Going crazy installing win98 for an old woman.

[capman21]

An old woman I know has a pc that had win ME on it and she tried to put xp on it, but it wouldnt work because her pc has like a 64mb memory and a 30 gig HD. She didnt have the ME disc so I couldnt put that on there, but I downloaded a bootable win98 SE disc and just decided to put that on the pc. It is installed, but in device manager the drivers are not loading for the PCI communication device, and the multimedia audio device. I tried to load the drivers off of the win98se disc, but all it says is "location does not contain info about the hardware." The bigger problem is the modem isnt working either, which I am pretty sure because the driver didnt load for that either. I tried to install the driver for it off of the cd, but once again same msg as the other two devices. I am browsing to the correct folder, but still doenst load. Could it be that the drivers for the device just arent on the cd. If so, where in the world could I find them?

[aedipuss]

you'll need to open up the case and get the name of the manufacturer and model numbers of anything that needs a driver. then go to their website and download it.

[capman21]

Oh man I didnt wont to hear that. Isnt there some kind of universal drivers that would work. BTW, its a old HP xe748.

[JohnnyMalaria]

Start here and choose OS:

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DriverDownload.jsp?prodNameId=22684&l...158&taskId=135

[capman21]

Nothing there that I need. Thanks anyway.

[aedipuss]

well doesn't hp just suck big time. they no longer have drivers for 98 or me available at all. not like they took up much space on their server. now the only way is to figure out who the actual original manufacturer was of each part and prey they still have a driver available.

[capman21]

Let me make sure I am on the right path. The win98 SE bootable disc has several modem drivers on there, but like I said I am getting "location does not contain info about hardware." So whar is happening is that the modem thats in the computer there isnt a driver for it on the cd, correct?

[Cornucopia]

May have to pay the bucks and get drivers from Drivers.com (or whatever the heck it is called these days).

Note: isntalling Modem drivers does work differently than most other drivers--check 98SE help for how to. however, aedipuss's 1st comment will probably be the most helpful...

Scott

[deckard8]

Did a bit research/tracking down >

These drivers should work with HP Pavilion xe748 using Win98 >

Sound Card:
crystal wdm audio codec
http://www.soundcard-drivers.com/drivers/52/52631.htm

Modem:
http://members.driverguide.com/driver/detail.php?driverid=75196

[/b]

[MOVIEGEEK]

I recommend buying a XP/Vista CD,it's cheaper than a new PC and they are much more stable.
98/Me is so insecure that it would probably be infected and crash within a month,I recently setup a friends PC with Me and his PC crashed within a month.

[mats.hogberg]

I recommend buying a XP/Vista CD

On a 64 MB RAM/30 GB HDD computer?!? I wouldn't think so!

/Mats

[MOVIEGEEK]

XP can run on a 64MB/30GB PC...not well...but it will work.

[capman21]

I recommend buying a XP/Vista CD,it's cheaper than a new PC and they are much more stable.
98/Me is so insecure that it would probably be infected and crash within a month,I recently setup a friends PC with Me and his PC crashed within a month.

I will download and try them out, thanks.

[aedipuss]

op said xp won't install, the hardware isn't up to snuff. linux with firefox wouldn't be a bad alternative. or someone you know must still have an ME disc, which had a few more drivers on cd than 98. i know i still have it somewhere........

[mats.hogberg]

No Restore disks still lying around? That seems the only way for these "brand" computers... That's one of the reasons I never buy "brand" computers.

/Mats

[MOVIEGEEK]

One other point:if XP is out of the question then please tell her to get broadband,DSL is about the same price as dialup($15USD) and they give her a hardware firewall(router).Higher speed+more secure=no brainer.She can also use her phone at the same time.

[capman21]

Now I am confused. I can get a XP cd, but how are the modem drivers going to be the ones I need for her modem?

[JohnnyMalaria]

If it's a fairly old computer, the modem is likely a PCI card (or even ISA!) so you could just replace it with a more modern one that will have the drivers.

