Hey Sup Forums, so for awhile now i've wanted to own an old computer like the good ol days, unfortunately since i threw everything out i didn't save anything apart from an old monitor.
So my question is:
What are the positives and negatives of having an old Windows 98 computer hooked up to a Dial-Up Modem? To be more specific it's a V.34 Modem with a speed of 33.6 kbit/s.
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the problem is that windows 98 machines like pentuim 2's are failing from bad caps to bad traces and bad cmos batteries.
also finding memory modules is getting really hard now because even those are failing.
setting upo dailup is easy in windows 98 just look for a network wizard and go from there.
setting up the broswer is pain in the ass and i doubt your machine would work on the modern interwebs
there is uniroinicaly no reason for connecting retro rigs to the internet there is too many viruses on the internet.
Just make sure you have a hard CD copy of the win98 iso because the PC will need it for many setup and driver stuff.
raid is not naturally supported but you can buy raid cards etc.
don't use the onboard sound of a windows 98 machine its shit.
the pro would be
it will run native dos mode no emulation needed
you can run VMware to run windows 95, windows 98 ,Windows NT. Red hat . MACOS and a few others straight off the bat.
you are limited to USB 1.1 so be careful not to unplug anything while the machine is on or you will fry it.
That's not a modem, that's KITT from Knight Rider.
The biggest negative is that it's window 98.
If you weren't alive back then and didn't use it; you would know.
Part of the OS design is that when a program crashes (and they crash a lot), it takes the entire OS with it.
>careful not to unplug anything while the machine is on or you will fry it.
Uh, no, you might make Windows BSOD if it's trying to read that drive at the time but you will not fry the computer. What the fuck.
Why the fuck would you use a modem today and not just a network card
>bad traces
What?
>bad cmos batteries.
Not an issue
Just emulate it, it's pretty good now
pcem-emulator.co.uk
Not the computer the port its self it doesn't support hot pluging on USB 1.1
USB always supported hot plugging, but Win95 of 98FE don't support USB properly so a restart might be required
>The biggest negative is that it's window 98.
Sure, but OP can just use NT4 or 2k instead
It's unusable, I've got a Windows 98 SE CD and installed it on both a VM and metal, and the internet doesn't work at all, the browser is too outdated, the best you can do is to install Opera (Version 11 I believe it was but I gotta lie) and even then 95% of the web is unusable. Importing browser setups via USB etc fails because the modern progs are incompatible with Win 98. So there is no point in getting a Windows 98 PC
But muh KernelEx
>pentuim 2's are failing from bad caps to bad traces and bad cmos batteries
I got two machines from round 98-y2k. One is ss7 machine for DOS gaming and another is i815 s370 with PIII working as CD/DVD burning/ripping machine (because no optical drive bay NZXT case I got for really cheap). Both got Asus motherboards and they were in heavy use for years before I bought them. And both were in excellent condition, no bad caps, no burned slots. Shit just werk.
Are you retarded?
You have no idea about /retro/, get the fuck out.
What are your plants? Just as a design object in the room?
Unless you _literary_ want a shit Win9x shitbox, there's a lot to take into account.
If it's for gayming, go with a Pentium 3 or if it's just a thing to play around with for 15 minutes, just get a cheap Pentium 4 or Athlon64.
Yes, you can use Windows 98 with Dial-up today too, together with that modem, you won't need a phone line and yes, you can browse the internet or even dial BBSes, you just have to use a RasPi as a Ethernet / Dial-up adapter.
XP SP3 was the first version of Windows ever not to be an absolute BSODfest. I lived through them since 3.1. Do not venture back pre-XP except to admire the GUI and sounds.
Windows 95b
Never used NT before XP
ok
Samefag.
user...dial-up internet 2-3.3 kbs download speeds and BSODfest are something these sweet summer children should not yearn for. Like Global warfare and smallpox - a suffering from a different time.
You sound pretty retarded or young. Probably both though.
Doesn't matter what OS you use, if you're a retard, it won't play nice.
Fuck off with your shitty bait.
Trash pick a pentium 3.
Just buy one, old computers are garbage especially the ones from 95-2005, it's not like it's gonna cost you a fortune.
Computers from the mid 90's to late 90's cost shitloads though. Like $300.
>the problem is that windows 98 machines like pentuim 2's are failing from bad caps to bad traces and bad cmos batteries.
W98 era is when they already started using CR2032s instead of soldered-in barrel batteries, but before the great capacitor plague. So it's one of the most hassle-free options for /retro/.
>you are limited to USB 1.1 so be careful not to unplug anything while the machine is on or you will fry it.
USB 1.1 has the exact same power safety provisions as 2.0.
NT4 was already very stable, it just wasn't so easy to set up properly.
Those serial modems can connect to pretty much any computer, back to late 80s 68K Macintoshes to the Raspberry Pi to the latest laptop via USB-to-serial dongle.
You can sell any US Robotics serial modem in working condition for pretty good money on eBay.
Then don't buy it, there's really no value in buying one before 1990 unless You're a collector or for nostalgia, though if you do, You'd just be a shitty hipster that buys "retro" things.