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Brian Christiansen wrote:
> The following is my plan of action, based on what I know about the
> situation, suggestions made here, and some research I did on the internet.
>
>
> 1.. Back up all critical data to a memory stick, CD, whatever.
>
> 2.. Get computer running as best as possible using the following steps
>
> 1.. Remove windows XP and revert back to 98, or
>
> 2.. Do a clean install of 98 if the old recovery disks are still around

I like that better. It would be good if the W98 were 98se instead of the
vanilla 98. Back in the W98 days, often the computer with a factory
installed OS got a genuine MS disk instead of just a factory disk.

But, now that I'm looking at the HP site, it looks like the HP recovery
disk is W98SE with quite a bit of software, see this section:

http://bit.ly/cB0K6H HP Customer Care > HP Pavilion 4533 Desktop PC
(US) > Product information - Complete software package - The
following software is pre-loaded on the hard disk drive and can be
re-loaded by using the HP Recovery Kit CD's

> 3.. Determine what the computer is used for and remove all software that
> does not support that purpose or reinstall all software the supports that
> purpose.

If you will be able to install W98se from an install disk, you won't
have to worry about removing software. It will be the basic install.

> 3.. See what can be done about connecting to the internet after those
> things are completed.

When you are backing things up to that CD/thumbdrive get all of the HP
stuff, like the audio/modem drivers discussed earlier. The HP page of
support drivers which is accessed from the above link doesn't have
anything useful - see http://peek.snipr.com/1fad63 [h10025_www1_hp_com]

.... so if you don't have that HP recovery disk you will need to do some
more digging around on HP's site to find the drivers listed somewhere
other than next to the product.

It has 2 USB apparently USB1 and the optical is just CDROM.

One of the problems that is a little tricky with W98 is finding
software, as the newest browsers don't work with W98. Opera is supposed
to. Tbird can be induced to work with kernelex. Chrome doesn't. You
don't want to be using any of the IEs which will work. It comes with
something like IE4.


--
Mike Easter

Mike Easter <> wrote in
news::

<snip>

> One of the problems that is a little tricky with W98 is
> finding software, as the newest browsers don't work with
> W98. Opera is supposed to.

As you know, I use Win98SE Lite - I use OperaUSB10 when I need
javashit and other ****, and it works beautifully, Flash and
everything - although I kind of wish it /didn't/ do Flash. Flash
is worse than frames. (Remember those? Good times.)

Off by One. The BEST browser around. If it does not do it, you
don't need it - this assumes you have a brain and are not just
substituting Idiot Box 2 for Idiot Box 1. (OK, you DO need Opera
for your bank account. [Or a telephone.])


--
"Anytime I hear the word "culture", I reach for my iPad."
- 21st Century Humanoid

thanatoid <> wrote in
news:Xns9E2B8FF7E8Dthanexit@85.214.73.210:

> Mike Easter <> wrote in
> news::
>
> <snip>
>
>> One of the problems that is a little tricky with W98 is
>> finding software, as the newest browsers don't work with
>> W98. Opera is supposed to.
>
> As you know, I use Win98SE Lite - I use OperaUSB10 when I
> need javashit and other ****, and it works beautifully,
> Flash and everything - although I kind of wish it /didn't/
> do Flash. Flash is worse than frames. (Remember those? Good
> times.)
>
> Off by One. The BEST browser around. If it does not do it,
> you don't need it - this assumes you have a brain and are
> not just substituting Idiot Box 2 for Idiot Box 1. (OK, you
> DO need Opera for your bank account. [Or a telephone.])

Mike, I'm sorry, I know I am a pathetic broken record.


--
"Anytime I hear the word "culture", I reach for my iPad."
- 21st Century Humanoid

thanatoid wrote:

>> Mike Easter

>>> One of the problems that is a little tricky with W98 is
>>> finding software, as the newest browsers don't work with
>>> W98. Opera is supposed to.

>> As you know, I use Win98SE Lite - I use OperaUSB10 when I
>> need javashit and other ****, and it works beautifully,
>> Flash and everything - although I kind of wish it /didn't/
>> do Flash. Flash is worse than frames. (Remember those? Good
>> times.)
>>
>> Off by One. The BEST browser around. If it does not do it,
>> you don't need it - this assumes you have a brain and are
>> not just substituting Idiot Box 2 for Idiot Box 1. (OK, you
>> DO need Opera for your bank account. [Or a telephone.])
>
> Mike, I'm sorry, I know I am a pathetic broken record.

