PC with Windows 98

[LR6]

My wife's friend gave me a Celeron 433 with Windows 98 on it to "fix". I really don't know what is wrong with it mainly because I don't have a PS2 mouse and keyboard around so that I can look at it.

So is it worth it to do anything with this PC? I know that she wants to get online with it and I don't think that is a good idea. Do any modern browsers or security programs even support 98 anymore?

 

[VinDSL]

Puppy Linux is your best friend!

That's what I run on my doorstops...

It'll fly like the wind, if you have enough RAM - say 128MB or more! It'll actually load and run in memory, if you have enough RAM installed. 64MB and below - performance will be a little dicey.

Puppy is totally secure, so you won't need any AV crutches, and you'll be able to run the latest browsers and mail clients, et cetera.

Anyway, that's my recommendation!

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: VinDSL
Puppy Linux is your best friend!

That's what I run on my doorstops...

It'll fly like the wind, if you have enough RAM - say 128MB or more! It'll actually load and run in memory, if you have enough RAM installed. 64MB and below - performance will be a little dicey.

Puppy is totally secure, so you won't need any AV crutches, and you'll be able to run the latest browsers and mail clients, et cetera.

Anyway, that's my recommendation!

Puppy linux is awesome just wish I could figure out how to install stuff on it like flash. Sucks that there is no shockwave though. That really is horrible.

 

[Marty502]

I think a Celeron 433 will suffer even with flash games from Facebook. My mom has a P3 800 with a Radeon 7500 and it barely gets through!
And it's got 512 MB of RAM which is a lot for an old warhorse. So unless it's got a lot of RAM, I don't think you can do much to "fix" it.

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: LR6
My wife's friend gave me a Celeron 433 with Windows 98 on it to "fix". I really don't know what is wrong with it mainly because I don't have a PS2 mouse and keyboard around so that I can look at it.

So is it worth it to do anything with this PC? I know that she wants to get online with it and I don't think that is a good idea. Do any modern browsers or security programs even support 98 anymore?

what exactly is she going to use it for?

what are the system specs?

if for just email and web surfing then it should be fine.

I still use a 366 celeron on a BX board with 512 megs of ram running win XP and it works just fine for basic needs.

For her I would suggest win 2k and 512 megs if her board supports it.

A cheap older AGP card will work fine in it.

 

[bluwing]

Hi,

Which version of 98 is it? First or Second edition? IE 6 still works great on 98SE.

You can always look for XP Lite to run on it. You should atleast boost the memory to 512.

More information about the motherboard would help...


The Celeron Will overclock nicely also, If the bios on the motherboard will let you. You can pickup a couple of USB to PS2 adapters to use your mouse and keyboard.

Have fun and learn some OLD TECHNOLOGY....

bluwing

 

[RebateMonger]

You might have her take a look at refurb Dells IBMs, and HPs at places like http://geeks.com , I've seen desktops that'd be a LOT more useful, selling in the $100 to $200 price range complete with XP installed.

I believe that at least one of the freebie AV programs supports Win98.

 

[mechBgon]

From a security standpoint, I wouldn't use a Win98 system for web browsing or email in today's world. As an isolated box to play Descent II and Mechwarrior2 on, sure

Yeah, at least look for a cheap WinXP box and secure it, or use an alternate OS that's still getting security updates (Win98 is not).

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
...or use an alternate OS that's still getting security updates (Win98 is not).

I wonder how important security updates are for a desktop Linux box.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: mechBgon
...or use an alternate OS that's still getting security updates (Win98 is not).

I wonder how important security updates are for a desktop Linux box.

Depends on who wants access to said box.

 

[nordloewelabs]

Originally posted by: VinDSL
Puppy is totally secure, so you won't need any AV crutches, and you'll be able to run the latest browsers and mail clients, et cetera.

