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Windows 98SE emulated on Pocket PC
David Horn writes "PocketGamer is carrying a story on the successful emulation of Windows 95 and Windows 98SE on the Pocket PC. This was made possible by a Pocket PC port of Bochs, a DOS emulator. If you're keen to try this yourself, you'll need a minimum of a 256MB memory card (or stream the image over a wireless network) and you'll need a program like Nyditot Virtual Display to increase your screen resolution. Oh, yes, and you'll also need the emulator. You can find more information and a selection of screenshots here. Following the porting of a full speed Playstation emulator and Pocket Quake, this really raises the bar for what the Pocket PC is capable of."
This is a very cool project.
Current limitations seem to include lack of DirectX support but, as Pocket Quake was ported, perhaps there's some OpenGL framework for the Pocket PC that wouldn't be too difficult to link up with this Windows 98 emulation.
So, it's not perfect for 'playing any PC game' yet, but there's hope.
RD
I really dont understand the point in having old systems emulated on an old platform
that's my word, holla...
I'll stick to emulating Windows XP on my full size laptop, thanks.
Is a Windows 95/98 port to the PocketPC a very usefull tool ? Win. 95/98 is designed to be usefull and (somewhat) functional for a desktop enviroment. The Pocket PC version of Windows is a far more usefull tool. It have features built in that PocketPCs are used for, and it does not drag down your resources nearly as much as 98/95.
I feel sorry for the technical staff. I thought we were supposed to be against spamming?
I think the point of this may be just because you can... Not every little hack has to have a purpose. I'm impressed just because it's cool to have been done.
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From the website:
Bochs is a highly portable open source IA-32 (x86) PC emulator written in C++, that runs on most popular platforms. It includes emulation of the Intel x86 CPU, common I/O devices, and a custom BIOS.
This was made possible by a Pocket PC port of Bochs, a DOS emulator.
Not quite. Bochs is a IA-32 (x86) emulator that allows other architectures (such as ARM commonly used in handheld devices) to emulate a IA-32 chip.
)9TSS
Bochs homepage
Go figure. I was just going to visit the site (I have it bookmarked), and that's what I see. I thought at first that the site was just down...then I see the "too many connections" part. You can guess where I went next. >_
I haven't seen the post yet (for obvious reasons), but I wonder what the emulated processor speed is, and whether the system can be used to run plain old DOS (so I can play those old games that PocketDOS still seems to have issues with).
But then I am using one OS I do not like to run another one that I do not like at all :) Seriously, I would have more use for a nice X windows client so I could remotely connect to my OSX and Solaris boxes at work. That would be really useful.
----- One learns to itch where one can scratch.
Windows 98 is one of the worst "operating systems" ever. Running it nativily is sure to get you beaten up by the /. Pogramm Action Committee. But emulating it is suddenly cool enough for a Slashdot headline?
/. also posts every time someone gets Linux to do anything remotly approaching almost sorta but not quite entirely unlike working on anything that has electricity pluged into it, so...
Of course,
So you've got win98 running on it now? Wow, with the functionality you just added to your device, I've just got one word for you:
PWN3D!!!1!
Not quite. Bochs is a IA-32 (x86) emulator that allows other architectures (such as ARM commonly used in handheld devices) to emulate a IA-32 chip.
They say that snake tastes like chicken. Why not just eat chicken? It's cheaper, doesn't slither around on it's belly, and is probably better for you.
So why not just get an IA-32 (x86) machine?
a mini Blue Screen Of Death.
Thanks to Miracle and ceasar54 for writing in with the news that a member has got both Windows 95 and Windows 98 SE running on his Asus PPC.
This was made possible by a Pocket PC port of Bochs, by Mamaich, who has also ported DosBox, a "program similar to Bochs but it's a lot faster and only emulates DOS". Sadly, the author tried and failed to get WarLords II working on both these versions, but I'm sure time will tell!
If you're keen to try this on your own Pocket PC, you'll need a minimum of a 256MB memory card (or stream the image over a wireless network) and you'll need a program like Nyditot Virtual Display to increase your screen resolution. Oh, yes, and you'll also need the emulator.
According to Miracle, what we really need now is for another developer to "pick this up and optimize it to get more speed, since Mamaich stated that he will not continue to work on this, but instead focus more on DosBox."
