Computer Geeks...I need your assistance please

[Pacman]

Hello,
I'm looking to seek some advice from the experts on here please.

Here is some quick background info on my situation...perhaps you can help provide a solution for me.

My father runs a small consulting company...and he uses some very specialized engineering software made in the early 1990's. Replacing the software with a new version is not an option as it costs over $100,000.

The software only runs on Windows 95, 98 or ME. It will not work on 2000 or XP for some reason. We have called the manufacturer of the software and they have told us that it won't work on those newer Windows platforms.

He's running a Dell 800mhz pentium machine for his computer. We have tried buying brand new Dell machines, but we are unable to install Windows 98 or ME on those machines, as the those old Windows OS don't have the correct drivers for the new components in the DELL machines. We are able to get ME on the new computers, but there are no graphics drivers for todays new cards.

His hard drive crashed on the weekend and he spent 2 days reformatting it and getting everything back up and running again. This would be a disaster if it had happened during the week or if he was bogged down with work.

I had an idea to buy an extra internal HD and format it with Windows ME and install all his specialized software so if his main harddrive were to crash again, he could simply remove the old one, replace it with the backup drive and be up and running again in less than an hour.

I suppose it would be even easier if he could just plug in an external HD into the computer and disconnect the old internal HD.

If you were to unplug the external HD...can you boot and run a computer from an external HD? or are the external HD's more for storage and backup?

Any input would be greatly appreciated and if there are any other possible solutions please let me know.

Any other suggestions? I suppose the other option is to try and buy an old computer that was designed to run 98 or ME and keep that as a backup.

Thanks
Pacman

[Xtrema]

Buys a copy of Windows Server 2003 and run Virtual Server 2005. Run Windows 98 setup on the virutal host and hope everything runs for you.

This way, as long as MS offers Virutal server, you'll never have to worry about outdated drivers and such. And backup is a breeze.

The only problem you have to worry about is updates to the OS as they are not offered anymore. So you probably don't want it on the net.

[Recca168]

You can try this
http://bochs.sourceforge.net/

its an open source emulator and you should be able to run ME. Basically the same as above but its free.

[Pacman]

Originally posted by Xtrema
Buys a copy of Windows Server 2003 and run Virtual Server 2005. Run Windows 98 setup on the virutal host and hope everything runs for you.

This way, as long as MS offers Virutal server, you'll never have to worry about outdated drivers and such. And backup is a breeze.

The only problem you have to worry about is updates to the OS as they are not offered anymore. So you probably don't want it on the net.

Thanks for the reply. So could this be done on a brand new whizzy fast computer or would it have to be run on the old 800mhz machine?

Will doing it on a new machine have issues with the graphics drivers, or will those be taken care of.

Regards,
Pacman

[Xtrema]

Recca's idea is good too and it's free.

But with any virtual host implementation, you probably need a 2+Ghz processor and 1GB or RAM to run it smoothly.

Basically, you're running the lastest OS on the newest hardware and run windows 98 under emulated hardware.

You'll have to try it out for sure if that will work with your Dad's software. There may be some graphical requirment that may not work on emulated HW.

Both Virtual Server 2005 and VMWare server are free of charge but they only run on Windows Server OS.

[Pacman]

Thanks for the reply. I'll investigate that option.

What are your thoughts on putting a complete OS and his software on an external HD. That way, if his computer crashes....he can remove the old internal drive (just unplug the cables) and plus the external into a USB port. Will a computer boot from the primary HD being external on a USB?

Regards,
James

[dericer]

Originally posted by Pacman
Thanks for the reply. I'll investigate that option.

What are your thoughts on putting a complete OS and his software on an external HD. That way, if his computer crashes....he can remove the old internal drive (just unplug the cables) and plus the external into a USB port. Will a computer boot from the primary HD being external on a USB?

Regards,
James

Back it up on the external, but I wouldn't be too keen on using it as a primary. IMO

[speedracer]

A possible solution is:

Buy new Computer - run and use that as your main system. Email, Excel....

Keep the old Dell that runs the software and all the drivers for Win98 - for only that 1 purpose - NOTHING else. Become very good at restoring the system since you have only 1 application to deal with.

Go on ebay, second hand computer stores and buy another model that is exactly the same as what you have for a spare.

Buy a couple of old hard drives that will run on the old Dell and create a mirror so that if the HDD fails you can quickly restore it. This is also where the second machine comes in handy should hardware fail - Motherboard, Vid card.....

That's pretty much what you have to do if you use dated / no longer produced software.

[atomic]

is it a windows based program? or dos? if it's dos then use:
http://dosbox.sourceforge.net

[frostyda9]

Originally posted by Pacman

We are able to get ME on the new computers, but there are no graphics drivers for todays new cards.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/win9x_81.98.html

http://www.nvidia.com/object/81.98_9x_supported.html

[Mar]

Upgrade from Windows to Linux. You won't have those problems anymore.

[GoChris]

virtual server doesnt seem to take many resources, its pretty good and its free now too.

[Recca168]

that boch thing ran won pretty low resources. I think on a 1.6 ghz system with 512 ram we ran Win XP on top of another Win XP and it was workable. Yes we were really bored that day....

[Ashkente]

Originally posted by Mar
Upgrade from Windows to Linux. You won't have those problems anymore.

Go to school. Learn to read.

[legendboy]

tell you dad to shop around for a different/cheaper software solution

[Pacman]

Originally posted by legendboy
tell you dad to shop around for a different/cheaper software solution

Unfortunatly, that is not an option as they are all between $80k and $130k. He's slowly winding down the business and getting ready to retire, so it's not worth that type of investment at this point. He should have bought the software 5 years ago.....

[sputnik]

Originally posted by Mar
Upgrade from Windows to Linux. You won't have those problems anymore.

Besides the fact that you cant read the original post. You are obviously jaded to believe that Linux is the solver of all problems.

Linux has its fairshare of problems that continue to keep it from being a viable option in many business functions.

[cityhunter2501]

you could also buy Norton Ghost 2003 (this version is the only one that works on 98/ME) and clone the HDD.
If the system crash, couple of steps and its back to normal.

[Alex_FORD]

have you double checked the cost to upgrade the software? It the software company has been around for 15 years, it might not be $100K anymore, or perhaps they have a new pricing scheme like an anual lease.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by Alex_FORD
or perhaps they have a new pricing scheme like an anual lease.

As in leasing out your anus? aka getting raped in da butt? (Sorry, couldn't resist)

If it's something so specialized, it will still cost that much. Not everything are so in volume like MS Office.