4 ms·
98SE still needed driver installation for every stick. It was WinME that included the first mass-storage generic class drivers. These were then backported to 9
by myself248 4y ago
98SE still needed driver installation for every stick. It was WinME that included the first mass-storage generic class drivers.
These were then backported to 98SE, and pretty much every vintagecomputing enthusiast with a 98 box is running this despite the anachronism, because authenticity is just such a massive PITA.
https://vetusware.com/download/Universal%20USB%20Mass%20Storage%20Devices%20Driver%20for%20Windows%2098%202.3/?id=6845 https://vetusware.com/download/Universal%20USB%20Mass%20Stor...
In case you're in the market for such a hack. :)
- namdnay 4y ago"Universal" USB stick support came slightly earlier, with 2k. I distinctly remember it being a game-changer
- cedilla 4y agoSo, did usb sticks come with floppy disks or CDs with a driver?
- ghaff 4y agoI think it may have been a mix. There was also a mini CD thing around that time that sometimes got used for drivers. In general, things were switching over to CDs in the late 90s but as I recall floppies were still around for some purposes. ADDED: And as someone else mentioned, you sometimes downloaded drivers. Not everyone had broadband but Internet access was pretty common by then.
- Breza 4y agoI'd forgotten about those mini-CDs. Part of the unboxing process was making sure you didn't scratch the driver disk.
- themadturk 4y agoI got a mini-CD the other day with drivers for a new USB-C Ethernet dongle. I almost laughed out loud. I have a couple of external CD/DVD/BluRay drives around. But it's been a long time since I had an internal CD drive.
- dotancohen 4y agoWhere do you put the coffee mug down?
- themadturk 4y agoI don't; I drink my coffee from a Camelbak.
- giantrobot 4y agoSometimes. I recall early thumb drives didn't come in the small blister packs you see by cash registers today. If they didn't come with a CD (or miniCD) you had to go the the manufacturer's site and download the drivers.
- unsui 4y agoThis is definitely one of those little trivia factoids that is surprising to me: Apparently, WinME actually introduced at least one evolutionary improvement that stuck around, and wasn't a complete dead-end.
- goosedragons 4y agoIt had others like System Restore.
- asveikau 4y agoEven the worst versions of windows has engineers working on low level iterative improvements, far detached from the product level people who are fucking up the big picture.
- zoklet-enjoyer 4y agoI have fond memories of Windows ME. My family upgraded from 95 to ME, skipped 98
- xattt 4y agoIf you were going to install Windows ME, you might as well have installed Windows 2000.
- ghaff 4y agoLong time ago but I think, as a normal Windows 95 or Windows 98-using consumer, upgrading to Windows ME was almost certainly easier and less disruptive. In spite of the criticism it got at the time, Windows ME worked fine for most people. I had some involvement with Windows 2000 from a professional product perspective--was even at the launch event--but don't think I ever seriously ran it as a desktop OS.
- xattt 4y agoFresh installs were the norm in my household. We never bothered with in-place upgrades between major versions of 95/98/98SE avoid cruft. Windows 2000 was absolutely the OS to have until MS tightened XP with SP2.
- unixhero 4y agoGreat site. Thanks for providing it