I’m running Win 95 rev. B and have two USB ports on my PC but was wondering if it is worth my while to buy USB-compatible devices with this type of setup. I’ve been told that I should install Win 98 or above for real USB support, but I’m not too wild about upgrading my OS just yet.
Has anybody else out there installed the USB support for Windows 95 and used it to run their USB devices? If so, has it worked to your general satisfaction?
I’ve tried to get USB to work under Win95 Rev. B a few times, on different computers, and I’ve never gotten it to work quite right. Usually, it just doesn’t recognize the devices, but I had a couple of machines that just crashed after trying to install the extra USB components. Personally, I think you’d be much better off, and probably happier, just going to Win98.
I run USB devices under Win95 without problem. BUT, in my case teh computer shipped from the factory with USB support enabled. toshiba, for the brief time they manufactured desktop PCs, had a model that came with USB ports installed for their control module (controlled CD, TV adapter, FM radio, etc.)
So, I guess the moral is that it can be done successfully, but I never had to do the work myself.
…are you running the “C” version perhaps? I’m just curious. Maybe Toshiba did a little bit of extra tweaking to get the job done, though.
Landsknecht: I’m seriously considering moving up to Win 98, but I won’t go the upgrade route. I’ll probably just get my hands on a full OEM version. Microsoft has cranked out some really funky upgrade versions of their operating systems and I’m sure that the Win 98 is no exception. I’d probably do better to save all my documents, reformat my drive and install Win 98 from the ground up. With this in mind, you can see why I’m reluctant to move to 98 just yet.
Guy,
My guess is that they just had to do some tweaking on the toshiba pc’s. We’ve been able to get some HP scanners that were USB to work on Win95 rev. B but only after some major tweaking. I’d say that if you have some decent experience with a pc, give it a try, but be prepared to spend some time working out some bugs. Otherwise, you may want to upgrade to win98.
You mean, you don’t want to spend an evening backing up files and reformatting? But why? 
I had to do just that when my system got flaky a few months ago. It was a pain, but getting rid of all the dead weight helped alot.
I’m not saying USB under Win95 won’t work, but like Dragwyr said, there’s probably a lot of tweaking to be done.
I ran some USB devices under Win95 B, specifically a digital cam and a microscope. However, my scanner would not work until upgraded to Win98. The problem was not with the hardware or with Windows, the problem was with the device driver supplied by the manufacturer. So if you got win95 drivers for your stuff, it should work fine.
Dragwyr & Landsknecht: Fortunately my CD-ROM burner has a decent backup utility, so I may just go ahead and try fooling around with the registry and other assorted goodies when/if I buy some USB peripherals. Unfortunately, I’m lazy as hell and have been through too many reformat/reload episodes courtesy of my job, my friends, and my family to make this an undertaking that I would look forward to.
Xizor: The only thing I’ve really got my eye on is a digital camera right now. What kind did you buy, if I might ask? I’m a big fan of anything that works right out of the box.
Hey Guy–
Get your hands on an upgrade disk. It has the full version of Win98 on it; all you have to do is begin a clean install, then put in your original Win95 disk when it asks for it.
Cheap is good.
I may give that a try first. I’m just a little bit gun-shy after witnessing the lackluster upgrades that took place from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95, but perhaps I’m comparing apples to oranges there.
It is B, though I do not know what Toshiba may have had to add. I believe it was the first mass produced PC to ship with built in USB ports, though I may be incorrect. I rarely pay much attention to PCs. They have pretty much always been toys, from my persective. (really nice toys, though.)
As to the Win98 upgrade – I have some registry corruption on one of my machines and it has refused to accept an upgrade, even when I specify the clean install. sigh I am flabbergasted that an override exists to the user command “put a brand new OS on this here disk”.
~reaches for his Linux disks~
I am running WIN95 OSR2 with USB on a couple of computers and got them to work OK. It was a minor hassle in the sense that WIN98 includes USB support without having to do anything while with OSR2 you have to install a patch and sometimes it does not work right the first time. In my experience, the best thing is to install USB support just after you install the OS but I have got it to work after all the software was installed. Right now I am running a couple of USB cams and a USB LAN without problem.
It was a Kodak cam. Don’t remember the model number and it is not right here in front of me. It came with its own drivers though, and like are looking for, worked right out of the box.