No Windows Update for Windows 95/98/98SE/ME/2000

[ThinkPad560X]

I've been doing some refresh installs of Windows 95-2000 on some of my PCs such as replacing old "Very Old" IDE HDDs with a new SATA HDDs in my desktops. so far Windows 95 through 2000 Pro will not link to Windows Update anymore. I'm guessing Microsoft removed the server drives that stored Windows update to these OSs and are no longer accessible anymore.

If this is the case why can't Microsoft respect the old classic Windows users for vintage PC users and keep these updates online. With new storages available, They could very easily store all of the Windows 95-2K Updates on 1 single 500GB HDD or 1TB HDD taking up no space for them really.

[ThinkPad560X]

Try searching for what you need

This page doesn’t exist.

This is what I get when searching Windows 98 on Microsoft.com and click one of their links.

[shawross]

I feel your pain but there is no room for sentiment at MS which is a shame really. Any MS nostalgia we had is fading.

[TonyJZX]

I feel your pain but there is no room for sentiment at MS which is a shame really. Any MS nostalgia we had is fading.

it sounds like you are talking about WIn7 and Win8.1

MS is a company that gives no fooks for sentimentality... it doesnt make money, now and in the present.

That's why this company is so heavily pushing Win10 and Office365 and Azure and all the mod cons.

Cons... literally.

[axur-delmeria]

I think Vista updates aren't available anymore.

[TankPad]

You can get a "roll up" update to bring it up to the last supported windows update. It's basically a whole collection of updates in one executable. I'm not sure where it's available now but it shouldn't be hard to find.

[ThinkPad560X]

It would be nice if all the vintage PC users got together and asked Microsoft to leave the updates available for Windows 95-2K users. PC still fits in with the retro game players. I prefer to play my DOS/early PC games on its original hardware and software, and some of my PC games will not run on newer windows unless someone makes a patch but still sometimes its not enough.

As I said before I'm sure all those Windows updates for Windows 95-2K will fit on a single 500GB-1TB HDD on their servers.

[Omineca]

I've been doing some refresh installs of Windows 95-2000 on some of my PCs such as replacing old "Very Old" IDE HDDs with a new SATA HDDs in my desktops. so far Windows 95 through 2000 Pro will not link to Windows Update anymore. I'm guessing Microsoft removed the server drives that stored Windows update to these OSs and are no longer accessible anymore.

If this is the case why can't Microsoft respect the old classic Windows users for vintage PC users and keep these updates online. With new storages available, They could very easily store all of the Windows 95-2K Updates on 1 single 500GB HDD or 1TB HDD taking up no space for them really.

Hpcfactor.com used to have most of these updates. They might still. You could also try searching the msfn.com forums. They have a lot of good tips and links.

If you know the website address at Microsoft for the downloads you need, you can often find them by searching the archived pages at archive.org. I managed to find some Win2K and Office 2000 updates that way a few months ago.

Sent from my BlackBerry Q10 using Tapatalk

[Hierax_ca]

There is/was some unofficial Roll-ups and Service Packs for both Win98se and Win2k that had all the official Microsoft stuff and then some (e.g., part of the extra Win2K stuff let you install a lot of software that normally would only run on WinXP).

[Omineca]

There is/was some unofficial Roll-ups and Service Packs for both Win98se and Win2k that had all the official Microsoft stuff and then some (e.g., part of the extra Win2K stuff let you install a lot of software that normally would only run on WinXP).

If I recall correctly, there are links to those unofficial packs at MSFN.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[jdrou]

I think Vista updates aren't available anymore.

It's supposed to get its last new updates tomorrow but it should be possible to download all the updates for some years yet even though it was unpopular.

I wonder if the server versions of 2000 would still update after a new build. MS might support them longer than the workstation version.

[dr_st]

I think Vista updates aren't available anymore.

It's supposed to get its last new updates tomorrow but it should be possible to download all the updates for some years yet even though it was unpopular.

Applying them on a raw system would be difficult though. Microsoft has been really messing up the Windows Update behavior on Vista/7, but where it released servicing stack updates for 7, which sort of fix it, it never did on Vista. So running Windows Update on an out-of-date Vista takes forever. The only way I could sort of get it to work is using WSUSOffline, and manual installation of specific updates.

[crux]

So running Windows Update on an out-of-date Vista takes forever. The only way I could sort of get it to work is using WSUSOffline, and manual installation of specific updates.

I just took delivery of an X61 that came with Vista Business and looks like it hasn't been updated in over a year. I knew they were going to stop supporting Vista but just realized I had 1 day left to update it. I'm running a deep scan on boot to check for virus right now but once that's over am planning on trying to get it updated tonight.

I normally run FreeBSD, but I liked Vista best of any Windows release I ever used. Definitely more than I like Windows 10.

[Temetka]

People like to harp on Vista and that's because when it launched it made their PC's run like crap because it exposed their weak bargain basement hardware.

