I would go with Windows 95 OSR2, in my experience that was on everything from '97 into '98. Although definitely not OSR2.5, as it bloats W95 and turns it more into W98-lite.

As for the SATA to IDE, I don't use them but I don't think it would work. Windows 95 doesn't know what SATA/AHCI is, and neither would the BIOS of the board, so you couldn't set it to IDE compatibility mode. I prefer to go with period/capacity accurate IDE HDDs, but this can be frustrating as they're quite expensive these days sold on their own. Literally all the ones I have are from buying entire vintage computers, where the seller did not remove them.

Also, 128MB is a lot for that era. For a P133 I would say 16MB or 32MB would be appropriate - could later up it to 64 and 128 to simulate "upgrading" over time, depending on how much you care about that kinda thing. You can basically replicate this without buying any more RAM by limiting it in the OS. Edit C:\Windows\System.ini, and add "MaxPhysPage=xxxxx" under the [386Enh] section. The value is hexadecimal so 16MB would be MaxPhysPage=01000, 32MB: MaxPhysPage=02000, 64MB: MaxPhysPage=04000, etc.

giantenemycat wrote on 2026-03-21, 14:18:

I would go with Windows 95 OSR2, in my experience that was on everything from '97 into '98. Although definitely not OSR2.5, as it bloats W95 and turns it more into W98-lite.

As for the SATA to IDE, I don't use them but I don't think it would work. Windows 95 doesn't know what SATA/AHCI is, and neither would the BIOS of the board, so you couldn't set it to IDE compatibility mode. I prefer to go with period/capacity accurate IDE HDDs, but this can be frustrating as they're quite expensive these days sold on their own. Literally all the ones I have are from buying entire vintage computers, where the seller did not remove them.

Also, 128MB is a lot for that era. For a P133 I would say 16MB or 32MB would be appropriate - could later up it to 64 and 128 to simulate "upgrading" over time, depending on how much you care about that kinda thing. You can basically replicate this without buying any more RAM by limiting it in the OS. Edit C:\Windows\System.ini, and add "MaxPhysPage=xxxxx" under the [386Enh] section. The value is hexadecimal so 16MB would be MaxPhysPage=01000, 32MB: MaxPhysPage=02000, 64MB: MaxPhysPage=04000, etc.

Thanks a lot!
Yeah I imagined, so I'm out of luck with the HDD right? Any alternatives not being buying an IDE HDD?
The converted worked wonders with Win98.
I just bought a S3 Trio 64v2 for cheap to pair with it, will do that ram limit thing when I get it plugged and working. 😀

daeds wrote on 2026-03-21, 21:05:

Thanks a lot! Yeah I imagined, so I'm out of luck with the HDD right? Any alternatives not being buying an IDE HDD? The converte […]
Show full quote

Thanks a lot!
Yeah I imagined, so I'm out of luck with the HDD right? Any alternatives not being buying an IDE HDD?
The converted worked wonders with Win98.
I just bought a S3 Trio 64v2 for cheap to pair with it, will do that ram limit thing when I get it plugged and working. 😀

I think I just don't know enough about it, because to my understanding it shouldn't have worked with your SOLTEK SL-85SD-C/Windows 98 PC either for the same reasons. Maybe the drive can put itself into compatibility mode? Either that, or the converter is doing some kinda magic. Worth a try hooking it up with this one just to see, but another consideration is the 32GB HDD limit a lot of boards through the 90s had.

I just had a look, and the IDE HDD prices actually aren't actually that bad after all. It's when you start looking for specific models and lower capacities that it can start to get hairy. 10GB and higher drives are quite cheap, I'd recommend just going that route honestly. The S3 Trio 64v2 is a good shout - S3 Virge series would have been more common at that point, but they're more or less the same thing really.

daeds wrote on 2026-03-21, 21:05:

Yeah I imagined, so I'm out of luck with the HDD right? Any alternatives not being buying an IDE HDD?

