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The question is, "what are you going to do?" If you plan to run Windows 98, or Windows ME after the support cut-off date the you need to do a little preparation.
The first thing I would do if I planned to keep running this OS would be to take this opportunity to give myself a new clean install. (I'd back everything up before I did that though.) With a fresh install I would then download all of the service patches that are available today: [v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com...]
Get everything setup the way you want, run Chkdsk, defrag your drives, run a virus/malware scan, and then use a good imaging backup software like Ghost, Acronis or similar to make a clean snapshot of your soon-to-be-antique operating system. Then if you ever have a problem in the future you can always restore a pristine copy of the OS with all the patches in place.
You can't count on Microsoft to keep these patches on-line after the cutoff date. Do yourself a favor and be prepared.
I think there is not any more need of windows 98
few of my office systems are still on win 98 and i feel its one of the best OS I ever had.
Ya, its fast as it has less overheads unlike the present WINXP but they're not the best Windows OS, much less the best OS, IMHO.
win 98 and i feel its one of the best OS I ever had
I'm a Windows programmer and must disagree as I couldn't wait to get off that '98 box.
XP has been far more stable than '98 ever was IMO.
Still have one '98 box sitting around and it's rarely used.
Its another tactic to boost sale of vista.
I used to work for Lotus before IBM gobbled them up and boosting sales isn't exactly the only motivating factor. Over time, as other projects move forward, the teams of programmers, quality engineers and tech support that remember the older codebase and the nuances of that version of software start to diminish as people move onto new projects.
Trying to get engineers for work on 8 year old software is problematic as it feels more like a punishment or grunt work than anything interesting, and the cost to the company to implement and test changes in such legacy software can be enormous.
Besides, look at hardware, finding parts to replace and repair 5 year old equipment can be dicey let alone EIGHT year old gear which is the age most Win '98 is running.
I would say Win 98 probably needs to be retired but Win ME should probably get a couple of more years before it's put out to pasture.
As for backups, I use Norton Ghost to mirror the system monthly. I retain these monthly backups going back at least three months.
Windows 98SE: minimal requirements:
* 486DX/66MHz - PII/200MHz CPU.
* 24MB - 32MB RAM.
* FAT16 config: 210MB - 400MB install size
* FAT32 config: 190MB - 305MB install size
Actually dropping 98(SE) (<edit>until this thread</edit> no one I talked with cares about ME) drops an enormous customer base in the developing world (and a few dinosaurs like me who like to surf with a Win version rarely targeted any more by nasties).
The international outcry is what has stopped MSFT from pulling the plug in the past. I wonder why they think the need for a 'lite' OS has decreased?
Unless MSFT is willing to supply a few hundred million computers along with Vista ... "Buy Vista and get a compatible computer free!" ... I can't think of a faster method of locking marketshare, increasing world IT ability, and gaining customer loyalty ... wanders off to dream of nubile maidens ...
Very timely reminder of how to prepare for 'going it alone' with 98se.
Thanks Bill
Not really. The used parts market is alive and well. Often times, you can find parts at much lower prices than you can you can modern equipment. You can buy one brand new computer, or buy three refurbished units. From a hardware perspective, any business can be productive (web browser, e-mail, and basic office applications) using 5 year old equipment with a slight memory and hard drive upgrade.
If you modify Windows 98SE to run 98lite, you can use even older equipment and have it be zippy.
We also use it for a web browser in the showroom.
It's a great choice for an OS if you don't want to put $100+ into an old computer for software and hardware upgrades.
It seems like this will either push people to linux OR cause people to have old computers with security holes sitting around with no way to fix them and probably no knowledge of the holes.
I feel the same about my old '98 box, when I turn it on and it won't power up, you'll hear a large CLANG! in the mental dumpster minutes later.
It seems like this will either push people to linux
Heck, even installing new versions of Linux on an old server can be challenging when the default drivers in the installer no longer support 5 year old devices on perfectly good older servers still used for less stressful activities. However, at some point it was just easier to give up and upgrade the motherboard than trying to fight the driver insanity.
Maybe I don't get the attachment people have with their computers and old OS's, maybe I was once that way before I started cleaning out the hardware closet when they computers started to take over.
