LangaList, June 15, 2006

As Win98 (Finally) Fades Into The Sunset...

Dear Fred, Thanks so much for the Plus! help over the last several years. With your help, I support the personal computers of a number of family members and friends, about five of whom still run 98SE and do not have the resources to upgrade at this time. I have kept them free firewalled, free anti-virused, and hotfixed, but the schedule has been somewhat erratic as it depends upon when I can get to them, and some are out of town. So far, they have had no problems that I can't correct.

Microsoft says: "Support ... ends on July 11, 2006. Microsoft will end public and technical support by this date. This also includes security updates. "

The part that confuses me is where they say "This also includes security updates." Do you know if security updates (and other updates such as WMP9, etc.) already posted by July 11 will remain and still work with Windows Update? If so, I can relax and take some time getting to them and at least have the computers as far up to date as Microsoft will allow. I had planned on in a couple of cases reinstalling the operating system and building up with Windows Update. If Windows Update is no longer going to work , then I am going to have to hustle and try to get to them all by July 11.

I realize that this isn't the greatest approach, but I have found that with proper safeguards and safe online practices Windows 98 can still be a good platform, and for some folks it's the only alternative for now. Thanks for any help. Sincerely, Paul Heinzerling

Microsoft has actually been quite gentle with Win98 users; extending the scheduled end-of-support date for that OS numerous times. But the safe thing to do is to assume that this time they really mean it. <g>

If that's the case, no new patches or updates will be available; and Microsoft will most likely turn off access to WindowsUpdate for Win98 machines. They've already done that with the early versions of XP--- you have to be running a ServicePack version of XP to use the Update site now.

If you want to continue running Win98, the safest thing is to download all the Win98 patches and updates now (I'll tell you how in a moment) and save them on your hard drive or burn them to a CD. Later, if or when you need the patches, you'd use the locally-saved versions of the update files, rather than going to WindowsUpdate.

To download all Win98 updates (or, for that matter, updates for any MS operating system):

Go here: http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/catalog

Click the "Find updates for Microsoft Windows operating systems" link.

Scroll down to "Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition."

Click the "Search" button.

Click "Critical Updates and Service Packs" (there are 77 as I write this, and that may be the final count).

Scroll through the listbox of Critical Updates and click the "Add" button for each one.

When all critical updates have been added, go back to the search-result list at the top of the page and repeat the same process for all the updates in the other categories, one by one:

Additional Windows Downloads
Internet and Multimedia Updates
Multi-Language Features (if you need these)
Recommended Updates
Windows Tools
Advanced Security Updates

When you're done, you'll have a pile of software in your "download basket." Click "Go to Download Basket" (the green arrow) and let the data flow: The download tool will create a "WU" folder ("Windows Updates") in whatever location you designate, and populate subfolders within WU with locally-runnable copies of the Update files you selected.

If any files fail to download on the first try, they'll remain in your "Download basket" so you can retry. Don't close your browser though; the download basket goes away when you do, and you'd have to start over.

If the above doesn't work for you, try the official instructions from Microsoft: "How to download updates and drivers from the Windows Update Catalog," http://support.microsoft.com/kb/323166

In any case, I think all Win98 users should be prepared to go it alone by the end of June. Don't count on Microsoft continuing to make patches and updates available; grab 'em for yourself, now, and then you'll be sure to have what you need.

And when your Win98 is fully patched and up to date: Use a disk-imaging tool to preserve that perfect setup, and burn the image to CD. In the future, if you need to reinstall Win98, you'd simply restore the image, and be back to perfection in one step.

(P.S. and BTW: The total download size for all major Win98 patch and update files (not counting multi-language features) is a tad over 300MB. That's larger than the original Win98 operating system itself! <g>)