Your experience with W98 is valuable because you have hung in there with
W98 longer than I.

I wasn't entirely happy with any browsers for one reason or another,
which included using Firefox with KernelEx.

But in any case, it was possible to do. The business about trying to use
a 64 meg machine pretty much dictates W98, because the light weight
linuxes are very limited down at that low resources.

If I were using that machine, I would up the ram with a couple of sticks
I have lying around here to 256 meg and probably use a linux distro. I
love Puppy and I've also been hearing some good things about SliTaz
lately, which has a new release I may try on a low resource machine I
have nearby running 384 ram

--
Mike Easter

Mike Easter <> wrote in
news::

> Your experience with W98 is valuable because you have hung
> in there with W98 longer than I.

It's because I really can NOT stand the idiot-friendly XP
interface! And you know what happened when I was Linuxperienced!

> I wasn't entirely happy with any browsers for one reason or
> another, which included using Firefox with KernelEx.

I used Opera 7.23 for YEARS, and OB1 of course. Happy happy.

> But in any case, it was possible to do. The business about
> trying to use a 64 meg machine pretty much dictates W98,
> because the light weight linuxes are very limited down at
> that low resources.

Yes, I /thought/ a Linux would run on a 64/96 RAM machine but
from what I have read it seems they will not.

> If I were using that machine, I would up the ram with a
> couple of sticks I have lying around here to 256 meg

Not an option for me. The MB (PCChips572) takes up to 256 but
the sticks would cost me a bundle here.

> and
> probably use a linux distro. I love Puppy and I've also
> been hearing some good things about SliTaz lately, which
> has a new release I may try on a low resource machine I
> have nearby running 384 ram

Haven't heard of SliTaz. There's always a good piece of
information from you. I am thinking of going back to that 166MHz
/96 RAM/ 33.6 modem machine for the internet because the damn
semi-BB I have is basically destroying my life. I have no will
power.

I am thinking of 98SEL of course but maybe Puppy or SliTaz might
work as well. I am pretty sure DamnSmallLinux would.


--
"Anytime I hear the word "culture", I reach for my iPad."
- 21st Century Humanoid

thanatoid wrote:
> Mike Easter

> And you know what happened when I was Linuxperienced!

Your linux experience should /not/ have gone that way.

>> The business about trying to use a 64 meg machine pretty much
>> dictates W98, because the light weight linuxes are very limited
>> down at that low resources.
>
> Yes, I /thought/ a Linux would run on a 64/96 RAM machine but
> from what I have read it seems they will not.

There're plenty of linuxes which will run on much lower ram than that,
but the problem is that they aren't very graphical. Relative to
everything else, the X Windows system which linux uses for graphical
display is very inefficient. W98 is a more efficient GUI than the
popular linuxes.

I'm fascinated by the fact that Ubuntu is working on breaking away from
the X Windows system in favor of Wayland, which works in a very
different way in terms of 'what is doing what with what', but that is
going to take some time to develop.

>> I love Puppy and I've also
>> been hearing some good things about SliTaz lately, which
>> has a new release I may try on a low resource machine I
>> have nearby running 384 ram

It turns out that the low resource machine nearby has 192 megs, not 384,
and/but SliTaz didn't work first crack out of the box.

> Haven't heard of SliTaz. There's always a good piece of
> information from you.

I'm going to have to twiddle with the SliTaz on the low resource
machine. It isn't choosing the right video to suit my monitor on that
system, so everything is going fine thru' choosing the language and the
keyboard and then the last thing it does before it comes up to the
desktop is blackscreen the monitor which goes out because the chosen
freq isn't in the LCD monitor's range.

I brought it up on another system and it looks as interesting and speedy
as Puppy. Very zippy.

> I am thinking of going back to that 166MHz /96 RAM/ 33.6 modem
> machine for the internet because the damn semi-BB I have is basically
> destroying my life. I have no will power.

I don't follow what you are saying. What does will power and destroying
your life have to do with the machine you mention and what is the semi-BB?

> I am thinking of 98SEL of course but maybe Puppy or SliTaz might
> work as well. I am pretty sure DamnSmallLinux would.

I think the reason you got off on the wrong foot with linux was DSL.

Each lightweight linux distro has its own limitations. I don't like the
limitations of DSL and I think Puppy has solved those problems in a
better way. I'm not sure about SliTaz yet.


--
Mike Easter

Mike Easter wrote:

> I'm fascinated by the fact that Ubuntu is working on breaking away from
> the X Windows system in favor of Wayland, which works in a very
> different way in terms of 'what is doing what with what', but that is
> going to take some time to develop.

