xtreger wrote on 2023-11-18, 15:49:
Aiii.. so the search continues. Everyone has been very helpful, but I'm afraid a beginner like me can't make sense of something like "socket so and so motherboard will have Award BIOS". Since it's tough for me to know which have Win98 compatibility. If you know any specific examples, could you help me out? Pliss
Here is how I think you should approach the problem:
1. Pick a platform. Socket 478, Socket A/462, Socket 754 are probably the simplest for a late 98 machine. Add socket 370 or even Slot 1 if you wanted to go a bit older on the Intel side. LGA775 is trickier - the i865 boards with good processor support are now rare/expensive, the other chipsets throw you into PCI-E/SATA/DDR2 land. And the newer you go, the fewer Award BIOSes and the more work will be required to get 98SE running happily.
2. Pick a chipset. Some chipsets are going to be more problematic than others, e.g. I think Via is preferable to nForce for Windows 98. Others may correct me on that one.
3. Once you've got a platform/chipset in mind, look for motherboards you can actually buy with that combination (remember, we're talking things that were made 18-23 years ago - supply is going to be spotty, not to mention a lot of socket 462 boards in particular would have fallen victim to bad caps 15 years ago and been e-wasted), then (assuming the manufacturer is still around, e.g. MSI/Asus/Gigabyte) download their manuals and take a look. You can tell very quickly from the manual if it has an Award or AMI BIOS; the manual may even have a photo of the exact startup screen if you want to confirm it has the energy star logo (I suspect all Award BIOSes do... but... that might be wrong). You can also tell quite quickly from the manual and the downloads section of the manufacturer web site whether it is officially supported for 98SE or not.
(Also, before you buy anything, confirm you can get a compatible processor you like and a heat sink fan for the processor. Socket 478 or even LGA775 HSFs are not plentiful at the local computer store anymore...)