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Compatible Hardware with Windows 9x


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IAA will forcingly disable the DMA mode on some old CD-ROM drives, like TEAC CD524E.
There are many more drives with bugged firmware that are not properly recognized, and only for some of them there are patched drive firmware, motherboard BIOSes or chipset drivers. In most cases you must use manual settings in BIOS Setup.
And IAA also caused problem when I installed MGS2, a DVD-9 based PC game.
This seems to be incompatible game protection. I know it's too late to request fix from the game developers, but have you ever searched for any patches for that game or for protection drivers only?
I failed to format single SATA drive on GA-8I865PE775-G-RH(4.9), so I used the SATA <-> IDE adapter and formatted the SATA drive at IDE port. Then I plugged the SATA drive back to SATA port, and it has no problem with patched ESDI_506.PDR.

But I only plugged one SATA drive and one IDE DVD-ROM drive. And pluging two SATA drives means you can't use IDE port.

That's why I wrote "there is no full support for Windows 9x". Windows 2000 work OK with 6 drives (2 SATA HDD, 3 PATA HDD, PATA DVD+-RW) and AC97 without IAA. Of course I can try with single SATA HDD, single PATA HDD and DVD, but partial support is not for me. I need to work with more drives, and for safety/portability reasons I want to have working copy of Win98SE system on PATA drive less then 64 GiB.

--

Andrzej P. Wozniak

Edited by Usher
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That's why I wrote "there is no full support for Windows 9x". Windows 2000 work OK with 6 drives (2 SATA HDD, 3 PATA HDD, PATA DVD+-RW) and AC97 without IAA. Of course I can try with single SATA HDD, single PATA HDD and DVD, but partial support is not for me. I need to work with more drives, and for safety/portability reasons I want to have working copy of Win98SE system on PATA drive less then 64 GiB.

--

Andrzej P. Wozniak

I wrote a Patch to support SATA Drives on Windows 9X. It uses the original Microsoft Driver so it will not work with IAA.

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  • 1 month later...

Win9x DOES NOT support HyperThreading (please disable in the BIOS)

Windows 95 has timing problems with CPU speeds higher than 350 Mhz.

Windows 98 FE (and consequently Win95) cannot exceed CPU speeds higher than 2.2 Ghz

Disabling HyperThreading in the BIOS is not necessary.

Windows 95 Processor Limit has now been broken. :) and Windows 98 FE had a HotFix issued by Microsoft for this.

Windows 95 512MB RAM limit is now broken by RLoew's Patch v7.0.

On another note, can anyone tell me the last ATI TV Tuner card produced that was compatible with Windows 98 and/or can be made to work in 98? :unsure:

Edited by LoneCrusader
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can anyone tell me the last ATI TV Tuner card produced that was compatible with Windows 98 and/or can be made to work in 98? :unsure:
I had an ATI TV Wonder Pro Tuner (Philips 1236 MK3) running so-so on my Win98 dual-core desktop, but discarded it, the Sabrent Philips 713x PCI TV Tuner Card card was better. I only tested the ATI TV Wonder card for a short time, it came with a desktop I had bought at ebay. The Sabrent card I liked and used in the US, connected to a cable TV outlet, for maybe 6 months. I have since then set up my Win98 dual core desktop again and have not gotten around to re-install the Sabrent card, I don't watch much TV.

Getting the Sabrent card to work properly was tricky, the Win98 software on the CD didn't work properly under Win98, the honestech TVR 2.5 video software, obtained elsewhere, worked eventually Ok under Win98, I had to fiddle around for some time with the remote control driver and the FM tuner. If I remember right the Sabrent TV card had to be connected with a cable to the bfg 7800 GS OC video card and a whole bunch of Win98 drivers had to be installed. It was a time-consuming project. honestech TVR v2.5, for example, worked under Win98 with the ATI TV Wonder card also, but when recording TV, no sound was recorded with the ATI card. Basically you have to have the Win98 drivers for the TV card, the remote control and the TV tuner plus Win98 video display and recording software which works with these drivers and the hardware, a lot of fiddling.

