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HP t5710 and it isn't running Windows 98!

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First post, by jasa1063

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I wanted to try something a bit different with this HP Thin Client, which has become pretty popular as a Windows 98/DOS computer. I picked one up and did try Windows 98 and DOS. Windows 98 worked as expected, but there are issues with DOS sound support and VESA video modes that I ran into. I wiped the IDE DOM (Disk On Module) and thought I would give Windows 2000 a try. I used the following drivers:

Video - Radeon v5.13.01-6043 with the ATI Control Panel (Newer drivers with ATI Catalyst would just crash the system)
Audio - VIA Vinynl v700b
Network - VIA Rhine v384a
Chipset - Via 4in1 v443

I did the following upgrades:

512MB - PC3200 SO-DIMM
32GB - IDE DOM by KingSpec with a Silicon Motion controller rated at 70MBs read and 45MBs write

Everything has worked perfectly so far. The IDE interface on the HP t5710 maxes out to DMA Mode 1 or 16.6MBs, so even though it has a fast SSD it is held back. I have not found this to be an issue though. The video chip is a Radeon 7000m or the RV100 variant, so it lacks hardware Transform & Lighting and only has a single pixel pipeline. Gaming at 640x480 or 800x600 16-bit color seems to work best. I much prefer Windows 2000 to Windows 98 on this platform. It is much more stable and all the programs that I was using on Windows 98 work just as well on Windows 2000.

What about running DOS? I just created a DOS USB Boot stick from an 8GB flash drive using Rufus and copied all my DOS files onto that. Except for the sound and video issues I have run into with some games and programs everything runs as expected. Specifically I have found the following issues.

- FRACTINT will lock up trying any VESA video mode.
- Duke3D will not work with the Sound Blaster emulation
- Flight Simulator 5 has trouble loading files (This maybe an issue with using a DOS USB Boot Stick)
- Chris's 3D SVGA benchmark has visible shearing issues with VESA modes

There maybe others, but those are the ones that come to mind.

I just wanted to pass along that a Windows 2000 build and a DOS USB Boot Stick with this HP Thin Client is a good option in my opinion.

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Reply 1 of 5, by VivienM

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Maybe I am missing something... but... while I very much loved Win2000 back in the day and it was a complete breath of fresh air compared to the disastrous 98SE, what is its advantage/niche as a retro OS (other than pure nostalgia, I guess, for what arguably was the greatest Windows version ever)? Is there any significant software that works on 2000 that does not work on XP? (And there's a huge, huge, huge amount of XP-friendly hardware from newer thin clients to cheap full-fledged C2D/C2Qs or even sandy/ivy bridges...)

Also... I kinda want a T5710 but it seems that they've gotten quite pricy lately.

Reply 2 of 5, by DosFreak

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VivienM wrote on 2023-10-02, 00:16:

Maybe I am missing something... but... while I very much loved Win2000 back in the day and it was a complete breath of fresh air compared to the disastrous 98SE, what is its advantage/niche as a retro OS (other than pure nostalgia, I guess, for what arguably was the greatest Windows version ever)? Is there any significant software that works on 2000 that does not work on XP? (And there's a huge, huge, huge amount of XP-friendly hardware from newer thin clients to cheap full-fledged C2D/C2Qs or even sandy/ivy bridges...)

Also... I kinda want a T5710 but it seems that they've gotten quite pricy lately.

It was stated in the first sentence and the last. Don't OS shame.

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Reply 3 of 5, by VivienM

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DosFreak wrote on 2023-10-02, 00:48:
VivienM wrote on 2023-10-02, 00:16:

Maybe I am missing something... but... while I very much loved Win2000 back in the day and it was a complete breath of fresh air compared to the disastrous 98SE, what is its advantage/niche as a retro OS (other than pure nostalgia, I guess, for what arguably was the greatest Windows version ever)? Is there any significant software that works on 2000 that does not work on XP? (And there's a huge, huge, huge amount of XP-friendly hardware from newer thin clients to cheap full-fledged C2D/C2Qs or even sandy/ivy bridges...)

Also... I kinda want a T5710 but it seems that they've gotten quite pricy lately.

It was stated in the first sentence. Don't OS shame.

Not trying to OS shame - just trying to understand if there's something I'm missing... still new to this retro thing, and still trying to get my head around how some things that were bad back in the day are now good as retro things (see, e.g., the FX5xxx series or VIA chipsets for AMD systems) and things that were good back in the day are now... completely insignificant.

That being said, if this is 'just thought I would do an unusual thing for fun', I can understand that too...

Reply 4 of 5, by jasa1063

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VivienM wrote on 2023-10-02, 00:16:

Maybe I am missing something... but... while I very much loved Win2000 back in the day and it was a complete breath of fresh air compared to the disastrous 98SE, what is its advantage/niche as a retro OS (other than pure nostalgia, I guess, for what arguably was the greatest Windows version ever)? Is there any significant software that works on 2000 that does not work on XP? (And there's a huge, huge, huge amount of XP-friendly hardware from newer thin clients to cheap full-fledged C2D/C2Qs or even sandy/ivy bridges...)

Also... I kinda want a T5710 but it seems that they've gotten quite pricy lately.

The reason for using Windows 2000 vs XP is really very simple...It has lower system requirements than XP does. Later updates to XP added more layers and required a higher end CPU to make it run smoothly. Windows 2000 was a much better fit given the fact the Transmeta Crusoe was not exactly a barn burner on performance. Windows 2000 checked all the boxes for me for this build.

Reply 5 of 5, by ElectroSoldier

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One of the best things about Windows 2000 over XP for us is that it is very much like XP for compatibility but its hardware requirements are a lot more forgiving for the early builds and a lot lot lot more forgiving in the later software builds.

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