2 OS on 1 PC

If I installed an older version of windows back onto an old PC(like the one I talked about in my last post) would I still have the same problems with finding drivers?

Audio drivers would be all I need. I don't need to go on the Web.

 

If the machine originally had XP on it then drivers will be available somewhere.

If it came with Win98 then more than likely XP drivers will be available. I would say any machine produced from 1999-2006 would definitely have XP drivers available.

Machines produced after 2008, especially laptops, would be the most difficult to find XP drivers. But there was still a backlash against Vista so there might be drivers available for these machines up until Win7 came out.

 

What about a machine that used to have Win98 on it, and Win98 was put back on there? Would I be able to find drivers then?

 

You should be able to. If the drivers were available once then they should still be available somewhere on the web.

 

If it was a prebuilt machine like Dell, HP, Compaq then the model number off the back of the machine should get you to a drivers list from the manufacturer's website. Probably not much change from the old drivers they supply. If it was not a pre-built machine then getting the drivers would be more from the motherboard model or run a program like Everest after you have Win98 installed to get information about the hardware.

 

I know I can use SlimDrivers(thanks to MajorAttitude) to look for drivers when I get WinXP setup. But now with this old one I am having Hardware problems. I don't even know if I even have everything for the computer to start.:confused


Because so far it won't. The motherboard beeps like 10 times, and there is no VGA signal.

It's like a giant puzzle that I have been trying to put back together. One of the IDE cables has 3 connectors on it. Can that one be used to hook up the HD and DVD Drive to the motherboard? Or is that one of my problems?

 

The first 4 things a PC looks for when starting up are CPU, memory, keyboard and monitor. You have probably never touched the CPU so that should be as it originally was installed. Keyboard is just a simple connection. Monitor is simple connection unless you have a video card in which case you would have a choice between onboard video or the video card--do you have a video card? And then memory which would just be a matter of reseating to make sure you have a firm connection.

So I would take the box and disconnect both IDE cables from the motherboard. Connect a keyboard and monitor and try to POST/boot to get a VGA signal to the monitor. If no signal then I would remove the CMOS battery (Coin shaped, watch-type battery) and try again. If still no go then I would replace the CMOS battery with a known good one, perhaps swap it out with the one from the XP machine or buy a new one. If still no go then remove all memory (RAM) and see if you get a long beep instead of the 10 beeps. Then try with just one memory module in the slot closest to the center of the board. If still no go then try a different memory module in that slot.

I think that covers all possibilities to try to get a BIOS screen on the monitor which should be your first goal.

Edit: I was just thinking that an old machine might have a modem card and/or an audio card which you might want to remove if all of the above still doesn't get you a VGA signal.

 

I'm not so sure. What do you mean by CPU? I think the memory sticks are missing. I have been trying to sort through all my old junk to find them, and I hear that ram is very incompatible. :/


As for the video card I don't know, it could be missing too for all I know.
I know I sound really stupid about this, hardware is not my specialty at all.

 

The CPU is a bit tricky to replace. So you have never touched it unless you bought thermal paste which must be re-applied when working with the CPU. Doesn't sound like you have done that. Where the image says socket 775 connector would be the CPU. I'm sure it is in place.
The back panel connectors would include a VGA connector for the monitor.

http://images.highspeedbackbone.net/itemDetails/I69-2152/I69-2152-out2b-hl.jpg



If you also have a video card in a PCI, PCI Express or AGP slot then you would have a second VGA connector on the back of the computer. See how in the picture below the card goes in one of those slots and then a VGA connector would extend through a cutout on the left and show on the back of the computer.
http://www.saintclassified.pk/uploads/computer-parts-proccessor-motherboard-ram-graphics-card-below-processor-intel-roman-narrative-1300rs-case-10-10-ad-187851.jpg

Depending on the age of the computer you may have a PCI modem card that has a telephone jack showing on the back of the computer.

Your going to have to figure out which type of RAM it takes and whether you still have it. If you don't have it then it is probably not worth buying it unless you can find it very cheap on Ebay. You don't want to put any money in that old a machine.
The RAM slots will have those little clips on either end (like in the first picture) that hold the RAM firmly in place. Are those slots empty?

 

Yes they are empty. I had found 2 "sticks" that I tried to put in those slots, but they did not seem to fit. So maybe they are something else.......:confused

 

There are many types of RAM. The little notch in the bottom should line up. Other than reversing which side of the stick is to the left or right, it either fits or it doesn't.

