I don't think this is possible.
I know Firewire supported this but even then think this is only started in Windows 2000?

You will be much better off gutting a cheap network card for the Win98 tower and at the very least a cross over network cable to run between the 2 computers.
Or you can use Wifi but keep in mind wifi was also in it's early days during the WIn98 era.

Um, you could try an infrared connection? irDA?
Windows 9x freshly supported it, just needs an IR dongle (serial or USB).
Windows 11 still has irDA support, on other hand. Just needs an USB dongle/driver.

There is no USB crossover cable.

If it has to be USB, the best you can do is two USB ethernet adapters connected together. A modern one for the laptop, and one with Windows 98 era drivers for the desktop.

A Windows 98 SE desktop likely has USB 1.1 (11 Mbps and polling driven) only. In early DSL times, the DSL "modem" often had both Ethernet as well as USB. The USB interface was universally understood to be a kludge, and for use only by those too intimidated to open their desktop and add an ethernet card. So, even the most basic RTL8139 card will be better (and probably cheaper!)

jakethompson1 wrote on 2025-06-20, 04:13:

There is no USB crossover cable.

https://usb.brando.com/usb-2-0-netlink-cable_ … 68c032d015.html

😁

Jo22 wrote on 2025-06-20, 04:17:

jakethompson1 wrote on 2025-06-20, 04:13:

There is no USB crossover cable.

https://usb.brando.com/usb-2-0-netlink-cable_ … 68c032d015.html

😁

Fair but that is a "smart" cable with proprietary circuitry in the middle.
By "crossover" I mean something analogous to a null-modem serial cable, or a LapLink parallel cable. Where you literally wire the ports of the two machines together.

jakethompson1 wrote on 2025-06-20, 04:24:

Fair but that is a "smart" cable with proprietary circuitry in the middle.
By "crossover" I mean something analogous to a null-modem serial cable, or a LapLink parallel cable. Where you literally wire the ports of the two machines together.

True, true. But it's not just one proprietary model, but a whole device class.. Of proprietary smart cables! 😆

Seriously, though. I knew them for 25 years. Such cables were among the first USB products I ever saw in catalogues.

Edit: They're from the Windows 98SE and Mac OS 8/9 days, I think.

Jo22 wrote on 2025-06-20, 04:17:

jakethompson1 wrote on 2025-06-20, 04:13:

There is no USB crossover cable.

https://usb.brando.com/usb-2-0-netlink-cable_ … 68c032d015.html

😁

This is exactly what I thought of. I used one of these all the time back 2005-2010 or so, and they work amazingly well. I can't remember if I used mine on Windows 9x though... I think mine was mainly used in XP or maybe Vista.

If it is the same as the one I had: when you connect the cable it acts like you have plugged in an external CD drive with a disc in it. You open the "disc" (or let it autorun), which runs a program on the disc. The program acts as a simple file manager that will allow you to explore and transfer files to\from the PC on the other end.

No networking required and dead simple to operate, assuming there aren't any OS compatibility issues... and that might be your main concern. I vaguely recall seeing devices like these being sold later and advertised with some specific OS requirements (can't remember what they were now). Actually, I should give mine a try some time. My main PC is nowhere near my test bench so I haven't bothered using it in many years. It'd be cool if it still worked between 9x and Windows 10\11.

Since OP mentioned sharing files and discs rather than sharing an internet connection or doing any other networking task, I am inclined to think that this is what he would be looking for.

EDIT: Also, I just remembered a funny thing... my brother and I bought this cable based on a picture online that showed it being a spiffy metallic red. When it arrived, it was sparkly and metallic alright, but it was Barbie pink. Doh. From the moment we opened the box we referred to it as the "Barbie Jump-rope" . 🤣

Anyway, I just found it and it's still as obnoxious looking as it was nearly 20 years ago. I just connected it between my Windows 10 desktop and a Windows 10 laptop, and the EasyCopy-Net program just popped right up and after a few seconds all of the drives\files on either PC are accessible. Copying files is decently fast considering its age. I transferred an 80MB exe file in about 5 seconds.

Honestly, this has me thinking that I should set up a little mini PC at my test bench with this cable connected so I can easily download drivers and programs and transfer them to vintage (USB) systems without having to handle flash drives. Way better than messing around with trying to network every single PC and configuration that I tinker with.

I've known about those cables since 2003, but I didn't see them in use until my employer banned removable storage a few years ago. They're the approved way to transfer data from oscilloscopes now (provided that you have the really fancy ones that run Windows so you can install the software). Finding one with drivers for Windows 98SE might be a problem.