Nevertheless, according to this, the modem is a Cheetah and this may be the driver.

[Bjs]

Buy the ME disc in ebay cheap ... for pete sake , it gose for about $55au on a regular basis ... dont ignore the rules .

Im surprised you didnt get nailed from the first post when you mentioned

but I downloaded a bootable win98 SE disc and just decided to put that on the pc. It is installed

And as for hardware drivers ... sign up to driverguide for free , you may find what you need there to get it all up and running .

[aedipuss]

bjs - you don't really think any M.S. disc on ebay isn't a counterfeit do you. more pirate crap there than the corner flea market.

[capman21]

I opened the pc and found out it is a Lucent 1648 modem. The disc I am using has Lucent drivers, but only goes up to 1645.

[aedipuss]

if 98se came out before the computer then none of the drivers are likely to be on the 98 os disc.

[AlanHK]

Oh man I didnt wont to hear that. Isnt there some kind of universal drivers that would work. BTW, its a old HP xe748.

Modem drivers are a pain.

Try http://www.modem-drivers.com/
http://www.windrivers.com/

If you look at the card and see the kind of chip, that may help identify a compatible driver from the chip manufacturer.
See http://www.modem-help.co.uk/ for details on that.

Or; you may prefer to pick up a new modem card for about $5, as long as it has Win9x drivers included.

I expect there is a forum for HP PC users that may have better answers than you'll get here; this is not a video problem after all.

[bevills1]

You may find Lucent drivers or generic drivers at http://modemsite.com/56k/ltwin.asp?try=htm#firmware. You might find http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html useful in identifying other hardware if you're able to get internet connection. Just replacing the modem for $5 or so might be best alternative if modem drivers can't be located.

[neomaine]

Instead of 98se (too old) or XP (too new) you may want to try Win2000. Smaller footprint than XP and may just be within the window (not too new, not too old) to have the drivers needed.

Oh, and the DSL suggestion is a good one too. Usually for the same or a few dollars more a month its more than fast enough to handle online updates. And, she'll think you made her computer 'faster'....Oooooooo....Ahhhhhhhhh....

[AlanHK]

Oh, and the DSL suggestion is a good one too. Usually for the same or a few dollars more a month its more than fast enough to handle online updates.

Or if she has any neigbours with WiFi, she could "share" that. Preferably with their permission.

[Cornucopia]

Dudes, stop raggin' on 98SE! sure its old and has some bugs, but you can set it up fairly secure (with the caveat about dl'ing viruses) and it'll stay that way (good habits). FOr small footprint it can't be beat.

Scott

[neomaine]

Cornucopia,

I agree with the 98se being a good small footprint small use OS. But seems like there's a driver issue here that it can't handle. In situations like this, I sometimes find that Win2000 fills the gap and has some good default drivers. More so than ME or XP anyway...

AlanHK,

Great idea! I've easily got access to 3 or 4 good to excellent connections with neighbors who don't know how to hide their SSID, restrict MAC addresses or use encryption. A wireless card would be a lot cheaper and much more practical if one of the neighbors agrees. And with the bandwidth she's likely to use with email and little surfing, it probably wouldn't even be noticed.

[MOVIEGEEK]

98 and Me are no longer supported by MS,so updates are pointless.
BTWharing(stealing) Wi-Fi is wrong on so many levels.

[TBoneit]

XP can run on a 64MB/30GB PC...not well...but it will work.

Work? if you call clicking on the start button and then sitting and twiddling your thumbs until the menu pops up working, then yes it'll work.

None of the drivers that come with the OS are optimized for performance and there are surely newer ones available. Identifying the hardware and getting drivers from teh maker in most cases is not hard.

Win98 or ME will run the best on that computer. Windows 2000 or Xp both need 512Mb to run decently on older, slower hardware.

One other thought....

Go visit local computer stores and look for used computers. We sell as low as $49 and up. We recently sold a used 3Ghz P4 Dual core etc. for $269. New mobo and case used in the refurbing process. It was a socket 775 and PCIe system.