In this article, we will examine how to set up Windows 98 on a new virtual machine using VMware Fusion 12 Pro in macOS operating system on an Apple Mac computer.
How to Run Windows 98 on macOS / Mac using VMware Fusion 12 Pro
Microsoft released the Windows 98 operating system, the predecessor of Windows 95, on June 25, 1998. Developed as a minor update to Windows 95, it has few features.
Key innovations of Windows 98 include the improved Internet Explorer web browser, the ability to create larger partitions, the system configuration tool, and disk cleaner tools.
Although it is unreasonable to install older distributions of Windows on today’s computers, you can use virtual machines to use these systems in your current operating system.
You can install and run old systems on virtual computers by using the Fusion software developed by VMware for Apple macOS systems.
How to Create a New Virtual Machine for Windows 98
After installing the Fusion virtualization software on your Apple Mac computer, you can now create a new virtual computer and install either Windows, Linux, or macOS.
Step 1
After opening Fusion 12 Pro, you will see options with different installation methods. To install from scratch and configure its settings better, select the Create a custom virtual machine option and click the Continue button.
Step 2
To select the system to install on the virtual machine, select Windows 98 in the guest operating systems window and continue.
Step 3
For a clean install of Windows, choose to create a new virtual disk and continue.
Step 4
After clicking Customize Settings in the window showing the summary information of the virtual machine, click Save to continue without changing the default location.
Step 5
When the virtual machine’s settings are opened, click Processors & Memory and configure the RAM size to 512 MB.
Step 6
To assign an IP address to the virtual machine from the DHCP server in your local network, change the network adapter setting to Ethernet.
Step 7
Change the virtual disk size to 4 GB in the Hard Disk settings and click Apply.
Step 8
To add a Windows 98 ISO file to the virtual computer, click Choose a disc or disc image from the drop-down list in the CD/DVD settings.
Step 9
Select the Windows 98 First Edition ISO file you downloaded to your computer from the table below the article and click Open.
Step 10
Open the advanced settings of the guest machine and disable the Side Channel Mitigations feature and also change the Troubleshooting feature to None.
Step 11
After configuring the virtual computer’s settings and adding the ISO file, run your VM.
How to Install Windows 98 on macOS
After creating and preparing your virtual computer on your Mac, you can now begin the Windows 98 installation.
Step 1
After starting your guest system, press Enter on the Boot from CD-ROM from the Startup Menu options.
Step 2
Since you will install the system with the ISO image, press Enter in the Start Windows 98 Setup from CD-ROM option.
Step 3
You can press Enter to continue the Microsoft Windows 98 installation, F1 to learn more about the installation, or F3 to exit the installation.
Step 4
Choose to configure unallocated disk space because you created a clean virtual disk.
Step 5
Since you have set the virtual disk size to 4 GB, enable large disk support.
Step 6
Press Enter to reboot the guest machine after enabling large disk space usage.
Step 7
When your guest machine restarts, you will come to the disk formatting screen by following the same steps above. Please wait a bit at this stage while your virtual disk is being formatted.
Step 8
Press Enter when the setup wizard is ready to install Windows.
Step 9
Before continuing with the installation, the wizard will run a routine check of your virtual disk.
Step 10
When the Windows 98 setup wizard opens, click Continue to continue the system setup.
Step 11
Wait while the installation wizard prepares.
Step 12
After choosing to install Windows 98 to the default C:\WINDOWS directory, click Next.
Step 13
Wait while the Windows directory is being prepared and checking disk space.
Step 14
Select the commonly used Typical installation type in the Windows installation options and click Next.
Step 15
Check the Install most common Windows components option and click Next again.
Step 16
Type a new computer name that will be different from other computers on your network and continue.
Step 17
Select the country or region you live in to receive more relevant news and information based on your location.
Step 18
Click Next when the wizard is ready to copy the system files.
Step 19
Wait while the Microsoft Windows 98 system is installed on your guest machine.
Step 20
Restart your virtual computer after Windows 98 is installed.
Step 21
When your virtual system boots up, type a new username and continue.
Step 22
Accept the license agreement of the Windows 98 operating system and click Next.
Step 23
Type the product key of the Microsoft Windows 98 system and click Next.
Step 24
After the installation wizard collects all the information, click Finish to start the system.
Step 25
Wait while the setup wizard scans for plug and play hardware in your virtual system.
Step 26
Wait while the wizard reboots your virtual system after detecting for hardware.
Step 27
Configure the time and date information according to the country you live in and close the window.
Step 28
Wait while the wizard updates your system settings.
Step 29
When your guest machine restarts, type your username and click OK.
Step 30
The first desktop view of Windows 98 will be as follows when you log on to your Guest operating system.
How to Install VMware Tools in macOS Windows 98 VM
After installing Windows 98 with VMware Fusion on macOS, you need to install VMware Tools in order to use your virtual machine with more performance and stability. After installing the VM tools, you can drag and drop files between your Mac and guest system or fit the screen resolution to full screen.
