[jaclaz]

Just an idea, but maybe the 9x version of the Universal Video Driver:
http://www.boot-land...?showtopic=2325
http://www.geocities...ndows/vbe9x.htm

is worth a shot for a higher resolution.

jaclaz

[Sfor]

The universal VBE driver seems to be working fine. I was able co increase the screen resolution to 800x600. Also, I'm able to select any color depth from just 256 up to 32bit.

I made quite an interesting observation while copying data from an SD card to SSD drive. Apparently such an operation took just a few minutes in clean DOS, while the Windows 98 explorer did the same job many times longer.

[Mijzelf]

Quote

I made quite an interesting observation while copying data from an SD card to SSD drive. Apparently such an operation took just a few minutes in clean DOS, while the Windows 98 explorer did the same job many times longer.

Could be a visualizing problem. I observe the same with deleting large directories, especially on slow (network-)drives. Deltree does it fast, while explorer takes much longer, while it tries to tell which files are being deleted at each moment.

[Sfor]

I do not believe it is the case. The same happens with copying just a few large files.

[glocK_94]

Sfor, on Sep 2 2008, 09:47 PM, said:

I made quite an interesting observation while copying data from an SD card to SSD drive. Apparently such an operation took just a few minutes in clean DOS, while the Windows 98 explorer did the same job many times longer.

Funny, on many eeepc forums, people report regular slowdown caused by the ssd on winXP on Linux. However it could be a chipset problem linked to missing win98 drivers.

[Sfor]

I found a problem with the Universal Video Driver. Running a DOS application locks the computer with an interesting screen effects.

[Sfor]

I have moved the Windows 98 to internal SSD. The speed difference is huge. The system boots to desktop icons in less than 15 seconds. The hour glass is gone in less than another 15 seconds.

I've noticed the Windows 98 does not detect the new devices connected to the USB ports. It is necesary to reboot the system in order to to use them.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Another observation, the DOS application window problem is related only to the windowed DOS processes. If a DOS application is running the full screen mode, everything seems to be working correctly.

Perhaps there is a way to force every DOS process to use the full screen mode. But, I have to find it, still.

This post has been edited by Sfor: 05 September 2008 - 05:52 AM

[Sfor]

I've managed to bring the built in internal ethernet port to life with Atheros NDIS2 DOS driver.

In order to do so I had to:
- start the new hardware wizard
- skip the auto detection and to go for "find the driver from the list"
- find the NDIS2 driver related entry
And it went the usual automatic way from this point. The driver is started in the AUTOEXEC.BAT with the NET START command. It looks like the Internet and Microsoft Networking functions are working correctly.

It's a bit funny the DOS driver is provided, when the newer 9x systems are forgotten. And still, the 9x systems are able to use the DOS driver. It would not be possible with the NT based system.

This post has been edited by Sfor: 07 September 2008 - 05:25 AM

[jaclaz]

About the full-screen problem, I think you can use the shortcut properties to make a DOS app running full-scrren, or good ol' .pif files.

Would this work on Win9x/Me?

http://windowsitpro.com/article/articleid/...rent-state.html

or maybe there is a similar 9x/Me utility?

jaclaz

[Sfor]

The problem with the Universal VBE driver requires to force all DOS text mode applications to use the full mode. It is possible to do it with .PIF files. But, it would require to create a .PIF file for every DOS application.

The FSTOGGLE.EXE is designed to switch between full screen and the windowed modes. It is not the solution, as it does not allow to select the mode before running the command processor.

I'm wondering if there is a .PIF file with default DOS application settings, or something like that.

[jaclaz]

Sfor, on Sep 7 2008, 09:44 PM, said:

I'm wondering if there is a .PIF file with default DOS application settings, or something like that.

Maybe there is another way through APPS.INF.
http://support.micro...kb/138410/en-us


APPS.INF has an empty entry for COMMAND.COM:
http://support.micro...kb/130971/en-us

Would something like this work?:

[COMMAND.COM]
Disable=win

or

[COMMAND.COM]
Enable=dos
Disable=win

And maybe also playing with the "aen" and "lie" switches....

jaclaz

This post has been edited by jaclaz: 08 September 2008 - 06:12 AM

[Tihiy]

_default.pif, Google it!

[Sfor]

The _default.pif file does the job.

I've modified the command prompt in the Start menu and the /WINDOWS/PIF/COMMAND.PIF files. The COMMAND.PIF is the best template for the _DEFAULT.PIF, as it does not have the working directory set. The _DEFAULT.PIF should be placed in the WINDOWS directory.


I've noticed a side effect when doing a computer reboot from the Xandros Linux system. The DOS NDIS2 driver freezes when testing the network connection, in such a case. It is necesary to power the computer off, then to boot to Windows 98 with a cold start, after working with Xandros.

[glocK_94]

Sfor, on Sep 9 2008, 09:20 AM, said:

I've noticed a side effect when doing a computer reboot from the Xandros Linux system. The DOS NDIS2 driver freezes when testing the network connection, in such a case. It is necesary to power the computer off, then to boot to Windows 98 with a cold start, after working with Xandros.

