VOGONS


First post, by truemaster

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

ive successful install win98se on the following hardware
gigabyte z97m d3h (intel 9 series chipset)
8gb ddr3 ram
i5 4690 3.5 ghz
msi geforce 750ti ovc1 2gb ram
my sblive ct 4830 working ok on every dos game (running from windows dosprompt)
my issues are two the dosprompt if i click it from a shortcut with fullscrean ticked from properties it opens instantly if i run directly the command.com will beep the computer and opens after a minute same goes to dos games too. and no safe mode i try everything but the safe mode wont work. appart from those issues everything is ok any dos game works ok. i also install the universal vbe video driver can this driver give direct 3d acceleration??

Reply 1 of 16, by Jorpho

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Those are the sort of problems you can get when you run Win98 SE with too much RAM. There are many threads about this already. The MS-DOS prompt problems will likely be fixed if you use HIMEMX, but you will have to edit IO.SYS to get Safe Mode working again.

UniVBE has absolutely nothing to do with Direct3D acceleration. You will probably never get Direct3D working in Windows 98 with a card as recent as a GeForce 750ti. Drivers simply do not exist.

Reply 2 of 16, by truemaster

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

first of all thanks for reply. im using himemx.exe without it i would never install it. in config.sys i write device=c:\drv\himemx.exe /max=256000 but the issues with command.com (running minimized) are still there how can i edit io.sys??

Reply 3 of 16, by Jorpho

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++
truemaster wrote:

first of all thanks for reply. im using himemx.exe without it i would never install it.

Rather than leave us guessing, perhaps you can discuss other changes you may have made in the process? Did you make edits to system.ini as well?

how can i edit io.sys??

It is a binary file, so you'll need a hex editor, or you can look for a patch. It looks like you can get it from http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/118097-day-to … than-1-gib-ram/ as "xRayeR_IO.SYS_Patcher.7z", or as "w98iopat.exe" from http://www.tmeeco.eu/9X4EVER/GOODIES/ . This thread suggests you might also need a patch for vcache.vxd.

Reply 4 of 16, by truemaster

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

mm i will be more specific for bypassing the ram errors win98 give from the very start of installation i edit config.sys by writing only device=c:\drv\himemx.exe /max=256000, and my installation goes smooth. about the system.ini i had try with
vcache
maxfilecache=65536
and
386Enh
MaxPhysPage=10000

but with or without editing the system.ini the system runs the same with the said issues

Reply 6 of 16, by Jorpho

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Considering fullscreen mode works properly, I'm guessing it's some kind of video problem. There might conceivably be a fix, but as I said, no one uses a card like the GeForce 750ti in Win9x since there are no drivers available.

Does the problem go away if you use the standard Windows VGA driver?

Reply 8 of 16, by VirtuaIceMan

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

I installed Win98SE into a version of DOSBox that supports Glide, so that I can run Johnny Herbert's Grand Prix. It's a bit of a faff to do so though.

My PC spec: Win10 64bit, i7-4970K (not overclocked), KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, Creative Soundblaster ZXr, 16GB RAM, Asus Z97-A motherboard, NZXT 410 case, ROG Swift GSYNC monitor

Reply 11 of 16, by truemaster

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

the instalation is still going strong. i also use a compatible 9x video card and a soundblaster my mobo has 2 pci-e slots after i use the 6800gs for use with the 98 instalation the issue with slow dosprompt is now gone and i play everything ok. i do this for play old games.

Reply 12 of 16, by Jo22

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

The nice thing on 98SE is, that it still can fall back to the BIOS-level.
So at least the basic stuff does work without installing any drivers.
In a similar fashion, gfx autput does work via VGA BIOS and VESA BIOS.
Fo Win9x, there's VBE9x, which will at least support 2D graphics in high resoultion and high colour-depth.
So unless other board makers follow Intel's plan of the removal of CSM (BIOS emulation) in 2020,
we can enjoy running Win98 natively for the next few years to come.

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 13 of 16, by kjliew

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
Jo22 wrote:

The nice thing on 98SE is, that it still can fall back to the BIOS-level.
So at least the basic stuff does work without installing any drivers.

I think this is bad thing because falling back to BIOS-level means that one is giving up all potential acceleration by the shiny, expensive GPU. It is truely a waste running Win98SE without drivers support. The GeForce GTX 750Ti is a waste to be used as a plain VGA adapter.

Jo22 wrote:

In a similar fashion, gfx autput does work via VGA BIOS and VESA BIOS.
Fo Win9x, there's VBE9x, which will at least support 2D graphics in high resoultion and high colour-depth.

Same here, VBE modes are mostly driven by the CPU, the GPU will likely be sitting idle most of the time.

Reply 15 of 16, by tpowell.ca

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
kjliew wrote:
I think this is bad thing because falling back to BIOS-level means that one is giving up all potential acceleration by the shiny […]
Show full quote
Jo22 wrote:

The nice thing on 98SE is, that it still can fall back to the BIOS-level.
So at least the basic stuff does work without installing any drivers.

I think this is bad thing because falling back to BIOS-level means that one is giving up all potential acceleration by the shiny, expensive GPU. It is truely a waste running Win98SE without drivers support. The GeForce GTX 750Ti is a waste to be used as a plain VGA adapter.

Jo22 wrote:

In a similar fashion, gfx autput does work via VGA BIOS and VESA BIOS.
Fo Win9x, there's VBE9x, which will at least support 2D graphics in high resoultion and high colour-depth.

Same here, VBE modes are mostly driven by the CPU, the GPU will likely be sitting idle most of the time.

Does any of that really matter on an i9 CPU?
I'm assuming you're not running Win9x to play Crysis.

  • Merlin: MS-4144, AMD5x86-160 32MB, 16GB CF, ZIP100, Orpheus, GUS, S3 VirgeGX 2MB
    Tesla: GA-6BXC, VIA C3 Ezra-T, 256MB, 120GB SATA, YMF744, GUSpnp, Quadro2
    Newton: K6XV3+/66, AMD K6-III+500, 256MB, 32GB SSD, AWE32, Voodoo3

Reply 16 of 16, by truemaster

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

dual core, 6 core, 12 core cpu, it doesnt mater the win98se will use only one. you still need a second pci-e slot for a win9x compatible video card. if you have a pci slot you can use a soundblaster too. if not they are usb soundblasters. keep in mind you need to use ahci in sata configuration to install windows 98 the ide mode if your mobo still have it will freeze win98 because are operate in native ide mode not legacy that win98 needs. a patch for sata either ahci or ide is needed for decent speeds. ahci alone without patch will work in compatibility mode which is slow. also make sure you install win98se not fe and use an hdd (not ssd) formated in fat32 32kb cluster and no biger than 120gb, there is also a patch to use an hdd more than 120 gb if you need it.