Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2026-06-10, 07:40:

Regarding the Vortex 2 and DX8/9, @swaaye did a lot of research and testing over the years. See here for some examples: […]
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Regarding the Vortex 2 and DX8/9, @swaaye did a lot of research and testing over the years. See here for some examples:

Stability of 98SE/Vortex 2 with DirectX 8/9
Re: Windows 98 DirectX 9
Re: Aureal Vortex 2 and Windows ME

Thank you for pointing these out. This is consistent with the advice he gave me via DM (use driver 2015 or older with newer DX versions).

I consider this a compromise, albeit acceptable. If I can run DX 7.0a, that’s probably the best case scenario for the Aureal. I can install driver 2041 and see if the games I want to play behave. If they don’t, I can experiment with a different driver version.

If I go for an Aureal/nVidia combo, in that particular instance I would use DX 9 because I’d want to avail myself of the GeForce FX’s features. In that case, I would use Aureal driver 2015 per swaaye’s suggestion.

AndreaColombo86 wrote on 2026-06-10, 08:02:

Thank you for pointing these out. This is consistent with the advice he gave me via DM (use driver 2015 or older with newer DX versions).

Be careful, as newer games like Deus Ex might not enable A3D 2.0 with (some) older drivers. I think I was using driver version 2000 when Deus Ex failed my A3D 2.0 test. Upgrading to 2041 solved that.

So yeah, the Vortex 2 driver situation can be a bit messy. Regardless of DirectX version used, the driver which works best with one game (e.g. Thief) might cause issues with another game (e.g. Deus Ex). With Unreal Engine games, you may want to check the relevant log files to ensure that A3D 2.0 is actually being used.

Ah, that is very interesting because Deus Ex is one of those games where I’d be genuinely torn where to play. The V5 seems like an obvious choice because of Glide support, but the card itself may not have enough muscle for it. Then again, if I use the FX, I’m stuck with driver 2015 which may not work.

If you are looking to do multiple combinations of GPU and sound card, another option is three (or more) Windows 98 installs. Each one can be specifically configured for hardware and driver versions.

Shponglefan wrote on 2026-06-10, 11:30:

If you are looking to do multiple combinations of GPU and sound card, another option is three (or more) Windows 98 installs. Each one can be specifically configured for hardware and driver versions.

Potentially silly question here, but I’ll never learn if I don’t ask—can I do that with a single Win98SE license or do I need to buy multiple?

AndreaColombo86 wrote on 2026-06-10, 11:48:

Potentially silly question here, but I’ll never learn if I don’t ask—can I do that with a single Win98SE license or do I need to buy multiple?

Are you asking what is legal or what is practical?

From a legal perspective you'd have to read the license agreement.

From a practical perspective you can install the same copy of Windows 98 as many times as you want. The software has no way of knowing how many times a license key has been used.

If I do the multiple installations, mustn’t I also divide the HDD into multiple partitions, one per installation?

I mean, I reckon from your suggestion that the answer is “no”; I just want to understand how the two solution differ from a technical standpoint 😊

Yes, you'll need a partition per install. And a bootloader to manage which OS to run.

This is why I recommended BootIt Bare Metal for partition management and bootloader. It makes it trivial to create and manage multiple OS installs.

Awesome! Thank you very much ☺️

Apologies, I didn't read all of the replies in this thread very thoroughly but to be honest I genuinely don't understand the issue. Do you really need so many separate win 98 installs?

I'm in progress with my own build, which is a bit crazy and very similar to yours. I have Audigy 2 zs and Diamond MX300, Voodoo 3 PCI and GF 4 MX 440 in the same machine. And in my case, everything seems to... just work. I installed the recommended versions of all the drivers, and used a guide from this forum for Creative Audigy ones. When I change the primary video card in BIOS and reconnect the VGA cable, I'm getting the proper video. When I switch between preferred audio cards in control panel the audio output is redirected. The drivers (and alongside, their system tray icons) seem to load and unload as needed.

Am I missing some future problems with this setup? So far I've only tested StarCraft and Unreal Tournament, no A3D specific games (the demos work great though). I do have directX 7.0a not 9, but I thought there are some tools that allow you to swap between the versions as needed? Do those work under windows 98?

Feallan wrote on 2026-06-10, 16:37:

Am I missing some future problems with this setup? So far I've only tested StarCraft and Unreal Tournament, no A3D specific games (the demos work great though). I do have directX 7.0a not 9, but I thought there are some tools that allow you to swap between the versions as needed? Do those work under windows 98?

Can't speak for the OP, but I researched running both an A3D card and Creative Labs (EAX) card for my Pentium 4 build. What I came across is potential issues with the A3D.DLL file. The reason is that both Creative Labs Audigy drivers and Aureal (or Diamond) Vortex2 drivers install their own version of that A3D.DLL file.

Apparently one option people have used to manage this is running script files to copy the correct (expected) version when running games used by different cards. The other option is having separate Windows installs.

In my own experience, I opted to run two Windows 98 installs each configured for the respective sound cards. From experience I can say this has been an elegant solution. And if anything goes wrong with one of the Windows 98 installs, it won't affect the other install.

I installed the Diamond card and the Areal drivers after I already had the Audigy, so I suppose I have the Aureal version of the DLL. Anyway, don't you want to always play A3D games with the A3D card?