Is it a 133 FSB CPU? Maybe FSB/PCI dividers are not set correct (may have been set to /3 at an earlier occasion)

A 150W PSU seems a bit on the weak side for a 1GHz system. Try something in the 250-300W range.

Also, if you haven't done it already, boot from a floppy and run Memtest for 24 hours straight. Some memory errors take longer to show up.

The PSU might be a little anemic for your setup. I mean, I remember early Pentiums having sub-200W power supplies, but past Pentium II we were pretty solidly in the 230 - 300W range depending on the system.

Not sure if that would cause the system to reboot, ViA chipsets were also a bit of a hassle back in the day, albeit you would probably be in the clear by now with all the latest BIOS updates and 4in1 being available from the get-go.

...and yes, your individual parts may be fine, but that doesn't mean they'll work together.

To rule out whether Win9x / Via 4-in-1 are causing this or hardware (memory/PSU), grab an old copy of Knoppix (v4 or 5) and boot from that. If it's software, Knoppix should be rock-solid. If it's hardware it will be at least as bad. Knoppix CDs come with memtest86, so you can have that covered too without messing around with floppies

First of all, Thanks for the replies ^^

H3nrik V! wrote on 2025-01-13, 11:27:

Is it a 133 FSB CPU? Maybe FSB/PCI dividers are not set correct (may have been set to /3 at an earlier occasion)

Dividers / jumpers etc are correct

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-01-13, 11:33:

A 150W PSU seems a bit on the weak side for a 1GHz system. Try something in the 250-300W range.

Also, if you haven't done it already, boot from a floppy and run Memtest for 24 hours straight. Some memory errors take longer to show up.

Did already with a 500W one

leonardo wrote on 2025-01-13, 11:34:

The PSU might be a little anemic for your setup. I mean, I remember early Pentiums having sub-200W power supplies, but past Pentium II we were pretty solidly in the 230 - 300W range depending on the system.

Not sure if that would cause the system to reboot, ViA chipsets were also a bit of a hassle back in the day, albeit you would probably be in the clear by now with all the latest BIOS updates and 4in1 being available from the get-go.

...and yes, your individual parts may be fine, but that doesn't mean they'll work together.

Here we go, i just had another BSOD.........-__-"

Shoot a picture at the BSOD, just in case you can figure out what this can be. ( This time happened during Win98SE setup )

dionb wrote on 2025-01-13, 11:45:

To rule out whether Win9x / Via 4-in-1 are causing this or hardware (memory/PSU), grab an old copy of Knoppix (v4 or 5) and boot from that. If it's software, Knoppix should be rock-solid. If it's hardware it will be at least as bad. Knoppix CDs come with memtest86, so you can have that covered too without messing around with floppies

Knoppix v5? All right, downloading right now. I usually use HBCD / FalconFour Boot CD, but i hope this will help me out

_StIwY_ wrote on 2025-01-13, 13:55:

Here we go, i just had another BSOD.........-__-"

Shoot a picture at the BSOD, just in case you can figure out what this can be. ( This time happened during Win98SE setup )

Deselect "Microsoft Backup" when installing. Those two files named are installed/used by Microsoft Backup.

"motherboard capacitors are like new" means they visually look fine?

Yawnald wrote on 2025-01-13, 14:55:

"motherboard capacitors are like new" means they visually look fine?

Yes, caps are clean and flat

Do you have a PCI video card you could try instead of the Voodoo?

All right so....Knoppix V5 works perfectly fine ( i didn't find the memtest86+...not used to use Linux based OS ).

I also forgot to disable the Onboard Audio thropugh the Jumper ( but was already disabled in the BIOS ). Plus, this time i manually chosen the BUS 133/33. Anyway i doubt these things were a problem.

Anyway.....i managed to install everything, i've already did 5-6 times the reset and no more freezes and BSOD ( for now ), even with the 150W PSU.

So i'm going to leave the PC under memtest86 for at least 6 hours, and i'll let you know...still skeptical. Maybe it is some remote incompatibility within these components together

RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2025-01-13, 15:16:

Do you have a PCI video card you could try instead of the Voodoo?

I already put another video card, but got the previous BSOD during Win98SE setup

_StIwY_ wrote on 2025-01-13, 15:17:

All right so....Knoppix V5 works perfectly fine ( i didn't find the memtest86+...not used to use Linux based OS ).

It's in the boot menu, default is 'boot Knoppix', one or two options below that is 'memtest86+'

Yup. It a software driver issue.
Rub MSD and Check IRQ settings
Could be the game port or sound card
Check all the IRQs of ports in bios
Also check your CPU settings
Memory timing settings
Use bios default settings
Remove battery and clear CMOS settings
Check you Memory sticks. And put in correct banks
Use a CF card and reader
I like this one it comes with a bracket to mount in front or rear of case.

Hello again, after the overnight Memorytest86 gave no errors.....so the mystery continues.

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2025-01-13, 15:35:

Yup. It a software driver issue. Rub MSD and Check IRQ settings Could be the game port or sound card Check all the IRQs of ports […]
Show full quote

Yup. It a software driver issue.
Rub MSD and Check IRQ settings
Could be the game port or sound card
Check all the IRQs of ports in bios
Also check your CPU settings
Memory timing settings
Use bios default settings
Remove battery and clear CMOS settings
Check you Memory sticks. And put in correct banks
Use a CF card and reader
I like this one it comes with a bracket to mount in front or rear of case.

I already did everything you mentioned, except using a CF card and checking for IRQ conflicts

Soo... how exactly did you disable ACPI (from your first post)? Did you do it in BIOS or did you launch Windows installation with setup /p i ? ...or both?

Also, for some hardware, you have to reverse the Plug&Play compatible OS setting for the best outcome, and no - it's not reliably Enabled/Disabled. My favorite case so far is one where I have to start the setup with the setting on, then turn it off once in Windows to allow all the hardware to operate well.

My friend, what you are experiencing is what we all used to live thru in the 90's: It should work, but it does not, WHY DOES IT NOT WORK?! Ahhh.. the "good" old days. 😉

leonardo wrote on 2025-01-14, 11:38:

Soo... how exactly did you disable ACPI (from your first post)? Did you do it in BIOS or did you launch Windows installation with setup /p i ? ...or both?

Also, for some hardware, you have to reverse the Plug&Play compatible OS setting for the best outcome, and no - it's not reliably Enabled/Disabled. My favorite case so far is one where I have to start the setup with the setting on, then turn it off once in Windows to allow all the hardware to operate well.

My friend, what you are experiencing is what we all used to live thru in the 90's: It should work, but it does not, WHY DOES IT NOT WORK?! Ahhh.. the "good" old days. 😉

Yes, i disabled them through the BIOS ( there are no jumpers or switches in the motherboard ).

Plug&Play compatible OS, afaik it's better to leave it Enabled on Win95 and onwards, right? But i'll try to disable it....in the meanwhile, i'll try to use the PC regularly and see what happens

Maybe you wrote it already. How do you install W98? Clean CD/DVD? Copy files to drive and launch setup.exe?
I had that issue with a not so compatible drivers for the chipset. Maybe slipstream the chipset drivers in the installation CD, folder.

Just boot off a DOS floppy into DOS
Let it run DOS benchmarks for a day or more.
And see if it crashes.
Or try another OS like WinNT
If it does NOT crash then its a Win98 issue
Where did you get your copy of Win98 ?
The Sound Blaster AWE64 will work with the Default AWE32 Drivers that come included in Win98 installation CD