I want to export my Win98 as a VM

[Nish]

Please pardon my awkward use of the terminology.  This is my very first foray into VMs.  What I am trying to accomplish is create (not sure if the term is image, snapshot or VM, I will use VM please correct me if wrong) of the complete W98 setup I have on an old machine I am giving away.  It is the last machine I have that I could still get drivers for 98 so this is what I think is my last shot and some of my favorite games are on there and won't run in even XP.  The hard drive is staying with me, so I could put the VM on this hard drive for eventual moving to my main machine where I want to get into VM

I am reading the directions here: http://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch01.html#gui-createvm  which seem pretty newb friendly but I don't see what I am trying to do.  It looks like everything is directed toward making a VM from scratch and then exporting in the OVF?  Does this mean I have to put Vitual Box on the 98 partition and reinstall it?  I also have a couple of linux installs on there and XP. Or, is there any way of making a snapshop? Image? VM? of the current setup?

I can take my time getting to know VM after I grab this and at my leisure get it imported (?) into a VM on my new machine but I just want to preserve this before the hardware goes away.

[menotu]

If I am reading you correctly, you want to make a VM using a current Win98 hard drive which has all the installed programmes on it?

You would need to make a bootable ISO of that hard drive

Do you have the original Win98 CD? (This would be my preferred method of doing it - installing afresh from the Win98 CD)

If you do all you have to do is install VirtualBox onto PCLinuxOS, using getvirtualbox from the repos. (or install Virtualbox on whatever system you choose)

Then when VBox is installed, you can create a new VM using your Win98 CD.

When that is all done you will have a "Virtual hard disk" (just one file) which you can then backup(s) so you have a "clean" version of Win98 which can be used

Another method of backing up the the VM is to use Export.

I normally just make backups of the hard drives which allows me to use that drive when needed.

Please be aware that you should check the MS Win98 license to see how many PC's you can use it on  

[GermanTux]

VMWare has a couple of tools (one an installer, the other a bootable CD) for turning a live machine into a VM using ESX, but even that doesn't support win98. 

I'm sure there is a way to do this, some way somehow, but that's quite a challenge if you want to import it into vmplayer or virtualbox. 

You're better off just installing windows 98 in a clean vm, then installing the apps you need. 

[T6]

+1

[Nish]

If I am reading you correctly, you want to make a VM using a current Win98 hard drive which has all the installed programmes on it?
You would need to make a bootable ISO of that hard drive
Do you have the original Win98 CD? (This would be my preferred method of doing it - installing afresh from the Win98 CD)
If you do all you have to do is install VirtualBox onto PCLinuxOS, using getvirtualbox from the repos. (or install Virtualbox on whatever system you choose)
Then when VBox is installed, you can create a new VM using your Win98 CD.
When that is all done you will have a "Virtual hard disk" (just one file) which you can then backup(s) so you have a "clean" version of Win98 which can be used
Another method of backing up the the VM is to use Export.
I normally just make backups of the hard drives which allows me to use that drive when needed.

Please be aware that you should check the MS Win98 license to see how many PC's you can use it on  

I am putting another hard drive into the machine, with just PCLOS - the recipient wants to get into Linux and of course mentioned luscious lamp chops, I responded I would put PCLOS on it and have a spare partition if the want to install "that".

The 98SE license is mine, upgrade, I have the CD and the paper receipt and the very pretty certificate ( I still have my W95 CD) and it is retail - it can be moved from one computer to another one at a time. It is staying with me - that is not a problem - even the harddrive is staying with me but it can go to another machine as is retail.  My problem is I don't want to reinstall (even on that machine, it is a weekend of rebooting and feeding it driver CDs).  When I looked into this a few years ago, I thought there was some program that could capture a VM image of sorts that could be booted(? maybe wrong word) or imported into a VMBox installation.

All because of a handful of games I love and Lotus 123 (all mine legally, mine you betcha) I just don't want to let go of.  I can't keep huge old PC around any more, I am in a tiny apt   and I can't even lift the bugger LOL

[Nish]

VMWare has a couple of tools (one an installer, the other a bootable CD) for turning a live machine into a VM using ESX, but even that doesn't support win98. 

