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General discussion

Windows 98 memory issues?

Jun 12, 2005 3:59AM PDT

Hello, I am running a dual boot system, with Win98 on one hard drive, and XP on another,the issue I am having has to do with the amount of memory I have installed on my mobo.With XP, I am able to run 3 Gig,with no problems, yet if I try to boot up Win98 with more than 1 gig installed,I get an error message saying that there is not enough memory to initialize Windows, is there a software problem?I have had this happen on more than 1 computer, so know it is some sort of software issue, and not a hardware problem, anybody know why this is?

Discussion is locked

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Re: Windows 98 RAM
Jun 12, 2005 4:12AM PDT

Windows 98, by design, is limited to 512 Mb RAM (although some report they have it working with 1 Gb).

The solution:
Remove enough memory sticks to get Windows 98 running. Then Start>Run msconfig, and in General>Advanced ... limit the memory to 512 Mb.
Then reinstall the full 3 Gb and see what happens.

A recent discussion in this forum on the same subject: http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6618-0.html?forumID=6&threadID=58143&messageID=691124

By the way, what do you do with the machine to need 3 Gb RAM in Windows XP?

Kees

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My thought too. . .
Jun 12, 2005 7:46AM PDT

3 Gig of RAM? Must be plotting the planetary orbits or deciphering the human genome.

Wink

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Workaround for the limitation?Or preferably a fix?
Jun 12, 2005 2:47PM PDT

In response, yep, I already have Win98 working with 1GB of ram, with no problems,and whats wrong with wanting to use 3 gigs?The motherboard came with 3 memory slots,so why not use all of them?As far as what do I use it for?Mostly gaming,and from my understanding, the more memory, the less you are likely to have stutters,and lags in your program,I have noticed that some of the newer Mobos have slots for up to 6 gig,and I know its not always true due to other limitations or bottlenecks in your system,but it seems to make everything I do run smoother.And as far as Win98 having the 512mb limitation, thats what I am wanting an answer to,some sort of work around.I use the Win98 to run older games that while old, are still pretty fun to play,and what I have to do now, when I want to play an older game, is,pop open the side, pop out 2 memory modules, then boot up into Win98,what I was hoping to find was some way to NOT have to pop out the 2 memory modules every time i feel the desire to play an older game.And yes, I know about the "Program Compatibility Wizard", and no matter what I have read, I personally have had no luck running the thing.

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Re: work-around
Jun 12, 2005 5:10PM PDT

As I said, use MSCONFIG in Windows 98 to limit the memory used to 1 Gb. That way, there is no need to physically remove the memory. See my post above.

Happy gaming.


Kees

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Re Re: work-around
Jun 16, 2012 5:34PM PDT

Hmm I'll try it with my server I'm trying to run it with Windows 98 because its the only one that sucessfully installed just need to run it with 6 GB's Now.

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Re: server
Jun 23, 2012 11:03PM PDT

Windows 98 isn't meant as a server OS.

Kees

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Tips, tweaks and everything you need to know about...
Jun 12, 2005 5:49PM PDT
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Re:Windows 98 RAM
Jun 16, 2012 5:30PM PDT

But My computer can't go any lower then 4GB of RAM or it will get an error code and not even produce an image

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Re: RAM
Jun 24, 2012 12:00AM PDT

Then your computer isn't compatible with Windows 98. That can happen after 14 years and a no-longer-supported OS.

Kees