Your SATA-IDE converter will probably work at some level, especially if you aren't picky about getting MWDMA/UDMA working.

giantenemycat wrote on 2026-03-21, 22:40:

Worth a try hooking it up with this one just to see, but another consideration is the 32GB HDD limit a lot of boards through the 90s had.

This is old enough it probably has an 8.4GB limit. Unlike the Award 32GB bug (where the BIOS locks up parsing the Identify information), you can simply use an oversized drive as if it were 8.4GB and it will work fine.

jakethompson1 wrote on 2026-03-22, 00:45:

This is old enough it probably has an 8.4GB limit. Unlike the Award 32GB bug (where the BIOS locks up parsing the Identify information), you can simply use an oversized drive as if it were 8.4GB and it will work fine.

I looked earlier on Gigabyte's own site, and they say "Support 32GB capacity below HDD" in the latest BIOS revision. It's a little hard to figure out what the hell they really mean by that.

giantenemycat wrote on 2026-03-22, 01:11:

jakethompson1 wrote on 2026-03-22, 00:45:

This is old enough it probably has an 8.4GB limit. Unlike the Award 32GB bug (where the BIOS locks up parsing the Identify information), you can simply use an oversized drive as if it were 8.4GB and it will work fine.

I looked earlier on Gigabyte's own site, and they say "Support 32GB capacity below HDD" in the latest BIOS revision. It's a little hard to figure out what the hell they really mean by that.

Hi daeds, giantenemycat,

They meant to say that the latest BIOS supports IDE drives up to 32GB. 😉

I’ve looked at the latest GA-586STX Ver. 1.9 BIOS (07/30/98) on TRW and it has indeed IDE HDD support up to 32GB. But this limit can be patched for full 128GiB/136GB IDE drives support. Let me know if you want to have this fix.

This 586STX board has native low Vcore and K6-2 support up to 450MHz (overclocked up to 500MHz). So if you want to play more demanding titles, this board has you covered. You only need to replace the Pentium 133 by a K6-2/500.
For K6-2+/III+ support, the BIOS needs to be patched as well. This patch is a lot more time consuming, so I will do that work only if you really need K6plus support.

Note that the “Auto voltage” function on this board is done completely in hardware and there is no BIOS Vcore control. This function is rather limited and can only switch automatically between 2.8V dual-voltage CPUs and 3.5V single-voltage parts like your Pentium 133. For all other CPUs with different Vcore requirements, you have to set the voltage manually via the DIP-switches!

Cheers, Jan

Pentium-s is displayed on the post screen because the -s is an acronym for sample.
It isn't the CPU, its the microcode instructions in the motherboard BIOS.
Engineers used the sample code instead of the release code for some reason.
It's probably impossible to get someone to update them now.

zapbuzz wrote on 2026-03-22, 14:11:

Pentium-s is displayed on the post screen because the -s is an acronym for sample. It isn't the CPU, its the microcode instructi […]
Show full quote

Pentium-s is displayed on the post screen because the -s is an acronym for sample.
It isn't the CPU, its the microcode instructions in the motherboard BIOS.
Engineers used the sample code instead of the release code for some reason.
It's probably impossible to get someone to update them now.

I don't think this is the case.
The -S seems to be an Award convention for SL-enabled CPUs originating with later 486 CPUs. For example, Am5x86-P75-S.
I have no idea why this was carried forward with Pentium CPUs.

jakethompson1 wrote on 2026-03-22, 17:22:

I don't think this is the case. The -S seems to be an Award convention for SL-enabled CPUs originating with later 486 CPUs. For […]
Show full quote

zapbuzz wrote on 2026-03-22, 14:11:

Pentium-s is displayed on the post screen because the -s is an acronym for sample. It isn't the CPU, its the microcode instructi […]
Show full quote

Pentium-s is displayed on the post screen because the -s is an acronym for sample.
It isn't the CPU, its the microcode instructions in the motherboard BIOS.
Engineers used the sample code instead of the release code for some reason.
It's probably impossible to get someone to update them now.