I'm sure there is a way to do this, some way somehow, but that's quite a challenge if you want to import it into vmplayer or virtualbox. 

You're better off just installing windows 98 in a clean vm, then installing the apps you need. 

My problem with reinstalling on my current new machine, is that there are no drivers for the mobo (IDE, sound, video, etc) in W98. Or I would just put in on a FAT32 partition like I did on the other (there XP was installed on a FAT32, I was able to move my 98 to a partition and boot either because the hardware still had drivers for W98)

I was intrigued by VMs because I thought I could make a machine that was 98 friendly (i.e. old) on one that wasn't?

[John Bee]

Virtualbox does not support Win98. So there is no Guest Additions.
In other words, no video driver, so no accelerated video and only
640x480 is what you get.

And, unless you have a powerful machine, Win98 will be *very* slow.

I found it easier just to get an older computer and put Win98 on it.

[Nish]

darn I have to just give up the games and app that will only run on 98.  What I can get 98 drivers for, is fast disappearing even things I am scrounging at work and curb

[John Bee]

Yup, the problem is that it's so old, that you would need a machine from at least
2002, maybe 2004. Anything later and '98 support gets pretty scarce.

Would wine not be able to run these games? I just ran the wine configuator and Win98
is selectable, so maybe give wine a try. Can't hurt! 

[GermanTux]

darn I have to just give up the games and app that will only run on 98.  What I can get 98 drivers for, is fast disappearing even things I am scrounging at work and curb

Have you tried running the programs in XP in windows 98 compatibility mode?  That has worked for me very well. To do this, install in xp, right click on the shortcut, and go to properties.  The select the compatibility tab.  

[John Bee]

darn I have to just give up the games and app that will only run on 98.  What I can get 98 drivers for, is fast disappearing even things I am scrounging at work and curb

Nish;

 Let me try and install Win98 in VBox again, just to make sure that it isn't supported.
I can't remember when I tried last, so maybe with a newer version of VBox, it might
work better.... or not.

StandBy!


Edit:  Nope, sorry dude, unable to install due to install error. so Win98 on VBox is a nogo
        But GermanTux might be onto something there.

[Nish]

Yup, the problem is that it's so old, that you would need a machine from at least
2002, maybe 2004. Anything later and '98 support gets pretty scarce.

Would wine not be able to run these games? I just ran the wine configuator and Win98
is selectable, so maybe give wine a try. Can't hurt! 

YUP  I have socket A motherboards from the year of the flood  but the capacitors start going bad and they are also all full sized and I don't the space anymore.  I have a handicapped brother that I finally managed to get to XP running in 98 mode but the last of my programs I am still running in 98 don't work that way.  I have tried.  I would gladly buy them again for XP but they don't exist. I have purchased Crossover Office and Crossover Games, no joy  

So I had this last machine running my 98SE with no where to put it    I have a coworker over in IT that wanted something/anything to get started on linux so offered this up.  

Seriously, about two years ago there  was something that would do what I wanted to do.  But can't think of the name of it, then you had to import it into a VM (that VM maybe only ran from Windows, that is OK, I have XP installs on two machines).

[John Bee]

Seriously, about two years ago there  was something that would do what I wanted to do.  But can't think of the name of it, then you had to import it into a VM (that VM maybe only ran from Windows, that is OK, I have XP installs on two machines).

Hmmm, then maybe MS's own virtual software may work for you in XP. (Sorry can't member the name.)

[Nish]

thank you for looking - games this is about are American McGee's Alice which won't work in XP and two in the Tombraider series with the same problem.  I would really be lost without Alice and then there is also my Lotus 123, won't go into the gory details but I have calculations in there that won't work with Excel (VB or .Net) because of too many nested If functions.

I thought for sure VMs were what I had to do

[Crow]

I tried VM too for Win 98 but it is unusable.

If space is a problem I think the best route is find an old laptop which probably will have their own drives and install Win 98.

I will try to set a Pentium MMX 200 MHz with Win98 only to run games for the kids, there are many old games they used to enjoy and frequently ask for them.

Some years ago I cannibalized some memory form other computers and is maxed at 256 MB         last stop for that junk.