On a 486 with low RAM I would think the original Windows 95 (without IE) would be cool to have for simple gaming. Once you get into the later releases of 95 OEMSR2 you might as well go with WIn98 SE. Its not like you need USB and AGP on systems that pre date those.

I think I have every version of Win 95 on original CDs and floppies (Retail, OEM, upgrades), there are quite a few varieties.

Is there an un official Win 95 rollup like there is for Win2k (called SP5)? I don't have any luck using windows updates on new installs for anything pre XP anymore.

How big is the speed penalty when running DOS games under Win95 on a 486? As I see it Win9x is valuable for running DOS games because it's generally compatible and takes care of memory management and device drivers. Just plugging in a USB gamepad is so convenient! The only major drawback that I'm aware of is the inability to run some/most/all (?) TSRs.

Unknown_K wrote:

...Is there an un official Win 95 rollup like there is for Win2k (called SP5)? I don't have any luck using windows updates on new installs for anything pre XP anymore.

You can check here - loads of unofficial / official stuff:
http://www.mdgx.com/web.htm#OS1

leonardo wrote:

If you follow the guide, you will effectively end up with OSR2.5. That is, if I recall correctly, the USB supplements and some other patches combined make up the latest OSR2 series release.

If someone is already using OSR 2.5, do the USB patches need to be installed? Do they add any driver, feature, stability, etc?

I installed USB patches updating W95 OSR2 to 2.5. Not 100% certain if a vanilla 2.5 install has the USB features, but it certainly didn't with W95a or W95b [which is OSR2 I believe].

The trio of patches [USB supplement/USB update/USB Flash update] are the only way I've found to enable USB and USB flash drives, and even then it' can get a bit tricky. And though I tried I was never able to get USB2 to work on any W95 rig, just 1.1 - not bad though.

According to these to sites,
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/181661
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/189144
Usbsupp.exe and USBUPD2.EXE are included on the OSR 2.5 disc. I suspect they still need to be manually clicked and installed, but I am not certain.

The unofficial service pack 1 website lists a different file for USB, USBSTR95.EXE
http://www.mdgx.com/web.htm#OSR2

What is the difference?

EDIT1: I cannot seem to download USBSTR95.EXE. Does anyone have this?
EDIT2: If you sign up for this forum, you can download it here: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/109521-usb-st … for-windows-95/

That makes sense or the whole mystery surrounding W95 and USB would have been a lot clearer a long time ago - just install 2.5...

Re USBSTR95.exe I can't shed any light. I install USBsupp.exe, then USBupd2.exe and the USBflash packet last.

Where do I obtain the "USBflash packet"?

Can I ask how you guys managed to get USB 1.1 support for flash drives going in windows 95? Did you search for compatible usb sticks? Or did you find a working generic driver somewhere? I tried it once but was unable to get it to work, so I use windows 98SE on all my retro pc's.

edit: oops, sorry, I think I missed the second page here 😊

I simply installed, in this order,

usbsupp.exe
usbupd2.exe
usbstr95.exe

I beleive the first two are the drivers for the USB open host controller interface (OHCI), and the 3rd file contains generic drivers for mass storage devices, such as pen drives, USB HDDs, and USB FDDs.

tincup wrote:

And though I tried I was never able to get USB2 to work on any W95 rig, just 1.1 - not bad though.

I was able to use an NEC 2.0 card in Win95c, however it no longer worked upon reboot. Before reboot, it did successfully transfer files, however I do not know if the files transfered at USB 1 or USB 2 speeds. I tried a VIA USB 2.0 card, however some files must have became corrupt and Win95 freezes on boot (at Starting Windows 95...). It could have something to do with cancelling scandisk from the previous boot though.

Yes all that, though you got a bit further with USB2 than I was able to.. NEC based cards seem the best. After experimenting on and off for several months with different drivers, updates, install sequences and a variety of USB2 cards/chipsets I finally gave up and left 'good enough alone'...

A bit off topic, but was there ever a retail version of Windows 95 OSR2 released?

No.

Looks like some of the software I advertised as great add-ons for a Windows 95 system have become difficult if not impossible to locate online. For this reason I've decided to update the initial post with direct links as they're all either shareware (remember shareware?!), freeware, or open source.

All the linked software will run on Windows 95 without Internet Explorer!

Will probably update the guide with images and some more specific instructions on how to make the most of the cool add-ons later...

Thank you for your update and setup guide. I already had it saved for reference, but I updated my local copy.

Are you aware of this?

XUSBSUPP - eXtended USB Supplement for Windows 95 OSR2

It's basically a sort-of NUSB for Win95. I haven't tried it.

KT7AGuy wrote:

Are you aware of this?

XUSBSUPP - eXtended USB Supplement for Windows 95 OSR2

It's basically a soft-of NUSB for Win95. I haven't tried it.

The site says rloew was involved with this kit - if past experience is any guide this sounds very promising...

KT7AGuy wrote:

Thank you for your update and setup guide. I already had it saved for reference, but I updated my local copy. […]
Show full quote

Thank you for your update and setup guide. I already had it saved for reference, but I updated my local copy.

Are you aware of this?

XUSBSUPP - eXtended USB Supplement for Windows 95 OSR2

It's basically a sort-of NUSB for Win95. I haven't tried it.

Thanks for the info! I will definitely test that out and - if it plays nice with the unofficial SP - place it into the instructions. Looks promising as so far Nathan's driver had no means of neatly unmounting a drive. This one seems like it comes with a tray utility. I'm almost giddy. 😀

Win95 has one huge problem - no Human Interface Device drivers for USB mice. Some primitive USB keyboards work fine, but I could not get a USB mouse to work on win95 regardless of drivers or service packs (and I kept at it for a whole week). Weirdly enough, I found some bootleg DOS drivers that worked (kind of) under dos of course, but is seems no one ever bothered to make proper HID drivers for win95 and for some reason win98 versions refuse to install. USB mass storage drivers for flash drives and alike work perfectly on 95 ORS2.

For that reason alone I'll stick to win98. shooters and RTS games feel much better with a modern USB laser mouse.

If anyone has come across gereric USB mouse / keyboard drivers, please drop me a line. I have two very nice 486 boards I don't use because they have no PS2 and the only serial mice I have are mechanical - and win98 is a bit much for a 486.

Keep in mind that many semi-modern usb optical mice will work happily on a ps2 port using a cheap adapter.