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Windows 98 Third Edition

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Windows 98 Third Edition
Crusty Windows bootleg
The desktop of Windows 98 Third Edition
The desktop of Windows 98 Third Edition
Original OSWindows 98 SE
Release dateJanuary 2002
AuthorXaionaro
CountryRussia
Language(s)Russian
Architecture(s)x86 (32-bit)
File size151.9 MiB
Download linkWin98TE_CrustyWindows.iso
Date addedJanuary 18, 2025

Windows 98 Third Edition is a bootleg Windows 98 SE edition, which was created by Xaionaro. It was released somewhere around January 2002. It was originally discovered on a Russian FTP on BetaArchive in 2014 (thought to be a build of a possibly planned Windows 98 update) and later re-hosted on old-dos.ru around 2020, where it was later found and added to the archive on January 18, 2025.

Description

The bootleg is a slightly modified Windows 98 Second Edition ISO. It is an enhancement of Windows 98 SE, as the name would suggest. It comes with new programs, and updates. It comes with registry tweaks with the program configurations, file associations and Windows Explorer configurations needed to make this mod function properly.

An answer file is present, however it is not fully unattended. The answer file contains name and organization of "Xaionaro" and "Hackers", respectively. These are also the default computer name and workgroup, respectively (as well with default computer description of "HWnPS").

Changes from Windows 98 SE

Changes in pre-desktop procedures

  • The top of pre-setup billboards has been updated to mention "Windows 98TE". The first two billboard text has also been updated to promote the bootleg's changes, such as what preinstalled programs are featured.
  • New boot screen. It is the Windows ME boot screen with the "Me" removed. The shutdown screen has similarly received the new look, except there is Russian text for "Shutting down the system".
  • During the OOBE process, 1stboot.bmp appears to be replaced with that of an Intel Inside logo.

Look and feel

  • New default color scheme and background color, modeled after Windows 2000/Me's default colors
  • New startup and chord sound
  • 7 new wallpapers included; some of them taken from Windows XP
  • Some icons have been updated to use Windows XP icons. This also extends to the graphic in System Properties and the monitor frame in Display Properties.

Software

The following programs are known to have been installed:

  • ACDSee 3.0 build 1208 (cracked)
  • Bred 2.1.7 (replaces the default Notepad)
  • DirectX 8
  • DivX Codec 3.1 alpha
  • Far 1.70 beta 2
  • Lernout & Hauspie TTS3000 Russian
  • Mjuice Components
  • Sachs Marine Aquarium
  • Shtirlitz 3.0 (a utility that reencodes different Russian codepages)
  • Startup Control Panel 2.6
  • TweakUI 1.33
  • UltraEdit-32 7.00 (cracked, registered to SavaGe)
  • Volkov Commander 4.99.08 alpha
  • VTerm Version 1.0 Test Freeware Version (replaces built-in telnet.exe)
  • Winamp 2.62 (comes with 8 skins)
  • WinRAR 2.70 (cracked, registered to gpgroover)

Games

  • Копатель (DIGGER)
  • Маджонг 1.0 (Mahjongg)

Notes

Remarks

  • The copy on old-dos.ru (as well as on the FTP server where it originated) was in a zip archive instead of a disc image. The version in the archive has been repacked into an ISO disc image.
    • old-dos.ru's copy also have most of the files set to January 23, 2020. The only remains of the bootleg's original build date is within two .reg files in PRECOPY1.CAB.
  • This bootleg had a page on BetaWiki (titled "Windows 98 build 2223") until June 2020, when it was deleted as it was not deemed a notable "fake" build in a rule change enacted that year. The presence of the build there was likely because it had a thread on BetaArchive, when it was thought to be a build of a cancelled "Third Edition" of Windows 98.
    • Wayback Machine currently does not have any capture of BetaWiki page in question.

Bootleg quirks

  • None of the new programs have any program groups of any kind.
  • There is leftover WinRAR file history from when this mod was in development. The entries are as follows:
    • F:\win\hack\editors\ultraedit32.zip
    • F:\win\graph\Utils\ascsee_v_3_00.zip
  • There is a key for Sachs Marine Aquarium hidden in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.
  • The SETUP.EXE file has a modified version number of "4.10.2223.0". The BetaWiki page title's build number likely originated from that; however Windows still reports the original version's build number, 4.10.2222A.
  • The Internet Explorer homepage is set to http://www.ya.ru.

Gallery

  • Setup in the graphical phase
    Setup in the graphical phase
  • Boot screen
    Boot screen
  • Pre-desktop
    Pre-desktop
  • Desktop on first boot
    Desktop on first boot
  • Empty desktop
    Empty desktop
  • Start menu
    Start menu
  • System Properties and About Windows
    System Properties and About Windows
  • Shutdown screen
    Shutdown screen
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