Windows 98 on a Ryzen 9 [email protected] and... It (Eventually) Booted! (On Bare Metal)

To run Windows 98 on a Ryzen 9 9900X, you don't need a portal to an alternate dimension. You just need a PCIe to PCI adapter, a lot of duct tape, and this video. So yeah..., today we’re building an AM5 PC with a Ryzen 9 9900X (Zen 5) and testing whether it can actually run Windows 98. Spoiler: it’s possible - but not without some tweaks. And if Windows 98 isn’t your thing, don’t worry - this is the first episode of my new series: "Every Windows on Zen 5". We’ll be testing XP, Vista, 7, and more very soon. Today we’ll skip the installation process, but don’t worry - everything is fully documented in this playlist. Since AM5 doesn’t require a different approach, you can follow along here:    • Running Windows 98 on modern hardware - ba...   This wouldn’t have been possible without our amazing sponsors, who supported this project with hardware. They actually didn’t ask for links or pinned comments, but it’s only fair to share them here: Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 RGB: https://www.kingston.com/en/memory/ga... FURY Renegade Gen 5 NVMe SSD: https://www.kingston.com/en/ssd/gamin... StarTech PCIe to PCI Expansion Chassis (PEX2PCI4): https://www.startech.com/en-us/cards-... PCIe to PCI Adapter (PEX1PCI1): https://www.startech.com/en-us/cards-... Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB Air Cooler: https://www.arctic.de/en/Freezer-36-A... Liquid Freezer III PRO 420 A-RGB: https://www.arctic.de/en/Liquid-Freez... Test Bench Specs: AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (Zen 5) + ASUS Prime X670-P motherboard (with a PS/2 port) 64GB Kingston DDR5 RGB (2×32GB @6400 CL32) Kingston 2TB Gen5 NVMe SSD (surprisingly retro-compatible) Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB air cooler (Liquid Freezer 420 PRO coming soon) StarTech PCIe-to-PCI enclosure & adapters Legacy-friendly GPUs like the Nvidia Quadro FX4500/7900GS and ATI X700 LE, various sound cards, and USB controllers for Windows 98 Chapters & Timestamps 0:00 – Intro: Windows 98 on Ryzen 9 9900X? Challenge Accepted 0:50 – "Send Us Your Latest Hardware… for Windows 98" (The Pitch That Worked) 1:30 – Kingston Joins the Build 1:50 – StarTech Delivers PCIe-to-PCI Heavy Gear 2:36 – Arctic Ships Freezer 36 & 420mm AIO 3:49 – AM5 Motherboard Drama: PS/2 Ports & $900 Heartbreak 5:03 – BIOS Flashback: Updating for Zen 5 Without a CPU 6:06 – Legacy Hardware Setup (Sound Cards, GPUs & USB 2.0) 7:57 – First Boot: NTKERN Windows Protection Error 9:52 – Debugging Gone Wrong: Clock Speeds, ACPI, and Tears 11:09 – Victory via PCI SATA Card 12:36 – Benchmarking Win98 on Zen 5 (7900 GS vs. X700LE Surprises) 14:49 – Gen 5 NVMe Trick: 8.4GB Retro Partitions 15:46 – Final Verdict: AM5 Can Run Windows 98… With Duct Tape 16:21 – Coming Soon: Every Windows on Zen 5 (XP x64 Already Works!) Why This Matters: While I’m definitely not suggesting you go out and build a high-end AM5 PC just to run Windows 98, there’s something undeniably fascinating about the fact that you can. Thanks to the enduring legacy of the x86 architecture, we’re still able to boot up decades-old operating systems on today’s bleeding-edge hardware. That kind of backward compatibility isn’t just impressive... It means that if you’re someone who enjoys dual-boot setups, retro gaming, or simply revisiting the software of a bygone era, you don’t have to rely on emulators or vintage machines. You can run Windows 98 on real, modern hardware - sometimes with a few tweaks, sure, but the option is there. And that’s worth celebrating. Subscribe if you want to see every version of Windows tested on Zen 5 — XP, Vista, 7, 10, 11, and more coming soon. #Windows98 #AM5 #Ryzen9 #RetroGaming #PCBuild #DDR5 #NVMe #TechExperiment #Zen5 #ThrowbackTech #nvidia