Did you try using the default windows NDIS2 driver? I've seen someone claiming it works fine on his eee701. Besides, I've never seen a network card that wouldn't work with it.

[Sfor]

Erm... The Windows 98 does not appear to have a default NDIS driver. When installing a NDIS driver, Windows asks to provide a proper driver disk, or to show where it is located.

Besides, NDIS is the protocol used between driver and OS. So, the same driver can be used with any network software compatible with the NDIS specification.

[Sfor]

I've got a correction to the way the Windows 98 treats NDIS2 drivers.

(I do not have an English language version, so I can not provide the proper option names)
In order to install a NDIS2 driver it is necesary to skip the hardware auto detection procedure and to select the manual installation option. Then open the network adapters list, then to click the button letting to search the driver on the disk. When a NDIS2 driver location is provided Windows will go the usual network driver procedure with just one difference. Windows will not check the compatibility of the driver with the hardware. So Windows will install just any NDIS2 driver without complaining.

The Atheros NDIS2 driver han an ability to change the MAC address in the protocol.ini file. This gives an ability to use Eee PC 900 with Windows 9x as a quite useful network testing tool. Especialy, when the Internet services provider uses MAC restriction techniques.

I've been successfully using my Eee to do some test in the WAN. The Windows 98 seems to be unable to keep multiple network configuration sets. So, I had to change the services and protocols bindings every time I was changing the LAN and WAN connections. I tried to solve this problem in multiple ways:
- a second copy of the Windows easy switchable on the system start. - occupies a lot of disk space
- mutiple hardware profiles - displays an additional menu at the system start. Very inconvenient
- a second driver to the same network adapter with different bindings. - quite complicated to set up, but it works.

It is possible to modify the L2.DOS and corresponding .INF file to create a new driver. The Windows will install both drivers. Then it is necesary to make different protocol and services bindings to both drivers. Switching between drivers is possible through changes in the protocol.ini file, and making the unwanted driver .DOS file unavailable in the windows directory. I did it with two .BAT files. One is switching to the LAN adapter, the other to WAN. Running one of them disables one adapter, and enables the other. I'm still playing with the idea to exploit all the possibilities.

I'm curious if there are other ways to switch between the network enviroment settings easily.

[Sfor]

Yet another observation.

Windows 98 without a network driver installed boots in just 9 seconds, while it takes 43 seconds to boot with a NDIS2 driver with the ethernet connection detached.

The DOS NDIS driver tries to detect the network connection speed , first. Then the TCP/IP protocol stack tries to get an IP through DHCP. Both tasks are useless while booting in the move. Luckily there is a very easy way to select if we want to boot with or without the network adapter driver.

For the NDIS2 driver to work it is necesary to run NET START command from the AUTOEXEC.BAT. Wihout it the driver gets disabled after booting. As the result the system boots in 9 seconds, instead of 43.

Using the [MENU] section in the CONFIG.SYS it is possible to create a boot menu and give an option to start the system with the network driver disabled.

an example for the CONFIG.SYS

[MENU]
MenuItem=WINDOWS,Windows 98
MenuItem=NONET,Windows 98 - bez sieci
MenuDefault=WINDOWS,10

[WINDOWS]
device=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\display.sys con=(ega,,1)
Country=048,852,C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\country.sys

[NONET]
include WINDOWS

an example for the AUTOEXEC.BAT

GOTO %CONFIG%

:WINDOWS
C:\WINDOWS\net start
:NONET
mode con codepage prepare=((852) C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\ega.cpi)
mode con codepage select=852
keyb pl,,C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\keybrd4.sys

The code page and keyboard settings should be different in your case (unless you are using Polish language).

[bearwindows]

From the 1-st post:

glocK_94, on Aug 27 2008, 07:04 AM, said:

Chipset + GPU : Intel 910 GML -> no win98 drivers !!! That's the main problem

As I know Scitech SNAP Graphics is the accelerated video driver that supports I910GML.
i910 chip is a variant of 915G/915GV/910GL. See: http://scitechsoft.c...n_chiplist.html

[Sfor]

It's somewhat true, but I have found nothing about Scitech support for Windows 98.

[jaclaz]

Sfor, on Oct 15 2008, 10:45 AM, said:

It's somewhat true, but I have found nothing about Scitech support for Windows 98.

http://www.scitechso...om/sdd_win.html

Quote

SciTech Display Doctor 6.53 (Classic Edition)

Designed for: Windows 95, 98

SciTech Display Doctor is still the ultimate graphics utility package for older PC's. If you are using hardware that is more than 5 years old chances are SciTech Display Doctor for Windows can improve the performance and stability of your PC by updating your graphics card display driver.

While SciTech no longer offers support for this edition of SciTech Display Doctor we understand that the product might be just the fix you need to keep your older hardware humming along. SciTech Now offers this product free of charge via our ftp download site or for a minimal charge On CD.

While the downloadable version is free of charge we hope you will take the opportunity to support our development efforts in relation to this product and purchase the CD. By purchasing the CD you will also ensure that you have convenient access to the last commercial version of SciTech Display Doctor for Windows as well as many other classic and unsupported SciTech titles.

http://www.scitechsoft.com/ftp/sdd/



jaclaz