Restoring the $5 Windows 98 PC to Factory Settings

[@mjdxp5688]

It's pretty cool being able to see what these old PCs came with out of the box.

[@PC4USE1]

I think I have n old Gateway Win 98 restore disk from an old PC that I bought as new in 1999-it's funny what you hang on to. It might not be a Gateway though-it was created by Best Buy. My first new computer.

[@CNETech]

@@PC4USE1 best buy doesn't manufacture hardware, they sell hardware.

[@PC4USE1]

@@CNETech The restore disk was created by the technician at Best Buy-I was not very PC savvy at that time

[@blankpage9277]

An uninstallable 3 month "trial" of Mcafee.

[@blankpage9277]

An uninstallable 3 month "trial" of Mcafee.

[@TechProYoutube]

7191 days ago was on: Saturday February 19, 2000

[@carltonleboss]

Bloody hell... before I was even born...

[@zj5317]

Jeez yall kids r young like shit

[@NSHG]

Dang, 2 days after Windows 2000 was released.

[@pyscowicz]

After i was born, nice

[@av28379]

@@carltonleboss same

[@CoTeCiOtm]

I love how enthusiastic you got when you realized the video drivers were installed! I got excited too, finally the PC looks like it should! You should install some games from that time frame and check how they work, like StarCraft or SimCity 2000

[@cnnrde]

Really good video, I like how all your content is all interesting and consistent, and your videos always teach me something new! Keep up the good work!

[@MichaelMJD]

Thank you so much!

[@CmdrKeene]

If you select the "manual" radio button at the top of the restore cd's software list, you can probably install the rest of what gateway provided like musicmatch jukebox and other stuff that's listed there

[@Cas_]

I used your tutorial to make Windows 10 look like Windows XP. Boosted my performance by 2 times as much. Thank You!

[@computelion6393]

I think this is the first time I’ve seen this machine running Windows 98 outside of 16 colors.

[@NazmusLabs]

It's so beautiful and glorious isn't it? I love it. It's now running how it was meant to run!

[@singletona082]

Videos like this make me want ot try ebaying for the same model computer I'd gotten out of highschool and more or less seeing just how far I could take it between processor, PCI cards (it didn't have AGP though a diff iteration had one.) And so on... Then I remember I don't have the money or space and 'Eh I'll just youtube MJD.'

[@Kwolfx]

I bought my first PC; I had Macs previously, in late 1995 or early 1996. I was working two part-time jobs and one was at a Radio Shack, so I received a nice employee discount on top of the sale price. It was an IBM PC. It came with a couple of useless games and a ton of bloatware but most of it was easy to delete. Unfortunately, it didn't come with a WIN 95 install disc, it came with a System restore disc, which contained Win 95 and all the bloatware. The best thing about that machine was it was very upgradable, but I did have to go online to learn how to delete useless registry entrees of original parts which screwed up the proper functioning of the new and improved bits I added. I'm going by memory, but that machine had an Intel Pentium chip 133 MGH with 1.2 GB hard drive; that was near top of the line then, 8 MG of RAM, a combo sound card and 28.8 kbps modem and 1 MB; upgradable to 2 MB, of video memory on the motherboard. It came with a 15 inch CRT monitor and some crappy speakers. It was a Windows 95 machine. The first thing I did was add a video card with 4 MG of memory; which was an improvement, but I didn't do proper research to find the best card. At some point I changed that for a 3dfx Voodoo 2 card with 12 MB of memory. I added RAM; first to 64 MG, then up to 128 MG. I replaced the combo sound card and modem with an early Sound Blaster card, got some decent Altec Lansing speakers, and an external 28.8 kbps modem; which I later replaced with a 56 kbps external modem. I think that was about the time Napster came into being and that 56 kbps modem seemed a god send at the time. There was a way to combine two 56 kbps modems together; it was called shotgunning, but I wasn't able to do that. I swapped out the 1.2 GB hard drive for 6.4 GB hard drive and then I added an 8 GB hard drive as well. I purchased a Viewsonic 20 CRT monitor which was a massive improvement in my viewing experience. Finally, I replaced the Pentium with an upgraded 233 MGH chip. I used that machine right up until Windows XP came out, when I built a much, much faster machine rather than buying a specific brand name. So I used it for almost 6 years as my primary PC and the improvements I made were gradual. I thanked god for the various IBM BBS's where I found more experienced users who answered all my questions on how to make these changes without crashing my machine, though WIN 95 crashed a lot, all by itself. I also upgraded to Windows 98 along the way. I kept that machine, mostly to play old games, until the motherboard died. (Around 2007--8) It was a proprietary IBM motherboard and its form factor was unique, so there was no way to replace it. That was sad.

