I’m helping a friend with a W98, IE6 unit with 250 MB free space [2GB total] was running Avast for the past 3-4 years but went belly up upon an Avast update 2 weeks ago. >:(
-Nothing was working properly upon reboot.
-System restore was performed to earliest point which was 09/05/2002 for some unknown reason to make matters worse and W98 updates were performed before attempting to update Avast. Avast was on the HD but not registered!
-145 *.tmp files that were in Avast directory were removed as I have Avast on XP and no such files are in my directory.
-The most recent update of Avast was downloaded/installed which worked upon reboot but updating vbs files beyond 5/31/09 gave error of 'unable to update; not enough storage space. Repeated attempts to update gives the same error. Avast protection does not run as is.
-The unit takes 1/2 hour to boot up literally.
-Upon uninstalling Avast, the unit runs swiftly.
Is there a smaller install file/version of Avast that runs in W98? Any help would be appreciated.
Well, according to http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=45169.0
I see that there is solution in the next update. I hope that update is after 5/28/09 which was installed to the pertinent unit. If so, we will try again.
I have W98SE on 4GB partition with about 400 MB free space which takes almost 3 minutes to boot.
Are there any unused space hogging files e.g. screensavers or fonts which might be deleted?
Alternatively, or additionally, Is it possible to transfer at least say, 150 MB of data to a USB stick or CD/DVD either temporarily or permanently?
If your friend could boot fairly quickly and have some some advantage from Avast (even if it cannot be updated for the time being) perhaps that may help. Also, even with only USB 1 everything could be cloned reasonably quickly and be available for cloning back in case of a virus or hard drive failure.
I’ve tried to find files that could be moved or deleted but there is very little data on it. Space occupation appears to be from applications. It is a W95 upgrade and does not have a USB port.
Corel could be removed but it does not appear in Add/Remove to uninstall.
The simplest solution might be to wait for a fix from Avast and use say, ClamWin in the meantime.
If your friend has a CD drive then perhaps the whole 2 GB (including free space) could be cloned to three CDs.
It may help to defrag the drive and also to run scandisk (or checkdisk) and CCleaner but I suspect you’ve already tried those.
My only other suggestion, if there is a working CD drive, is to consider running a version of Linux from a CD solely for browsing and emails.
Good luck
PS ClamWin falls well short of the high standard set by Avast and it is on-demand but is free and regularly updated. As for emails, if applicable, I recommend MailWasher free so that emails can reviewed before downloading or deleting them.
System restore was performed to earliest point which was 09/05/2002 for some unknown reason to make matters worse and W98 updates were performed before attempting to update Avast.
System Restore was not introduced until Win ME. You seem to have initiated a reinstall of the earlier Win95 that is probaby updating service releases up to 95 OSR, but because no USB, probably not up to OSR2. If upgrade to Win 98, then should support USB.
You may have to go back then run through services releases from 95 and upgrade to Win98 again, picking up your IE services releases along the way. This is perhaps what has been happening with 98 updates you talk about.
I think Corel of those years loaded as a standalone package rather than installed into Windows. Back then, you would simply copy the Folder package across to somewhere in you C:\ directory and run from the Folder. So you could now copy that Folder off your hard disk onto a CD I guess if you want it, or else delete all traces of Corel off your computer if you want rid of it (best option - delete Folder, then search your directories - and Registry as well if you want - with keyword Corel and delete all traces - there wont be many).
2GB disk space means there is sufficient room to run avast Home = System requirements for a computer running Windows® 95/98/Me are 486 Processor, 32MB RAM and 100MB of free hard disk space. System requirements for upgrade Windows 98 you needed probably between 250mb to 500mb (max).
There are some IE issues - hotfixes and patches to IE4 through Windows Desktop Update and through to IE5 and IE6. Here is a howto about the installation of the Windows Desktop Update with IE5 and IE6.
http://www.petri.co.il/install_active_desktop_on_nt_40.htm
I dont know how relevant the documentation will be as we are talking Windows 10 years ago. But carry through to IE6 and you should have lot more than 250mb spare - then you should be able to run avast Home without too much worry. Uninstall old avast and install new copy.
I guess on top of everything else the avast package was just a bit cramped up ;D .
Am I missing out on something here? I’ve sorted out a 98SE to load so I might see if I can run it on the internet while this thread is going. Should be there soon.
The free version only works with one email account (pop3), so if you have multiple email addresses you would need to use the Pro version or another solution. However if only one email acount generates most spam you could use it for that one.
