Member Avatar for Deechickie

Hi everyone

I hope I've posted this in the correct place (newbie :) )
I'm hoping someone can help me find a driver for an INIC-1511 HDD external box. I've found a few websites that list them as being WIN98 compatible, but when I attempt to use it, I get a message that's it's not compatible for versions earlier than NT.

I've spent all weekend stuffing and unstuffing up my laptop in an attempt to upgrade it to XP. It's been fun (haha).

Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated!

Many thanks

Dee :)

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Dani AI

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Short summary and practical route: the INIC‑1511 is a USB↔PATA bridge that implements the USB Mass Storage Class (so it behaves like a standard USB disk). Windows 98 does not include the same generic USB‑mass‑storage support that later Windows versions do, so either a vendor-supplied driver for that enclosure or a third‑party Win98 MSC stack is required. (datasheetq.com)

Concrete steps to try (safe order, minimal fuss)

  • First confirm whether the laptop is Windows 98 First Edition or Second Edition (Control Panel → System). 98SE is much easier to get working with USB mass‑storage. (en.wikipedia.org)
  • If you want to keep Win98SE, try the well‑known “Unofficial Native USB” (NUSB) mass‑storage stack (used historically to add generic USB MSC support to Win98SE). Back up the whole Windows folder (or make an image) before you touch it; NUSB replaces system files and the wrong language version can blue‑screen the system, so follow language/version guidance and keep a backup of SYSTRAY.EXE / USER.EXE / USER32.DLL in case you need to restore. (philscomputerlab.com)
  • Typical NUSB workflow: remove any USB device entries in Device Manager, install the correct NUSB package for your Win98 language/edition, reboot, then plug the enclosure and let the new stack enumerate it. See community threads for the exact install/remove sequence. (msfn.org)

If that’s too risky or you only need the drive data

  • Install XP (as suggested) or temporarily boot a modern Linux live USB — both have built‑in MSC drivers and will mount the enclosure immediately. ’ Linux suggestion is good here.
  • Or remove the drive from the enclosure and attach it directly (internal PATA/SATA) or use a simple powered PATA‑to‑USB adapter to copy files on a modern PC — a fast, low‑risk way to recover data if drivers prove fiddly. (learn.microsoft.com)

Notes and cautions

  • Avoid random “driver‑updater” sites; use reputable retro/archival sources (MSFN, Archive.org, PhilsComputerLab) and always keep a backup before installing low‑level stacks. If the goal is data rescue, physically connecting the disk to a modern machine is often the simplest solution. (philscomputerlab.com)

Acknowledgements: — this explains why the NT‑only message appears and gives safe, practical options; — generic Win98 stacks are the right direction; and — the XP/Linux alternatives are good fallbacks.

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Member Avatar for BigPaw

If you are upgrading to XP, then once you have that installed XP will see your HDD Enclosure. Or, have I read this wrong?

Member Avatar for naphets

this is exactly why Windows sucks! Go open source... go Linux... you may never look or think about drivers again.

Edited by naphets
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