Do you have anything like a model number on the back of the PC? Or a model number on the mother board? That would narrow down what type of RAM it takes.

 

Here is the motherboard's "S/N"
http://db.tt/JvkfHgY6


I think this is the place for the video card you talked about. This looks like there are 4 slots, but there are only 3 on the mother board, and 2 are used with useless parts I assume...
http://db.tt/GrmTOFnZ


2 more pictures form the back....
http://db.tt/2KAPT6UF
http://db.tt/AGDsv9TY

 

It looks like that is model number 510w. It uses SDRAM pc100/133 with a max of 256mb per slot and has two memory slots for a total of 512mb.

You do not want to buy new RAM for it at that price. This picture would give you an idea of what you are looking for around the garage. [I know I have a couple of 128mb PC133, I could send you if you want them.]

Here is a picture of the motherboard so someone can help with drivers. Looks like intel 810 video and Realtek audio. Should be simple for a driver person and it will definitely run win98.

 

The kind of RAM that I found only had 1 notch in it, so this must be an upgrade from something else.

I did find a video card with VGA and DVI output on it, it looks really old so I'm thinking of installing it.

http://db.tt/ivrh8OYU
http://db.tt/Cij33Lwe

 

Wow, that is very generous. I can pay for shipping if you are sure you want to. You don't have to.

 

It looks like the power supply on that PC has a video connector so you should be able to use the video card. You have to get memory first to start it up.

Private message me with an address or email and I'll send out the RAM. I have no need of it and will be happy to send it to you.

 

Sorry late reply sach2, was out of town.

Not sure if you are still playing around with 98SE and are getting ram issues.

If so, then the easiest way to install 98SE is to have no more than 512MB of physical ram installed in the machine. Once 98SE is installed you can try a number of alternatives to allow 98SE to use & address more than 512MB.

It is usually not very difficult to get 98SE to work well with no issues with 1GB of ram but any more ram requires more effort.

Personally, I went for the RLoew ram patch which was easy to install and works very well and as a consequence, am running 98SE with 2GB of ram.

For clarity, all 2GB of ram are fully seen by 98SE, so it is not a case of having 2GB of physical ram and hidding say 1GB from 98SE so that it only sees 1GB (if you see what I mean).

There are also many other tweaks that you can do, firstly use the WindowsMe defrag instead of the 98SE one as it is much faster.

Also for program compatibility KernelEx.

Good Luck

 

Once I have all the hardware, then I just need the software. I have several install discs(one should work) So that just leaves the drivers.

This system did have Win98 on it, so finding drivers should not be impossible.

Even though we are not at that point yet, I still would say that drivers are the next thing we need to find.....

 

Drivers should not be too difficult. Make sure that you have the chipset driver for the mobo.

The rest, vga, sound, nic should not be too difficult to find.

As a last point make sure that you also install the 98 USB mass Storage device driver.

http://www.technical-assistance.co.uk/kb/usbmsd98.php

This will allow 98SE to handle a wide range of thumb drives, eternal HDD and other devices eg digital cameras which do not have a 98 driver.

This program operates the same way as it does on XP ie auto detects device and has the eject icon in the System Tray. If I yet to find any device that it has not recognised including the built in usb hub of my Dell monitor.

Good Luck

 

I got it all hooked up, and this load error shows up, and repeats every-time I hit the keyboard.

http://db.tt/utkXj9mi

Might be something with the IDE cable, when I unplug it, the screen just says "Operating System Not Found"

 

Hi,

I just did a quick search and it looks like that may be a Windows error. Meaning it is trying to boot an old install of XP which is damaged rather than a problem with the HD or IDE cable.

So you could either try to fix that installation with an XP CD or just go ahead and boot from a Win98 disc and format the HD with a FAT32 partition (32gb limit on FAT32 partition) and install Win98. We were looking around for drivers and if you have a Win98SE disc that would be ideal but if not Win98 will have to do.

 

I have been trying to boot from my Win98 install CD with no luck. The problem might be with my dvd drive. I will try to swap it out with some others that I think came with it......


EDIT: Yup, I switched it out and it booted from my CD fine. I seem to remember this drive being bad........

Thing is the drive is CD only. :/ But I might not need to use DVDs.......

 

Windows 98 OS runs fine now.(Brings back some good memories :-D)

I have some programs(games ) that I want to try to run. So drivers that I would need for that is all I need...

 

At some point in the future I might try a version of Win95 I have on this old system.

These drivers I am downloading look like they work with Win95 too. So I should be able to just use these same drivers then, correct?