Does Windows 98 support USB 2?

[Mucho]

A friend want to buy a PIC USB card and installing it in his Win98 machine, would Win98 support it?

 

[BlueWeasel]

I don't think so.

 

[Budman]

I dont see why not,as long as the maker supplies a driver it should work.

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: Budman
I dont see why not,as long as the maker supplies a driver it should work.

It seems that on most of the packaging of all the major flash drives USB 2.0 is NOT supported in Win98 or 98SE..

But I don't know either..

 

[daveshel]

No. Win98 doesn't have the miniport drivers to go with the hardware vendor supplied drivers.

 

[Wolfshanze]

Hmmm... that's funny... I use USB 2.0 devices on one of my Win98SE systems all the time. Works fine for me.

This article explains things a bit:
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=9856

You can get Win98 USB 2.0 drivers here:
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://www.siig.com/USB2.0_v2.06.exe"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://www.siig.com/USB2.0_v2.06.exe">ftp://www.siig.com/USB2.0_v2.06.exe</a></a>

These also tend to work universally:
ftp://download.orangemicro.com/USB2/Setup.exe

There are also other drivers that seem to work fine, all you have to do is look for them, but they do exist (mine work just fine).

Lesson of the day: Don't believe everything you read, especially on Microsoft.com - and don't jump to conclusions about driver availability.

 

[Fern]

Yup, win98se will support USB2

Fern

 

[stash]

Microsoft doesn't say that it won't work. It just isn't supported. Windows 98 in general is not supported.

 

[Mucho]

Thanks for those links.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: STaSh
Microsoft doesn't say that it won't work. It just isn't supported. Windows 98 in general is not supported.

OK, Windows 98se "will do" USB 2. I've got 4 boxes at my office with USB 2 devices (at USB 2 speeds).

The "supported" thing can be confusing. The USB 2 drivers do not come from MS, as is the case with XP. My USB 2 drivers come from the mobo maker etc.

Thats the only diff AFAIK- With XP, the drivers come MS, with 98se they come from the mobo manufacturer.

Fern

 

[nineball9]

In early 1999, I purchased a Dell XPS T500 (can't read model number from here) which was loaded with Win 98 (not Win 98se). The system included Altec Lansing speakers with pseudo-surround sound satelite speakers as well as the subwoofer-amp. The speaker system requires a USB connection to enable controlling volume and balance using a software application.

The speaker control app works fine as did the USB connection under Win98. (The system was upgraded to Win98se at a later date.) In short, Win98 supported USB. Moreover, Microsoft did indeed support USB under Windows 98 at the time - see chapter 24 (as well as other chapters) in the Microsoft Windows 98 Resource Kit.

 

[stash]

The "supported" thing can be confusing. The USB 2 drivers do not come from MS, as is the case with XP. My USB 2 drivers come from the mobo maker etc.

I don't see what is confusing here. If you call Microsoft support for help getting USB2 to work on Windows 98, they aren't going to be able to help you. That doesn't mean it doesn't work.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: nineball9
In early 1999, I purchased a Dell XPS T500 (can't read model number from here) which was loaded with Win 98 (not Win 98se). The system included Altec Lansing speakers with pseudo-surround sound satelite speakers as well as the subwoofer-amp. The speaker system requires a USB connection to enable controlling volume and balance using a software application.

The speaker control app works fine as did the USB connection under Win98. (The system was upgraded to Win98se at a later date.) In short, Win98 supported USB. Moreover, Microsoft did indeed support USB under Windows 98 at the time - see chapter 24 (as well as other chapters) in the Microsoft Windows 98 Resource Kit.

I think the debate is whether USB 2.0 will work. You are correct that 98 did support USB 1.1.

 

[thegorx]

yes, you can get high speed usb 2.0 to work with windows 98, if there are drivers
I had an via chipset card that I could never get the driver to load correctly
but with new motherboards I've never had a problem

as far as flash drives or memory card readers do your homework and get one that has windows 98 drivers then seach the net from any problems with the device in windows 98.

 

[villageidiot111]

Yes it will support USB2.0, as I have a computer right now with 98se that uses 2.0

 

[Basie]

Since using Linux I've been able to get rid of my Microsoft supporter. I feel much more
comfortable.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: STaSh

The "supported" thing can be confusing. The USB 2 drivers do not come from MS, as is the case with XP. My USB 2 drivers come from the mobo maker etc.

I don't see what is confusing here. If you call Microsoft support for help getting USB2 to work on Windows 98, they aren't going to be able to help you. That doesn't mean it doesn't work.

Perhaps I'm too cautious? I just didin't want peeps to think USB 2 doesn't work with 98se.

Not trying to hassle you man, or get picky. There are less experienced peeps here. Think of games/apps, usually if it says "98se" not supported - if prolly won't work.

We get a lot of "viewers" here who are not as "articulate" as you seem to be. I've seen peeps posting here get "confused" over much simpler things. Your point about contacting MS about 98se with USB 2 is, I think, a good one.

 

[VirtualLarry]

It is confusing. Additionally, if you have a Via-based USB 2.0 ("EHCI") controller chipset, I strongly suggest downloading the full version of the USB 2.0 stack drivers from Soyo's website, version 2.54. I've tryed the 2.56 and 2.58 drivers, in Win98se, on my KT400/8235 board, and have had serious issues with lockups, but rolling back to those 2.54 drivers, my devices and whatnot were properly detected.

It is a bit of a shame that MS never officially released an update to Win98se to natively (MS-written) support USB 2.0/EHCI controllers, but any PCI USB 2.0 card should include 3rd-party drivers to properly support it.

 

[xgsound]

I am running win98se and added usb 2.0 with a PCI card that came with drivers.

I had already updated with http://exuberant.ms11.net/98sesp.html the 1.6.2 rollup and had usb 1.1 working.

I have added a Sandisk card reader successfully, and the usb 2.0 card cleared up some troubles I had with my newer usb printer. My son's thumbdrive also works fine.

My comp is an old Amd/Via hybrid, so data doesn't fly at the full rate, but it is dependable.

Jim

 

[GonzoDaGr8]

Originally posted by: Basie
Since using Linux I've been able to get rid of my Microsoft supporter. I feel much more
comfortable.

And this is supposed to be helpfull in this thread how??