I originally got the Sabrent card to convert video tapes PAL <==> NTSC, but never got around doing it.

Edited by Multibooter
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I had an ATI TV Wonder Pro Tuner (Philips 1236 MK3) running so-so on my Win98 dual-core desktop, but discarded it, the Sabrent Philips 713x PCI TV Tuner Card card was better. I only tested the ATI TV Wonder card for a short time, it came with a desktop I had bought at ebay. The Sabrent card I liked and used in the US, connected to a cable TV outlet, for maybe 6 months. I have since then set up my Win98 dual core desktop again and have not gotten around to re-install the Sabrent card, I don't watch much TV.

Getting the Sabrent card to work properly was tricky, the Win98 software on the CD didn't work properly under Win98, the honestech TVR 2.5 video software, obtained elsewhere, worked eventually Ok under Win98, I had to fiddle around for some time with the remote control driver and the FM tuner. If I remember right the Sabrent TV card had to be connected with a cable to the bfg 7800 GS OC video card and a whole bunch of Win98 drivers had to be installed. It was a time-consuming project. honestech TVR v2.5, for example, worked under Win98 with the ATI TV Wonder card also, but when recording TV, no sound was recorded with the ATI card. Basically you have to have the Win98 drivers for the TV card, the remote control and the TV tuner plus Win98 video display and recording software which works with these drivers and the hardware, a lot of fiddling.

I originally got the Sabrent card to convert video tapes PAL <==> NTSC, but never got around doing it.

Based on what I have been able to find, the TV Wonder Pro does seem to be the last ATI card officially supported on 9X. If someone knows otherwise, please advise.

I hardly ever watch TV either, I've just been considering adding one to the new system I'm building in case I do decide to watch something, or more likely wish to record something. I suppose it would not HAVE to be ATI, so long as it could be configured to function properly and suitable software could be found...

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  • 3 weeks later...

Below is a list of compatible hardware that works on Windows 9x systems (and or have suitable drivers)

Especially of interest is newer hardware that supports or still supports Win9x.

Which current Dual Layer CD/DVD burner would work with Windows 98 S.E?

I ask as my current TDK burner is giving write errors after burning mp3's as an audio CD.

Edited by frogman
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Which current Dual Layer CD/DVD burner would work with Windows 98 S.E? ... my current TDK burner is giving write errors after burning mp3's as an audio CD.
I had no issues under Win98 with an internal LiteOn PATA burner I bought off the shelf at Fry's 4 months ago. My initial guess would be that your burning software, not your hardware, has a compatibility problem under Win98.

I am burning CDs/DVDs always under WinXP, not under Win98, it gives me a better burn quality, especially with my 10-year-old 750MHz laptop, for which I use burners in external USB enclosures. I am also using the slowest burning speed possible for a particular media (usually 2x with DVDs), and only media which that specific burner can burn well, as identified afterwards by Nero CD-DVD Speed. Media made in Japan is usually good, but it's always the combo media+burner which is important. About 30% of my DVD burns with my slow laptop are "coasters", i.e. Nero CD-DVD Speed indicates a burn quality of less than 95; my desired target is 97-98.

Edited by Multibooter
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Which current Dual Layer CD/DVD burner would work with Windows 98 S.E? ... my current TDK burner is giving write errors after burning mp3's as an audio CD.
I had no issues under Win98 with an internal LiteOn PATA burner I bought off the shelf at Fry's 4 months ago. My initial guess would be that your burning software, not your hardware, has a compatibility problem under Win98.

I am burning CDs/DVDs always under WinXP, not under Win98, it gives me a better burn quality, especially with my 10-year-old 750MHz laptop, for which I use burners in external USB enclosures. I am also using the slowest burning speed possible for a particular media (usually 2x with DVDs), and only media which that specific burner can burn well, as identified afterwards by Nero CD-DVD Speed. Media made in Japan is usually good. About 30% of my DVD burns with my slow laptop are "coasters", i.e. Nero CD-DVD Speed indicates a burn quality of less than 95; my desired target is 97-98.

My software didn't have a compatibility problem previously, only started with these errors recently.