I don't think this is the case.
The -S seems to be an Award convention for SL-enabled CPUs originating with later 486 CPUs. For example, Am5x86-P75-S.
I have no idea why this was carried forward with Pentium CPUs.

I was an owner of a pc with it and the -s disappeared when the BIOS was updated unofficially with additional support for disk capacity increase plus i had noticed improvement.
I'd have to take you back in time to show you where and how it happened.

Those strings are looked up in a table in the bios, they can say anything.

I also understand the -S as SL enhanced.

They probably updated the strings in the updated bios, seeing that the -S had no significance for a pentium board.

from what i found my unofficial socket 7 modified bios lied to me.
Actually, the term "Pentium-S" does not refer to sample microcode. Instead, it is a designation typically used by Award BIOS to identify Socket 7 Pentium processors that include power-saving features (specifically SMM, or System Management Mode).

Thanks everyone! Will let you know how it works when it arrives.
Hopefully I can play some Starcraft and Diablo with the S3. 😀
What will be the best way to install Windows as I don't have, for now, a CDROM or a Floppy drive?
Can I connect the HDD to my modern PC and copy the files there as I did with my Win98 machine?

System management mode came at the same time as the power saving features; maybe the one implies the other, as the CPU needs to enter system management mode to be able to perform those "SL enhanced" tasks.

Not all 486es support it, but all (?) Pentiums should (perhaps with the exception of the very early 60/66 models witth the broken FPU's? Anybody knows for sure?)

Totally forgot that this thread is not about system management mode...

If I had such a 133 I wanted to do something nostalgic with, I would put win95 on it, as I did with my DX4-100. (95A, would put 95B on a Pentium)

I do have a 120, I stuffed it with 256MB and it runs linux 2.4...

A pentium as a nostalgic windows machine is a difficult concept for me, as I never had one. The stuff I would play on a Pentium runs better on a PII. The pentiums do make nice linux machines for doing network related tasks, though, so that's what I do with mine.

Putting too much RAM will exceed the max cacheable area of the chipset, slightly hindering performance (but swap is still slower if you actually need the RAM)

Even when the RAM is still cacheable, I remember it sometimes felt as if more RAM made a machine ever so slightly "slower" / less responsive at times when that RAM was not used. I wonder if the larger page table structure could be to blame for that. Maybe one day we should test it out with the maxpage directives...

Anyway, a 133 with a Trio64V2, a late model Vibra based sound blaster and something mechanical between 1.2GB and 2.1GB is right on the money.

st31276a wrote on 2026-03-23, 07:48:

Totally forgot that this thread is not about system management mode... […]
Show full quote

Totally forgot that this thread is not about system management mode...

If I had such a 133 I wanted to do something nostalgic with, I would put win95 on it, as I did with my DX4-100. (95A, would put 95B on a Pentium)

I do have a 120, I stuffed it with 256MB and it runs linux 2.4...

A pentium as a nostalgic windows machine is a difficult concept for me, as I never had one. The stuff I would play on a Pentium runs better on a PII. The pentiums do make nice linux machines for doing network related tasks, though, so that's what I do with mine.

Putting too much RAM will exceed the max cacheable area of the chipset, slightly hindering performance (but swap is still slower if you actually need the RAM)

Even when the RAM is still cacheable, I remember it sometimes felt as if more RAM made a machine ever so slightly "slower" / less responsive at times when that RAM was not used. I wonder if the larger page table structure could be to blame for that. Maybe one day we should test it out with the maxpage directives...

Anyway, a 133 with a Trio64V2, a late model Vibra based sound blaster and something mechanical between 1.2GB and 2.1GB is right on the money.

Will have to buy a smaller RAM stick for sure soon enough hehe,
What Soundblaster would you recommend?

daeds wrote on 2026-03-23, 09:21:

What Soundblaster would you recommend?

There be dragons here....

