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Re: Tutorial: Windows 95/98 guest OSes

Posted: 30. Dec 2009, 16:37
by Ramzee
When I first tried installing the suggested universal VBE Miniport - Standard PCI Graphics Adaptor (VGA) on my Win95B and Win98 VMs, like many others I couldn't get more than 16 colours.

I've found that the fault lies in Win9x's support for VirtualBox's relativly modern hardware and that the fix is relatively easy.

1) Install the Intel Inf Update Utility for 400 series. Running this will install the appropiate inf's for the OS to handle the pci bus correctly.
2) Update the Standard PCI Graphics Adaptor (VGA) driver from Win9x Device Manager using the update driver button on the Display Adaptor's Driver Tab and choose the location of the vbe9x\uni driver.

With this setup I can choose from 320 x 200 256 Color to 1600 x 1200 True Color (32 bit) and everything in between.
DirectX 8.0 can be installed and will successfully complete 2D and 3D (very slow) tests using software rendering.

Notes
Prior to updating the intel inf's on win95B the IDE controller was running in compatability mode and neither the CD or floppy (images) could be accessed from within Win95 (DOS mode worked with the correct driver/s). As infinst_enu.exe at 1,528 KB is to big for a floppy I had to mount a 2nd virtual HDD (with infinst_enu.exe on it) so I could run it in Win95B. Win98's IDE controller seemed to work correctly but I still needed to run infinst_enu.exe to get VBE9x/uni to work fully.

Re: Tutorial: Windows 95/98 guest OSes

Posted: 30. Dec 2009, 19:22
by ghr
Ramzee: my compliments ! I tried this on a bare bones Win95 OSR2 VM ; installed the Intel utility and next I went for the VBE UNI driver; all went well in one go. I do have some known issues (widgets, dos box) but the usual workarounds apply. So this solution is at least as good as any other one ! Well, better because this removes the need for e.g. Display Doctor :-)

Edit 20100102: workarounds added:
- for dos window: hit "alt enter" and hit it again => should fix the problem
- for widgets: change display resolution and refuse => should fix the problem.

Re: Tutorial: Windows 95/98 guest OSes

Posted: 31. Dec 2009, 14:39
by Ramzee
ghr: Unfortunatly, things aren't as clear cut as I first thought. I've since tried a couple of clean installs of Windows 95 B and the win9x\uni hasn't always taken first time and I've also successfully installed win9x/uni before installing the Intel Inf Update Utility.

The key stage to get the Miniport - Standard PCI Graphics Adaptor (VGA) to take appears to be to have Windows 95's Standard PCI Graphics Adaptor (VGA) installed first and then update it's driver with vbe9x/uni via Device Manager.
It may then take (and give you the option to select more than 16 colors) after a reboot (or three). There's no new hardware detection or anything after the first reboot, the Display Properties\Settings tab Color Palette drop down list just takes on the new properties eventually.

Installing the Intel Inf Update Utility for 400 series certainly does help Win 95 see the correct hardware in Device Manager though.

My main focus at the moment is to get Windows 95 B to read the floppy (image) like DOS (and Win98).

Re: Tutorial: Windows 95/98 guest OSes

Posted: 31. Dec 2009, 16:02
by ghr
OK, sometimes one is just lucky :-) Now about the floppy: best case I get to reading that when booting the W95 VM in DOS...

Re: Tutorial: Windows 95/98 guest OSes

Posted: 1. Jan 2010, 16:02
by stefan.becker
Why not making an ISO image of the Software needed in the Guest. On Linux hosts you can do this with "mkisofs". Then you dont need to split files.

Re: Tutorial: Windows 95/98 guest OSes

Posted: 2. Jan 2010, 16:30
by Ramzee
Just an update on using the Miniport - Standard PCI Graphics Adaptor (VGA) win9x/uni driver.

If you Run the Add New Hardware Wizard to detect non plug and play devices an even number of times the display adaptor settings are preserved. If you run it an uneven number of times the display adaptor settings are changed to/from 16 colour mode. The changes are applied at the next warm reboot.

Edit (2010-01-17): Shut down behavour is different to Restart
If the VM is Shut down instead, at the next cold boot (of the Guest), the video adaptor is correctly detected but by then it's settings may have been miss set (if any 16 color settings have been Applied). The solution is to choose a 256+ color mode in Display Properities, Shut down the VM (rather than Restart) and then cold boot the VM.

As mentioned, by the vbe9x developers, DOS full screen works, but in a window causes screen corruption (Using ALT+Enter to switch between DOS Full Screen and Window modes will fix it).

This applies to Win95B and Win98SE.

Re: Tutorial: Windows 95/98 guest OSes

Posted: 2. Jan 2010, 23:56
by Ramzee
ghr: Thanks for the hint about Alt+Enter :D

Some more info now I've got the floppy drive working in my Win 95B VM.

(Edited to prioritize the list so people don't install Amdk6upd.exe unnecessarily)

1) The Win95B real-mode FDD driver wouldn't work (ie. in safe mode) if the VM had more than 16MB of Base Memory.
2) (was 4th) Disabling the Standard Floppy Disk Controller (in Device Manager) or renaming C:\Windows\System\Iosubsys\HSFLOP.PDR in Safe Mode will force Drive A: using MS-DOS compatibility mode file system after a reboot.

Although Device Manager shows an error for the FD Controller everything shows up correctly in My Computer and works!

3)The Fast CPU Fix Amdk6upd.exe updates the Floppy Disk Controller driver HSFLOP.PDR which can read the floppy.
4) but HSFLOP.PDR v4.00.1113 doesn't enumerate the FDD in the VM properly and creates 4 Floppy Disk Drives in My Compurter.