It seems to be intermittent as I have successfully burned an audio disc at 16 speed with Nero 6 just now.

Edited by frogman
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My software didn't have a compatibility problem previously, only started with these errors recently. It seems to be intermittent as I have successfully burned an audio disc at 16 speed with Nero 6 just now.
I view burners not as durables, but as consumables. I had already several burners which just died after burning maybe 200 DVDs. Only the USB enclosures of my burners are real durables.

Given that your burner does work sometimes under Win98 I would exclude hardware incompatibility with Win98 as the cause of your problem. I would defrag the HDD, run ScanDisk, change the cable and try it under WinXP. If the intermittent problems still continue, I would then buy another burner.

Edited by Multibooter
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My software didn't have a compatibility problem previously, only started with these errors recently. It seems to be intermittent as I have successfully burned an audio disc at 16 speed with Nero 6 just now.
I view burners not as durables, but as consumables. I had already several burners which just died after burning maybe 200 DVDs. Only the USB enclosures of my burners are real durables.

Given that your burner does work sometimes under Win98 I would exclude hardware incompatibility with Win98 as the cause of your problem. I would defrag the HDD, run ScanDisk, change the cable and try it under WinXP. If the intermittent problems still continue, I would then buy another burner.

I was thinking of purchasing another burner, but I think that's when the problems will arise as there aren't many around that support windows 98.

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I was thinking of purchasing another burner, but I think that's when the problems will arise as there aren't many around that support windows 98.
Most likely any off-the-shelf internal PATA burner will work with Win98, even if the box states WinXP as system requirement. Maybe you can get one at a store, not thru the mail, so you can return it more easily if it doesn't work.

Buying a burner is mainly a matter of luck, what is important is not tested in the reviews: top burn quality with a few selected brands of media, the ability to burn at a reasonable quality many different brands of media and the ability to read damaged/low quality old media. But these 3 qualities don't come together. I have 4 stacked external USB burners, each marked differently: "good reader", "good burner", "burns everything" and a special purpose "good CD reader". I am content with NEC, LG and LiteOn burners.

BTW, I have a SATA and a PATA burner inside of my dual-core desktop running Win98SE, but I prefer PATA burners mainly because I can use them inside the desktop and inside my USB PATA enclosures. Eventually I will have to get switchable external PATA/SATA USB/eSATA enclosures, but there are not that many with Win98 drivers. It is time to stock up on PATA burners, they seem to get scarcer on the shelves. 750GB PATA HDDs, for example, now cost MUCH MORE at ebay than what I paid for in the store 2 years ago (maybe $130 a piece) http://cgi.ebay.com/ST3750640A-RK-SEAGATE-750GB-7200RPM-PATA-IDE-16MB-FAC_W0QQitemZ130380658913QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1e5b4af8e1.

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I wish I had thought of purchasing 2 TDK burners at the time.If I were to buy an external burner do these need to be supported by the operating system too?

Edited by frogman
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I wish I had thought of purchasing 2 TDK burners at the time.If I were to buy an external burner do these need to be supported by the operating system too?

Yes. If the external USB burner has a PATA burner inside, it should work under Win98 if you have nusb installed. If the external burner comes with a SATA burner inside I don't know, you may need a manufacturer-provided Win98 driver.

I would prefer buying an empty external USB burner enclosure plus any internal PATA burner of your choice, so if your next burner dies, you just replace it inside the same enclosure. But empty USB enclosures for burners are not that easy to find in stores, Fry's in California didn't have any 3 months ago, but you can find them at ebay. I got my USB burner enclosures years ago, stackable, with a built-in fan, 110/220V external power supply, power switch, audio connectors and a Win98 driver. They were no-name from China, but used the same Genesys Win98 driver as my 3.5" and 5.25" Adaptec HDD enclosures.

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Yes I have nusb33 installed, but I don't have a USB2 card, all I have is the original USB that came with my system, USB1.1, so an external would be no use to me unfortunately as I don't want to start fitting anymore bits and pieces inside the computer.

I think I am right in saying that you need USB2 for the fast speed transfer.

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