Win98se Tower Broken: Tips Wanted For Dos Mode

Hi! I have a Windows 98SE tower at my mother's house, but it's broken. Right now, Windows doesn't start up at all. The next time I'm there, I want to set it up for DOS mode. So I don't mess up its current configuration, I want to boot it up in DOS mode from a floppy. I'm familiar with FORMAT, CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. However, I have two problems: 1. I have removable media compressed with DriveSpace and am able to access them from DOS, but I don't know to use the DOS-based GUI or perform functions such as compressing a drive. 2. Can I get QEMM to optimize a DOS configuration from a floppy?

BTW, I really want my mother to use this computer when I'm not there, but she's not good with computers. Can I make this setup easy enought for her to use?

BTW, I have some Win16 games I want to install on the system. Will Win16 wdork on DOS 7.1?

Last thing: I don't know what to put in the BLASTER variable. How do I find that out?

 

1. To use the DOS-based GUI for DriveSpace, you need to run the DRVSPACE command with the /S switch. This will launch a graphical interface that allows you to view and manage your compressed drives. You can also use the /C switch to compress a drive, or the /U switch to uncompress a drive. For more information, you can check the DriveSpace - Wikipedia article or the ms dos - What is the difference between DriveSpace and DoubleSpace … post.
   
   
2. To use QEMM to optimize a DOS configuration from a floppy, you need to copy the QEMM386.SYS file and the OPTIMIZE command to the floppy disk. Then, you need to edit the CONFIG.SYS file on the floppy disk to include the line DEVICE=QEMM386.SYS. After that, you can run the OPTIMIZE command from the floppy disk to configure QEMM for your system. You can also use the /R switch to create a report of the optimization process. For more details, you can refer to the Un-Losing the Art of DOS Memory Management - The Silicon Underground article or the QEMM - Wikipedia article.
   
   
3. To run Win16 games on DOS 7.1, you need to install Windows 3.1 or Windows 3.11 on your system. DOS 7.1 does not support Win16 applications natively, but it can run them through Windows. You can install Windows 3.1 or Windows 3.11 from a floppy disk or a CD-ROM, depending on your hardware. You can also use a virtual machine software like QEMU to emulate Windows 3.1 or Windows 3.11 on your system. For more instructions, you can check the How to use QEMU to boot another OS - How-To Geek article or the QEMU User Documentation — QEMU documentation page.
   
   
4. To find the BLASTER variable in DOS, you need to know the settings of your sound card, such as the port address, the interrupt, the DMA channel, and the card type. You can usually find these settings in the manual of your sound card, or by using a diagnostic tool like Manifest. Once you know the settings, you can set the BLASTER variable in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file using the format SET BLASTER=Axxx Ix Dx Tx, where xxx is the port address, x is the interrupt, x is the DMA channel, and x is the card type. For example, if your sound card has a port address of 240, an interrupt of 9, a DMA channel of 0, and a card type of 3, you can set the BLASTER variable as SET BLASTER=A240 I9 D0 T3. For more information, you can check the BLASTER Variable | DOS Wiki | Fandom article or the BLASTER Environment Variable - Lo-tech Wiki page.
   

 

Thank you for all your info. Now, where can I get Manifest?

 

I'm at my mother's house right now and am working on the boot floppy but am having an issue: I am loading the PalmZip driver from config.sys after QEMM, and, as soon as it finishes installing, I get an exception that an illegal instruction was executed. When I disable the line, the system boots so far. I thought the default Iomega drivers would work, so I scanned the hard drive for "guest.exe" and came up empty-handed. I should have it on my Win11/64 laptop and might have it on one of my flash drives. I need to check, and, if I don't find it, download it from driverguide.com. The reason I want PalmZip is that it is much smaller than the default drivers, so it is a loss. If you want, I can attach the config files for Windows, and maybe you can help with that.

 

I couldn't find it on driverguide but found it quickly on Google. I will transfer it now.

 

I have a mostly-working DOS configuration working now except for one thing: I can't access my flash drive. When I install the drivers and access the drive, the system crashes. I'm using the drivers from the Bret Johnson's Home Page page. The system also crashes when I install the PalmZip driver. Also, I've been unable to download the USB docs.

 

I got the USB drivers to work. Unfortunately, I had to disable EMS and UMBs. I plan to extract some goodies from my flash drive and copy some files off some floppies, as all my USB floppy drives broke. Then, I can disable the UMB driver and reenable EMS/UMB.

 

Right now, I'm trying to get sound to work and don't know its settings. I also just tried a C64 emulator, but it doesn't display ModeX modes properly. I assume it's because my SVGA card is not fully compatible. Where online can I find a program to find a program to check the settings?

 

I just tried drvspace /s and got a This program requires Microsoft Windows error. I really want DriveSpace, as I already have a lot of disks compressed with DriveSpace. BTW, my system won't mount compressed floppies, even though I'm pretty sure I saw an entry for DriveSpace in mem/c.