Windows 98SE on Thinkpad T43

[Ebony Ivory]

Hi All, this is my first post on this forum.

I recently tried to buy one of the last remaining T42 machines at CDW, but due to their bungling my payment (from the UK), I missed the machine. So I bought a T43 instead.

The thing is, I needed my machine to run Windows 98SE (hence wanting the T42), but after a few day's playing, I've managed to get most of my T43's features working great in Win98. This has involved manually editing .INF files, comparing Win2K and Win98 drivers for the T42 and T43, and visiting non-IBM/Lenovo websites, notably ATI/Radeon and SoundMax.

Sound, Video, USB and lots more runs brilliantly under Win98, but I've not yet managed to get the BlueTooth, 2915ABG WiFi or wired Ethernet going. I have a couple of D-Link WiFi/USB adapaters (DWL-G122) which will do in the meantime, but does anyone know of any wireless or wired network drivers for Windows 98 that will run on the T43?

Brian

[Wiz]

Just curious.....why would anyone want to use Win98 anymore?

[gunston]

FYI
there is no future updates/support by MICROSOFT !!!

[cmarti]

anyone know of any wireless or wired network drivers for Windows 98 that will run on the T43?

Brian

Maybe you cannot find drivers for the 1000mb ethernet adapter and the abg card because at the moment win 98 was used as the newest windows OS there wasn't any mini pci wireless adapters available and only 10mb ethernet cards.

Maybe you should get a 600X and run the win 98 in it.

[cmarti]

T43-->>Packed and frozen in the Fridge<<

What do you mean with that? is it dead?

[gunston]

cmarti,
yes,
Microsoft had announced that no future windows updates for Windows 98 & ME

[Ebony Ivory]

Just curious.....why would anyone want to use Win98 anymore?

Consider some of these:

• * Boots into a productive and familiar DOS shell in about 1 second after completing POST, from which I can run brand new code (with Windows) or legacy stuff that I've bought or written over the past 25 years
  
  * Completely immune to today's virus, trojan, spyware and other threats (most simply won't run, and those that do are easy to remove thanks to the DOS-mode bootup)
  
  * Does not require daily or weekly "updates" which cause you to lose track of exactly what is, and what isn't, running on your system.
  
  * Runs all major software I need (Photoshop 7, CorelDRAW 9, Finale 2005, Garmin Mapsource 6, WIN-PROLOG 4.6, CoolEdit 2000, Nero 6, Acrobat 4, etc...) while allowing me to control settings, preferences, and so on as I want, not as the software does
  
  * Allows me to back up my entire Windows installation into a single ZIP file, complete with all system and application files and the registry onto a single, bottable CD-ROM
  
  * Allows me to reinstall everything after a hard disk reformat (or even FDISK repartition) in a matter of 2-3 minutes from the same single, bootable CD-ROM

I could go on, but compared with the 5 CDs needed to back up even my original T43 disk image, having my entire working setup, including all software, on a single CD allows me to sleep at night!

That's why I prefer 98 to 2K, XP, or (heaven forbid!) Vista ...

Brian

[Ebony Ivory]

cmarti,
yes,
Microsoft had announced that no future windows updates for Windows 98 & ME

I've never actually installed a Windows 98 update, other than those which have come with certain applications (eg, better Common Controls or whatever). I certainly don't need updates to keep me secure (see my recent posting).

All in all, I prefer having a stable system whose system and application files don't need changing for months at a time, rather than an "OS" which reconfigures itself every couple of days with the latest gizmos from Microsoft and others!

Seriously, do you know what's actually running on your computer? - I do!

Brian

[Wiz]

Well i hear your arguments Ebony Ivory, but that make no sense to me since i don't think the right word for dos is productive even if familiar. I'm not immune to todays virus, but neither is you and actually i think using a new antivirus created to prevent newer threats make me safer then running some old software that is supported on Win98. If you believe that todays virus cannot harm Win98 you are wrong. I don't need to boot into dos to stop a virus since in all cases so far it's stopped before i'm infected by my antivirus/antispyware. I don't need daily or weekly updates either and in your case it's not that you don't need updates (because Win98 is far from secure and really need updates), but you have no choice since there is no updates. I use some of the same software as you do, but newer versions with more features and backup my PC to a USB disk. It take me a long time to reinstall, but actually i don't need to. My WinXP been running stable for ages now.

Sorry i just had to reply since i found your arguments a bit incorrect, but even if i feel it's a waste to run Win98 on a T43 it's your choice really and none of my business.

I don't think you can except that any hardware manufacturer will create drivers for such a old OS anymore so your only option would be to get a older PC i think. Getting a older PC could be a problem if you want wireless that support 802.11a, 802.11g, gigabit ethernet or other new technology though since there might not be drivers available for Win98 and if there is drivers available and contain bugs i wouldn't expect them to be updated anytime soon.

btw i never had any problems that my OS reconfigure it self so don't know who told you that's a feature of newer windows versions.

[Ebony Ivory]

It is indeed my choice. My brand-new Compaq/HP Centrino Duo is running XP, and will continue to do so until I install Vista on it for testing and software development purposes. My old Compaq Armada 7800 is running Windows 2000 Server, also for software testing, and as a central file server for my home network.

But I develop all my commercial Windows code for machines from Win98 upwards, and so need to be able to run/test on this platform. As it is also the platform that gives me the most control over my environment, I want my new Thinkpad T43 to preserve this.

