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| Thread ID: 83183 | 2007-09-22 10:57:00 | Revert to W98SE on Lappie? | Blue Druid (4480) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 594046 | 2007-09-22 10:57:00 | I have been donated an aging Toshiba Satellite Laptop with W2KSP4 loaded but with only 64Mb RAM, to say it struggles would be an understatement. I wondered if it might not be a good idea to do a clean reformat and load a copy of W98SE which I have from a new computer bought in 1999? It will not be called upon to do much more than download email, write the odd letter, check new digital photos, etc., basically MS Works plus Irfanview would do all and more than I require and I still have copies of these from when W98 was new! Printer drivers would not matter because anything to be printed could be put onto a USB drive for printing at home but I am concerned at what other drivers I might require that may no longer be available for this OS. I think (but am not sure) that Avast and Kerio still have a W98 version available. Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated. Um, I might need my memory refreshed a bit on installing W98SE in these circumstances, too. I think I know the basics but I am not at all sure if there are not bits that I either don't know or don't remember. I do know that there is no restore partition on the HDD to complicate matters. Old age is a terrible thing! It ain't for wimps! |
Blue Druid (4480) | ||
| 594047 | 2007-09-22 17:54:00 | why not just install some more ram that'll fix it .......... | drcspy (146) | ||
| 594048 | 2007-09-22 19:50:00 | why not just install some more ram that'll fix it .......... $$$$$$$$ |
Morpheus1 (186) | ||
| 594049 | 2007-09-22 20:05:00 | II think (but am not sure) that Avast and Kerio still have a W98 version available Avast Home/pro will work on Windows 95 +, inc Vista Except server versions. Dont know about Kerio, never used it. |
Speedy Gonzales (78) | ||
| 594050 | 2007-09-22 20:12:00 | More Ram would be a nice solution but do you think it would be possible to procure compatible sticks for a machine that old at a reasonable price? It will only ever be used as a sort of portable email station and photo checker for holidays and has almost no functionality outside of that or as a last extreme if my main PC should ever decide to spit the dummy. In addition, the screen has a couple of disconcertingly bright coloured lines running top to bottom so you wouldn't want to use it too much. I think it is fine for the purpose it was given to me but probably not worth any significant expenditure. I would just like to get it functioning a little quicker, say up to the speed of an energetic slug instead of one suffering from a dire disease. Since it was probably built in the days of W98, that seemed a viable and cost-free solution. |
Blue Druid (4480) | ||
| 594051 | 2007-09-22 20:21:00 | Thanks for that confirmation, Speedy. I only mentioned Kerio because it is one small footprint firewall that I know about. There may be better ones that would do the job and I think it would not be wonderfully wise to connect even W98 to the internet without some sort of fire wall in these dark days. Any recommendations gratefully received. Someone out there might be happy to find a geriatric checking whether his pension is in the bank on a steam-driven lappie :) |
Blue Druid (4480) | ||
| 594052 | 2007-09-22 20:22:00 | I have been donated an aging Toshiba Satellite Laptop with W2KSP4 loaded but with only 64Mb RAM, to say it struggles would be an understatement. I wondered if it might not be a good idea to do a clean reformat and load a copy of W98SE which I have from a new computer bought in 1999? Sure, why not. Nothing wrong with an old O/S on an older computer. Go and check all the drivers are available first though - LAN, modem, graphics, sound, chipset, whatever you need. If so, the go ahead. |
pctek (84) | ||
| 594053 | 2007-09-22 20:38:00 | Thanks pctek. Can you recommend a source for drivers? This is new territory for me and I'm not even sure I know how to install them when I do download them. I presume it would be feasible to download them on my PC and transfer them to the laptop on CD or USB drive? | Blue Druid (4480) | ||
| 594054 | 2007-09-22 20:50:00 | You'll need something to unzip them first, since most of the files will be zipped. Once unzipped, they may have exe files in them. Double click to install the drivers. Or they may have .inf files, you have to go thru device manager to install the driver for whatever the device is. Whats the model of this laptop?? You'll have to check what model, then go to the Toshiba site, search for the model, then see what drivers are available. |
Speedy Gonzales (78) | ||
| 594055 | 2007-09-22 20:59:00 | It is a Toshiba Satellite Model No PS261A-1KKL4 (from the plate on the bottom.) Would one simply transfer the zipped files to the USB drive and unzip them on the laptop or would they need to be unzipped before putting them on the USB drive. Sorry to be asking such noob questions but I am concerned that if I get it wrong, I might create a situation that I can't get out of. |
Blue Druid (4480) | ||
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