Interested in trying Windows 98? Well as you probably figured out, it's not just as simple as popping a Windows 98 CD o your computer and installing it, assuming you even have a CD drive. There are Multiple ways to experience Windows 98, or perhaps just it's wide variety of software. The question is, what do you want the most?

Option 1: "I just want to play a wide variety of Windows 98 games and I'd prefer to not spend too much money."

Then you're better off trying to run them directly (or indirectly) on the computer you have now. If you can't find a modern rerelease of your game on Steam or GOG then you may want to try running them on PCem. PCem has a bit of a learning curve, but you can find guides on how to run windows 98 games on it. I hope to have easy and comprehensive PCem guides on this site in the future.

Option 2: "I have an old program that wont work on my computer."

If that program isn't a videogame (see above), then the easiest route for you is most likely going to be running Windows 98 on Virtual Machine. If your program is on a CD or Floppy Disk, and your computer has no way to insert it in, Virtualbox will support external USB CD/Floppy drives that you will have to purchase and hook up. Keep in mind though that you may have problems running Windows 98 off of virtualbox on some newer computers, especially with AMD Ryzen processors. If this method doesn't work for you, perhaps try the options below. Check my site in the future for virtualbox guides!

Option 3: "I'm in it purely for the Nostalgia, and I wont except any less"

Then you better be in for a ride, because not only is a true authentic windows 98 experience expensive, but you may end up paying even more than you expected. In the late 90's, computers were finally becoming mass produced an affordable price, but to do that, many corners were cut. Oldschool Hardware enthusiasts refer to this era as "The Capacitor Plague", because capicators on system boards would eventually leak and do damage. Because of this it's always good to take any hardware you buy from around 1999-2007 to a board repairman so they can service them.

Your other major gamble will be finding old drivers for the parts inside these machines. So try to find the drivers for whatever pc you want to buy first, and if you are lucky enough to find a PC that already has windows 98 installed and working, please remember that you can back up whatever drivers are installed. If you can, try to look for PC's that were custom built. The cheap PC's sold whole by manufacturers back then often suffered from bad design decisions. If you buy one of these, you may end up with a pc that 1. has a CD/Floppy Drive which is hard to replace without stripping off part of the case, 2. end up with a pc case that is a pain in the ass to open in general, and 3. end up with a PC with limited upgrade options, since many dont offer many PCI slots or have an AGP port.

Option 4: "I want a reliable and non simulated Windows 98 experience that will give me the least ammount of headaches."

Then you should consider building a Windows 98 computer out of old and new parts. IF you aren't fully in this for the nostalgia, there is no better way to run Windows 98. The optimal setup of this kind has a new well built power supply, a newer case with multiple CDROM slots with an adapter for floppies, a newer CDROM drive that still supports IDE, a windows XP era IDE hard drive, or an even better replacement for a hard drive which this website will cover more. The rest of the parts you'll need are old and era appropriate, as they need Windows 98 drivers to run right. My personal favorite motherboard to use is the Tyan Trinity 400. It has it's problems and definitely needs to be serviced before use, but not only does it support almost every Pentium III processor made (except the Tualitin ones), it also supports Pentium II processors and can run Windows 95 if you want. Don't take my word for it though, thats just a starting point, do your research to find what ideal board you want!

Option 5: "I want to try and run Windows 98 directly on newer hardware!"

This is without a doubt the hardest (and most masochistic) method there is, do not let anyone tell you otherwise. If you are lucky, you can find a windows XP era dell machine for cheap with decent windows 98 support, but I tried this a while back with a Dell Dimension 3000. It did NOT work. Unless you have 1. Money to waste 2. Have had multiple people tell you that it works and/or 3. The patience to put up with software incompatibilities, DO NOT BOTHER WITH THIS.

Option 6: "I just want to see how hard it was to use computers back in the 90's"

This is not 100% true, at least in the late 90's era. What is true is that the internet took forever to load, affordable PC's were mindnumbingly slow, and if you didn't know the limits of your computer, or how to protect and take care of your computer, it could turn into a very unusable mess. This website will give you a brief exaggerated glimpse of what it was like to use Windows 98 on a cheap computer back in the 90's.

This guide is under construction, expect more soon!