My laptop is a Compaq 6715b by HP. It came with Vista installed and I've since downgraded to XP SP3.

However, I miss my old days of having Web View function in Windows Explorer and I prefer Windows 98 icons. I want to try reinventing my early PC days (I started with Windows 98) for a change OR try something wild like run a beta version of Windows, like my favorite one - Whistler (the Luna builds that had a slightly different Luna theme and different icons, e.g. Build 2422, Build 2428, etc.) or Longhorn (Milestone 4 and Milestone 5 up to Build 4029). I just love how icons and Windows Explorer looked in those.

As you know using the Windows Classic skin in XP and newer doesn't effect the Windows icons and I prefer the older ones. I've tried installing Windows 98/Me to no avail and the XP-to-98 transformation packs available make the system unstable. And what do you think about running a beta version of Windows like Whistler or Longhorn as a main OS? Shouldn't Longhorn be more stable than Win XP as it was newer? I really prefer the Whistler and Longhorn Luna themes more than the mainstream one in XP. And as far as I know there are no good Longhorn Milestone 4 & 5 themes for XP. I particularly like the blue icons and toolbars in Longhorn Build 4008.

Specs:
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-52 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD

Old software is nice, but why run it on a "new" laptop and not in a VM?
First you use 1 GB of RAM, which can make trouble in 9x , you have to patch this. And the filesystem is not good for such a hard drive, and maybe some data can get lost.
Also there aren't many 9x-drivers, so you will probably get into driver problems. Furthermore 9x is only good for old software, if you want to run new software or surf in the web you need to install many things or it is just not possible (KernelEX etc.).
I would recommend to install it in a VM, it won't have the problems written above except the software problem.
If you want to use it as a Betatest Computer, you could try different Longhorn and Whistler builds, but pay attention to SATA.
And just a note: Longhorn is still not a good System for the main-use, it is buggy and unstable.

So does anyone know a good, working and not potentially dangerous Xp-to-98 transformation pack then? All I was able to find was an XP-to-2000 one, but I prefer 98 icons to 2000/Me ones.

I know transformation packs are a good way to mimic a certain OS, but I'm afraid they mess up the OS. That said, I've got Longhorn Transformation Pack 10.5 and I'll try it.

Of course you can "try" 98 but it will get really hard... Better to transform windows XP with a theme pack or just install it in a Virtual PC.
I don't know Xp-to-98 now, but there are some attempts to get the Web-View Working on XP:
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=22347 (scroll down to see a picture)

IIRC, 2000 icons == 98 icons.

for windows 9X you'll need to add "MaxPhysPage=30000" without quoates under the [386enh] section of the System.ini file,but if it is a sata drive probably not,there are no drivers.
longhorn might work with sata drivers from xp but the drivers might not work with whistler,but if you have an ide drive they should work okay,not very stable of course.

Also to make your XP a bit more fancy you can try the Microsoft Sideshow, a Sidebar designed by Microsoft , only reached Alpha status or so.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=24191
It needs some fixes, but then it can work fine

The Inexperience Patcher sounds like it's right up your alley. I've tried several times to make my XP look and feel like 9x, and this has done the most complete job. If old games are your thing as well, I'd also recommend VDMSound, which can bring proper Sound Blaster emulation for your DOS games. Best of luck!

As for the Longhorn themes, I could've sworn I found some on the internet somewhere, for M4 at least. I can't seem to locate it now, but I'll let you know if anything comes up!

Ah now i can remember it. Yeah the Inexperience Patcher...
I used it once on my old laptop, it is a really nice pack/patch. Worked fine for me

Answer to original question: of course they will.

More detailed answer: not everything will have drivers, particularly for 9x, but between generic drivers and some driver hunting, and excluding unnecessary things that you can't find drivers for, you can probably get it usable.

IMO (and I'm a huge 3x/9x buff) it's not worth trying to get those running on a newer machine. NT/2K/LH/etc. however are more realistic. If you try Longhorn, keep in mind that all builds that have a version of 6.0 will be identified as Vista+, but are closer to XP by far in architecture. Force XP drivers by compatibility mode, and it would probably be smart to registry hack the OS to report itself as 5.2 like Server 2003 does, so the drivers and software know what they're actually dealing with, for all intents and purposes.

Update: I've installed the Inexperience Patcher that transforms XP's icons into 2000/Me/9X ones instead of trying to install 2000 or Me: http://vertigosity.deviantart.com/art/I ... 2-27939557
So far it works nice.
IMO, XP's Luna looks much better with classic Win 2000/Me icons:

I think that AT LEAST Whistler and Longhorn can run on your laptop. Not sure about the Win9X part. You sure could, but I don't recommend.

Guys, on my first PC I was able to install Windows 2000 on the D: drive and dual boot with 98 as my main OS, installed on drive C:

Is that possible with XP? Can I install Windows 98/Me on my D: drive while keeping my C: drive intact? Is it possible one machine to have a C: drive on NTFS and a D: drive on FAT32?

You should install Win9x and format with FAT32, then install XP on top on D:, which is formatted in NTFS. Then you can use Winternals utilities to enable NTFS support on the installed 9x system.

Guys, is it true that some of the themes from earlier builds of Longhorn can run on XP?
I want the blue (early Plex) theme with the blue toolbar icons as seen in Longhorn Build 4008

Sadly the answer is no,the themes from any longhorn build are too different to work on XP.
you would be better off using a third party theme.
Here is good one with Slate, Jade, Plex, Aero, Athens, Atenas and DWM with normal and thin taskbar:
http://-kol.deviantart.com/art/Longhorn-4074-VS-v2-0-9380004

Update: After a 4 day struggle with Vista, I'm back to XP.

If you have issues with vista i suggest you download service pack 2. Always fixes vista for me. vista without SP2 is a disaster.

Actually it was upgrated to SP2.
My issues with Windows Vista/7 have nothing to do with compatibility. I just don't like their 'feel'. With XP I can make it work and look exactly like I like - Classic theme and Windows 98 icons with the Inexperience patcher (the XP icons look too pale). I hate Vista/7 classic themes. I know that XP is obsolete, but it'll probably forever stay my very favorite MS OS.