On 29 Apr 2021 at 22:32, Adam Nielsen via Freedos-user wrote: > > Thanks for the NUC warning, but Win98 actually will switch from BIOS > > to built-in drivers which are likely not able to cope with new > > chips. > > That's what I thought too, but I figured it would at least run in > compatibility mode and IIRC the BIOS had options to run the SATA > interface in IDE-compatibility mode so I figured my chances were good > but alas no. > Either generic IDE mode can be enabled in the HW, or you have a chance if Win98 are willing to work via the "compatibility mode" (BIOS services) - that has theoretical chance of working even on fairly new AHCI controllers, provided that the "firmware" still has BIOS services (int 13h if memory serves). I've found this post about AHCI vs. Win98: https://msfn.org/board/topic/173885-ahci-and-windows-9x/
Not that I've ever tried this on modern hardware :-) Also, you'll have a hard time finding modern PC hardware with less than approx. 1GB of RAM, which is another principal "no go" for Windows98... Overall, to run Win98 on modern PC hardware, I'd strongly recommend to install some modern OS first (even Debian Linux) and install Win98 in a virtual PC / emulator. No problem with RAM size, HDD controller, VGA hardware compatibility, legacy BIOS support, generally drivers for hardware. The same goes for Windows XP on modern hardware, and the Windows 7 will soon follow (or have followed already, around Kaby Lake if not earlier. No driver for USB 3.1+ XHCI.) > I've only bought Intel boards for quite a few years now > As much as I am a diehard fanboy of Intel PC CPU's and chipsets in the industrial hardware that we sell, I am not a fanboy of Intel-branded *motherboards*. I've had one bad experience, about a decade ago, on an LGA775 board at the time, which had an odd glitch that the board sometimes (often) would not be able to start from ACPI S5, after it has been booted into Windows XP and shut down by software a couple times. You had to pull the cord out of the wall socket, or flip the rocker switch on the PSU. Linux did not have this problem. And it was a couple dozen boards sold, and no problem ever acknowledged from Intel... Other than that, the Intel BIOS looks like something "smug and simple" = allowing Intel to be first to the market, with their shiny new silicon on their own motherboards, like a reference implementation... but somehow as if the motherboards don't get much love from their maker after launch. So Intel CPU's and chipsets definitely yes, but on other vendors' motherboards. With respect to no-nonsense legacy BIOS compatibility and no-frills reliable hardware, I'd like to praise Advantech in the "industrial" segment and specifically Gigabyte in the office-grade PC segment. Preferably if you purchase models that are not "hot off the press", i.e. the BIOS is not an initial shipping version. > I do like the NUC though and I found that some of their older models > list Win98 as supported so I am on the lookout for those models, but > even second-hand ones go for surprisingly high prices where I am, and > people seem happy with them as they don't come up for sale very often. > Or maybe they don't last very long before they start getting flakey ;-) To me, the NUC is a problematic form factor. I've been a troubleshooter for a wide range of industrial PC's, including passive/fanless models - and I know what sized aluminium box with how many fins it takes, to decently heatsink an ATOM, or a full-fledged Core i3/5/7 CPU (even the T/U/Y models). The NUC feels just too small and flat-surfaced for the CPU that's quietly ticking away inside. The elevated inner temperature also affects an SSD that serves as a boot disk... I certainly wouldn't buy a second hand NUC. I'm a big fanboy of Intel ATOM CPU's, from Bay Trail onwards. For a variety of uses, not necessarily for DOS specifically... My favourite construction is: get a passive-cooled MiniITX board with an ATOM, and add a slow-revolving fan. Or just an airshroud to direct the faint draft of air from the PSU fan through the CPU heatsink. Frank _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