Finding one that works with both Windows 98SE and Windows 11 might very well be impossible

I have a cable based on a Prolific PL-2032 chip, it has drivers for Win98 upto XP only.
Prolific made further models (including USB 3 compatible cable) but they won't work with 98.

Usb-ethernet adapters are cheaper and easier to find.

lolo799 wrote on 2025-06-22, 11:19:

Finding one that works with both Windows 98SE and Windows 11 might very well be impossible […]
Show full quote

Finding one that works with both Windows 98SE and Windows 11 might very well be impossible

I have a cable based on a Prolific PL-2032 chip, it has drivers for Win98 upto XP only.
Prolific made further models (including USB 3 compatible cable) but they won't work with 98.

Usb-ethernet adapters are cheaper and easier to find.

If the Windows 9x PC only has USB 1.1, it will be quite slow, but USB Ethernet adapters will work and are probably the easiest solution. OP would likely need to choose different models for the Windows 11 laptop and the Windows 98SE one due to driver availability. If the Windows 11 laptop already has Ethernet, it is simpler.

On the Windows 98SE front, the Netgear EA101 USB Ethernet adapter should work (for example). On the Windows 11 side, practically anything currently available new will work. If the Ethernet adapter on the Windows 11 side is auto MDI/MDIX (all Gigabit Ethernet adapters are), then any type of Ethernet cable can be used, either a common straight one or a less common cross-over one. In the absence of auto MDI/MDIX on at least one side of the connection, a cross-over Ethernet cable will need to be used.

darry wrote on 2025-06-22, 11:44:

lolo799 wrote on 2025-06-22, 11:19:

Finding one that works with both Windows 98SE and Windows 11 might very well be impossible […]
Show full quote

Finding one that works with both Windows 98SE and Windows 11 might very well be impossible

I have a cable based on a Prolific PL-2032 chip, it has drivers for Win98 upto XP only.
Prolific made further models (including USB 3 compatible cable) but they won't work with 98.

Usb-ethernet adapters are cheaper and easier to find.

If the Windows 9x PC only has USB 1.1, it will be quite slow, but USB Ethernet adapters will work and are probably the easiest solution. OP would likely need to choose different models for the Windows 11 laptop and the Windows 98SE one due to driver availability. If the Windows 11 laptop already has Ethernet, it is simpler.

On the Windows 98SE front, the Netgear EA101 USB Ethernet adapter should work (for example). On the Windows 11 side, practically anything currently available new will work. If the Ethernet adapter on the Windows 11 side is auto MDI/MDIX (all Gigabit Ethernet adapters are), then any type of Ethernet cable can be used, either a common straight one or a less common cross-over one. In the absence of auto MDI/MDIX on at least one side of the connection, a cross-over Ethernet cable will need to be used.

my first usb to ethernet adapter was xircom and that was for windows 9x

twiz11 wrote on 2025-06-23, 00:09:

darry wrote on 2025-06-22, 11:44:

lolo799 wrote on 2025-06-22, 11:19:

Finding one that works with both Windows 98SE and Windows 11 might very well be impossible […]
Show full quote

Finding one that works with both Windows 98SE and Windows 11 might very well be impossible

I have a cable based on a Prolific PL-2032 chip, it has drivers for Win98 upto XP only.
Prolific made further models (including USB 3 compatible cable) but they won't work with 98.

Usb-ethernet adapters are cheaper and easier to find.

If the Windows 9x PC only has USB 1.1, it will be quite slow, but USB Ethernet adapters will work and are probably the easiest solution. OP would likely need to choose different models for the Windows 11 laptop and the Windows 98SE one due to driver availability. If the Windows 11 laptop already has Ethernet, it is simpler.

On the Windows 98SE front, the Netgear EA101 USB Ethernet adapter should work (for example). On the Windows 11 side, practically anything currently available new will work. If the Ethernet adapter on the Windows 11 side is auto MDI/MDIX (all Gigabit Ethernet adapters are), then any type of Ethernet cable can be used, either a common straight one or a less common cross-over one. In the absence of auto MDI/MDIX on at least one side of the connection, a cross-over Ethernet cable will need to be used.

my first usb to ethernet adapter was xircom and that was for windows 9x

Mine was a Linksys USB10T. Mine was white and does not look like most of the ones that come up in google searches for that model. The Netgear EA101 was distributed by at least one major local ISP before DOCSIS modems with USB ports became common. But, either way, almost all those early USB Ethernet adapters were based on a Kawasaki chipset. Here is a more complete list : https://www.os2world.com/wiki/index.php ... _Ethernet)

Shockingly, when I last tried one of them, maybe 2 or 3 years ago, they were still supported in mainline Linux.