In the past, I’ve always taken linux or windows bashing with a grain of salt. I mean, in the OS war there are no winners.
About 3 years ago I switched all my home machines to Linux and I didn’t look back. Linux offered everything I needed. But recently I decided that I really should have one box for windows. I want to play the new Wizardry 8. I also have some music software that is windows only. (actually windows and mac, but who has a mac?).
Which windows should I install? Well, I have legit copies of win95 and 98 and 98se upgrade, so I opted for win98 with plans of upgrading it to 98se.
So begins the Ordeal of installing windows 98.
My machine: A p2-450 w/128M of ram. a nvidia TNT video card, a 3com 3c905 10/100 ethernet card and a sound blaster platinum live.
To make things ‘easier’ for windows, I fdisk’d my drive so I had only one large ass unformatted partition for windows to play with.
First the install. The install-setup made me reboot twice before asking me questions. Then I had to enter the CD key. No problem. And then I chose ‘normal’ install instead of custom because again, I wanted to make things ‘easier’ on windows. Another reboot and it’s coming up to the detect hardware.
Ethernet card, unknown.
Sound Card, unknown. (3 unknowns actually)
Video card, unknown.
Internal 56K modem. unknown.
So I had basic VGA, no sound and no network. Luckily, this wasn’t my first install of windows and in the past I had burned a CD with my ethernet drivers.
I got ethernet installed, reboot. I decide, like an idiot, that windows 98se upgrade is a good next step. I’m thinking that it might have some of the drivers for that came out shortly after 98 was released.
I start the win98se upgrade and when I get prompted for the cd key, it tells me that my cd key is invalid (and probably pirated). I type it in again 3 more times and nothing. Then I decide to try teh cd key I used in the install. Again, nothing.
MS Tech support interlude: “My cd key isn’t working for win98se.” “That happens. Read the key to me, I’ll verify it and give you some other keys to try.” reading of keys and he gives me litterally 10 more CD keys to ‘try’
It didn’t work. So fuq it. I’m not going to do the tech support schtick again.
Ok, I abort the upgrade. Now, I’ve only installed 98, my ethernet drivers and aborted a 98se upgrade. My system is running without sound and in 640x480 VGA mode. And suddenly I’m WAY unstable. Something from the ‘half assed’ 98se upgrade hosed something.
I start again.
This time I decide to screw the 98se upgrade. After all, all the important stuff should be on the windows upgrade site. And I decide to install ALL my drivers before heading out. Video drivers installed. Ethernet installed. Sound installed. Now when I boot, I get no ‘unknown device’ messages. The machine is slow and I’ve got no software installed. But I trudge onward. I hit windows update.
Since it has a ‘critical update’ I can only install that on its own. I can’t multi select. Fine. I need that so I get it and more rebooting. Head out to the upgrade site. No critical updates, but it strongly suggests I installed IE 6.0. I do, but when I select it it says that I cannot multi-select with IE 6.0. So I install it and more rebooting. Head out to the site again, more critical patches?!? Guess IE 6.0 breaks stuff. Get the patches, more rebooting. Start selecting things but when I hit DirectX 8.0 it says that it has to be installed alone so I uncheck everything else and get DirectX8.0. Install. Reboot. head out and select a bunch of piddly shit. Install, reboot.
In the end I had to reboot 13 times to get to a ‘base line’ win98 system.
This was a collasol pain in the ass. And each reboot takes a long time with ‘updating registry’ etc… In the end, it took me about 5 HOURS to go from an fdisk’d drive to a win98 patched system and I have broad band. I dont’ even want to think of what would have happened if I had only a dial up modem for those patches and system upgrades.
I sure hope Wizardry 8 makes this all worth while.
