Member Avatar for Hoppy88

I just bought an mp3 player which requires windows 98SE (which I have) to use. But when I start the installation for the software that comes with the mp3 player, a box appears saying that windows 98SE is required. I don't know why it won't recognize it as Second Edition. Can anyone help me out?

Thanks

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Dani AI

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Most MP3 installers that insist on "Windows 98 Second Edition" are really checking for the SE-era USB/mass‑storage support rather than the literal About‑text. That fits what reported: the machine shows "Microsoft Windows 98" while the disk is labelled "Second Edition." If the PC genuinely lacks SE components, the device installer will refuse to run because the OS doesn't provide the mass‑storage USB drivers the player needs.

Quick checks to run (no registry hacks yet):

  • Use the About dialog (for example run winver from Start → Run) or open My Computer → Properties to see whether the OS actually reports "Second Edition."
  • Open Device Manager (My Computer → Properties → Device Manager) and look under Universal Serial Bus controllers and Disk drives for missing or yellow‑exclamation devices. A missing USB mass‑storage driver is the key sign.

Practical fixes and cautions:

  • If the system is not SE, the reliable solution is to install/upgrade with an official Windows 98 SE setup CD (backup personal files first). That ensures the required USB/mass‑storage stack is present.
  • If the system already is SE but the installer still fails, get updated drivers or an updated installer from the MP3 maker, or install the device drivers manually (or copy them from another working SE machine). Running the vendor installer on a newer PC and extracting the driver files can sometimes work.
  • Avoid "faking" the OS string in the registry to trick installers. That can cause instability and still won't install missing drivers.

This builds on 's suggestion to check the system version and on the observation by that the CD and installed system disagree. The safest path is to confirm whether SE is actually installed and, if not, perform the proper SE upgrade or obtain the vendor drivers.

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Member Avatar for jbennet

Hold down the windows key and push pause / break and tell me what the system version information says

Member Avatar for Hoppy88

It says "Microsoft Windows 98"
But on the installation disk it says "Second Edition"

Member Avatar for jbennet

Is the system on he disk actually the one on your system? - did it come with it from the factory or did you buy it as someone could have given you the wrong one. You change change windows version using REGEDIT but i dont know how.

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