I have never found any combination of USB 2.0 controller and Windows 98 drivers combination that is stable, if you ever plan to hot plug anything in or out after the OS has booted. Unless you're using USB 2.0 as a fixed disk, USB 1.1 is best.

I never had issues with win98se with hotplug even with latest usb 3.0 sd card hubs, granted you install the proper generic usb drivers

What are you hot plugging? It is very easy for me to lock up a system by trying to eject a removable disk or hot plug a wireless USB stick.

What controller card and motherboard chipset are you using? I have frequent issues with the Intel 440BX. I have never tried it with a VIA chipset.

I use a K6XV3+ (VIA MP3 chipset) and I'm hotplugging sd cards with a usb 3.0 4in1 card hub. the sd card is detected as "generic usb mass storage" device and even though it sometimes "hangs" for like 10 seconds it always proper ejects and gets recognized again

that's what I'm using

Sphere478 wrote on 2024-06-13, 13:27:

Will probably slow the system down.

Using onboard, or usb 1 card is best.

I am currently also struggeling to install a USB2 card on a SS7 Win98se machine. After reading this, I wonder if it is worth my while. (onboard USB seems broken)

My question is, what kind "slowdown" are we talking about? Is it only a slowdown in Windows? Or do you get it too, if you only boot into "Win98 Dos" straight? How big is the slowdown?

I am also suspecting that my onboard USB 1.0 is dead. Win98 does install drivers but the system freezes the moment I plug something in.

try other drivers or go to DOS and see if UHCI.SYS can detect the usb drives

What would I look for if I want a USB1.1 card? Any names in particular?

After digging through the complete thread, I still have not made any real progress.

I own two Via 6212L USB x5 cards. Both work fine in win98Se on my 440BX Pentium III Coppermine board.

If I stick them into my Socket7 and Super Socket7 boards (all SIS chipsets), the board detects the cards, loads the full driver array (compared with working P3), but the cards seems like dead in the water: No matter what I stick in, Win98 doesn't care one bit. Mouse doesn't light up, no pop-up message, nothing. As a final measure, I tried Nusb, but the result was identical.

From reading the thread, I found one observation interesting: Some cards have a voltage regulator. And my mouse doesn't have any LED power when plugged in. I have a NEC card in the mail, I'll give that a spin too.

The other message from the thread seems more interesting now: Use a Nic and go through network. I already use CF-IDE bays.

My only problem is that one board has no working onboard USB and I would like to get at least USB 1.1 running for peripherals. I just wouldn't know what card to look out for.

I haven't tried any USB 1.1 add-on cards. My recommendation is based on my experience with onboard USB.

ux-3 wrote on 2024-06-17, 12:20:

What would I look for if I want a USB1.1 card? Any names in particular?

As for my experience, I usually do an internal hub off of the onboard usb to add more ports.

I don’t think I have heard of any 1.1 cards that didn’t work. But I have also not done it that way. I do know that usb 2.0 cards usually cause slowdown.

My systems are all onboard usb, the times I have played with ones without it, I usually just use ps2 and serial for HID and CF and gotek for data xfer. If I really need it, I can temporarily install a 2.0 card then take it out. Oddly, I don’t think I actually have a 1.1 card in my collection. I used to. But regret not saving them. In hindsight I should have.

But the internal hub is best if you can do it that way.

Sphere478 wrote on 2024-06-17, 16:36:

But the internal hub is best if you can do it that way.

The board has no onboard connector and the USB ports are dead.

ux-3 wrote on 2024-06-17, 17:02:

Sphere478 wrote on 2024-06-17, 16:36:

But the internal hub is best if you can do it that way.

The board has no onboard connector and the USB ports are dead.

Time to buy a usb 1.1 pci card 😀 idk which ones are better than others though.

Im really surprised USB 1.0 doesnt work with mice. Difference 1.0-1.1 was just some fluff in documentation.

Sphere478 wrote on 2024-06-17, 18:48:

Time to buy a usb 1.1 pci card 😀 idk which ones are better than others though.

No shit? I just wish I knew were I would find one 😀.

OK, progress!
Today a Nec D720100AGM based card arrived, date code 0308, and a driver CD. I installed the card and the drivers. Regognition went fine. And YES, plugging in a mouse in windows now works. I tried a USB stick; Windows wants drivers for it.
Time for NUSB now. I have run a benchmark (3DMark99) and found hardly any difference with or without card. I'll check again when I have NUSB running and some media plugged in.

So the D720100AGM works on a Gigabyte GA-586STX2 (SIS chipset) for basic functionality. I report back when I have more.

Would you mind sharing the driver CD? I'm always curious whether there is a more stable driver set for Windows 98.

Out of curiosity: do USB 2.0 cards slow down the host systems just by being installed and regardless of what kind of devices are connected to it? Or is it just the fact that USB 2.0 high speed devices simply take up a rather large chunk of the available bandwidth of the legacy PCI bus?

If only lower speed USB devices are attached, such as a keyboards or mice, is there still a slowdown? (I know, there's not much point to having a USB 2.0 card installed if you're not going to attach any high speed devices to it, but I'm trying to understand why and how such slowdowns would occur.

ux-3 wrote on 2024-06-20, 13:17:

OK, progress! Today a Nec D720100AGM based card arrived, date code 0308, and a driver CD. I installed the card and the drivers. […]
Show full quote

OK, progress!
Today a Nec D720100AGM based card arrived, date code 0308, and a driver CD. I installed the card and the drivers. Regognition went fine. And YES, plugging in a mouse in windows now works. I tried a USB stick; Windows wants drivers for it.
Time for NUSB now. I have run a benchmark (3DMark99) and found hardly any difference with or without card. I'll check again when I have NUSB running and some media plugged in.

So the D720100AGM works on a Gigabyte GA-586STX2 (SIS chipset) for basic functionality. I report back when I have more.

So that appears to be a usb 2.0 chipset yes?

I am gathering that currently the 1.1 compatible driver is installed?

Curious what happens when you install the usb2 driver

digger wrote on 2024-06-20, 17:51:

Out of curiosity: do USB 2.0 cards slow down the host systems just by being installed and regardless of what kind of devices are connected to it? Or is it just the fact that USB 2.0 high speed devices simply take up a rather large chunk of the available bandwidth of the legacy PCI bus?

If only lower speed USB devices are attached, such as a keyboards or mice, is there still a slowdown? (I know, there's not much point to having a USB 2.0 card installed if you're not going to attach any high speed devices to it, but I'm trying to understand why and how such slowdowns would occur.

Just being installed doesn’t seem to be enough, it seems if you disable them that they won’t slow the system.

Apparently above a usb 2.0 chipset is working without slowdown. If I am reading it correctly though, it is because the usb 2 capability isn’t yet active? With usb 2 driver?

Awaiting clarification

Sphere478 wrote on 2024-06-20, 22:27:

So that appears to be a usb 2.0 chipset yes?

I am gathering that currently the 1.1 compatible driver is installed?

Curious what happens when you install the usb2 driver

Yes, it is a USB 2.0. It has 2 driver entries in the device manager: 1. The ports and 2. USB 2.0.
Without anything connected, there was no slowdown (perhaps -10 on over 1000).

I have not yet experimented with this further, as this state signals full 2.0 functionality, given the card connects to stuff. (Via was dead in the water, despite all drivers present)

I will give it a shot and report here. But first, I hunt down another card before everyone and his mother does. 😜