While I was looking for something to illustrate better what I meant by
'what is doing what with what', I found this excellent illustration and
explanation of Wayland architecture

http://wayland.freedesktop.org/architecture.html A good way to
understand the wayland architecture and how it is different from X is to
follow an event from the input device to the point where the change it
affects appears on screen. -- This is where we are now with X: <snip> As
suggested above, there are a few problems with this approach. <snip> In
wayland the compositor /is/ the display server. We transfer the control
of KMS and evdev to the compositor.

Some of what is snipped above is: "Most of the complexity that the X
server used to handle is now available in the kernel or self contained
libraries ... In general, the X server is now just a middle man that
introduces an extra step between applications and the compositor and an
extra step between the compositor and the hardware."



--
Mike Easter

Mike Easter <> wrote in
news::

> thanatoid wrote:
>> And you know what happened when I was Linuxperienced!
>
> Your linux experience should /not/ have gone that way.

My LIFE should not have gone this way either. But here we are.
Sigh.

>>> The business about trying to use a 64 meg machine pretty
>>> much dictates W98, because the light weight linuxes are
>>> very limited down at that low resources.
>>
>> Yes, I /thought/ a Linux would run on a 64/96 RAM machine
>> but from what I have read it seems they will not.
>
> There're plenty of linuxes which will run on much lower ram
> than that, but the problem is that they aren't very
> graphical.

I miss the days of DOS /BEFORE/ image viewers and mp3 players
for DOS were written. I have an old amber monitor (from a
Brother WP) and I am going to try it with my old 486/66 with 16
MB of RAM (AND a 28.8 Supra modem!)... Would that amber monitor
use the CGA driver? EGA? (asking you as an easy way to find out
instead of looking it up...

> Relative to everything else, the X Windows
> system which linux uses for graphical display is very
> inefficient.

I have no idea what the X W... sys is.

> W98 is a more efficient GUI than the popular
> linuxes.

Hmm.

> I'm fascinated by the fact that Ubuntu is working on
> breaking away from the X Windows system in favor of
> Wayland

(Firing up Wikipedia...)

Hmm. Interesting. Will have to read the whole thing...

<snip>

<snip>

> I'm going to have to twiddle with the SliTaz on the low
> resource machine. It isn't choosing the right video to suit
> my monitor on that system, so everything is going fine
> thru' choosing the language and the keyboard and then the
> last thing it does before it comes up to the desktop is
> blackscreen the monitor which goes out because the chosen
> freq isn't in the LCD monitor's range.

It's a small DL so I'll try it. What the hell.

OT - I am most curious about whether the MaximumDecim driver and
the 2 USB ports card (which plugs into the USB slots on the 1997
PCChips 572 MB) will work! I could NOT get the card to work with
95B - I had not heard of MaxDec then... (MaxDec works like a
dream on /this/ machine under 98SEL - with its 3 95B sys files!)

<snip>

>> I am thinking of going back to that 166MHz /96 RAM/ 33.6
>> modem machine for the internet because the damn semi-BB I
>> have is basically destroying my life. I have no will
>> power.
>
> I don't follow what you are saying. What does will power
> and destroying your life have to do with the machine you
> mention and what is the semi-BB?

If I go back to the 166MHz 96 RAM 33.6 modem machine I will no
longer be distracted by the horribly addictive to losers and
horribly time-consuming moron fodder poison like youtube and
celebrity gossip sites.

I have no will power to just *stop* visiting them. I have no
life, so I have to fill my reality with SOMETHING. I have given
up on trying to find a girlfriend. Photoshopped actresses are a
lot better-looking and don't complain about stuff.

Semi-BB is "advertised" 2 mbps.

>> I am thinking of 98SEL of course but maybe Puppy or SliTaz
>> might work as well. I am pretty sure DamnSmallLinux would.
>
> I think the reason you got off on the wrong foot with linux
> was DSL.

No, DSL worked just great, and instead of ****ing around with
the seductive-yet-totally-evil Mint, I should have installed DSL
on the USB stick. It was Mint that fubared my HD etc. DSL /MAY/
have fubared it as well, but it certainly worked a hundred times
better than Mint out of the zip.

Anyway, it's sort of moot, because I have found a telephone app
which runs perfectly on 95. So I don't care about Skype anymore.


--
"Anytime I hear the word "culture", I reach for my iPad."
- 21st Century Humanoid