Right now I really want to get Windows 98 emulation working (my version is SE), after my close attempt with DOSBox-X from last summer, but I'm torn as to how I should approach it. VirtualBox, Virtual PC 2007, and VMWare are basically out since my PC isn't that great, and it runs Windows 10 which is why I can't use Virtual PC. I don't want to even try Hyper-V (and I don't even think 98 will run on it). I've also heard that PCEm is too slow, even for basic operations. So basically, my three choices are DOSBox-X, QEMU, and Bochs.
I tried DOSBox-X during the start of this summer. It worked well for the most part - a few problems here and there (I also used the 32-bit version as the 64-bit version has no dynamic core option), but everything worked for the most part as far as I know. However, one thing that I was never able to get working properly was the network connection. DOSBox-X, as well as other builds of DOSBox, support internet connection via NE2000, which requires WinPCap to work. I've installed WinPCap, but I couldn't figure out how to get the network working (is it supposed to be an automatic process?) I would like to know to make sure that I'm doing it right so I can be properly connected.
Then there's QEMU, which is more designed for Windows 98. I've got the latest version of QEMU, and I've figured out a little how to use the command line (via some webpages), but the emulation seems very flawed. In particular, the sound. It doesn't work at all - Windows 98 freezes during the duration that it should play sound. There are also several random restarts/crashes or restarting to a non-moving boot screen (which I need to restart QEMU), which might be related to the SB16, but I am not sure. I can't install any other audio drivers that will work. I haven't checked if it can do the network, however. I am confused, seeing as I know a lot of people who have used QEMU successfully to emulate Windows 98, complete with sound and network and everything, but there's almost nothing on the internet that I can find about the major SB16 sound problems I am having. Is it just related to the Windows version, and the Linux version works perfectly? Or should I use a different version of QEMU or QEMU's drivers or enable or disable QVM? I don't know.
My third and final option is Bochs, a similar emulator to QEMU. However, I am having trouble with two things: getting the network to run properly and properly mounting a 2GB disk image (which I created with bximage). In both cases, I get an error message, and I don't know how to set the internet settings correctly to get it to work. In particular, how do I put in the correct numbers and settings? Should I use an ethernet cable for network? I apparently have one, but it's "unplugged" from my PC so I can't use it. I also know there's two options: NE2000 (with WinPCap) and "slirp" - which one should I use? As for the
So, which one is the best of the three? And can I resolve the sound/restart issues in QEMU, and/or get the network getting in one of these? I would really like to finally proceed with an emulated Windows 98 experience.