I have personally tossed in the dumpster in the last 10 years:
1 Radio Shack Model I - 2 disk drives
1 Radio Shack Model 3P
1 Commodeore-64 - 2 drives
1 Tandy 200
1 Mac SE
1 Altos multi-user system, multiple terminals, printers, etc.
1 IBM-XT
1 IBM-AT clone
1 Gateway-2000 laptop
2 386-based PC's
1 486-based PC
When I say dumpster, some were given away or donated like the Mac SE and 486, but the older obsolete stuff is somewhere in a landfill.
Not to mention boxes and boxes of 8", 5", 3" floppies, tape drives, tapes, and so on with everything on them operating system wise from TRS-DOS, NEWDOS, CP/M, MP/M, MSDOS 3,4,5.. Windows 286, 386, 3.0, 3.1, you get the idea.
That only leaves 4 PC's and 2 Laptops still in the house and I think 2 of the older machines still have '98 loaded but their on the current march to the dumpster as new PC's are being evaluated and the XP box is about to hit the closet.
Doesn't mean they don't work, doesn't mean someone couldn't use them if they don't mind waiting and wiating, but to be honest, an entry level Dell for $299 could run rings around the machines I'm ready to toss.
For some people, owning a new Dell could be as easy as giving up smoking for a couple of
3 months, or in my case, beer and bourbon ;)
P.S. all these years later I still keep finding Mac disks hiding in the house somewhere.
In a virtual PC you can run the entire OS in a virtual environment within your preferred OS. If you prefer Windows XP or a Linux variant you can use that and run your older OS at the same time. No need for dual booting. You can have the virtual PC access your actual hardware, or you can setup virtual hardware for it to work with. This is great for testing or running legacy apps.
I think I'll be setting up several versions of Windows 98 and ME in virtual machines. I'll load up all the latest patches and set everything up the way I like and burn them onto a few DVDs for backup.
A side note....
As for Win98, it was only about a year ago that (i think i read somewhere) they made some announcement about extending support for it for another 7 or 8 years(?) for overseas (third world?) countries.
I'm thinking it had to do with cutting down piracy on XP....
98 is for people who enjoy constantly rebooting just to install something. Often with XP you just plug it in and it works without a reboot. The only annoyance with XP is the constant security updates (some of which do require reboots) and the long time it takes to close down.
There are an infinite number of improvements they have made to the interface, the maintenance, the graphics, and so on. Only when you make the switch from 98 to XP will you realise how much better it is. You really are wasting your time living in the past clinging on to 98. The only excuse is running old hardware, like a 486. If so, isn't it time you upgraded that too? Feel the speed of a new machine. No longer several seconds to do what's near instant on a PC with an entry-level processor. I was so glad when we replaced the 486s in the office with Pentium IIs (1.7Ghz). So more pleasing all round to use.
few of my office systems are still on win 98 and i feel its one of the best OS I ever had
I agree - still have a '98 box sitting here. One of the most stable OS's that MS ever put out.
Mind you, I also have a DOS machine still sitting here running an old accounts DB server (still going strong) so maybe I'm particularly out of date.
TJ
Or does he only believe in being charitable if it doesn't negatively affect him or his company in real terms?
And I also agree that XP has been a whole lot better than 98/ME in terms of function and stability. However, the OS is also targeted by almost every "bad guy" out there. Hopefully there will be good reason to have an OS that requires almost as much of a powerhouse computer as most games do.
Another point I didn't stress in my original post was that support is also ending for Windows XP Service Pack 1. There are still corporate IT sectors that haven't made the jump to SP2 on XP. Are any of you running into problems with this? Any migration tips/stories?
So far as charitable works go, if Bill were to release the 98 source code and throw in a few programmers to keep an eye on an open source project to manage it he'd benefit millions worldwide. Charities, poor countries, education institutions, startups, etc. etc. etc.Or does he only believe in being charitable if it doesn't negatively affect him or his company in real terms?
I 2nd you. How if all of we try to send just 1 mail to Microsoft and ask them to release the code for Open Developers.
And I can imagine that after 3-4 years 98 will be most secure and stable OS than others available in Market at that time.
But at same time I fear that Microsoft didn't want the same so they will never agree with us to open source, still what a disadvantage to shoot a single mail in support.
