re: I would like a driver
Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 8:02 am
Windows 98 Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by Ed
(659 messages posted)
Windows 98 has built-in support only for USB 1.1; but a USB device that is designed
to work with *both* USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 will work, though only at USB 1.1
speeds.
If you want to use USB with only the chipset on your motherboard, you therefore need
to buy a USB device that is *specifically* stated to be for USB 1.1 (whether or not
it is also for USB 2.0).
Windows 98 does not have built-in support for USB 2.0. To use USB 2.0 in Win 98 you
must buy an add-in USB 2.0 PCI expansion card. It is prudent to buy one that (a)
has an NEC chipset (as this chipset has the widest compatibility with older motherboards),
and (b) comes with a driver file for Windows 98.
In practice, such PCI cards are ONLY available for Win 98SE, not for the original
"first edition" release of Windows 98 (a.k.a. "Windows 98 Gold").
Real Mode drivers:
It's a mistake to have any DOS real mode drivers loaded by the AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS
files. Remove any such, and load only protected mode (i.e. Win 98) drivers, which
you add using the "Add New Hardware" function in Windows 98's control panel.
Driver conflict:
If you suspect a conflict with your existing hardware, a device driver fault can
be identified by opening the Device Manager screen (Start > Settings > Control Panel
> System > Device Manager).
Look at the entry for the USB device. Is there a yellow exclamation mark or a question
mark against it? If so, proceed as follows.
The reason why there is a question mark or exclamation mark is that Windows 98 needs
to update the driver, because you are currently using the WRONG driver file or because
no driver file has been installed.
You may need to obtain a driver file from the Card's manufacturer, a file that is
actually *stated* to be for use with Windows 98. If there is not one, see the other
postings in this thread for any available so-called "Universal" drivers for Win98SE.
The current driver file you have (if any) is NOT for Windows 98 if it is not being
recognised by Device Manager.
Manually update the driver:
Go to the website of the Card's manufacturer and download a driver file for Windows
98 to your Desktop.
Highlight the device in question in Device Manager, then click PROPERTIES and go
through the procedure for manually updating the driver. Manufacturers typically supply
several driver files, and it is possible you have installed the wrong one.
The newest driver is NOT necessarily the one to go for. You may need to install an
older one, dated prior to the release of Windows XP.
Some possible locations to point the update function (i.e. the update wizard) to,
when trying to find the correct file, are:
C:\WINDOWS
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
C:\WINDOWS\IOSUBSYS
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS
An alternative: Delete the Card's entry in Device Manager, and reboot. On the reboot
the plug-and-play wizard will automatically re-install the Card with the correct
drivers, if they exist on your system.
Another alternative: Reboot into SAFE mode (press F5 or F8 on restarting the computer)
and open Device Manager. Delete any "ghost" entries (those which only show up in
Safe Mode), as they can cause a conflict with other installed device drivers. Then
reboot normally.
Note - Sometimes a deletion of ONLY the "ghost" entries is not effective, in which
case a possible solution is to delete ALL devices, *including* the "ghost" entries,
from Device Manager, while in Safe Mode; and then reboot normally. You MUST have
all of the disks that came with each device on hand, in order to reinstall the devices!
In the event that something goes wrong, you will be able to reload one of the five
backups of your Windows Registry, using the command SCANREG /RESTORE at the DOS
prompt.
Ed
On Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 5:23 pm, Rudy Kreubel wrote:
>My flash drive won't work on my machine in spite of the instructions with this device
>saying that it will work. I am guessing that this could be due to a conflict of
drivers.
>(I must admit that I do have a lot of needless rubbish on my machine, which would
>be a nightmare to remove.) What I want to do is this:
>
>(1) I want to be able to "identify and remove" all other device drivers which can
>support a flash drive.
>(2) I want to find a universal device driver, if such a thing exists, and load it
>onto my machine.
>(3) If the first two criteria fail, I want to be able to get the correct driver
for
>my flash drive which is a Sony Microvault. (It just might also be that the driver
>that came with the device could be corrupt.)
>
>Is there anybody that could please give me some advice? Thanks
- Written in response to:
- I would like a driver (Rudy Kreubel: Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 5:23 pm)
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