[ale] OT: Massive unexplained Win98 suckage!

[Jeff Hubbs]

Joe -

Perhaps you should try putting the card in a different slot.  That
affected me once.  Also, make bloody sure that you've got the right
driver.  Some Netgear cards of the same model number use different
chipsets.

- Jeff

Joseph A Knapka wrote:
> 
> Sorry, must vent:
> 
> About a week ago, my wife's Win98 box became unbootable - a
> vital system file had apparently been deleted from the
> c:\windows\system directory. "Well," I thought, "This is
> a good opportunity to reinstall Windows and get rid of
> accumulated cruft," so I pulled the HD, put it in a Linux
> box, backed up the disk, put it back in the Win box,
> and reformatted the disk in preparation for a reinstall.
> 
> Win98 installation went fine, until I tried to get the
> machine to recognize the Netgear NIC that it had happily
> been using for the past, I dunno, 3 years or so. Absolutely
> NOTHING will entice Win98 to recognize the card. Even
> if I install the driver by hand using "Net nbrhood->Properties->
> Adapter->Add", after driver installation it says,
> "This driver is for a PnP device; please install the
> device and then reboot the computer." It's as if
> it has no idea the hardware is installed.
> 
> OK, I've had weird problems with Netgear cards, so I
> pull a D-Link 530TX+ out of a Linux box - where it's
> working fine - and put it in the Win98 machine.
> 
> EXACTLY the same behavior. Win98 simply refuses to believe
> there's a NIC in the machine. WTF? Reformat the disk, install
> Slackware on the machine. Card comes up fine, I can ping
> the whole world. Reformat the disk, install Win98.
> Again, NOTHING will convince Win98 that the NIC is
> present!!!
> 
> My stepdaughter suggests that Win98 has some built-in
> time limit after which it will refuse to work properly,
> thus forcing one to upgrade to Win2K. (I submit that
> this limit is set at about 10 seconds after you
> install it the first time...) Anyway, I'm really
> going crazy here. If anyone has a spare clue, I'd
> like to hear it. It would SERIOUSLY IRK ME to
> have to go out and buy a Win2K upgrade just to get
> this machine that's been running Win98 fine for three
> years to run Windows again.
> 
> Goddammit.
> 
> -- Joe
> # "This torch I bear is scorching me; Buffy's
>    laughing, I've no doubt! I hope she fries,
>    I'm free if that bitch dies... I'd better
>    help her out." -- Spike, OMWF, BtVS
> 
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