Future Proofing Windows 98 Pentium III PC

cunavalos

Bit of an odd one here.


I have a Gateway GP7-450 PC running Windows 98 Second Edition. It is used to run a piece of laboratory equipment that is functioning perfectly and used day to day.

The problem is that upgrading the software used to run this equipment could cost upwards of €10,000 so it is in my best interest to keep my existing set up running for as long as possible

Current Specifications are

Pentium III Processor

128MB RAM (1 Stick) 2 Empty

13 GB IDE Hard Drive
16 Bit ISA IEE 48 Bus/Lace Card Communicating with Lab instrument

The biggest issue i have is the ISA Card as this is the only PC i can find which can facilitate the card. It takes up the entire bottom section of the tower. I found an image of the internals of a similar system.




The speed and performance of the system is adequate we do not necessarily need a speed improvement but need an option to increase hard drive and have a method of getting data off the pc (USB slots are not currently working)

We would also like to increase the size of hard drive and the ultimate solution would be to clone the system and use as a virtual machine in a modern machine with a "USB to isa converter" if possible

Wheety

There might be a way of saving an image of it and running it in a virtual machine? Someone more knowledgeable can tell you if I'm talking rubbish or not :-)

K.O.Kiki

You can probably replace the IDE hard drive with a CompactFlash adapter, like this

As LGR says, you'll want to make sure it's a CompactFlash [CF] card, not Compact Flash [CFast].

gctest50

http://www.ni.com/en-ie/support/model.gpib-usb-hs-.html

K.O.Kiki

Also of note, the Gateway GP7-450 can take up to 384 MB of 100MHz SDRAM, i.e. upgrade via another 2x 128mb modules - a nearly no-brainer upgrade for 14 euro.

As for USB, you can get PCI cards with external USB 2.0 for next to nothing.
Checking for drivers, this LogiLink PC0028 & Belkin F5U219 have Windows 98 SE drivers.

K.O.Kiki

Final thing I found looking around:

Just FYI: do NOT use any power-saving settings related to spindown of the drive while using these. the CF card uses the spindown command as a "I'm about to be removed" signal, and will NOT come back up unless it's power cycled. These are also used to upgrade/repair old ipod classics, and the aggressive disk spindown will cause issues unless disabled.

Something to be aware of.

As for the IDE to CF adapter, I found this one which looks identical to LGR's.

ED E

Virtualization is the obvious answer if it can work but Im not sure it can. Unraid can pass through HW directly to the guest but thats PCI(E) hardware not ISA. So if you can get XP drivers to function on 98SE you could pass through the USB2ISA adapter and thus get ISA in a VM. Virgin ground there though I suspect so you'd be on your own.


Or there's the IMBA-9654 ISA - a C2Q board with ISA! Except they're impossible to find (for big corps and military).

cunavalos

Thanks for all the options. Think i will go for the RAM , USB PCI card and CF to IDE adapter to start with and look at the virtualisation and usb to isa converter options later.

The funny thing is my first ever windows pc was this exact pc back in 99 and i would have a donor pc if the parents hadnt chucked it in the skip 18 months ago.

gctest50

The CF might die young because of the constant poking at the disk windows does


Get an adapter and power cable to go to a common/easily replaceable disk :


https://www.memoryc.ie/14449-neon-ide-to-sata-interface-converter-incl-ide-sata-data-and-power-cables-horizontal.html


https://www.memoryc.ie/12039-neon-sata-to-pata-ide-hard-drive-interface-adapter.html


.

free_man

Hi,
I have a USB 2.0 PCI card lying around. Not sure about the the drivers in Win98SE. I used it with Windows XP machine about 5yrs back. If you wish its yours. PM me for details.
As for converting to a VM, try this link
https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=59559

beauf

Just buy a bunch of old pcs and keep them as spares.

10k isn't that much.

homewardbound11

What’s the lab equipment and how does it communicate with the pc ,

beauf

Its in the orignal post.

cunavalos wrote: »

...
16 Bit ISA IEE 48 Bus/Lace Card Communicating with Lab instrument....

It would seem there are PCI cards available for this. Drivers obviously will be the issue.

https://www.labx.com/item/waters-bus-lace-card/LV38437230
https://www.google.com/search?q=Waters+PCI+Bus%2FLace+Interface+Card&rlz=1C1WPZA_enIE720IE720&oq=Waters+PCI+Bus%2FLace+Interface+Card&aqs=chrome..69i57&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

cunavalos

homewardbound11 wrote: »

What’s the lab equipment and how does it communicate with the pc ,

beauf wrote: »

Its in the orignal post.



It would seem there are PCI cards available for this. Drivers obviously will be the issue.

https://www.labx.com/item/waters-bus-lace-card/LV38437230
https://www.google.com/search?q=Waters+PCI+Bus%2FLace+Interface+Card&rlz=1C1WPZA_enIE720IE720&oq=Waters+PCI+Bus%2FLace+Interface+Card&aqs=chrome..69i57&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Beauf is correct it is a Waters HPLC, the problem is that Waters are the Apple of the HPLC world and all connections are proprietary so USB to GPIB (IEEE 4888) connectors will not work. Connection from instrument to PC has to be through Waters PCI or ISA interface cards. Replacement PCI cards are an option and these typically start around the €1000 mark on the secondhand market and multiples of that from Waters themselves.


The reason for trying to keep this particular ISA card 'alive' is that it can run two instruments simultaneously and replacing it will mean purchasing 2 x PCI cards and 2 x PC's + Software.


I am working in the Third Level sector so while some may say that these are not crazy expensive prices it is hard to justify some of the costs and department policy regarding approved suppliers means that the best value source for each component cannot be used.


Thanks again for all the advice.

beauf

Probably easiest to source some vintage gear.

Look for the fastest system that has an ISA bus. Not that you want the speed but the newer it the more likely it will have some other interfaces on it, like PCI which allows you to add USB2. Even a SATA controller.

ABIT KT7A but thats a AMD board probably want an intel version.
Something like this? IPOX IP-3ETI23 https://www.ebay.com.my/itm/221383954367

Then get a ATX Full tower Case.

The vintage gaming forums is your best bet for info. They look for ISA stable system for audio cards.

Alun

Just saw this ...

http://www.legacy-pc.co.uk/

Only £199.99 with ISA and PCI slots as well as one PCI-E but also SATA, USB, Ethernet etc.

beauf

Thats pretty nice.

ED E

Thats the board that I mentioned as unavailable. If you could get it not a bad buy.