Windows 98 second edition, a micro-upgrade to Windows 98, includes a few new features and a swarm of bug fixes. But if you’re contemplating a move to the new release, beware: Windows 98 Second Edition may be less reliable than Windows 98.
Microsoft’s Knowledge Base lists more than a dozen mostly minor Windows 98 SE bugs. The most widely reported problems seem related to power management activities such as booting up and shutting down, and may not be entirely Microsoft’s fault. Power-management glitches are often caused by problems in the third-party system BIOS software built into the motherboard. Some BIOSs apparently don’t interact well with Windows 98 SE’s power management software, which differs slightly from the original version in Windows 98. Microsoft is aware of specific shutdown problems and plans to post an update shortly.
BUG – After upgrading to Windows 98 SE, you may find that trying to shut down triggers a protection-fault error or reboot, and that the system won’t wake up from suspend mode.
WORK-AROUND – If your Pentium II or Pentium III system uses Intel’s popular SE440BX-2 motherboard (ask the manufacturer if you don’t know), you may be able to put an end to these errors by upgrading to the latest BIOS — version 13, as we went to press. Visit Intel’s SE440BX-2 BIOS update Web page for the download, installation instructions and release notes that describe the fixes the download contains.
Other reported problems are a by-product of Windows 98 Second Edition’s installation routines:
BUG – If you use a Toshiba Port