windows ME on VBox

[walterius]

I can't get it to work. Does it work? Has anyone got it working? The one thread I could find described *almost* getting it to work, but I need it to *work*.

I will be using a Win ME update CD and a Win 95 CD as proof of eligibility. I don't have DOS, but I do have a one-diskette sort of boot disk that's like DOS. Am I good to go? What do I do?

Many thanks.

Walter Donavan
Fort Lauderdale.

[Perryg]

This can be a test in futility, but I have heard of people getting it to work.
I have and it was a real chore and I have been doing this stuff since the DOS days.
But if you are adventuresome you can (if it is still available) Install Win ME in MS VirtualPC. Then use the VHD file in VBox.
You may find as I that it actually works better in VPC though. The older OSes are just not compatible with the new technology.

[James Bond 007]

This can be a test in futility, but I have heard of people getting it to work.
I have and it was a real chore and I have been doing this stuff since the DOS days.
But if you are adventuresome you can (if it is still available) Install Win ME in MS VirtualPC. Then use the VHD file in VBox.
You may find as I that it actually works better in VPC though. The older OSes are just not compatible with the new technology.

Sorry to interrupt. Are you saying that Virtualbox is not compatible with Windows 98/Me anymore?

I find that hard to believe. If I still need to run programs written for Windows 98/Me that does not run well or does not run at all under Windows XP/Vista/7, pretty much the only option now is to use a virtualization program such as Virtualbox, Virtual PC or VMware Workstation, short of finding an old PC. I believe a virtualization program like Virtualbox should be able to run older OSes like Windows 98 and if it can't, that's just unacceptable (to me, at least).

I have never used Virtualbox myself as VMware Workstation has worked fine for me. The newest version of VMware Workstation, Version 7.0, still run my Windows 98 VMs fine. So in this case at least VMware Workstation is better than Virtualbox, if it is indeed true that Virtualbox is no longer compatible with Windows 98/Me.

I have a bootable Windows 98 ISO that I use to install Windows 98 if necessary. I made it back in older days by burning a bootable CD using a Windows 98 boot floppy and Nero Burning Rom. As my PCs no longer have floppy drives this comes in handy if I need to install Windows 98.

[mpack]

Sorry to interrupt. Are you saying that Virtualbox is not compatible with Windows 98/Me anymore?

No, he said it's a chore. It's possible, but Win95/98/ME are not officially supported and there are no guest additions for them. They run (with a lot of help from third party tools such as Rain and the VBE VESA graphics drivers) - but it will never run as well as an XP VM runs. It's cute seeing W98 run in a VM, but for practical work I always use XP, especially as it should be able to run anything that W98 can run (except VXD device drivers), in a compatibility mode if need be.

I would note as well that if you have never used VirtualBox then you are on shaky ground commenting on the VBox user experience.

[Perryg]

I believe a virtualization program like Virtualbox should be able to run older OSes like Windows 98 and if it can't, that's just unacceptable (to me, at least).

I have never used Virtualbox myself as VMware Workstation has worked fine for me. The newest version of VMware Workstation, Version 7.0, still run my Windows 98 VMs fine. So in this case at least VMware Workstation is better than Virtualbox, if it is indeed true that Virtualbox is no longer compatible with Windows 98/Me.

Why are you posting on VirtualBox.org?

[James Bond 007]

Sorry to interrupt. Are you saying that Virtualbox is not compatible with Windows 98/Me anymore?

No, he said it's a chore. It's possible, but Win95/98/ME are not officially supported and there are no guest additions for them. They run (with a lot of help from third party tools such as Rain and the VBE VESA graphics drivers) - but it will never run as well as an XP VM runs. It's cute seeing W98 run in a VM, but for practical work I always use XP, especially as it should be able to run anything that W98 can run (except VXD device drivers), in a compatibility mode if need be.

I would note as well that if you have never used VirtualBox then you are on shaky ground commenting on the VBox user experience.

Even though I have never used Virtualbox myself, I am still watching the development with interest. If Virtualbox can do what VMware Workstation can do for me now then I may decide to try it out in the future.

I have some older games that I still play occasionally and they don't run or suffer problems such as audio when running under Windows XP. I need to run them under Windows 98 and Virtualbox is unable to do the job for me in this case.

I had intended to try it a little time before but the release of the buggy 3.0 just turns me away. It seems to me that Virtualbox still has some problems such as slow performance when enabling SMP (and no support for Windows 98) that VMware does not have. I hope these problems will be solved in the future. At that time I think I will try it out. It is free, right?

[James Bond 007]

Why are you posting on VirtualBox.org?

Oh, I don't attempt to help with any Virtualbox problems from other people as I have not used it myself. But for general questions such as what processors to recommend and memory requirements I think I can offer some opinion. That's why I still occasionally post here. Am I not allowed to do that?