Personally, I like Vista very much. When it came out I had it running on a dual core Pentium D with 3GB of DDR400 and a 256MB PCI-E Radeon X800 card. It ran like a champ and I had zero issues with it. I was also able to help most people get it running nicely with a GPU and RAM upgrade. The cost was typically $250ish.

My favorite "classic" Microsoft OS was Windows 2000 Pro though. 95/98 were nice for their time, and NT 4.0 was my main OS for about 3 years. It even supported Directx 3 or 5 (forget which one) so I could play the 3 games I cared about.

Personally I don't do retro/nostalgia gear anymore. I do have an XP VM I fire up from time to time for some retro gaming. But I'm down to my X301, T430s and iPad mini and I'm happy with everything. No clutter, no muss, no fuss. I keep the data I care about backed up to my 3TB NAS and all is good. I used to have boxes and boxes of gear and tons of SGI/Sun gear plus about 4 PC's and all their gear. Never again. It felt soooo good to purge it all.

If I feel the need for a retro kick, I fire up YouTube and watch a video on retro gear. It scratches the itch nicely.

Back on topic - Expecting Microsoft to keep old updates and their servers running for "vintage" purposes is crazy. Why should they incur such an expense to support a handful of users (when compared to the billions of people on 8.1/10)? They shouldn't and they wont. The only thing I can think of would be to keep it around as a paid option. You pay a fee (say $50) to download a catalog of updates for your OS. So for 98/98SE it's a single .EXE that contains all the updates and patches they made and that's all you get. But even then they have to setup an infrastructure for it, set aside resources (support team and physical assets) and of course, back it up, set aside bandwidth, so on and so forth.

My suggestion is to find the update and patches that are available and back them up to DVD or other media if it is such a huge deal.

[crux]

I have a tall Gateway Performance Series tower that came with a 500MHz Katmai PIII, a VooDoo3 (upgraded to a GeForce2) and 256MB RAM in need of a power supply I've kept all these years in hopes of someday bringing it back to its former Win98SE glory. It was the shiznik for a brief period and came with a DVD player, 1.44MB drive, a 100MB Iomega Zip drive and still had an empty bay.

The monster IBM 13.6GB HD that came in it still pulls duty in my pfSense box.

[dr_st]

I knew they were going to stop supporting Vista but just realized I had 1 day left to update it.

That's not true, no reason to panic. The existing updates will still be available for a long time; it is just that new ones are not going to be released (except for the Malicious Software Removal Tool and maybe Windows Defender).

Personally, I like Vista very much. When it came out I had it running on a dual core Pentium D with 3GB of DDR400 and a 256MB PCI-E Radeon X800 card. It ran like a champ and I had zero issues with it. I was also able to help most people get it running nicely with a GPU and RAM upgrade.

Vista is a good and stable OS, but Microsoft's product support cycles effectively killed it - a whole bunch of new platforms and frameworks that were released by Microsoft in 2012 and later were deliberately not applied to Vista, since it was already in "extended support" phase. This includes IE10+, Office 2013+, VS2012+ and their derivatives. So a whole bunch of productivity software and general applications used today cannot and will not ever run on Vista. The same software runs on Windows 7, which makes it a much more useful OS.

[crux]

That's not true, no reason to panic. The existing updates will still be available for a long time; it is just that new ones are not going to be released (except for the Malicious Software Removal Tool and maybe Windows Defender).

FYI, I'm looking at Microsoft Security Essentials with a "PC status: At risk" warning and a statement that "Support for this OS has ended and MSE is no longer protecting your PC". The Update, History, Settings and Scan buttons are grayed out and it will not update.

As far as panic, I'm only online with it now to update it. Then it will go offline to play games or something, just like Windows 10.

I do want to thank you for mentioning WSUSOffline. I'm not current with Windows tips and would probably still be messing with Windows Update without it. It's still updating as it is...

[SeanDHorry]

I think Vista updates aren't available anymore.

We can relish in the fact that Vista lasted so long for one of the worst MS OS releases.

[jdrou]

I think Vista updates aren't available anymore.

We can relish in the fact that Vista lasted so long for one of the worst MS OS releases.

I'd probably put most versions of consumer Windows prior to 2000 above Vista (with SP2) as 'worst' (starting with ME of course). It certainly had one of the worst releases though.

[ThinkPad560X]

Well after getting a new replacement IDE 500GB HDD for my IBM Aptiva desktop tower and new install of Windows XP Pro on it. The Windows XP key updater to the key on the desktop worked but now Windows update brings up cannot display this page like all the other windows version that are behind XP. I haven't tried Vista yet. I am using this IBM desktop for old software use and 90 games. But I wanted to have a fully updated XP to where it was cut off.

I did check to make sure the internet was working and IE8 loaded up google and other things I typed in. So yes Windows Update isn't working, at least on this machine.

I am going to try my ThinkPad G40 as it is laying out and see if it does the same.