Given that this shows that a Pocket PC is easily powerful enough to run Windows 95 and 98 in an emulator, do you think that attention might shift from developing new Pocket PC games to trying to get the original PC games to work in emulators? While I played a few games in Pocket DOS, the lack of decent controls made enjoying them nearly impossible. On the other hand, a predominantly mouse based game might run quite happily, and allow everyone to enjoy it on the move.
..every time it BSODs its easier to throw across the room and stamp on than a dekstop..!
------
beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his mind he dreams himself your master
... must be running on a PocketPC. (... notes MySQL error...)
And here you go for screenshots: http://www.its.caltech.edu/~tzer-jen/zbochs/
Win98 isn't that bad of an os, win98se is though. I'd go as far as saying win98se is just as bad as winME.
It's the PC that was emulated - not the operating system.
Looks like the PocketGamer Site might be hosted on a Pocket PC as well... 38 Comments and it's already down!
Bochs on Zaurus Software Index.
I ran bochs (but not windows, not a large enough flash card at the time). It was slow (hey, no suprise there), & I wouldn't want to run windows, but it was possible, and didn't need some hack like increasing screen resolution (something sdl handled). Of course, with the new Zauruses, you wouldn't have to increase the resolution, either via OS hacks, or SDL scaling.
Mirror of the screenshots here
They are actual size, due to small pocketpc screen I presume..
"Please try again by pressing the refresh button in your browser." They're not making it any easier on themselves.
I am a viral sig. Please copy me and help me spread. Thank you.
The biggest limitation I can think of is the speed. I can't imagine that Win98 being run on an emulator could be anywhere near fast enough to play games, DirectX or otherwise.
--This is a self-referential sig--
No wonder the site died that fast.
.php opened its own connection to the database (it went like, a single line saying "You can login or register" followed by two database connection errors and one different database error).
I got an error (unfortunately, I was too quick on the reload button and couldn't copy it) which showed that every included
This means that probably every page opens at least 3 connections to the same database, so every slashdotter is counting as three (by RIAA logic).
Pocket PC port of Bochs, a DOS emulator.
uhhh, dont you mean x86 emulator?
bochs can handle more than just dos.
I can't even get Bochs to run Win98 acceptably on a G3 900 iBook...it always hangs on boot...
On the other hand, Bochs emulates the x86 so run whatever PC OS you want...the little Linux demo they include works great on my iBook although it's so stripped down, it doesn't do much other than ls and mkdir and stuff like that...
"Because it can be done" is actually a great reason only about 4% of the time it gets used.
I can about play Links (ORIGINAL) on my 1.7 ghz machine. I successfully set up a Win95 virtual drive but why bother? I have some DOS stuff I run command line sometimes.
Seriously.
Cell phone with open hardware platform, 256MB RAM, 20GB HDD, Equiv to 500 Mhz PIII. External VGA Port, USB, and WiFi. As long as it would fit in my pocket, it could handle EVERY business function I'd need it for and I'd never be dependant on internet access for Word and Excel Docs. Get to work, plug in monitor and keyboard/mouse. Use the small screen out in the field.
It's going to suck the first time I accidentally leave a computer in the wash, though.
It's "tried".
Goddess save us from the victims of public skewl.
... I really wish I'd cleaned that HTML up!
___________
PocketGamer.org - For Gamers on the Go..
Shouldn't Bochs running on a Pocket PC also meen that you can run Linux on it!? I can't believe no one has said it before me...
Actually you can already run Linux on your favourite Pocket PCs (if there is such a thing), the hp/compaq iPAQs, generally the older Compaq H3600, H3800 and H3900 series accept it.
Unfortunately some of these (there are several) projects seem to be defunct, in any case I fail to see the reason to convert a perfectly normal PPC to a crippled handheld running linux with applications not designed for it. If you need linux, I'd go for the Sharp Zaurus, sweet machines albeit underpowered, and frankly, not NEARLY as polished.
Windows 98 emulation on run-of-the-mill PPCs such as iPAQ 3950, Toshiba e740 or Dell Axim 3xi is a bit impractical however in my opinion, since
1) low resolution
2) low functionality
3) too slow
4) did I mention low functionality?
5) expensive memory expansion (Secure Digital cards only for most iPAQs, and Compact flash for Toshiba/Dells)
I applaud the technical level at which this experiment was taken, but like the linux hacks, this is a waste of time on a practical level, unless you need to run Solitaire desktop edition...
