do you mean THIS, or THIS? The first one, will take any PS/2 keyboard or mouse, and present it to the computer as a generic HID compliant device. The second one is not worth your time or money. There was once a time, back in the days of yore, when early USB mice could also be driven by PS/2 signals, and that is all that converter does. It does not do anything special, it just hooks the data pins of the USB device to the signal lines of the PS/2 connector, and hopes for the best. A bluetooth device that expects a full and proper USB stack is not going to work. So, for a "Fits most cases" answer, I will say "no." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejay Posted August 29, 2020 Author Share Posted August 29, 2020 (edited) 52 minutes ago, wierd_w said: Be more specific. Do you mean THIS, or THIS? The first one, will take any PS/2 keyboard or mouse, and present it to the computer as a generic HID compliant device. The second one is not worth your time or money. There was once a time, back in the days of yore, when early USB mice could also be driven by PS/2 signals, and that is all that converter does. It does not do anything special, it just hooks the data pins of the USB device to the signal lines of the PS/2 connector, and hopes for the best. A bluetooth device that expects a full and proper USB stack is not going to work. So, for a "Fits most cases" answer, I will say "no." Okay. I guess I won't be getting one of those computers, just spend 5 extra cents on a proper ps/2 mouse. I'll get into the Odyssey stuff more when I actually have the laptop to install onto. Edit: I completely forgot I could use a serial mouse on those things! Edited August 29, 2020 by bluejay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejay Posted August 29, 2020 Author Share Posted August 29, 2020 Theoretically any PCMCIA wifi card with a wpa2 connection without a password should be enough to go online right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 drivers being available for 9x is the kicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Usotsuki Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 I used an Edimax bridge to connect my PS/2 to wifi, though eventually realized I didn't need it since it was right next to the router. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 (edited) I am pretty sure he wants the "untethered" portable experience. That said, here is my local downloaded copy of the Odyssey installer, and the BCM43xx (for win9x) driver I used. OdysseyClient9x.exe BROADCOM_MINI_PCI_WIN9X.ZIP (Note for providence: Odyssey client IS BUYWARE. The installer includes a temporary license for evaluation. Juniper Networks no longer has this old product on their download site, as it is a legacy product. This is why I put a link to this trial version download here.) Edited August 29, 2020 by wierd_w 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
English Invader Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 If your system has an ethernet port, you can get it online with Puppy Linux as a live distro. I visited this forum and few others a couple of years ago this way on a system running Windows 98. You can also use it to get any files you need and then instruct the Puppy browser to download the files onto your hard drive and make your system completely self-sufficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejay Posted August 29, 2020 Author Share Posted August 29, 2020 1 hour ago, English Invader said: If your system has an ethernet port, you can get it online with Puppy Linux as a live distro. I visited this forum and few others a couple of years ago this way on a system running Windows 98. You can also use it to get any files you need and then instruct the Puppy browser to download the files onto your hard drive and make your system completely self-sufficient. I'm interested in connecting it via wifi actually, so I don't have to deal with messy cords(it's a laptop!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 I figured as much, as I also went down this rabbit hole. I had success with the BCM43xx chipset, which is very common. As the initial post I made, linking to the MSDN forums, makes clear-- there are several "known to work" chipsets and drivers. You may avail yourself of any of them. BCM43xx is just VERY VERY common. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejay Posted August 29, 2020 Author Share Posted August 29, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, wierd_w said: I figured as much, as I also went down this rabbit hole. I had success with the BCM43xx chipset, which is very common. As the initial post I made, linking to the MSDN forums, makes clear-- there are several "known to work" chipsets and drivers. You may avail yourself of any of them. BCM43xx is just VERY VERY common. eBay listings don't specify what kind of chipset a certain card has; which is a problem. I'll find one that works eventually. After a few minutes of googling, I've found cards that support wpa2 but doesn't have a bcm43xx chipset, something with a bcm43xx chipset but no wpa2 support, and one that has a bcm43xx chipset and supports wpa2 but requires a 300mhz pentium III or better. It seems that Win98se is easier to deal with when it comes to this kind of stuff so I'm probably gonna have one of the laptops run win98se and one run 95. Ayup, it's damn near impossible to find a pcmcia card that supports win95 and wpa2, let alone have he bcm43xx chipset. 