Project: Installing every beta build of Windows Me in VMware!

[anonymous74]

Here we go again...

I've already done one of these projects on Windows XP, Pre-Reset Longhorn, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, and now I'm going for a slightly older OS. The project is as the title states, I will be attempting to get every single Beta build of Windows Me running inside of VMware virtual machine. I don't count RC (Release Candidate) builds for these projects because they are so similar to the RTM build, I'll just end up getting really bored really quickly. The end goal here is to have every beta build of Windows running in a VM.

Why would I spend the time to do this? What's the point? Fun, of course! Plus, I like seeing the evolution of Windows just as much as the rest of this forum, and sometimes installing and checking out every build is just the best way. What else am I going to use my new 2TB SSD and 4TB HDD for?

Due to how long I tend to take on these projects, and the 30 day edit limit on posts here, I'll be keeping track of my progress on my user page on the BA Wiki as I've done in the past.
Link: https://www.betaarchive.com/wiki/index. ... ildproject

Here's a bit of information on the information I have on the BA Wiki Page:

Information about build interest ratings:
The more interesting a build is, the higher value /10 it gets. The longer it has been since a new interesting feature in a build, the lower score it gets. For me, visual changes make a build more interesting so that is the most important metric in determining this value.

About Screenshots:
In the past, I have linked screenshots of every build I installed with winver or similar open. Since migrating to the BA Wiki for my progress tracker, I still haven't taken the time to figure out how to add a screenshot gallery. I will go back and do this for both my Windows 7 project and this project at some point (I'll be keeping these VMs for as long as I can!), just bear with me for now.

Past Projects:
See my signature below.

Is Windows Me really as bad as people say? I suppose I'll find out!

Wish me luck!

[techLinuxtux]

Damn I haven't been on this forum for a LONG Time and you've got to this! I hope we can get more updates

[anonymous74]

Thanks
I've got 5 of the 20 installed so far. The main struggle is keeping control over the BIOS Date. As soon as you install VMware tools, it time-syncs and boom, timebomb tripped. I found a patch but it causes the build to have the RTM bootscreen, which I don't want, so instead I'm just leaving a boot floppy in the drive so that if I miss F2 to BIOS it won't trip the build. It's working, but I did have to re-install build 2348 some 4 odd times before I figured that trick out.

[LetsLeakOurHardWork]

Okay, this sounds pretty interesting to me. I don't get the point of it, but it's interesting!

[anonymous74]

The point of it is.......why not!

[TechGamer17]

You can disable the VMWare time syncing in the options of the VM I think.

[anonymous74]

I tried a tutorial that gave me lines to add to my vmx file and it corrupted the vm lol. I’ll have to try it again.

[anonymous74]

Ok, bad news for this project. First off, I know it's been slow going. I work on these when I feel like it, as after all, it's just a thing I do for fun. Main issue right now is I managed to break my 4TB hard drive (where all the vmdk files were stored...) by plugging the wrong power supply into it. My only hope of saving this data is for the new controller board I ordered off eBay to arrive and fix it, but I'm not holding out too much hope as of right now. We'll see in early december I guess.

[anonymous74]

controller board didn't fix it, bye bye windows 7 and Me VMDKs...
So, it might be a while before you see me finishing this. I've got to reinstall every single build on those before I continue. real shame

[pinkOCELOT]

bummer... I feel you. What kind of HDD is this? maybe it's just a fuse or a 0ohm resistor that popped somewhere and your drive can be saved. If that won't work I'm sure the platters in the failed drive can be taken out and placed into a donor drive to back up the data. You might need some special tools to keep the heads eparated and you also need to be extremely careful with the alignment of the platters as there's no markings on them at all. It's hard but it can be done, there are videos on YouTube how to do it.

[anonymous74]

bummer... I feel you. What kind of HDD is this? maybe it's just a fuse or a 0ohm resistor that popped somewhere and your drive can be saved. If that won't work I'm sure the platters in the failed drive can be taken out and placed into a donor drive to back up the data. You might need some special tools to keep the heads eparated and you also need to be extremely careful with the alignment of the platters as there's no markings on them at all. It's hard but it can be done, there are videos on YouTube how to do it.

Drive was a LaCie 4TB drive. Inside the enclosure was a 3.5" SATA drive from Seagate. Enclosure works with another drive. Drive does not work with another USB adapter. What really sucks is the wrong PSU I used was the same voltage, connector and polarity. Just an extra amp, which usually wouldn't cause issues but it did here. Nowhere near skilled enough for data recovery myself, and the data lost isn't worth sending the disk off to drivesavers.

I lost my Windows 7 and Me VMs, still have longhorn, vista and XP thankfully. Will finish this, gotta get the rest re-installed first. Will take a bit.

[Luca M.]

Don't give up, man! This is a very interesting project and I for one appreciate your dedication. Good luck!

[anonymous74]

Thanks mate! Will be back to it. Did just check and I lost the last few XP builds too
My guess would be sometime late this year, it's going to take some time to get the Windows 7 and Me VMs that I was up to back. I work on these projects based on my motivation, so yeah, we'll see.

[legacyfan]

hi @anonymous74 great project! ive been watching this recently and decided to join here because of this keep up the good work!

[anonymous74]

Thanks, and welcome! I'm glad that my projects are being enjoyed here