by Al Massey
Since my initial review last month I have installed Windows 98 on several different machines with varying results.
I must say that, for the most part, Windows 98 performs as advertised and has presented me with very few problems, with one exception. It absolutely refuses to play nice with one system, a 586 AMD clone. I have finally chalked this problem up to a BIOS that is incompatible with the operating system.
After visiting with a number of users, vendors and PC manufacturers this past month I will attempt to answer some of the more common questions surrounding Windows 98 in order to help you decide if you should upgrade now or later.
“New” features. If you have kept pace with the Service Pack releases and have Internet Explorer 4.0 installed, then you will find little that is radically new or different in Windows 98. The basic interface is very much like IE 4 installed over Windows 95. In spite of all the hoopla centering on this I must say that, form this users standpoint, it works fairly well and the integration seems smooth and stable.
Hardware Support. Having over twelve USB supported devices in the lab awaiting testing I have been anxiously awaiting Windows 98 for its USB support. I have been able to get some support for USB under 95 but I have had more than one vendor whisper to me that, “when Win 98 ships support for USB under Win 95 will disappear.” Trust me, this seems to be the case. Overall, USB support in Windows 98 is measurably better than in Windows 95 with 98 even auto-detecting most devices. However, some devices still require separate drivers. BUMMER! FAT32. Although FAT32 support has been around since Windows 95 OSR2 there was no easy way to convert FAT16 to FAT32 until now. Microsoft has included a conversion utility in 98.
FAT32 allows for larger hard disk partitions and more efficient storage of data. I have been able to reclaim as much as 16% of storage space by converting to FAT32 and am rapidly becoming a true believer.
I will continue this discussion on Windows 98 features next month and possibly the month after, but now for the negatives.
Among the warnings and concerns expressed by both manufacturers and consumers alike are these.
One user informed me that “it is good that Microsoft reportedly fixed over 6,000 bugs and hired some 1,000 additional support people because they are going to need them.” More than one user has voiced concern that the upgrade over Windows 95 apparently modified settings of their third-party Internet settings. UMMMM!
Two Network Administrators advised that they had problems with third party applications ranging from Windows 98 dumping their Novell IPX and NetBUI Clients to corrupted Registry problems and Windows 98 inability to recognize various peripherals and LAN cards.
On the manufacturing front IBM, while not posting any specific problems with Windows 98 did put up a rather extensive site www3.pc.ibm.com/techinfo/12e22.html) complete with drivers, tech-info, configurations settings and advice.
While shying away from advising users NOT to install or upgrade to Windows 98, Compaq Computer Corp., has posted a long list of conflicts, bug fixes and drivers www.compaq.com/athome/win98).
Dell warns users of their Latitude Notebook against upgrading until they obtain an upgrade to their BIOS. Dell is offering downloadable drivers and patches to users of their other systems that will allow them to upgrade to Win 98 immediately. They have posted this warning on their web site (www.dell.com/products/ notebook/latitude/98upgrade.htm) to some users, “Please be advised that the new features in Windows 98 will require a new set of system drivers in order for the operating system to function properly. In some cases, an update to your system BIOS may also be required.”
Perhaps the strongest warning against upgrading comes from Toshiba. They issue this notice on their web site (www.csd.toshiba.com/tais/csd/support/issues/98060020.htm) “For the more recent ACPI-equipped portables (see the applicable models list above), Toshiba recommends delaying your upgrade to Windows 98 until Toshiba finishes work on new BIOS with improved ACPI compatibility for Windows 98.” They go on to say “It will be extremely difficult or impossible to retrofit the Toshiba ACPI BIOS and the requisite registry keys after Win98 is already installed on the system. Doing so would require deleting your registry and reinstalling Win98.”
Well there you have it, the good, the bad and the ugly of Windows 98. More on this subject next time.
Al Massey is a HAL-PC member who can be reached at almas@hal-pc.org.
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