Installing 98 SE on an old PC - still viable?

Hello all. I have an old Dell from 2000 with a 3dfx Voodoo5 graphics card that I want to install 98 SE on. It will be used primarily for a back up PC and to play a few Glide games on (Diablo II in particularly). It's been years since I've used Win 98 and I understand it is no longer supported by MS. A few questions:

Is it still viable to use the OS? It will be connected to the Internet, but via a router with a hardware firewall. Also, I will use Opera and Avast! Home antivirus on it, plus whatever spyware cleaners I can find that will still work on 98 SE to try to keep it as secure as possible. Also, does Windows Update still work on 98 SE up to the point MS stopped issuing updates for it? Or will I have to install those one at a time from a third party site?

Basically it's going to be a little "project" PC, but I do want to be able to use it semi-regularly nonetheless. Thanks for you advice and help everyone.

 

it will be no trouble
the drivers can be an issue for you
especially the drivers for the network card
otherwise no network
either get a fairly standard card that will be installed native in windows 98
( such as an intel)
or hunt the driver down on a site such as driverguide.com
older dlinks seem to install fine
if the computer has older black isa slots those do as well
you can older versions of programs that are less demanding at
www.oldversion.com
best to use windows 98 se - lot more drivers for support

 

Sounds like I'm good to go. I've Googled a few 98 SE tips and file compelations that should keep it running nicely. Again, it's going to be just a fun project for me. Kind of like keeping a piece of history running (with the 3dfx Voodoo card in the PC).

I did check a few support tools. Avast! home does support 98 still, as does Spybot Search and Destroy, the latest version of Opera and a registry/file maintenace utilitie I use called Ace Utilities. With the hardware firewall that's one less thing to worry about.

 

Well, installed 98 SE last night. I used that Unofficial Windows 98 SE service pack and then Windows Update for everything up to the point they stopped supporting it. Installed Opera for my browser and Avast! Home for my anti-virus. Tested the PC with Shields Up! and it's in total "stealth" mode on the interenet Installed my two favorite old Glide games - Diablo II and Divine Divinity - and they are working fine. Great experience all in all.

It's a shame MS shelved support of this OS. It really does serve a purpose and is in no way obsolete with a little patience, patching and choosing the right programs. The old PC it's on is fine, but there's no way it would run on XP (not run well that is). But it's not worn out - still runs great. Shouldn't have to junk it because MS deems the OS it needs out-of -date.

 

jeff,

as a sales trick one charlatan i knew would install windows 98 on a p2
256 ram is needed
works and runs - until the user tries to do anything , adds anything like an antivirus or word processor
the key update for the 98 is the internet explorer 6 update
winamp 2.8 is a very good media player that uses little ram
You can get it all here:

http://oldversion.com/

don't install direct x 8 - it will slow you to a crawl and cannot be taken out
stick with 7 at the most
Its only in the last year or so that more and more programs will not run on the windows 98 stream and will only run on xp/2000 sp4
its all overkill beyond most people's needs

 

I actually patched up IE 6 using Windows Update. Apparently they are keeping it patched regardless of the OS it's used on - ran it on "Scanit" and it had no known vulnerabilities. With that in mind I installed a IE shell with tabs and pop-up blocker, since it does run better than Opera.

I have a fair bit of memory for a 98 SE rig - 384 MB, so it's handly most programs fairly well - even if they are current. It also has a PowerLeap Celeron 1100 cpu upgrade. Still no barn-burner, but it's doing fine for what I'm using it for.