There are many many variants and no "perfect" one exists

For a sound blaster, a Vibra (CT250x chip) based one would be age appropriate.

I have a CT2940 with OPL synth in my P3 that "just works" and does not bother me personally with any quirks it might or might not have.

I also still have the CT2980 with CQM synth that I grew up with in my DX4-100, added later as part of an upgrade box called "SB16 Value" - 8x Creative cdrom, sound card, ide cable, passive speakers, some cd's all came in the box. The CQM synth does not grate me personally, as that is how adlib is supposed to sound in my mind. The OPL synth that the purists all agree sounds correct, sounds off to me because it is not my primary reference. (and a synth is still just a synth)

Both are Vibra 2502 based cards. Both are according to me great cards.

Many will disagree and that is OK. Use whatever you like or have on hand 😀

Well! It arrived and works flawlessly, now, to my doubt!
How to install Win95 OSR2 on it?
Atm I don't have an IDE drive nor CDROM, just my sata cdrom and sata HDD with the adapter, only 1 adapter though.
Any easy way around this? 🙁

daeds wrote on 2026-03-26, 18:59:

Well! It arrived and works flawlessly, now, to my doubt! How to install Win95 OSR2 on it? Atm I don't have an IDE drive nor CDRO […]
Show full quote

Well! It arrived and works flawlessly, now, to my doubt!
How to install Win95 OSR2 on it?
Atm I don't have an IDE drive nor CDROM, just my sata cdrom and sata HDD with the adapter, only 1 adapter though.
Any easy way around this? 🙁

I'm guessing you don't have a floppy drive either?

I think there is a way. You would need to format the drive to FAT32 in another PC, then put the attached boot files onto it.

Make sure you have the Windows Explorer settings set as below, or you won't see everything needed.

Then take all the contents from the OSR2 CD and put them in a folder called "W95" or something like that. Assuming you have at least Windows 10, you should be able to mount the .ISO file directly just by double clicking on it, and copy and paste the files from there.

After all that, the drive should look like this:

Then it should boot into DOS when you start the PC. Finally, just type "cd w95", and "setup". Should start the Windows 95 installer. Assuming you get this far and it actually plays nicely with your converter, like Windows 98 did.

giantenemycat wrote on 2026-03-26, 19:35:

I'm guessing you don't have a floppy drive either? […]
Show full quote

daeds wrote on 2026-03-26, 18:59:

Well! It arrived and works flawlessly, now, to my doubt! How to install Win95 OSR2 on it? Atm I don't have an IDE drive nor CDRO […]
Show full quote

Well! It arrived and works flawlessly, now, to my doubt!
How to install Win95 OSR2 on it?
Atm I don't have an IDE drive nor CDROM, just my sata cdrom and sata HDD with the adapter, only 1 adapter though.
Any easy way around this? 🙁

I'm guessing you don't have a floppy drive either?

I think there is a way. You would need to format the drive to FAT32 in another PC, then put the attached boot files onto it.

The attachment boot.zip is no longer available

Make sure you have the Windows Explorer settings set as below, or you won't see everything needed.

The attachment tg44t.PNG is no longer available

Then take all the contents from the OSR2 CD and put them in a folder called "W95" or something like that. Assuming you have at least Windows 10, you should be able to mount the .ISO file directly just by double clicking on it, and copy and paste the files from there.

After all that, the drive should look like this:

The attachment r3r3rr.PNG is no longer available

Then it should boot into DOS when you start the PC. Finally, just type "cd w95", and "setup". Should start the Windows 95 installer. Assuming you get this far and it actually plays nicely with your converter, like Windows 98 did.

Didn't think about copying the boot files haha. I already have a fat32 partition marked as active with 8gb (for the limit purpose), hopefully it will work!
The "Finding primary Master" thing, if it doesn't go away, what can I do? I only have the adapter thingy and it's set for master.
Thanks a lot!
PS: I do have a floppy, and some floppies around, not sure if it works though. 😐