[@enigma776]

The second disk is literally win98SE but the recovery disk is a nice thing to rip apart and see how it works. All the menus can be custom made up, large selection of era correct drivers for pretty much anything too, including windows 2000/NT4.0. Even found the file with the batch stuff including the win95/98 key.

[@PCWindowstechguy]

I like this video about factory settings on the 5$ computer and keep making good content.

[@Josh.Davidson]

I remember the Gateway loader, loved how they did their Windows re-installs.

[@andymate2006]

I remember when I had a Gateway PC back in 1999 and I did a factory reset it loaded up so much differently to this. It loaded up MS DOS as yours did but it loaded up some Windows PE thing. I had Windows ME though not Windows 98.

[@eg1885]

These home office pc's usually came with a custom background and some games. Seems like there should've been a little more bloatware in the full restore, but I could be wrong.

[@johnporterfield4577]

Nope, this was it. I worked tech support there for almost 5 years, they didn't have nearly the amount of bloatware you'd see on an HP, Compaq or Packard Bell. There was a little more later when they started selling in their stores and in retail, however.

[@Malice11029]

you're correct there are a few more things on the cd. i have not mounted the 98 restore cd ,yet, but i opened the iso of srcd (Gateway System Restoration CD V12.3) and the directory listed below has some extra tidbits. a startup screen and wallpaper. *:\APPS\GWGALRY has this in it *:\APPS\GWGALRY\srcd.ini [&Gateway Gallery] os=win95,win98,nt,2000 menu=&Tools winscripttorun=Scriptit dosscripttorun=NA wincopysubs=false doscopysubs=true hint=This allows you to use Gateway specific wallpapers and startup screens. dosid=always name=&Gateway Gallery priority=895 file=GWGalry.exe restore=false every computer company around about the time used their own proprietary ways of copying or extracting the OS image or they obscure the files for direct copy, however; most configuration settings for their closed source programs are in plain text and human readable so we can infer the function of what some of the executables will do and how the CD is setup to copy the proper software to the proper directories for specific model pc's

[@eg1885]

@@Malice11029 Appreciate the extensive info. Spoken like a true representative of PCMR

[@michaelszczys8316]

Computer I bought in 1998 had Windows 98 with all kinds of screen themes plus it was set up for the 3-D screen in which the icons looked like they were floating in space.

[@iluvtacoz123]

You are one of my favorite KZbin channels.

[@MichaelMJD]

Glad to hear that! Thanks

[@aaronsprouse7101]

there was a file that you could edit in the 98 setup directory that would cause setup to bypass the software key. The gateway installer could probably be doing the same thing

[@0Wayland]

Norton Antivirus... that takes me back.

[@Kitsudote]

Norton Antivirus, a.k.a. the first thing to remove after getting a new PC.

[@03HemiCentralIN]

I still have my gateway from 99. Bought it at a gateway store, though the computers at sears were tempting, but I settled for this. Even though mine says win 98se on the outside I had them install IBM os/2 Warp 4. Mine came with and I still have the gateway monitor, bose speakers, manual, cds galore, Microsoft works and word 97 and some other programs. I still use word 97 on my win10 machine which I game on too. Specs: CPU P3 650; GPU ATI rage pro turbo agp 49802, which is apparently made in Canada; either 256mb or 512mb Hyundai ram; 20gb quantum fireball hdd, still runs fine; sound blaster live CT4830; no name modem made in Canada; Sony CD-R/CD-RW; another CD drive; floppy drive.

[@flotowncomputerguy6243]

High as a 420 kite. Love the videos. Taking me back in time

[@m9078jk3]

The older Gateway 2000 computers of the 1990's came bundled usually with a lot more software

[@MaskedGEEK]

Back then I was always bemused as to how manufacturers could create a restore CD that would install the needed drivers that Win9x didn’t include, THEN use the actual retail Win9x install media to install Windows as normal. Brilliant. Best part is, Windows update still works today. Seriously. Net that bad boy up and you’ll get all the updates Microsoft released for Win98 right up until they stopped support for it.

[@JoeWithTheGlasses]

Wow, had the same exact desktop growing up. Very first PC I remember surfing the web on.