[BillP]

To get my T23 running XP with updates it was necessary to install a new Windows Update Agent. Install Internet Explorer 8 and Windows Update v7.6.7600.256: WindowsUpdateAgent-7.6-x86.exe to get Windows Update working after a clean installation of Windows XP SP3.

Update: I just tried Windows Update on the T23 and it fails to connect. Something has changed since I installed XP and ran Windows Update around a year ago. There are unofficial service packs for XP and that may now be the only way to update a clean XP installation.

[ThinkPad560X]

Well that sucks. Like I said way on top of the post I don't know why Microsoft don't keep Windows update for Windows 95-Vista on one simple 1TB-2TB HDD. But it seems Microsoft don't care as they tried hard to push everyone onto Windows 10. Im still running Windows 7 as my main and once that is up I may go to one of the Linux I guess. I tried Windows 10 for a few minutes and don't care for it. I just like the simple old Windows 98-2000-XP and don't care for all the switch everything around in where folders/tools and the talk to assistant.

I just confirmed on my ThinkPad G40 running Windows XP Pro for a long time cannot connect to Windows Update anymore as well. So I think its safe to say Windows Update for XP is taken off the servers now. I'll have to check Vista later on.

[TonyJZX]

I think the good thing is that Win7 will still be around until at least 2020... I bet more since so many corporates are on it.

I too used Vista for a bit, perhaps less than a year and then went back to XP as it wasnt any reason to stay with it. It wasnt as bad as people say but at the time, people though it would run on 1gb!

[ThinkPad560X]

I think Windows 7 is going to last as long as Windows XP did or still does way after its end of life.

I thought Windows 10 was suppose to be their last OS, They just brought out Windows 10 S.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/2/15506 ... d-features

I guess this version you can only use Microsoft software only on it.

This kind of reminds me of how games are today. Each company has its own platform service that you have to signup for. Steam,Origin,RockStar,Ubisoft and so on. So you can buy a game but then you have to pick what your going to go with, Steam or Microsoft, none of them can use a swap key. I learned that when I bought GTAV and couldn't use the key on Steam. I only have Steam, so if the game isn't on their then I don't get it. Their are to many services and that do the same thing.

[jdrou]

I thought Windows 10 was suppose to be their last OS, They just brought out Windows 10 S.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/2/15506 ... d-features

I guess this version you can only use Microsoft software only on it.

Consider the S to stand for 'starter'; basically a limited-functionality version of 10.
"If you purchase a device running Windows 10 S then you'll be able to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro to enable all desktop apps to run like normal. "

[TonyJZX]

Windows 10 will be their 'last o/s' as long as they can bolt on features to it and sell it.

10 S sounds like just a registry edit to limit apps to store only.

[BillP]

Here is a further update on getting Windows Update to work with Windows XP. On my T23 if I double click on the Windows Update icon it opens Internet Explorer 8 at address http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com. The result is "Internet Explorer cannot open the website".

If I open Internet Explorer 8 and type in http://update.microsoft.com, Windows Update opens and runs normally. At this late date my T23 has no critical updates to apply but some optional updates are shown and the update history is accessible.

To check Windows Update function with a new XP installation, I put a spare hard drive in a Thinkpad A31 and did a clean installation of XP SP3. Three devices needed drivers - video, power manager, and the WiFi card. Loading those drivers resulted in a clean display in Device Manager. Then I installed WindowsUpdateAgent-7.6-x86.exe, available at http://download.windowsupdate.com/windo ... .6-x86.exe. Next I connected the A31 to the internet and installed Internet Explorer 8. The installer connects to the internet to run the Malicious Software Tool (this fails in XP) and looks for updates. Once IE8 is installed the A31 was rebooted and Windows Update ran successfully by opening IE8 and navigating to http://update.microsoft.com. A large number of updates were downloaded and installed by Windows Update as expected.

[jdrou]

Next I connected the A31 to the internet and installed Internet Explorer 8.

I normally used the offline installer for IE8 on XP:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/ ... 86-ENU.exe

[thinkpadcollection]

My advice to anyone who are reinstalling new XP is to blockchain install IE8 via IE6 then firefox then get IE8 and have few files ready: windows update 7.6 or 3.0, .net framework 3.5, SP3 300MB type (redistributable).

Post #27 was right on, I'm thankful able to update the XP normally. Internet gave nothing about this (unable to access internet via normal path via clicking on "Windows Update" except a easy search on this forum turned up this correct answer and this url address is right.

http://update.microsoft.com direct into IE8's address line. Have to redo to update all the updates for everything.

Cheers, thinkpadcollection

[ThinkPad560X]

Microsoft came out I think a few weeks ago with security updates for Windows XP and above due to the hacking groups lately. My XP desktop has been getting updates lately again. Now if I can have a supported Web Browser and with updated flash software I can use the web normally again on XP. It is very simple and fast for all I do on it.

As for Windows 10 some people has been telling me their PCs been getting slower due to the OS always getting updates everyday. I still have yet to move to Windows 10 from my Windows 7 as everything is still good enough running for me.