To elaborate on speed, for those not familiar with the Pocket PC operating system (Windows Pocket PC 2002 and WMobile 2003), both are platforms based on Windows CE, 2003 being on CE.NET 4.2 and 2002 on CE 3.0; in short, 2003 is optimized for the Xscale CPUs, currently the top rated ARM-compatible cpus for handhelds, 2002 is not. Running Windows 98 in emulation mode would be a pain in 2003, much less in 2002, my 3950(PXA250, initial xscale cpu) can handle the TI-89 emulator, barely, so I'd hate to see what it would do with Windows. (gross generalization). Of course, there are faster models out there with better CPUs, PXA255 (Xscale with double membus), PXA262 (PXA255 with NAND mem 32mb) and PXA270 which hits up to 600mhz so far...In any case, to reiterate, praises to the developers
Okay, the heat death of the universe might occur before it loaded, but seeing the Mac OS X desktop appear on a palmtop would be way cool.
Eh, Bochs is a PC-targeted emulator, if you had taken care to read the posts above you'd know that Bochs emulates an x86 CPU.
Macintosh machines run non x86 cpus, such as the G3, G4 or G5 PowerPCs (Motorola and IBM respectively), in any case the differing architectures prevent this from working on the Bochs emulator, on the other hand, any other such emulation would be out of reach because of the requirements for emulation, I mean old macs can't run OS X, much less a 400mhz PDA...
You can always try PearPC (http://pearpc.sourceforge.net/). Maybe one day...
You get the stability of Windows 98 combined with the speed and power of a Pocket PC... Sweet!!
blakespot
-- Heisenberg may have slept here.
iPod Hacks.com
Yeah, right.
Way to read his post! He said he wanted to use PPC Bochs to run PearPC, which would then run OS X. For those of you who are really dim:
ARM-PPC2003 -> Bochs-x86-Windows 98 -> PearPC-OS X
And the other poster is right, we see it often enough. Comments often get modded up if they point to a mirror.
I won't join Slashcott. OTOH, If Beta goes live, I just won't be back until it's fixed. Sorry Dice.
How about running OS X on PearPC in that 98 emluation? It could happen if you got a 4GB Multimedia Card...
...This was made possible by a Pocket PC port of Bochs, a DOS emulator...
Sorry, but last I remember, wasn't Bochs an x86 emulator, not a DOS emulator?
Not that you can't run DOS on Bochs, but just saying, that's not really what it is.
I'M NOT ANGRY!
Greeeeat,
I will be able to take the blue screen of death whenever I go... My pocket PC will never shut down properly and I will be able to read my paper in the WINDOWS 98 is CLOSING THE SYSTEM light...
Sometimes, one should not read the Sunday morning news until the hang-over is gone...
... y Dios vio que Linux era bueno... Genesis 99.666
Now I can use my PocketPC to run Folding@Home. Sure, it probably won't make deadlines but every little bit brings us one step closer to curing cancer, right? And it'll give me an excuse to mess with that damn useless thing again.
Hard work pays off tomorrow, but procrastination pays off NOW!
I remember looking at a friends pocket pc back in the late 90's and thinking.. "Wow" this is really cool, I can't seem to crash it, its seems reasonably speedy, its got real programs AND it fits on this tiny little thing!.. When can I buy this to run on my home computer? I sort of have a regret that MS didn't produce versions of Win95 Win98 without legacy support. Would have made it smaller/faster/more stable - Like Pocket PC?
It's a PC emulator.
You cannot run Linux on DOS.
-- When did Ignorance Become a Point of View?
What would be really amusing (and cute too I might add) would be to see a Happy Mac boot-up icon on a Pocket PC (is everyone here too young to remember that PPC stands for Power PC? 15 and under?).
Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997
....emulate a piece of junk like any of the Win9x family on anything? That technology is best forgotten, it was a classic example of Sir Bill's gross incompetence that brought it into existence in the first place.
Did you read the title?
NO YOU DID NOT YOU FUCKING THICK SHIT.
Re:Next step: [b]run PearPC[/b] on that emulated Windows!
And to the OP, don't be FUCKING STUPID. Boch will be giving you what, at most 1/25th of the speed of you native proc, and then PearPC will be giving you 1/50 of THAT.
If you're keen to try this yourself, you'll need a minimum of a 256MB memory card (or stream the image over a wireless network)
You can stream an image of your computer doing _anything_ to your pocket PC (VNC server for example). I don't see how this is another way to prove you can now install windows 98 on it.
twitter.com/gravitronic
The post anonymously option you are [not] attempting to use is one that isn't available to your user.