Virtual Windows98

Oh, you have to be a masochist. Perhaps merely a flinty cheapskate. Windows 98 is insecure, slow and inefficient, and, well, is Windows (I am an unabashed Linux user).

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.)

• 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 drive zip file in (K)Ubuntu first, then copied the unzipped 081021 folder onto the CD.)

I copied these files from the CD into the MyDocuments 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