98se it is. Edited August 29, 2020 by bluejay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 (edited) Linksys WPC54G (BCM4313) (there's a LOT of those on ebay right now...) Linksys WPC54GS (BCM4306) Theres a couple of these too. (You can look up what chipset is inside one of the offers that strike your fancy on this site) Be sure to pay attention to the version number, especially with those linksys offers. Look them up each time. the BCM43xx driver I posted should work with anything in the broadcom family that starts with 43. Such as the 4313 or the 4306. The chip in my lifebook is a 4335. Edited August 29, 2020 by wierd_w Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejay Posted August 29, 2020 Author Share Posted August 29, 2020 4 minutes ago, wierd_w said: Linksys WPC54G (BCM4313) (there's a LOT of those on ebay right now...) Linksys WPC54GS (BCM4306) Theres a couple of these too. (You can look up what chipset is inside one of the offers that strike your fancy on this site) but the thing is... does it support wpa2 and a 120mhz pentium? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 (edited) The driver I posted supports the broadcom 43xx series, and is generic. It should work with PCMCIA devices, mini-pci devices, etc. As long as it is broadcom 43xx chipset based. (you can force the driver. It should work.) I know that driver does do WPA2. (Here's the deal with broadcom chips at least-- They contain a small bit of RAM inside them, that a binary blob from the driver gets loaded into. This allows the chip to be silently "Updated" along with the driver. This blob controls the radio, and all that stuff. The driver is really what determines a lot of function for broadcom chips. They are very common, so this is why not all drivers were created equal. It is also why on Linux, you have to use a "non-free firmware" ripped out of a windows driver, using a package called B43FW_Cutter. Without that binary blob, the card cannot work, and it is closed source.) Edited August 29, 2020 by wierd_w 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 Has more detailed info about Broadcom's 43xx chips, and how they work. https://blog.quarkslab.com/reverse-engineering-broadcom-wireless-chipsets.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 I was going to point out that LinkSys WPC54s were quite the rage in the day for 98SE, and the client was supposedly 95-compatible. If not, then the WPC11, though I am not certain about WPA2 on the 11. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejay Posted September 3, 2020 Author Share Posted September 3, 2020 The laptops arrived today. One works perfectly, one works but won't boot with the hard drive(the hard drive is fine) and one is completely dead. Anyways, both hard disks had Win 98 with it and full to the brim with useless junk. Sadly the CD-R disk I had laying around which I was planning to use to transfer files onto before I start doing anything serious , was finalized so I'll have to get a Compact Flash adapter or a bunch of CD-RWs(or I could use floppy disks but that's dumb) before I can do anything useful with them. At the moment I installed a few old Windows games I had on CDs(a few Need for Speed games, some sort of bike racing game, and some kind of flight sim) and installed them using the little space I had left in the tiny 800mb hard drive. Apparently they require at minimum a Pentium 133mhz, but mine runs on a Pentium 120mhz, so they run at 2 fps. Currently running ScanDisk because a bunch of sectors on one of the hard disks were bad(taking FOREVER) but I have to say, I love the thing. Anyways, once I have a way to have stuff loaded onto it, I'll install Odyssey Client, get a WiFi card(one of them had a 56k USR modem inside the PCMCIA slot; useless.), and figure out how to set everything up, and hopefully be able to go on at least a few modern websites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 Has your NIC showed up in the mail? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejay Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 On 9/5/2020 at 3:22 AM, wierd_w said: Has your NIC showed up in the mail? Haven't ordered one yet. I'll need to get all sorts of stuff to get the programs and operating systems I need installed on the laptops before I can use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 So, it's been like 10 days, have you taken the plunge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejay Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 Well, I've discovered something rather depressing. These Compaq LTE 5000 series laptops support PCMCIA, but PCMCIA ONLY, no CardBus. So what I very nearly bought might have fried one of my laptops. Also, I don't think I'll be getting one of these anytime soon for, well, reasons. All sorts of complicated stuff is going on involving shipping dates and the Package Concierge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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