Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.os.msdos.programmer > #117

Re: How to free DOS memory to run 677k file?

Cross-posted to 3 groups.

Show all headers | View raw

"DMcCunney" <dennis.mccunney@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:iv0abq$qk4$1@dont-email.me...
>
> I'd like to replace it with Win98SE, with the open source KernelEx
> package,
>

I've had that combination on 3 machines.

One of them died.  It was an AMD cpu (500Mhz), so it was missing SSE/2
instructions which caused problems with Flash 9 series.  On the MSFN forum
in Kernelex thread, they mention instruction extenders for Win98: P6CPU,
P3CPU, and FineSSE.  They are downloadable from the forum, i.e., you need an
acount.  They are on the attachments page on one of the threads there.  I'm
not sure why they aren't on MGDX's site.

On the other older machine (Intel 450Mhz), it's just barely fast enough
anymore to handle the browsers that Kernelex allows running.  It doesn't
seem to have problems with Flash 9 series.  I stopped updating Flash at 10.2
since posts on the MSFN forums say Flash 10.3 needs a much more recent cpu:
Intel Pentium 4 2.33GHz, Athlon 64 2800+.

On my "modern" (it's a few years old now...) machine (2.8Ghz) running as a
single-core (due to Win98), the combination works great, very fast.  But,
you may have issues getting Win98 drivers for your hardware.  I had a
nightmare getting Win98 onto it.  This was mostly because it was using BIOS
IDE emulation, but also needed the SATA inf files (for XP or 2K) to be
installed.  I also had to get a hacked version of video drivers, and disable
on-motherboard sound and ethernet in the BIOS.  Fortunately, I had cards for
both that are Win98 compatible.  You will not have SATA support for
cdroms/dvdroms.  On a modern motherboard, the BIOS will do SATA->IDE
translation for the boot drive only.  You will not have dual-core or
multiple core.  Win98 doesn't support this.  So, you'll have one or more
cores going unused.  I've got the following non-Win98 software running:

Java update 1.6.0 update 26 (w/FF 3.5.19 or IE6)
Mozilla Firefox 3.5.19 w/Java
Mozilla Firefox 4. (no Java)
Opera 11.50 (no Java)
(also IE6 w/Java)
Flash 10.3.181.22 (Moz FF, Opera)
Flash 10.3.181.23 (IE6)
VLC 1.1.10

It looks like I need to update Flash again, 10.3.181.34...

I would recommend the Opera 11.50 browser because it's very fast and it's
less intensive on Win98.  Mozilla Firefox (FF) on the 500Mhz machine does
loads of disk throughput...  However, Mozilla Firefox (FF) has fewer page
rendering errors, but I sometimes get a graphics corruption problems with it
on the modern machine.  I haven't seen this issue on the old machine.  With
the 3.5.x series of FF (last is 3.5.19), you can also use Java.  Java will
not work with Kernelex on Opera or FF 4.0 series.  This is a Kernelex
unsupported issue.  You must disable a setting in the Java control panel
enabling the modern plugin as well as renaming or deleting the modern plugin
Java directory (Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\new_plugin).  The Java install
will fail.  You have to locate the .msi file in the windows directory after
the failure and use it to install.  I haven't tried the FF 5.0 series since
a beta version really messed up my video modes.  That was with 4.5 final
though.

Before installing Kernelex, I would make sure that you've done the
following:
install unicows.exe
install SEPS30B4.EXE
install NUSB33.EXE
http://www.mdgx.com/upd98me.php

You may want to possibly try USB20DRV.EXE too, but it downgrades one USB
file.

Before installing Opera, you may want to do the following too:
install the ethernet drivers
install InstMsiA.exe
set Kernelex's compatibility mode to Win2K instead of WinXP (known mistake)

Some links to InstMsiA in a post here:
http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/20079-bitdefender-72-free/

http://kernelex.sourceforge.net/
http://www.mdgx.com/

> The problem is, Win98 insists on
> wanting to reformat the drive, and I haven't found a way to tell it
> "Install to *this* partition."  It can reformat that all it wants, but
> wiping and redoing the entire machine is more trouble than I feel like
> taking.
>

You probably need a FAT32 partition.  As you stated elsewhere, you have one
for FreeDOS.  Apparently, Win98 install didn't detect it.  That's not good.
The issue *may* be that the FAT32 partition needs to be the first partition.
Alternately, if you had a FAT32 partition with a Windows directory, it might
be detecting the Windows directory.

> One issue may be that I chose to install Win2K on an NTFS file system.
> I found a utility that will convert NTFS->FAT32, and got the impression
> Win98 might just see that as a usable partition and install to it if I
> did so.
>

You can try that.

FYI, I once tried to install to an external USB harddrive.  Win98 install
kept resetting the USB controller.  So, I installed to a harddisk and then
copied to the external USB.  I could never get into Windows, even safe mode.
The harddisk install had USB drivers installed correctly too.


Rod Pemberton

Back to comp.os.msdos.programmer | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Find similar

Thread

Re: How to free DOS memory to run 677k file? DMcCunney <dennis.mccunney@gmail.com> - 2011-07-05 20:30 -0400
  Re: How to free DOS memory to run 677k file? 98 Guy <98@Guy.com> - 2011-07-06 08:49 -0400
    Re: How to free DOS memory to run 677k file? DMcCunney <dennis.mccunney@gmail.com> - 2011-07-06 10:07 -0400
      Re: How to free DOS memory to run 677k file? 98 Guy <98@Guy.com> - 2011-07-06 12:45 -0400
        Re: How to free DOS memory to run 677k file? Jim Leonard <mobygamer@gmail.com> - 2011-07-07 07:40 -0700
  Re: How to free DOS memory to run 677k file? "Rod Pemberton" <do_not_have@noavailemail.cmm> - 2011-07-06 14:09 -0400

csiph-web