98micro

98micro is an installation option in 98lite PROFESSIONAL that uses the Windows 95 Explorer to perform an ultra-clean installation of Windows98 without any part of the MS HTML (Internet Explorer) engine. You get a lean, mean operating system in under 70 Mb that is ideal for many applications. You can push the envelope further and get Windows98 under 50 Mb! (see below)

98micro completely removes all traces of the MS HTML engine (shdocvw.dll, and mshtml.dll). You will not have access to any of the proprietary Microsoft compressed help files, and you will not be able to run programs that rely on the MS HTML rendering engine, but many other stand-alone applications will perform better than ever. For example, you can not run Outlook Express, FrontPage, and MS Money. But a system with Netscape, Opera, Pegasus Mail, Gravity, Agent will just fine! Even Microsoft Office97 will install and run beautifully under 98micro! So who's going to be the first to run a self contained windows application from a zip disk?!

98micro proves incontrovertibly that web integration is a bolt-on technology, not an essential operating system feature.

Who?

• Gamers - keep your bogged down fully featured Windows for the boring stuff and then slip into something more comfortable with a dual boot that has enough free resources to let your games fly!
• Digital Musicians - 98micro is STABLE. Read the testimonial by Jim McWilliams. He's using 98micro with Samplitude 2496...and lovin' it!
• Speed Freeks - 98micro is FAST. Period! Check the performance page.
• Stuck on an old PC with no room to move? Need I say more?
• Macintosh & Linux devotees - remove all the redundant layers (e.g. DirectX) and let your emulator run your application instead of juggling with the operating system.

98micro benefits from all the regular 98lite options to shrink your OS. In addition, if you install 98micro to a clean system the following are excluded completely to give you a clean, mean operating system. Some of these use the MS HTML Engine, some are plug-ins for IE, others are just "fluff" that are not required. MICRO is not for everyone... but you'll know if you want it!

• Internet Explorer
• Internet Connection Wizard
• Windows Webified HELP (original Windows Help files still work)
• Outlook Express
• MS Address Book
• Web Posting
• Trouble Shooters
• VDOlive
• Shockwave
• Wallet
• Ms Java Machine
• MS MAPI
• VRML
• Real Player
• Tour
• Microsoft Network (MSN)
• Registration Wizard
• Web TV
• Out of Box Experience (SE)
• MS Agent (ME)
• MS PC Health Recovery Wizard (ME)

No risk! If you change your mind or find a critical application that requires the IE engine then 98lite can install IE as an optional component and you end up with the SLEEK configuration.

Compare the size of the two Minimum Installations of Windows (original) using the 98lite Professional release.

If a 60% reduction isn't good enough for you, there's more... This test machine doesnt have a modem. When I do install one I'll get the latest drivers from the manufacturer. So...not being one to hold back, I backup mdmgen.inf because this gives you generic modem support to get you on the web if you lose your manufacturers driver, and then delete all the modem setup information files in the C:\windows\INF folder with a deft blow from a DOS prompt del c:\windows\inf\mdm*.* This just wiped out another 155 files, 4,950,532 bytes, making the...

TOTAL WINDOWS INSTALLATION only 41.5 Mb!

¹ Windows folder less the swapfile
² Boot time from when logo first appears to when hourglass drops from the cursor on the open desktop