[@marcwate4035]

I was a tech since 1989. This I have seen sooooo many times. Hell, I used to work with DOS 2.0. lol

[@acetop666]

Thanks for the link It helped me restore my GP6-366C with all the hardware drivers as the restore CD's I had did not work on this computer

[@Derekthepersonable]

I have a very similar looking model called the GP7-500, the last part of the model name always infers what speed cpu was inside, which in my case is a 500 mHz Pentium III. have some really old sims 1 save games on there, still bust it out sometimes to play sims just like I did in middle and high school.

[@Dallemations]

I’m so glad to have this video because I got the same pc running the same os for free

[@BilisNegra]

Wonder if the bare "Install Windows" keeps My Documents untouched, along with settings/customizations? Just trying to make out what the difference could be, but, of course, the menu is absurdly uninformative.

[@nakyer]

I have an old Gateway that quit working. I removed everything from the case and build a more modern system in it. I wonder if I'd be able to install Windows 98 and then try to upgrade from 98 to maybe XP, then to 7, then back to 10? (I miss the Gateway splash screen.)

[@nigelcooper1191]

The real second restore disc was just a Windows 98 se disc that you used when the one you burned failed. OEMs typically used regular Microsoft discs for the OS and custom discs for drivers and bloatware

[@musicmoviesandgames2004]

Apparently for the operating system discs, Gateway just used generic Windows 98 discs and used a different disc label for it.

[@gamertygonl]

I found acrobat reader 4.0 in multiple languages on a old lg display driver cd

[@gamertygonl]

Does anyone want them for some reason

[@Tamay.]

arting Windows 98... Art my freakin Windows 98

[@Itisyes22]

i love your vids it makes me love old pc's

[@SilverX95]

cool that people upload the old restore cds, there getting harder to find. i need to fine a set of restore cds for my Compaq Presario 5834.

[@Z64sports]

I have 2 disc 1s but only 1 disc 2. Got a set for less than $10

[@dusanstanojevic9350]

22:24 Did i saw Real player in the options???

[@Twintania]

Also the USB driver seems to be included too. Thought that didnt come out until much later thanks to Toasty Tech (think thats his name)

[@azmax64]

Archive has saved me some money. You might have to do a search on there, and get just about anything you need. 95, 98 XP. & etc, and tons of software files.

[@justsumguy2u]

This was a fun video. I would invest in another IDE hard drive...if you want to install something else, just pull the one you've got, set it aside and install it on the new drive

[@MichaelMJD]

Thanks for the suggestion! I am currently working on a method that will automate the re-installation of Windows 98. Will be featured in a video this week!

[@sai2do]

The $5 Windows 98 PC is my favorite character in the Michael MJD franchise.

[@juhasto91]

I have had same verifying issue with imgburn and windows 10 own tool. Either way disc still works. Same with 98se iso and win 2000

[@connorm955]

The application loader has the graphics driver from Intel, i'm just wondering why it doesn't specify the graphics chip on the Gateway archive link you provided.

[@sparksfly13]

It would be cool if you got the entire setup from 1999. The Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse

[@CoreyDeWalt]

If you click manual installation you can install they greyed out programmes that it did not install.

[@georgemaragos2378]

Hi Nice series on the $5 pc. I have a similar Gateway 233.- but i just run a 4G ( in 2 x 2G partition ) compact flash card for storage, while the original hard drive worked when i bought the pc it is very slow ( but reliable - no bad sectors ) I also added a USB 2 add n card with a NEC chip what can read a 16G ( maybe 32G cant recal ) USB stick I also have a network card in it and i can see the other older PC' Win XP, Win 7 , Win 10, however the Win98 can see the win 10 but cant add files to it, but it works fine the other way from Win 10 to drop files in the Win98 share - it has to do with the security and authentication etc - actually i couldnot see the win 10 shared untill i added a user account on Win 98 I would have used clonezilla or something similar to make a image of the exisitng OS on the harddrive to a USB disk before wiping it - just in case. Regards George

[@WXLM-MorganNicole619]

I’m very familiar with that process as I had a gateway PC growing up

[@WalterKnox]

i have mine, that was bought new and have a little disk binder that says gateway and has all the disks in it.

[@ravensinger5029]

Drowning in nostalgia here...

[@nickwhite4782]

THAT'S MINE!

[@YukiGersaniba]

6:06 Delete and reinstall Windows - Deletes the operating system that is currently installed and installs a new operating system. Format hard drive and install Windows - Formats the hard drive to a specific format then installs a new operating system. Install Windows - Upgrades Windows.