Note avast’s Internet Mail provider would scan the email traffic to MailWasher:
MailWasher doesn’t download the complete email to do its analysis, it only downloads the headers, a small part of the body, it doesn’t download images or attachments and it views what is downloaded in text only. Based on this I personally don’t feel that any negligible risk worth scanning duplication, but the choice is yours.
By editing the avast4.ini file, [MailScanner] section using a text editor like notepad. It is best to save a copy of avast4.ini to another location in case of any problem, you can then copy the original back.
[MailScanner]
IgnoreProcess=MailWasher.exe add this line if you don’t already have an IgnoreProcess line.
Save the changes to avast4.ini and exit, the avast self-defence module will ask are you sure about the changes, etc. answer Yes.
If only one email acount generates most spam you could use it for that one.
That’s a thought. I’m taking notes. I have been planning to sort out some kind of email strategy for a while now. I have a few email addresses for different things but mainly use my local provider ihug who have been so good to me. http://webmail.vodafone.co.nz/vfwebmail/
As you can see, now owned by Vodafone, but service is still not too bad.
Wonderful record @ihug=no spam ever. Ihug still owed me 8 addresses (@ihug.co.nz) when bought out, but now Vodafone won’t cough up, tell me they have to be @vodafone addresses.
??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???
If upgrade to Win 98, then should support USB.
I forgot. While 98SE supports USB 2.0, nearly all USB flash drives need a driver before they can run on a 98 system. I remember when the flash drives came with a little disk that had the 98 driver on it, but nowdays I dont think they bother. I tried an old Transcend disk to see if the driver would work on my Kingston Flash drive but no luck. I’m positive that I used to have a work-around, but its too long ago. :
My Win98SE is up and going but not go internet yet as the mboard is IBM late P3 1300Mhz come out of China (pre-Lenovo -I think) so bit odd-balled together, and can’t find good INF utility from legacy IBM yet. But still ok. Should be a good test for internet. I hope to use Win98 on web all next week.
Edit - I’ve checked back in to this site to see if my account is still active http://www.annoyances.org/
Great stuff on all weird and wonderful in 3.1, 95 and 98 at Annoyances. Check News and Highlights on front page.
And I have to track down Microsoft Unauthorised. Or was it Windows Unauthorised? I do remember it being better most times than the real thing.
It is true that the Free version can only use a single email account, but as a temporary (or permanent) measure emails can be set to automatically forward to that single account from other accounts.
Entire emails including any links can be viewed as text. Pictures and attachments cannot be viewed.
It is not limited to pop3.
In many years using MailWasher I have never felt the slightest need to upgrade to the Pro version.
It has excellent features including friends list, black list and automated aspects.
My regards
PS I don’t believe in scanning incoming emails, nor do I support scanning outgoing emails (unless you wish to append a certificate). For Win98 users the Avast Standard and Web shields are, at least for me, more than adequate, If you want to see your emails download like a rocket - don’t scan them - you still have Avast’s “on access” protection.
If anyone needs a W98SE USB2 Universal Driver that has worked, for me, with all makes of flash sticks without conflict with any specific drivers e.g. Transcend (so that it has been unnecessary to unload any drivers); I can “dig out” and post the download link.
It can’t deal with Hotmail any longer unless it is the pop3 account as it uses WebDav or the new DeltaSync which are now only available for MS email programs.
So unless you have a very old hotmail account where the webdav still works in say OE6 I don’t believe you can use mailwasher on a hotmail account unless it is pop3. That was more what I was on about with the only pop3 use comment. I don’t use gmail/AOHell or Yahoo so I don’t know how it copes with those.
It has however been a very, very, long time since I used the free version of mailwasher, when it was in fact able to cover multiple accounts. I bought the Pro version 3 a one off payment at the time and have had free upgrades since. At around that time it downgraded the free version to one account.
a W98SE USB2 Universal Driver that has worked, for me, with all makes of flash sticks without conflict with any specific drivers
Yes sir, I would very much appreciate to post the driver if you manage to dig it out. I’ve set up my PC for everything else now except USB. But I don’t mind hunting one down myself if you can’t find it.
In the end I just searched the chips on my mboard to track down the drivers, and ended up with a few of those bundled packages that cover a range of chipset releases. The Intel 98SE INF utility for my 810e chipset carries this far - For Intel® 810/815/820/830/840/852/855/860/E8870 Chipset families !!!
I’m just hoping my USB VMC lite modem will be compatible.
Specs - 4GB HDD, 256 ram (2 x 128 Kingston double-sided), all devices onboard.
I am realising tonight that I know very little about email.
