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[390X] Win98SE - VMM32.VXD problem

Operating System, Common Application & ThinkPad Utilities Questions...
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eriju_
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Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2018 6:43 am
Location: Uslar, Germany
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[390X] Win98SE - VMM32.VXD problem

#1 Post by eriju_ » Fri Jan 05, 2018 7:03 am

Hello,

I'm having a problem setting up Windows 98 SE (as well as Win95, Win2k and WinXP) on my ThinkPad 390X.
For Windows 98 and 95 the setup works just fine. But the first run fails after the configuration files are updated.
"VMM32.VXD is missing or corrupted"
I've been trying different images of Win98, but all of them fail at this point.
After a lot of googling I found some solutions that helped others, but didn't help me.
I tried extracting the VMM32.VXD from the setup disc to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\, but that just shuts the ThinkPad down at the Win98 boot screen.
Then I tried extracting VCACHE.VXD, VCOMM.VXD, VMOUSE.VXD, etc. to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM from the setup disc. That would cause the VMM32.VXD to ignore the bundled drivers and use the other VXD's instead.
But also that didn't work for me.
(NOTE: VMM32.VXD is supposed to be a unique file for every computer configuration, as it is generated at a certain point during the setup!)
The only thing I got running on it is MS-DOS 6.22, but that one doesn't use any VXD's as far as I know.
My ThinkPad utilizes the Intel Pentium III (500MHz).
The built-in RAM is a mirracle for me. Most of the time the RAM check on start-up counts up to 127MB, but sometimes went further up to about 300MB.
Floppy and CD-Drive are working fine.
Please note that the CMOS battery is dead, as well as the rechargeable battery.
There also came 2 PCMCIA cards with it:
- Xircom CreditCard Ethernet 10/100-Ready
- ALADDIN Hardlock PCMCIA "Memory" P08WV (I don't know what exactly it is or what it does, maybe a mass storage device?)

Now I'm at a point where I really don't know what to do.
I also ran CheckDisk to see if the HDD is faulty, but it ran through just fine and no errors were found.
And I deleted the partitions, created a new one and formatted it every time.

I just hope that someone had similar problems and got to fix them or that somebody can help me with my problem.

Thanks in advance!

JBUK
Sophomore Member
Posts: 242
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2004 5:29 am
Location: Oxford UK

Re: [390X] Win98SE - VMM32.VXD problem

#2 Post by JBUK » Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:19 pm

I have a 390X a fantastic solid Thinkpad that never let me down using Win98. Of course I have not used it now for many years.
Here are a few thoughts of mine which may help you get it going :

Have you tried loading without the PCMCIA cards in, especially the Alladin one ?
Does the RAM show correctly if you go into the BIOS ?
Have you tried a BIOS factory reset ?
Have you tried booting from a Linux live CD to prove that it will actually work ?
Where to begin......
390e FOR SALE : GONE
1 x T20 : SOLD
1 X T23 + 3 breaking for parts
1 X T23 with Samsung 840 SSD and XP Great combination !: SOLD
1 X T60
3 X T61
1 X T601 15"
1 X T520
2 X T530

eriju_
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2018 6:43 am
Location: Uslar, Germany
Contact:

Re: [390X] Win98SE - VMM32.VXD problem

#3 Post by eriju_ » Fri Jan 05, 2018 9:24 pm

JBUK wrote:
Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:19 pm
I have a 390X a fantastic solid Thinkpad that never let me down using Win98. Of course I have not used it now for many years.
Here are a few thoughts of mine which may help you get it going :

Have you tried loading without the PCMCIA cards in, especially the Alladin one ?
Does the RAM show correctly if you go into the BIOS ?
Have you tried a BIOS factory reset ?
Have you tried booting from a Linux live CD to prove that it will actually work ?
Thanks for your help. Upon checking I noticed that the RAM was faulty. The 256MB stick alone said 130MB in BIOS.
Now I'm running Win98 with 64MB of RAM and a new 256MB is already ordered. Problems fixed!

JBUK
Sophomore Member
Posts: 242
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2004 5:29 am
Location: Oxford UK

Re: [390X] Win98SE - VMM32.VXD problem

#4 Post by JBUK » Sat Jan 06, 2018 6:12 am

Ausgezeichnet ! Excellent.
Where to begin......
390e FOR SALE : GONE
1 x T20 : SOLD
1 X T23 + 3 breaking for parts
1 X T23 with Samsung 840 SSD and XP Great combination !: SOLD
1 X T60
3 X T61
1 X T601 15"
1 X T520
2 X T530

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