[@BALtimore2001]

Are there any restore images for my $5 Sony Vaio VGN-N130G for Windows XP MCE 2005? Because I want to restore it to its factory settings.

[@christinalippincott7218]

Do you know what version of gateway system recovery disks these originally are for this PC?

[@michaelszczys8316]

In 1998 I got my first computer, one of the more interesting things I saw on a computer had to do with Y2K. My 1998 computer which should have been made to handle 4 digit year on the date and it was did something really strange on January 1, 2000. At midnight the date should have easily changed from 12-31-1999 to 01-01-2000 but what it did was go to some random date number like 05-22-2007. I think it was programmed to scramble on Y2K

[@Twintania]

I remember I recently broke a fresh Windows 98 install on my Pentium 2 450 system.. I figured I would install a bunmch of things and drivers at once and restart once instead of multiple times but it didnt like that. Had to reinstall Windows 98 3 times in a single week

[@Zen-Koru]

I've had a windows xp laptop that I took off the os by accedent and ever since I could not get back the os evry time I try I need the drivers for it but I tryed to install them but it gives me the blue screen of death or freezes the laptop so can you please help with this?

[@stevin47]

loved watching 98 do a defrag

[@Aggouric]

How did you get it for that cheap, it looks brand new

[@emanatingf]

@libnny gutierrez Too bad it's very hard to get your hands on a PC or build like that if you weren't alive or old enough in the Era.

[@MagikGimp]

You don't stick labels on your CDs before burning them do you? Shouldn't really do that as it could unbalance the spinning disk. Get a Sharpie instead, man.

[@teh_supar_hackr]

What if I were to put a label on the disc after I burned it?

[@jlhohbein2100]

That $5 pc is snappier than my 2 year old hp that was around $1000

[@c0dered111]

CD's make me nostalgic

[@Nico93]

You ever planning on getting a desk setup with a crt and speakers?

[@Z64sports]

So I just did this on my Compaq and none of the shortcuts work. The hourglass shows up for half a second then disappears and then nothing

[@sam_64]

Is this LGR?

[@Malice11029]

i opened both images in a VM and found no problem with either i couldn't install the first cd as it uses a program [biosid.exe] ( to check some text stored in bios (it's officially labeled chassis#) that includes gateway model # and serial however i was able to boot from the image just fine. i suggest you convert the .cue / .bin > .iso and try burning it again on a different cd/dvd rom drive and also at a slower speed... it's likely you have a failing drive though you can always *pop* a laser eye cleaner cd into it and try again the second cd [SRCD.iso] (gateway system restoration cd) seems to have a companion cd labeled "operating system backup cd" and the first iso is not the correct cd. however i had no problem installing windows 98 then installing the software on the cd. *there is also an image of the boot disk included *in the tools menu* to load the gateway background and bootscreen load the cd menu then at the top select Tools>Gateway Gallery

[@freenet3050]

You can install windows me on this pc and upload this video about install windows me on the 5$ PC and thanks

[@doramilitiakatiemelody1875]

He already did that i think

[@Badhead1970]

Why dont you make a system image of the newly installed os, perhaps even once you've reinstalled Office? Save a lot of time if you ever need to re-install everything again.

[@trisiegt]

Can you do another video on the $5 Packard Bell?

[@BilisNegra]

10:06 1k quid for a Celeron machine! Just figure out what you can build for that price nowadays... And freak out when you factor in inflation! (1500). And if you think that is bad, travel further back to the early to mid 90's, and you'll easily pay twice as much (at least, if you consider inflation). Ours, all considered, is a golden age for computing. New stuff is comparatively cheap if you're not a high-end, professional user in need of the best workstation around... And you can get wild bang for your buck performance with used/ refurb stuff! Actually, your biggest concern might be where to store what you can bargain shop these days.

[@abomb7682]

Don’t touch the optical side of an optical disk. How do you not know that?

[@silentlord2324]

Hi, i did the wii homebrew without sd card and it didnt work pls help

[@iannicolson]

You should try to install Windows 95 on it. It might work if you selected the option and provided a windows 95 CD instead. That way, it might even install the drivers for Windows 95.

[@MichaelMJD]

Yeah I think that disc was bundled with both 95 and 98 machines, and then the separate OS disc for the respective version was included.

[@NatetheNintendofan]

4:46 umm Michael MJD it says teway instead of gateway.