Step 1
While your guest machine is running, click Virtual Machine / Install VMware Tools from the Fusion tool menu. Click Install in the warning window that opens and continues.
Step 2
Click Next to continue the installation in the VMware Tools wizard.
Step 3
If you plan to use your virtual system with other products of VMware, select Complete from the installation options and click Next.
Step 4
Click Install to continue installing the virtual machine’s drivers.
Step 5
If you receive the Microsoft HTML Help Engine warning during installation, click Yes.
Step 6
After installing VM Tools on Windows 98, restart your guest system.
Step 7
When your guest machine is turned on, check that file transfer can be done by dragging and dropping a file or folder from your Mac’s desktop location to your VM.
Step 8
Also, you can click View / Full Screen from the tool menu to use your guest machine in full-screen resolution.
How to Check Internet Connection on Windows 98 VM
After installing the drivers for your Guest operating system, you may need to check your Internet connection.
Step 1
Open MS-DOS Prompt via the start menu and test your connection by pinging Google servers by executing the ping 8.8.8.8 command.
Step 2
After clicking Internet Explorer, select “My Computer is Already Set Up for the Internet” in the Internet Connection Wizard and click Next.
Step 3
When you visit the Google homepage via Internet Explorer, you can now see that you can access the Internet without any problems.
How to Install Audio Driver
You may find that the audio device drivers for Windows 98 on Fusion are not automatically installed. So you have to manually install the driver for the audio device.
Step 1
Right-click on My Computer and open System Properties. Click the Device Manager tab in the System Properties window and double-click the PCI Multimedia Audio Device and click the Reinstall Driver button.
Step 2
Proceed with the recommended option for manual installation in the driver update wizard.
Step 3
Check the Specify a Location option in the driver update wizard, and specify the location of the audio driver you downloaded to your computer from the table at the bottom of the article, and continue.
Step 4
After specifying the driver location, click Next and complete the installation.
Step 5
Click OK when you get an Insert Disk error while installing the audio driver.
Step 6
Specify the location of the driver file again and click OK.
Step 7
After successfully installing the driver for the audio device, click Finish.
Step 8
When you check Device Manager, this time you can see that the drivers for the audio device are installed.
How to Install USB Driver
After installing the driver for the audio device in Windows 98, you must also install the USB drivers manually so that you can use USB 2.0 devices on your system.
Step 1
Download the USB 2.0 Driver to your computer from the table at the bottom of the article and double-click the USB Mass Storage Controller Driver in the USB Driver folder.
Step 2
Extract the archived USB 2.0 drivers to the folder.
Step 3
Open Device Manager again and double click the PCI Universal Serial Bus device and click the update driver button. In the next window, specify the location of the USB drivers you downloaded to your computer and click OK.
Step 4
After installing the USB 2.0 driver, check the Device Manager and restart your system.
How to Use USB Flash Memory
After installing the USB drivers in the Windows 98 virtual machine, you can use your flash memory or portable storage device.
Step 1
Insert a flash drive into your Mac’s USB port and when the Fusion program asks where you want to connect your device, first connect it to your Mac.
Step 2
Before you can use a USB flash drive with NTFS file format on your macOS system, you need to change the file format to accommodate Windows 98 as well. So open Disk Utility and change the file format of your flash drive to MS-DOS (FAT).
Step 3
Click Virtual Machine / USB & Bluetooth / Connect (Name of Your USB) from the tool menu to connect your USB stick to your guest machine.
Step 4
When the add hardware wizard opens, specify the location of the USB drive folder again to be able to use your USB disk.
Step 5
Check that the driver for your USB storage device has been updated.
Step 6
After updating the USB Mass Storage Controller driver, restart your virtual system.
Step 7
Create a new folder called Backup on your USB drive on your Mac.
Step 8
After connecting your USB flash memory to your guest machine again, check the contents of your USB disk.
How to Install System Drivers
After you have successfully installed the audio and USB drivers for your Windows 98 virtual computer, you need to downgrade the hardware before you can install the other drivers of your system.
Step 1
When you check the drivers for other devices in your guest operating system, you can see that PCI System Peripheral is not installed.
Step 2
Turn off your virtual computer and click on Compatibility after opening its settings. Change the hardware version from 18 to 6 and click Apply.
Step 3
When you turn on your Guest virtual system again, you can see that this time the drivers that are not installed have been successfully installed.
Video 1
Video 2
Download Windows 98 FE and Driver
Download Windows 98 SE and Driver
TolgaBagci
Hi, I'm Tolga, a computer expert with 20 years of experience. I help fix computer issues with things like hardware, systems, networks, virtualization, servers, and operating systems. Check out my website for helpful info, and feel free to ask me anything. Keep yourself in the loop about the newest technologies!