Anyway, that's my recommendation!

mine too!:thumbsup:

 

[Zepper]

As long as the machine has a decent amount of RAM, one of the good compact versions of Linux would be my choice as well. That will obviate the security issue and will easily take care of online surfing/email/shopping and office tasks: Abiword is a nice compact word processor. I don't think I'd go online today with any Windwoes less than XP SP3. But you'll still have to bog the machine down with all the security software. As was said above, Win 2k is a possibility, but once again you have all those security programs to keep updated, etc. Even running Linux, I'd still load up some malware tools to keep from passing along bad stuff (e.g. infected emails) to her Windwoes-using friends and family. I'm pretty sure that I'll be dumping Win soon, just searching for the best distro for me. I just finished my third fresh reinstall of XP Pro over the last few weeks and it is trashed again - I've been kept going by my handy Knoppix Live boot CD... I just don't need the hassle any more.

.bh.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Upgrade to windows 2000 sp4. Or try WinXP SP3 with eye candy features disabled.

 

[Sylvanas]

No point using and older MS OS that no longer receives updates. Use a snappy linux distribution for older hardware, they're kept up to date with plenty more useful applications as standard.

 

[Rottie]

Originally posted by: LR6
My wife's friend gave me a Celeron 433 with Windows 98 on it to "fix". I really don't know what is wrong with it mainly because I don't have a PS2 mouse and keyboard around so that I can look at it.

So is it worth it to do anything with this PC? I know that she wants to get online with it and I don't think that is a good idea. Do any modern browsers or security programs even support 98 anymore?

Get Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu is not hard for her just because she wanted to get online nothing else?

 

[Rottie]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
From a security standpoint, I wouldn't use a Win98 system for web browsing or email in today's world. As an isolated box to play Descent II and Mechwarrior2 on, sure

Yeah, at least look for a cheap WinXP box and secure it, or use an alternate OS that's still getting security updates (Win98 is not).

But I have Compaq notebook AMD K6-333 with 160MB max comes with Windows 98SE and Sygate firewall do you think it is safe?

 

[Zepper]

It's safe as long as you don't connect to the Internet... But I'm sure you were asking a rhetorical question. With that ancient notebook, you also have to beware of possible sneaker-net transfer of malware - remember Chernobyl?

.bh.
.

 

[Rifter]

Linux is the way to go for old hardware.

 

[Iron Woode]

keep in mind that she "knows" win98. Linux might just be a non starter for her.

win2k looks a lot like win98 and is way better. An updated browser, thunderbird for email, Avira free and malwarebytes anti-malware should be enough to protect her system. I doubt she will be surfing for porn or torrents.

personally I like PClinuxos.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: Rottie


Get Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu is not hard for her just because she wanted to get online nothing else?

Ubuntu's kind of a pig. It's my favorite Linux, but it's kind of heavy for an old box like that. I prefer the Puppy suggestion. It's my goto light Linux install.

 

[Rottie]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: Rottie


Get Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu is not hard for her just because she wanted to get online nothing else?

Ubuntu's kind of a pig. It's my favorite Linux, but it's kind of heavy for an old box like that. I prefer the Puppy suggestion. It's my goto light Linux install.

I never heard of Puppy Linux I will look at it if it will work with my old notebook but the problem is how do I install it without CD drive?

 

[Rottie]

Originally posted by: Zepper
It's safe as long as you don't connect to the Internet... But I'm sure you were asking a rhetorical question. With that ancient notebook, you also have to beware of possible sneaker-net transfer of malware - remember Chernobyl?

.bh.
.

Yes I do remember Chernobyl meltdown

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: Rottie

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: Rottie


Get Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu is not hard for her just because she wanted to get online nothing else?

Ubuntu's kind of a pig. It's my favorite Linux, but it's kind of heavy for an old box like that. I prefer the Puppy suggestion. It's my goto light Linux install.

I never heard of Puppy Linux I will look at it if it will work with my old notebook but the problem is how do I install it without CD drive?

It can be run off of a USB stick, or you can do a HD install from a USB stick. Try running it from USB first to see if you like it. It's very easy to setup, and you save save sessions and data to the USB drive so it's persistent from day to day.

http://www.puppylinux.org/

 

[tdawg]

Originally posted by: Iron Woode
keep in mind that she "knows" win98. Linux might just be a non starter for her.

win2k looks a lot like win98 and is way better. An updated browser, thunderbird for email, Avira free and malwarebytes anti-malware should be enough to protect her system. I doubt she will be surfing for porn or torrents.

personally I like PClinuxos.

Second. :thumbsup:

 

[judasmachine]

Play Mechwarrior2, man I miss that game.