PCEM emulation of Dell Latitude C640 Pentium 4 Win 98

[JP$]

Hello all.

Completely new to pcem. I understand from the rules I'm not supposed to ask for ROMs. But I've been searching the web, and watching YouTube videos, and pretty much everything I watch or read takes for granted that the consumer already has a common vocabulary to understand how pcem works. I don't. Sorry.

I OWN a Dell Latitude C640. I OWN a legitimate copy of Windows 98, which I have installed on my Latitude. I have all the requisite drivers. I would like to get rid of my Latitude, and replace it with the pcem emulator installed on my Windows 11 machine. Can I make my own ROM? I literally just want to basically use pcem to do exactly what my physical Latitude laptop does. Can anyone explain to me how I can do this in relatively layman terms?

Thanks in advance.

JP

[harrison98]

You cannot add new hardware to PCem. It only supports the currently-emulated hardware listed here: https://github.com/sarah-walker-pcem/pcem

A Pentium 4 is far beyond the means of PCem. It supports Pentium II, but that requires a very good host CPU.

In addition, although PCem has very high compatibility with most software, it is not perfect, so it might not satisfy your needs as a complete replacement for real hardware.

[JP$]

Thank you @harrison98!

I’m primarily aiming to be able to play old Jane’s simulators, such as Jane’s USAF, which was released in 1999.

I also have Star Trek Bridge Commander which is like from 2002 I think, but perhaps I’ll have to turn to Gog for that then?

Based on this, do you have a recommendation for what machine I should emulate? Do you have a go-to recommendation for a good tutorial of the steps to get pcem up and running?

[tk421]

Welcome JP.

PCem can help you run Bridge Commander (BC). I never tried Jane's USAF, but its release date of 1999 suggests PCem is a good fit for that one too. The Pentium II and Voodoo 3 work very well with BC.

You can use VMWare for Bridge Commander if you want to use mods with the game. You need Win XP or Win 7 to get that game working in VMWare. For XP, to prevent video/sound stuttering just keep Windows Media Player open and minimized while running the game.

PCem might be a cheaper option if you do not own Win XP or 7. The Slot 1 Gigabyte GA-686BX is a great choice even with just a P2 300 CPU. 64mb of RAM is fine for Win98. The Sound Blaster 16 will give you good sound without taxing your PC too much.

You will need the ROMs to get PCem working with the emulated hardware you want. A Google search can help you obtain any ROMs you do not have at present.

Once the ROMs are in the correct folders in your PCem v17 folder, you would install your OS and drivers the same way as you would on real hardware. A 2gb emulated hard drive is big enough for most Win98 games. Win98 will install fine in PCem and Bridge Commander, thanks to the Pentium II and Voodoo 3, will run very well in-game.

I hope this helps,

tk421

[JP$]

That is indeed very helpful, thank you @tk!

I have picked the [Slot 1] Gigabyte GA-686BX, Pentium II/450, with 512 MB of RAM and 64 GB of HDD space. Probably overkill, but my host machine has 9 TB of storage, 32 GB of RAM, and an i5-13600KF 3.5GHz processor. Won't that be able to handle most PCem demands?

I may get back to you on the Bridge Commander mod stuff. I have honestly only played maybe an hour or two of Bridge Commander a few years ago. I did want to be able to get into mods back then but got distracted and haven't circled back. It sounds like you're saying attempts at mods for that game aren't going to work natively with PCem alone...

Thank you again!

[JP$]

I have the emulator working and all the necessary drivers installed, including for voodoo 3 (at least as far as I know). Desktop experience seems great, but first flight simulator I've tried (Jane's IAF) has relatively poor graphics and I'm having major issues with my joystick. It's admittedly a more modern joystick (Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS ST) with 16 buttons, a throttle slider, and 8 position HAT. Is there any way to get such a device functioning in Windows98 with PCEM?

I'll do some more research on the graphics...I know I've seen a great post by Harrison on tips and tricks...but any thoughts on optimizing graphics is welcome!

Best

JP

[harrison98]

You have a very good host CPU - it runs at 5.1 GHz, not 3.5 (you should look at performance core speed). That said, a Pentium II 450 might still see some slowdown. I'd probably go with a PII-400 for most things. The difference between the two with a Voodoo 3 is going to just be a few frames in most games. You can easily switch the CPU in PCem at any time in the settings - no need to set up the guest PC again. Once you're more comfortable with how PCem works, you can start to check performance in individual games to find which guest CPU runs best.

I haven't tried any Jane's simulators, so I can't speak to the poor graphics you're describing. PCem should emulate the Voodoo 3 accurately enough, and that should presumably be more than enough to run Jane's IAF at max settings. If possible, try another game that supports Glide graphics just to make sure the Voodoo 3 is set up correctly (something like Unreal or Jedi Knight). That reminds me - I've had issues before with DirectX after installing the Voodoo 3 driver. You have to make sure to install DirectX after the Voodoo 3 driver has been installed.