[@Maverick1948]

Awesome!

[@boneske]

I miss the Windows 98 and early XP days when computer manufacturers like Dell gave you a copy of the OEM Windows installation disc with the factory restore disc. I never liked the factory image install (Way too bloated IMO). When I would set up my families computers in that era I just put in the Windows install disc and format and install a fresh copy of Windows and set up the drivers myself. Usually I was able to shave 10 to 30 seconds off the boot time compared to the factory image install.

[@cyberp0et]

I need to add the USB drivers to the Windows98 ISO image using nLite to make myself a proper Windows98SE installation CD and have it installed on my Wibdows98 PC.

[@proxy1035]

why were you even using a 3rd party program to burn a CD when windows can do it natively? (unless you burned it on the old machine for some reason...)

[@saucedge]

What's the background music he's using?

[@MichaelMJD]

I use a lot of songs from the YT audio library and incompetech.com. If you can give me a time code I can tell you the exact song I used

[@saucedge]

I like that music playing at around 3:40 in the video. Been collecting songs to listen to while coding and planning sprints so that would help a lot. Cool videos btw, brings back a lot of nostalgia. :)

[@connorm955]

I like CDBurnerXP better than imgburn. Had less errors for me.

[@whitebeartigtig]

in the next video you should upgrade this computer with a new CPU, more RAM, an SSD etc... This would be a very interesting video

[@whitebeartigtig]

Manni L I got Windows 98 to work with SATA

[@theenderman9042]

Who would win? iPhone X $999 This pc but price from 2000 $999

[@Jake1702]

Who would voluntarily own an Apple product?

[@KirbySSM]

or APPLE MAC STAND $999

[@theenderman9042]

@@Jake1702 Of course I would take this pc

[@whitebeartigtig]

In performance, the iPhone X but you’d have way more fun with an old computer

[@cryssyboo_1048]

@@Jake1702 Millions of people?

[@Connorplayer123]

It would be nice if you got the original monitor and speakers

[@somethingorsomething1811]

Loved it

[@generaltechnology8250]

It took me a while, but I managed to install Windows 98 on a semi-modern laptop from 2007.

[@sillynope]

the cow cube wants change.

[@LBXComputers]

You should have chosen the format option in the first place really

[@frostdash-aviation]

Nice video

[@definitely_notme4112]

I have a Windows 95 laptop i got for free from my dad’s work freind. I have two desktops that run XP i got for free from my grandpa, i have a windows vista laptop turned chromebook i got for free from my aunt, and lastly an old windows 8 laptop turned chromebook that i used a few years ago. My next goal is a windows 2000 laptop.

[@Brian.001]

OK, let's just go ahead and go ahead and get started. :-)

[@Raveheart]

Funny how complicated this restore process was. They just could give you a bootable Image of an already installed Windows with all updates and drivers included, which just gets mirrored to the actual hard drive. OK, this would always require you to wipe the entire HDD, but still, a fast and bulletproof way.

[@joechang8696]

$999 for a Celeron seems high. That brand was specifically meant to target sub-800 price points

[@0xc4ae1e5]

In your original video it was a 433c.

[@blaz33_gaming]

Why does intel Celeron sound like intel Celery?

[@Sam_420]

Microsoft Windows Product Keys are embedded into the motherboard.

[@NazmusLabs]

You should not have chosen format. Windows 98 can reinstall windows while keeping your apps (such as ms office you had ready installed.) you should have chosen delete and reinstall. Not format.

[@330radio]

You Don't Have To Buy Acrobat 4.0. It's so old you just have to say, "NO! IM NOT REGISTERING!" and it'll work!

[@vinson3725]

Do you have internet?

[@coolkitty1654]

hello Gateway = Getaway

[@kirschitz64]

Can you cover Walmart selling Gateway-branded PCs?

[@MichaelMJD]

That would be really fun! Thanks for the suggestion : )

[@nintenx1235]

God this computer’s about as old as I am. Neither of us aged well...

[@pawer_official1245]

Some legends say that this machine was firstly used in PCs for Dummies lol

[@ChrisM1234]

I need to wipe my Windows 98 Compaq but don't know how. Considering buying the Windows 98 floppy. Ideas anyone??

[@paulhoeksema7200]

Hi Love Your Videos Can You Use That Windows 7 Compatibilty Driver That Someone Released and try to run modern software on the $5 98 pc (Its Called Kernal X)