I have in my possession a Windows 98 desktop computer that my mom bought when I was 7. It's frickin' 12 years old, and it used to have glitches up the yin yang, but I couldn't just throw it out because I'm uncomfortable about wasting things. So at one point I installed XP on it to clear the thing, but it needed a Registration Key, so I left it alone after that and let the 30-day trial run out. Then just yestuhday I reinstalled Windows 98 on it (still having the reg. key for that) only to find that it can't make sound, it can't display above 256 colors, and I don't know, but I'm guessing the graphics card on the inside isn't functioning either, because it had a newer graphics card put in it when I was about 8 and wanted to play Rayman 2.
Thus, it's without drivers, and I don't believe I have those backed up on anything. Can't find a restore disk. All I have for this com in terms of software is Windows 98 in Disk and Floppy form.
Is there a way on God's green earth that I can make this computer recognize its speakers and graphics card again, and display at least 16-bit like it used to? Some kind of driver-seeking software perhaps?
You could switch to Linux. Linux runs great on older machines, and you still get updates and still for them.
Edit: Struck out 'and'. I haven no idea why that is there
Now that the fanboy has been hauled in;
Chances are as sad as it is whatever manufacturer made your cards and all that would no longer support 98 drivers, which would be needed to reactivate them. At the time it originally held 98 it would have had all the drivers in tact and assume that the manufacturers still catered to it. Linux may be perfect (http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Lie) but this does not mean it's aptly handled to connect to what I presume are all single-manufacturer parts, as most computers of that era were often bought by say Dell or another, who created all their own parts. You could always try and clear C:/ with a command and put in Windows XP correctly this time, with correct pirated activation, or just give up on it all together.
I would try a linux distro, just too see if it has drivers for your machine,though as anski said XP would be a better idea as there is less stress to have to set it up.
Who said Linux was perfect? Besides Anski?
Make it a linux server. Might be able to run something
Would putting XP on it give it its graphics powers back? Would putting linux on it do that?
probably and no