USB flash drives and other USB mass storage based devices are becoming more and more common. Unfortunately, they often do not come with drivers because Windows Me, 2000, XP and Vista all come with generic drivers already installed. This way all you need to do is plug the drive in, Windows will recognise it and you will automatically see the drive in My Computer. Windows 98, especially in it's second edition (also known as Windows 98SE), handles USB fairly well, however there are no generic/universal mass storage device drivers preinstalled in the operating system, so you will need to install some additional drivers for it. Some manufacturers do however, provide the Windows 98 drivers on CD, others have them available to download, and others simply do not have them available at all.
If you are using Windows 98, and you do not know the manufacturer of the storage device, or you can't find the drivers, what can you do? Fortunately, there are some generic Windows 98 USB mass storage device drivers available that work with most such devices. This means that these drivers will work with many makes and models of the following:
- USB Flash Drives (also known as Pen Drives, or Thumb Drives)
- Digital Photo and Video Cameras (that connect to the PC via USB)
- USB Hard Drives
- MP3 Players (including Apple iPod from v2.4)
- Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP)
Before installing the drivers, it is important to know that there are 2 main versions of Windows 98, and they both handle USB differently. You must install the appropriate version of the drivers dependent upon your version of Windows 98. In order to determine your Windows version, please do the following:
- Right click on My Computer and select Properties
- On the System Properties page that opens up click on the General tab, if it is not already on that page.
- Under the System heading, look for the version number (see right)
- Version 4.10.1998 is the original version of Windows 98 (98FE)
- Version 4.10.2222 is Windows 98 Second Edition (98SE)
- Click the link below for the download and installation instructions for your version of Windows 98
Please click the link for your version of Windows 98:
These drivers offer generic USB mass storage support for the original release of Windows 98, sometimes called Windows 98 First Edition, or 98FE. You should check your version of Windows 98 before installing. Once installed USB mass storage devices should work within Windows 98.
These drivers include generic USB 2.0 controller drivers adding USB 2.0 support for computers that support it.
To install the drivers
- Download and install the Windows 98 Service Pack (35.5Mb)
- Download to your desktop the driver file from the Download section below
- Remove ALL drivers for USB flash drives in Device Manager
- Remove ALL drivers for any USB 2.0 controllers (many have an uninstall option)
- Remove ALL unknown devices from Device Manager
- Run the exe file you downloaded, and follow the instructions, rebooting after installation
- When the computer boots up again, it may detect new USB 2.0 controllers, in which case you may need to reboot again
Disclaimer
You should note, that these drivers are generic, and they may not work with some devices. It is also only intended for the English version of Windows 98, although there are some other language versions below. Installing on the wrong version of Windows may cause problems with your operating system. There is no guarantee that they will work with your device, but our experience shows that they work with most without problem.
Please also note that these drivers are not warranted in any way, and no support is offered for them; you use at your own risk. As a precaution, whenever making changes to your operating system, we recommend you do a full system backup. If you do experience any problems, you can always try asking in our forum.
Download
The drivers can be downloaded from the following link:
Windows 98 FE Generic USB Mass Storage Device Drivers v3.20 - nusb320-Eng-98FE.exe
Windows 98 Second Edition (4.10.2222)
These drivers offer generic USB mass storage support for Windows 98SE. You should check your version of Windows 98 before installing. Once installed USB mass storage devices should work within Windows 98. Only install these drivers on Windows 98SE where Mass Storage Devices are not working.
Version 3 of the drivers includes generic USB 2.0 controller drivers adding USB 2.0 support for computers that support it.
To install the drivers
Version 3.x
- Download the exe file to the desktop
- Remove ALL drivers for USB flash drives in Device Manager
- Remove ALL drivers for any USB 2.0 controllers (many have an uninstall option)
- Remove ALL unknown devices from Device Manager
- Run the exe file you downloaded, and follow the instructions, rebooting after installation
- When the computer boots up again, it may detect new USB 2.0 controllers, in which case you may need to reboot again
Version 2.x
- Download the exe file to the desktop
- Remove ALL drivers for USB flash drives in Device Manager
- Remove ALL unknown devices from Device Manager
- Run the exe file you downloaded, and follow the instructions, rebooting after installation
Disclaimer
You should note, that these drivers are generic, and they may not work with some devices. It is also only intended for the English version of Windows 98SE, although there are some other language versions below. Installing on the wrong version of Windows may cause problems with your operating system. There is no guarantee that they will work with your device, but our experience shows that they work with most without problem.
Please also note that these drivers are not warranted in any way, and no support is offered for them; you use at your own risk. As a precaution, whenever making changes to your operating system, we recommend you do a full system backup. If you do experience any problems, you can always try asking in our forum.
Download
The drivers can be downloaded from the following link:
Windows 98 SE Generic USB Mass Storage Device Drivers v3.3 - nusb33e.exe
Comments
Post a Comment