'New' PC with Win95, tips?

[BILL S]

Hello, again... The other day, got a -new- to me Micron PC via the Goodwill here.
The system is a Millennium Mme with Intel mobo (w/ Yamaha integrated audio chips) The system dates to 1996 or 97 prior to Win98 with 4GB HDD included. Should I and can I upgrade to Win98 SE and still maintain the Office 97 that came with these computers? I would other wise start over with the OS if a free access to MS Office weren't included. I've never used Win95 and it is a part curiousity as well, to try some things with it. Since a Pioneer CD and USB are included, is USB even supported with Windows 95??

Would like to work with CD to HDD and back to other sources, what programs are optioned for all the Win OSes?

BILL

[BILL S]

I should add, reading Intel's site on the mobo earlier, USB for keyboard or mouse are mentioned but not video capture and Dazzle's USB DPM for example is designed for Win98SE.
With Win98, I can work with MPEG1 and possibly more, but am also keeping an eye out for an extra HDD on eBay to use. (sorry for not adding to the first post)

[BILL S]

One note, added a Pentium MMX with 233MHz and it still lists 200MHz speed, and possibly need to flash the best BIOS available for this AN430TX Mobo. I have successfully upped the memory from the 32MB boards that it had. I am VERY pleased to report that a freeware (modest version) of a graphics utility called Ultimate Paint works just fine under Windows 95 with this minimum power resources and offers alot for graphics editing and drawing. There is also a version of AOL 6.0 on a newer 9.0 version freebie disc dating to 2005 IIRC. This version of AOL offers a mild picture editor as well and since I use pics online in emails and to fix shots from my camera, this is a major use of my hardware

-B

[pblilman09]

okay, unplug all chords. take computer and sit it down on concrete. take a hammer. and get rid of all your anger that you have built up by thrashing the heck out of your computer.

[BILL S]

That's no way to treat a fully operational machine. I am looking for a bigger HDD to share in what ever old desktop I take with me, this PC has a miniscule 4 GB. It also has Windows Office WITH Powerpoint IIRC. For this suite it certainly seems worth the $20 I paid. I added an HP CD burner from the other PC my friend gave me. How big are drives that match the Ultra DMA ATA33 spec? Also, have people gone over 256MB RAM affectively here as well? I also plan to have a power PC after my Compaq get's too much older (about 2 years old I would say, as a 2003 model? (SR1220NX)
I'd love to have oodles of image and audio processing power, a full game spec rig, but I'm anything but wealthy and these old platforms still conform to ATX mostly and I may only need minor hardware revisions like mobo and HDD/SDRAM.
BILL

[DMR]

To answer a few of your questions:

1. USB support was not introduced until the "B" version of 95, and didn't reach any sort of reliability until 98SE.

2. 95 can be upgraded to 98SE, and you shouldbe able to do that without data loss. As with any OS upgrade though, there is a possibility that something will go squiffy.

3. There are many hard drive size limitztions, but many can be worked around by upgrading the BIOS, installing a newer ATA controller card, or using a "drive overlay" utility. You will eventually hit some unsurpassable barrier though, perhaps even at the 8.4G "Int13" limit depending on the exact age of the machine.

4. The AN430TX mobo supports a max of 256M RAM; end of story.

[BILL S]

As I have the system fully functional with it's Office 97 suite, including Powerpoint, I am likely to leave it as is...it's built in Yamaha processors also are pretty interesting as I was playing with MIDI files on it. My folks bought a Yamaha Clavinova which is a traditional style piano/organ with MIDI floppy drive input and support, If they were willing to share disks from my collection, this is a great way to get software online and play it as well.. however, I think I inadvertantly tipped my hat to the ID thief who found my AOL information and then Netscape passwords to get onto eBay and mess with my account. I haven't noted any other misuse, but I am justifiably alarmed about the idea that surfing with this long dead Norton security packaged PC, I am opening the door for alot of malware and possible Trojan damage to the packed 4GB HDD. It's simply amazing how much function it squeezed on a 4GB drive, the same size used in the new Datel Sony PSP battery and HDD accessory!!

BILL

[bnrup]

Your first step should be to clean the PC out a little. If you have an internet connection, download and run AVG and Spybot. Also download and run CCleaner. Here are the sites: http://www.avg.com (they have a free version, just needs a bit of searching). http://www.spybot.com , http://www.ccleaner.com . You can probably find a dial-up internet provider pretty cheap in your area (dial up is all that's gonna work with Win95), if you don't have internet. If you have any experince with Windows, the GUI's of all the OS's are quite similar.

[jbennet]

usb is ok with windows 95osr2 not with the standard one. OSR2 is kinda like a serive pack

[BILL S]

The PC in question is a circa 97/98 Micron Millennia, I have decided with that one to upgrade with Win98 I got from the Goodwill. I've actually updated to Windows 98 on a Toshiba laptop 410CDT model with a HDD from a 410CS model that was ailing, that Toshiba drive is only 700MBs and has about 200+/- left after upgrading! There is not much room for an Internet app on it. I was able to get my hands on a Texas Instruments TM(TravelMate) 5300 laptop that is slightly newer and came with 32MB and 1.2GB HDD. That one also has a full Office 97 suite Professional version of all things, a real coup to pickup from the Goodwill for $5!!

I upped the OS to Win98 as well since it offered few problems, if any on the Toshiba, the mouse was afflicted with problems, so two uninstalls were done before a third attempt and reboot made Windows find the missing driver it needed! I was miffed at why it took so much effort. Anyway, For now the only need for Windows 95 is the space of course, and the fact it allows the earliest Enhansed CD material to play on a system CD ROM capable... With a Bantem/MicroSolutions Backpack drive and PC card for various memory cards, I've had little trouble bringing much use to these 11 year old machines!

BILL