eMachines eTower 500is Restore CD
https://archive.org/details/emachines-etower-500is-restore-cd-cracked
This is a Windows 98 SE CD.
Thinking out loud here: I've seen a number of these restore CD/DVDs - that have been patched, and ponder if would make a good starting point for a VM.
Specs:
The eTower 500is is the entry-level model. It features a 500Mhz Intel Celeron processor, 32MB of RAM, 4.3GB hard drive, 40x CD-ROM drive, two USB ports, a MIDI/game port and an ATI Rage Pro Turbo AGP.
What we're talking about here is a "known good" configuration. EMachines has sorted the install out, there's no hunting for drivers that match - and just as important - do not conflict with each other.
This is a Windows 98 SE CD.
Thinking out loud here: I've seen a number of these restore CD/DVDs - that have been patched, and ponder if would make a good starting point for a VM.
Specs:
The eTower 500is is the entry-level model. It features a 500Mhz Intel Celeron processor, 32MB of RAM, 4.3GB hard drive, 40x CD-ROM drive, two USB ports, a MIDI/game port and an ATI Rage Pro Turbo AGP.
What we're talking about here is a "known good" configuration. EMachines has sorted the install out, there's no hunting for drivers that match - and just as important - do not conflict with each other.
Comments
What IDE chipset? What USB chipset? Midi Sound chipset? Does it use motherboard specific chipset drivers? What VM emulates an ATI Rage Pro Turbo AGP? Are the standard motherboard resources actually configured the same as a VM?
The moment you change any of the drivers, you are back in regular old potential conflict land.
It might be interesting to try just to see how many pre-loaded drivers get kicked out and how many new drivers have to be installed.
Plus there are all the crapware applications that most pre-loads and restore CDs include.
I don't know about what Vmware ,or any of the emulators support video car-wise.
"The moment you change any of the drivers.."
Yes. That's why considered "EMachines has sorted the install out, there's no hunting for drivers that match"
"Plus there are all the crapware applications that most pre-loads and restore CDs include."
Wait - what?! I mean wasn't that always the fun part of a store bought machine? All those wonderful things that took you to strange new lands, fraudulent support apps that made you feel important - but never actually did anything meaningful?
I didn't download this ISO, but poked around it on the file server and only saw the usual W98 cab files, AOL, Compuserve, and eMachine stuff plus some JAVA ad Shockwave.
Like I said, there are a plethora of this available now, and it piques my curiosity...