I want to build a Windows 95 machine. I've done so many Windows 98 SE builds but nothing for Windows 95. I miss Windows 95 I find it quite nostalgic plus I think I will enjoy the challenge building one or in other words getting a computer to run Windows 95.
There are several problems that could be worked around...
First is SATA Windows 95 "as far as I know" will not support SATA so a possible work around could be a PCi card with a IDE and floppy connector otherwise I will have to find a motherboard with IDE.
I do have a Dell computer in the back of my cupboard which has a Celeron processor but its dual core. The motherboard has IDE and Floppy connectors as well as SATA. I could down size the RAM to 256 MB its DDR2 I have plenty of spare DDR2 RAM knocking about. It also has a 3.5 floppy drive. This Dell computer was a bit under performance running Windows 7 and I had replaced it with another build so the Dell ended up going into the cupboard and hasn't been used since so I figure maybe I could use this for a Windows 95 build. The case is also white so very retro looking.
I've never tried installing MS DOS and Windows 95 on a computer using a dual core processor I think its 1.3GHz per core. 1.3 GHz is more than fast enough for Windows 95. I'm assuming that Windows 95 will use just one core "I forget what the socket type is" but if the dual core processor is not ideal I could possibly replace the processor for a single core otherwise I'll just use the existing dual core processor.
Providing that the Windows 95 install goes well then I can't see a reason why the Dell can't be used as a Windows 95 machine. I don't know what the limit is on processors for Windows 95 but I recall seeing a patch somewhere if the processor is to high.
Next are the drivers. The only drivers I will need is video and audio. If there is no Windows 95 driver support for the onboard VGA graphics then not to worry because I've found a file that fixes the issue to allow more colors and screen resolutions. As for audio. If the onboard audio doesn't work then I could find a Windows 95 compatible sound card. I may have some spares.
I will use a 16GB CF card via an IDE adapter
Sound good? Is there anything else I would need to consider?
There are several problems that could be worked around...
First is SATA Windows 95 "as far as I know" will not support SATA so a possible work around could be a PCi card with a IDE and floppy connector otherwise I will have to find a motherboard with IDE.
I do have a Dell computer in the back of my cupboard which has a Celeron processor but its dual core. The motherboard has IDE and Floppy connectors as well as SATA. I could down size the RAM to 256 MB its DDR2 I have plenty of spare DDR2 RAM knocking about. It also has a 3.5 floppy drive. This Dell computer was a bit under performance running Windows 7 and I had replaced it with another build so the Dell ended up going into the cupboard and hasn't been used since so I figure maybe I could use this for a Windows 95 build. The case is also white so very retro looking.
I've never tried installing MS DOS and Windows 95 on a computer using a dual core processor I think its 1.3GHz per core. 1.3 GHz is more than fast enough for Windows 95. I'm assuming that Windows 95 will use just one core "I forget what the socket type is" but if the dual core processor is not ideal I could possibly replace the processor for a single core otherwise I'll just use the existing dual core processor.
Providing that the Windows 95 install goes well then I can't see a reason why the Dell can't be used as a Windows 95 machine. I don't know what the limit is on processors for Windows 95 but I recall seeing a patch somewhere if the processor is to high.
Next are the drivers. The only drivers I will need is video and audio. If there is no Windows 95 driver support for the onboard VGA graphics then not to worry because I've found a file that fixes the issue to allow more colors and screen resolutions. As for audio. If the onboard audio doesn't work then I could find a Windows 95 compatible sound card. I may have some spares.
I will use a 16GB CF card via an IDE adapter
Sound good? Is there anything else I would need to consider?
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