Difference between revisions of "Virtual Windows98"

Revision as of 16:56, 5 March 2010

Ok, you have to be a masochist (or perhaps merely an incorrigible flinty cheapskate). Windows 98 is insecure, slow and inefficient, and, well, is Windows (I am an unabashed Linux proponent).

On the other hand, Windows 98SE is the only Windows OS that can be used without constantly contacting Microsoft (which consumes a huge amount of network time in aggregate). It also does not require registration to run and is not linked to specific hardware, as are other versions of Windows. It also allows the modicum of networking required for CPRS.

Further, many old computers have a copy lying around (with a license) that can be co-opted for the purposes of using in a virtual machine. Our organization had a closetful of old unused computers with Windows 98 licenses, gathering dust.

Using Windows 98SE in VirtualBox

VirtualBox doesn't really like Windows 98. The guest additions don't work well (if at all), and there are no intrinsic device drivers in VirtualBox to support the antique Windows 98 drivers.

With a few tweaks, however, Windows 98 can be made to run in a VirtualBox virtual machine suitably enough to run CPRS.

• Install VirtualBox.

In my (K)Ubuntu system, I used

sudo apt-get install virtualbox-ose virtualbox-ose-source virtualbox-guest-additions

I happen to use Kubuntu, so use the QT addition:

sudo apt-get install sudo apt-get install virtualbox-ose-qt

• Start VirtualBox and create a Windows98 virtual machine. I gave it 1024 RAM and 4 Gb virtual hard drive space. (I'm not sure if these are ideal, but it's what I could afford.)

Install Windows 98SE in the virtual machine

• Place the Win98SE setup disk in the CD-ROM drive and start the virtual machine. Install Windows98 from the CD as usual. (All installation (including disk formatting) occurs completely within the virtual hard drive, so it does not affect the host Linux operating system.) I do a custom install and don't include all the "extra" programs (Imaging, Paint, Online Services, etc.) to save space. Internet Explorer, VPN, and the networking modules are required so I leave those alone.

• I use a login name and networking name of client9260, without a password. (Later this allows network logins with Astronaut SSH to be a little more streamlined.) I don't use a password so that automatic startups can proceed without user intervention.

Make sure Windows bootup does not require a user logon password (so automatic logons can proceed):

Start menu -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Network -> Primary Network Logon: Windows Logon

• I could not get the VirtualBox guest additions to work properly with Windows 98, so I could not get folder sharing between the Windows guest OS and the Kubuntu host OS to function properly. I therefore used a CD as a medium to transfer files between the two operating systems. Initially I copied three files onto the CD:

• The astronaut_clients.x.x.x.x.exe CPRS client package for Windows
• The Mozilla Firefox web browser (which is more secure than Internet Explorer)
• Windows98 VESA graphics drivers from this website. (Windows 98 does not have a native utility to unzip files, so I unzipped the VESA-driver zip file in (K)Ubuntu first, then copied the unzipped 081021 folder onto the CD.)
• Internet Explorer 6 SP1 (see below). Although it is less secure than Firefox, TMG-CPRS requires it, so I installed it.

I copied these files from the CD into the My Documents folder of Windows 98 in the virtual machine.

• The default driver in Windows 98SE that can be accommodated by VirtualBox is VGA, which is insufficient. I therefore installed the VESA drivers that I copied in the previous step:

Start menu -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Display -> Settings -> Advanced -> Adapter -> Change -> Next -> Search for a better driver... -> Specify a location -> Browse -> "C:\My Documents\081021\Vbe9x\Uni"

A restart is required. I found the 800x600 screen area size to work best for me, but YMMV.

• TMG-CPRS requires a more modern version of Internet Explorer than is supplied with Windows 98. Internet Explorer 6 SP1 is the latest version of IE compatible with Windows 98. I had previously downloaded a full version of IE6 (onto a Windows machine) using these instructions and burned it onto the CD (as above). (It could also be done directly in the Windows 98 virtual machine.) Install IE6 in the virtual machine.

• I installed Firefox, but this is optional (if you don't mind IE6). Besides, this is a virtual machine, so I use the browser in the host OS anyway. I really only want to run TMG-CPRS in the virtual machine.

• Install the Astronaut CPRS package. The Astronaut installer is not really made with Windows 98 in mind, so a good deal of tweaking is required, but I want to keep the installation consistent.

Environment variables in Windows 98

The Astronaut installer uses environment variables effectively. Unfortunately, Windows 98 doesn't use environment variables quite the same way as do later versions of Windows. While they can be set (see here), the Astronaut installer does not recognize this method.

It is possible to create all the environment variables that Astronaut uses, but I find it easier to ignore the environment variable system and merely edit the shortcuts by hand, as I would when installing into a protected environment.

Streamlining the system

For added security and faster, smoother SSH negotiation, I recommend installing (and using) an SSH keypair for SSH authentication instead of the password authentication method used by default by the Astronaut installer.