As for "productive" - let me just say I can type something like:

Code: Select all

del c:\temp\*.jpg
copy i:\dcim\100olymp\*.* c:\temp

a lot quicker than most people can navigate round their folder hierarchy with a mouse, then select a group of files, right-click to find the "delete" option, before commencing navigation again to locate the DSLR's memory card, highlight a load of files, and then drag them back over to the original location.

GUIs are great for writing music, touching up photos, or generating technical drawings. But as for data storage/movement, give me a command line any time!

Brian

[Thinkpad_T43_Fan]

....
As for "productive" - let me just say I can type something like:

Code: Select all

del c:\temp\*.jpg
copy i:\dcim\100olymp\*.* c:\temp

...
Brian

You can still do that in XP.

In fact since I've used DOS as my first OS, and still have the floppies for install, I still use CMD from time to time.

XP is just a lot better and 98SE is obsolete.

[Wiz]

As for "productive" - let me just say I can type something like:

Code: Select all

del c:\temp\*.jpg
copy i:\dcim\100olymp\*.* c:\temp

a lot quicker than most people can navigate round their folder hierarchy with a mouse, then select a group of files, right-click to find the "delete" option, before commencing navigation again to locate the DSLR's memory card, highlight a load of files, and then drag them back over to the original location.
GUIs are great for writing music, touching up photos, or generating technical drawings. But as for data storage/movement, give me a command line any time!
Brian

I totally agree and use dos a lot for things like you describe here since a dos window is still available in 2000, XP and Vista. For technical people and developers dos is great for some tasks and other windows would be better, but for the average user i believe Windows is much better in any case.

Didn't mean to drag this into a discussion "what OS is best" since you actually asked for help with a issue and didn't want someone to tell you something else is better. Just never heard anyone using such a old OS for a new computer like T43. I hope you manage to get everything working under Win98 even if i doubt that would be possible because of lack of drivers.

[Ebony Ivory]

....
As for "productive" - let me just say I can type something like:

Code: Select all

del c:\temp\*.jpg
copy i:\dcim\100olymp\*.* c:\temp

...
Brian

You can still do that in XP.

In fact since I've used DOS as my first OS, and still have the floppies for install, I still use CMD from time to time.

XP is just a lot better and 98SE is obsolete.

Except it's more likely to be something like:

Code: Select all

del c:\windows\desktop\users\brian\temp\*.jpg
copy i:\dcim\100olymp\*.* c:\windows\desktop\users\brian\temp

That aside, of course I use CMD a lot of the time in Win2K (which I prefer to XP) and also XP, although its a shame that some of my prized 250-plus home-grown DOS utilities (mostly written in 8086 or 80836 assembler) no longer work in 2K/XP!

Brian

[Wiz]

That aside, of course I use CMD a lot of the time in Win2K (which I prefer to XP) and also XP, although its a shame that some of my prized 250-plus home-grown DOS utilities (mostly written in 8086 or 80836 assembler) no longer work in 2K/XP!
Brian

Well you have to do like every software developer and release new versions to support new hardware and OS:)

[Thinkpad_T43_Fan]

You can still do that in XP.

In fact since I've used DOS as my first OS, and still have the floppies for install, I still use CMD from time to time.

XP is just a lot better and 98SE is obsolete.

Except it's more likely to be something like:

Code: Select all

del c:\windows\desktop\users\brian\temp\*.jpg
copy i:\dcim\100olymp\*.* c:\windows\desktop\users\brian\temp

That aside, of course I use CMD a lot of the time in Win2K (which I prefer to XP) and also XP, although its a shame that some of my prized 250-plus home-grown DOS utilities (mostly written in 8086 or 80836 assembler) no longer work in 2K/XP!

Brian

A few simple registry tweaks will get you the c:\temp in no time.

[cwestwater]

Brian, have you thought about using VMWare on a XP installed T43 to run 98?

VMWare link

[terry_mccann]

Well i hear your arguments Ebony Ivory, but that make no sense to me

Amen....nothing more needs to be added

[Gustavo]

Why not skip the Win altogether and use Linux. Much more stable and if you are a software developer then running Linux will be np. And with Gentoo linux you get a skeleton system and you are in total control to add apps and stuff to it to get a 99% fitted system to your needs.

[darkwish]

Why not skip the Win altogether and use Linux. Much more stable and if you are a software developer then running Linux will be np. And with Gentoo linux you get a skeleton system and you are in total control to add apps and stuff to it to get a 99% fitted system to your needs.

True, but I think he needs to test his apps that he writes on Windows 98.

[Ebony Ivory]

Why not skip the Win altogether and use Linux. Much more stable and if you are a software developer then running Linux will be np. And with Gentoo linux you get a skeleton system and you are in total control to add apps and stuff to it to get a 99% fitted system to your needs.

I've tried a couple of Linux distros, but unfortunately, they don't support the software I need.

Brian

[Wiz]

How about vmware as suggested by cwestwater?
I use vmware for lab environment running 2000 and 2003 servers and it work great. The performance might not be as good, but for dos utilites i cannot imagine that the performance would be a problem.

[luns]

Except it's more likely to be something like:

Code: Select all

del c:\windows\desktop\users\brian\temp\*.jpg
copy i:\dcim\100olymp\*.* c:\windows\desktop\users\brian\temp

so:

Code: Select all

del %TEMP%\*.jpg
copy i:\dicm\100olymp\* %TEMP%

is too much? Then:

Code: Select all

subst t: %TEMP%   (only have to do this once until you reboot)
del t:*.jpg
copy i:\dicm\100olymp\* t: