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does windows98 have file protection and can i find ways to speed computer up

it does not have internet connectoin yet got to install modem first.

in the mean time is there any thing i can do with it any way to optimize it

[SRX660]

If you are going to buy a PCI card modem i would suggest that you buy a HARDWARE modem. It uses less resources than a winmodem so your computer can use the processor for other things. Its easy to do , just install the card, boot windows and install the drivers when windows prompts you with the found new hardware window. Win 98 does not have file protection like XP does. That is why there were so many utility suites when 98 was in its prime.

The best optimization is probably the unofficial SP2.1 service pack you can download here.

http://exuberant.ms11.net/98sesp.html

You must have 98 SE to use this service pack.

I run 512 Mb of memory with win 98 for the best speed. I also keep installed programs to the minimum i need so windows doesnt get too bloated. I keep a win 98 machine around for programs that will not run on XP.

SRX660

Edited by SRX660, 02 May 2006 - 03:37 AM.

[SRX660]

XP does not run well on computers that have less than a 1 gig processor. It will run but very slowly.

The drive problem is probably one of 2 things. Either your MBR( master boot record)has been corrupted, or the drive is slowly dieing( has a bad sector in the boot sector).

Heres how to fix the mbr on win 98.

http://www.cyberwalk...p98/090398.html

If the HD is dieing a replacement should be bought. The problem with many older systemsis that the bios will only see either 8.4 gigs of a drive, or 127 gigs if the bios are new enough. If it only sees 8.4 gigs i would look into finding the smallest drive( new) you can get and making multiple partitions on the drive. I would not think about buying a used HD as they usually fail a lot quicker than a new drive. There are places you can still buy new 40 gig drives.

You wil need access to a win 98SE cd to install it back on the computer if you need to get a new drive.

Try fixing the mbr before you do anything else.

SRX660

[SRX660]

The MBR is the sector at cylinder 0, head 0, sector 1 of a hard disk. An MBR is created by the FDISK program. The FDISK program of all operating systems must create a functionally similar MBR. The MBR is first of what could be many partition sectors, each one containing a four entry partition table.

At the completion of your system's Power On Self Test (POST), INT 19 is called. Usually INT 19 tries to read a boot sector from the first floppy drive. If a boot sector is found on the floppy disk, the that boot sector is read into memory at location 0000:7C00 and INT 19 jumps to memory location 0000:7C00. However, if no boot sector is found on the first floppy drive, INT 19 tries to read the MBR from the first hard drive. If an MBR is found it is read into memory at location 0000:7c00 and INT 19 jumps to memory location 0000:7c00. The small program in the MBR will attempt to locate an active (bootable) partition in its partition table. If such a partition is found, the boot sector of that partition is read into memory at location 0000:7C00 and the MBR program jumps to memory location 0000:7C00. Each operating system has its own boot sector format. The small program in the boot sector must locate the first part of the operating system's kernel loader program (or perhaps the kernel itself or perhaps a "boot manager program") and read that into memory.

INT 19 is also called when the CTRL-ALT-DEL keys are used. On most systems, CTRL-ALT-DEL causes an short version of the POST to be executed before INT 19 is called.

http://www.ata-atapi.com/hiwmbr.htm

Was the modem bought used? you should have recieved a drivers floppy or CD with the modem if it was bought new. If you can identify the modem i will look for drivers for it. The box the modem came in should tell you what it is. If there was no box any information you can read off the card would help.

SRX660

[SRX660]

I'm guessing this is a pentium 600 to 900 puter. Personally i would not put much money into the computer. I would look around and talk to computer shops around town until you can find someone who has the old parts cheap. Fix the computer up as a internet runner and play with what software you can find. The computer is not really worth upgrading much.

For around $400 you can build a new barebones kit with a intel motherboard, 2.93 celeron processor, 512 mb ram, and a dvd-rw that would last you a few years since its all new hardware. This would let you run Windows XP on a computer that is fast enough for it. You would be spending near $200 fixing that old computer up and it still would not even come close to the new computer.

A new 20 gig seagate Hd wil cost you around $35. If you replace the Hd you will need a windows OS CD to reinstall windows. You might be able to find a win 98SE CD for around $60-70. So now you have already spent $100 to keep a old computer running. That is why it would be easier to save your money to buy a new computer. You really cant build one for the same price that bestbuy, circuit city and other stores sell new computers for.

SRX660

[Dragon306]

upgrade the RAM, add a PCI hardware modem, replace the HDD with a 15-20gb hard drive, and do a clean install (meaning after a complet wipe, a.k.a. format of the hard drive) of Windows 2000 Pro or XP.

[Dragon306]

yes hdd is hard drive i would get a 20gb drive you dont need anythong more. plus some PC100 SDRAM (a total of 256mb should do nicely, so what sizes you get depend on whether the 128mb its got now is one stick or two, if two it is two 64mb sticks and also how many RAM slots it has cause if it has three you can use a 128mb plus two 64mb, but if two slots you need two 128mb sticks

when you put the new hard drive in make sure the jumpers are on the same setting as the old one

[Dragon306]

if you want to spend more $$$, a 30gb or 40gb drive would be nicer, but i would not get anything more then 40gb unless you have TONS of files and games and other space hogs you would use on a P3 Dell...

"XP does not run well on computers that have less than a 1 gig processor. It will run but very slowly."

uh, no.

the following was found elsewhere on the internet, quoted:

"Myth - "Windows XP requires a high end PC to install and run"

Reality - "Windows XP can be installed on surprisingly low system requirements contrary to popular opinion. With the average life cycle of a regular PC being roughly 4-6 years, just about any PC being used today can run Windows XP. The following requirements are Microsoft's "official" minimum system requirements which I have tested to work fine with the exception of only 64 MB of RAM (performance is poor). Increasing your RAM to 128 MB would be the only upgrade I would strongly consider as my absolute minimum Windows XP system requirements." - Source

233 MHz CPU (300 MHz Recommended) *
128 MB Recommended (64 MB of RAM minimum supported, may limit performance and some features) *
1.5 GB of available hard disk space *
Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution video adapter and monitor
CD-ROM or DVD drive
Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device

* Actual requirements will vary based on your system configuration and the applications and features you choose to install. Additional available hard disk space may be required if you are installing over a network."

my own:

XP runs fine on the majority of systems with less then a 1ghz CPU. you have never tried it? of course, system performance can always be improved with a few tweaks and disbaling junk services from starting up in admin. tools>services but XP WILL run on systems with less then 1ghz, and run fine on anything, say, Penitum II/equivalent and higher. RAM is more important than CPU speed. [bleep], XP runs okay on my laptop, an IBM Thinkpad with a 266mhz Pentium Mobile MMX and 160mb of RAM (it even ran on it back when it had 96mb of RAM, before i upgraded)