Notes
VirtualBox: 3.1.2
Host: i7, Windows 7 Pro (32 bit)
Guest: Windows 95B OSR 2.1, 16MB RAM, 18MB Graphics, 16GB HDD .vdi

Windows 98 SE has a number of fast proccessor and bug fixes and is to be recommended over 95B if you have the choice.

Re: Tutorial: Windows 95/98 guest OSes

Posted: 3. Jan 2010, 01:37
by ghr
You're welcome ! And even more so for the floppy ! My experiences: up to step 3 fine, getting 4 floppy drives, usable. Next, to make it nice (single A: instead of quad E: or whatever I got) is trickier (result: VM complains about unformatted floppy in A:) , but I got it somewhat going. Note: typo in filename: it is hsflop.pdr (not .vxd) that I renamed... When rebooting: have an empty (unmounted) floppy drive; with it mounted I got a boot error. Note: all this using a rather old VB version (1.5.6).... but my PC is older :-)

Edit 20100103: this seems even to allow a read-only floppy image file, at last !!! A few checks worked out well: can read, cannot write, VM does not crash.

Re: Tutorial: Windows 95/98 guest OSes

Posted: 3. Jan 2010, 01:52
by Ramzee
Note:The Fast Processor fix Amdk6upd.exe can break PCI enumeration (ie. the Intel Inf Update Utility for 400 Series doesn't find the chipset) Edit: More testing has shown this to be incorrect (2010-01-09). A fix is to rename pcinogat.vxd (from the original 95 CD) to pci.vxd or find pccardupd.exe which has version 4.00.1120, 28/8/97.

The uninstall inf for Amdk6upd.exe can be found in C:\Windows\Inf\Qfe\Amdk6_un.inf. This will reinstall the old files from the original Windows installation CD or Directory.

If you don't need the fast processor fix and can access the floppy drive from Safe Mode just disable the FD Controller to force MS-DOS compatability mode (the key variable was the 16MB Base Memory).

Re: Tutorial: Windows 95/98 guest OSes

Posted: 7. Jan 2010, 01:13
by Ramzee
Another Tip: Getting Windows 95 B Network Neighbor to Work correctly with a Bridged Adaptor

By default Network Neighbor in Windows 98 SE will just work if you configure it correctly - Client for Microsoft Networks, AMD PCNET Family Ethernet Adaptor (PCI&ISA), TCP/IP and File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks.

Unfortunatly Network Neighbor in a fresh install of Windows 95 B does not.

The fix is to:-

1) Install the Windows 95 Dial Up Networking Upgrade 1.4 dun14-95.exe and reboot. This will upgrade the required Network components to fix Network Neighbor.

Network Neighbor will now work correctly.

2) You can remove the DUN 1.4 Dial-Up Adaptor, Dial-Up Adaptor #2 (VPN Support) and Microsoft Virtual Private Networking Adaptor from Network/Properties/Configuration tab as they're not required.

Notes:
Without the fix, Network Neighbor will take a long time to search everytime it's opened and will often have an incomplete list. Dirty fixes include setting static IPs and/or additional protocols.

Re: Tutorial: Windows 95/98 guest OSes

Posted: 1. Mar 2010, 15:16
by dawong
Hello:

Thanks for all the tips, this forum is loaded with info. FYI I have an iso boot disc with the speed patch that may make it slightly faster for some to install Win95. There is a batch program that will let you recover from IOS errors by installing the amd patch in DOS, although it only copies a portion of the entire update (the full amdk6upd.exe is also on the disc). I have tested it on an intel but not amd processor in VIrtualbox and Win7 64 bit.

Unfortunately, I confirmed what was in an earlier post which is that the dial up networking 1.4 patch will not work in 95B. It will install just fine in Virtual PC and VMWare, however. I hope whatever causing this can be fixed, because the DUN 1.4 patch also fixes the 2.1 Ghz IOS problem. Fortunately, that problem may not manifest in VMs for a while.

Files:
http://www.virtualuser.net/files/win95/Win95VPC7.doc
http://www.virtualuser.net/files/win95/w95vpcbt.exe

Derek

Re: Tutorial: Windows 95/98 guest OSes

Posted: 15. May 2010, 15:22
by stefan.becker
With this driver Win 98SE detects / supports USB2:

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/91336-u ... r-win98me/

Re: Discuss: Tutorial: Windows 95/98 guest OSes

Posted: 23. Sep 2010, 14:46
by ripjacker
Has anyone managed to install win98SE on the latest VB release with a win7-64bit host ?
I tried repeatedly with many different settings last night but couldnt get it
past the selection of components to install part.

I tried booting a virtual floppy (worked OK) with virtual CD rom support and and it all runs fine
until part way through the install. It crashes to dos with a register print out.
(error outside the dos extender message or something like that)

I tried using the setup switches with different variations and also the /pj switch listed here.

Should this be working?

rip
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Re: Discuss: Tutorial: Windows 95/98 guest OSes

Posted: 30. Sep 2010, 14:41
by ripjacker
It seems none of the video drivers now work.

We need a petition to get Win98 fully supported.

Am I right in thinking I'm not the only one who wants this?

rip
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Re: Discuss: Tutorial: Windows 95/98 guest OSes

Posted: 3. Oct 2010, 16:23
by Technologov
>We need a petition to get Win98 fully supported.

I dunno if petitions can help in this case; Oracle is a commercial company, not a political party. So only money speaks.
And only money plays role in capitalist world, and while I am ready to pay reasonable price for good Win98 support (say $100), my price point is insignificant.

As for the Open-Source principles, it means that you should take the code, and make it happen.

-Technologov