As for the joystick - keep your expectations a bit low. You won't have all the compatibility that you'd find on real hardware. You should at the very least be able to use it as a two-button or four-button generic joystick in PCem Windows 98. I use one all the time (a Sidewinder Precision Pro connected to my host PC via USB) and it runs great. The main problem you'll have is trying to get the extra buttons, throttle, and HAT to work. You can try to emulate the CH Flightstick or Thrustmaster FCS in PCem, which might give you some more options for HAT and such, but I've never messed with them and don't know how they'd work in Windows 98. By the way, if you're not getting your joystick to work at all, make sure that you've added it as a gaming device in Windows 98. I think you have to manually add it as a two-button (or whatever) joystick, and then it should detect it. It's been a while since I did it so I can't exactly remember the steps.

[JP$]

Thanks Harrison I’ll tinker with the joystick settings. I’ll also try changing the 450 to the 400.

As far as graphics goes, I did make sure to install voodoo befor DX. What do you all use for the pcem video/resolution settings? I have scale filtering set to nearest and output stretch mode set to integer. Full screen mode set to borderless. My monitor native resolution is 3840x2160 native res. The emulated desktop looks pretty crisp at full screen (have the emulated desktop set to its max resolution), but in game Jane’s IAF looks more pixelated. Something feels off because when the game is loading the cursor looks noticeably bigger as it transitions into the game. The pointer and then the subsequent hourglass looks about three times larger than the pointer on the desktop. Makes me wonder about the res settings…

Haven’t tried other games yet but I will do some tests.

[harrison98]

Filtering (nearest or linear) is just based on personal preference. If you use nearest neighbor and your monitor doesn't have 1:1 integer scale with the emulated resolution, you will get some uneven pixels, so linear filtering can be used to fix that (at the cost of blurring).

It sounds like you're possibly running the game in software mode (the larger cursor suggests it's lowering the resolution to 320x240). Did you check the IAF config options (a separate icon in the start menu folder)?

I just downloaded and ran it once (have no idea how to play) and my gameplay looked pretty much exactly like this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MaGJTtNt14

PII-350, Voodoo 3 (driver ver 1.07.00), DirectX 9.0c

[JP$]

Hmm..well wth. Yeah my gameplay doesn’t quite look as crisp as in that video. I will definitely look at the config options. Thanks for that tip. I’m also having sound issues (not hearing specific sound effects like certain button clicks and the engine noise) and certain keyboard buttons don’t work, even though they are mapped in-game correctly (and they are basic buttons like the number row).

You’re linked video version of IAF is different than the one I have. I have the original cd version purchased way back in the 90s. The menu/interface is very different (though gameplay looks the same). Not sure if that would make any differences.

I used the program AnyToISO to make an image file of my ancient cd. Not sure if that too would make a difference. The install went completely smoothly so I don’t think there is a problem with the image, but I’m a noob so unsure of what variables are at play here.

[tk421]

Virtual CDs typically work better with the BIN/CUE format rather than the ISO format. ISO does not typically produce a perfect 1:1 copy of a game CD from the mid-late 90s as the older games often use RedBook Audio (ie. CD audio) or some other audio system that does not get copied with ISO.

A program like Alcohol 120%, or it's free version Alcohol 52%, can help you make a much more accurate 1:1 copy of your old 90s era game CDs by creating a virtual CD in BIN/CUE format. Some games still work with ISO, but some like X-Wing, TIE Fighter, Jedi Knight and Star Trek Armada really need the BIN/CUE format to get that accurate 1:1 copy of your CD with all of the sounds working right in-game.

harrison98 is right about joystick use in PCem. Your joystick should work fine in PCem. In my experience, older versions of PCem were less compatible with joysticks but versions 15 and 17 were really good.

For screen resolution, I use 640x480 in PCem for almost every task. Some tasks require 800x600 to run programs or games, but that was rare. I have an older laptop now so instead of using full 1080p resolution I use 1366x768 resolution, which helps balance images on the screen. Some newer PCs may not be able to do that.

[JP$]

Argh this is making me bonkers. I must be doing something (or a number of things wrong). I did figure out part of the sound issue...

First, on Jane's IAF...

I am running the program with hardware acceleration (not software), so that's not an issue. And it doesn't seem to matter what I do with the resolution settings for the emulated computer. When IAF is running it just appears a bit grainy/pixelated. The resolution setting looks like it just mainly changes the size of the program window when running the game. It doesn't make anything look smoother. I have anti-alias settings turned on through the Voodoo 3D program. I'm just not sure why I can't get it to look nicer.

Could it be something with the Voodoo emulated hardware or the drivers? I notice that when I'm on the emulated desktop, sometimes I will click on an icon within a window and that icon will then "displace" to the left. So I clicked on icon and then the image of the icon seems to shift to the left. It's just a ghost image though. The icon itself hasn't moved (I can click it in its original location). There are other strange occurrences like a window failing to move completely when I try to move it. Part of it just sort of stays stuck. And sometimes it's discolored. A similar thing happens within the game sometimes on the game menus. Buttons will shift to the left or right after I click them, and sort of cover over other buttons, but it appears to be an image issue only. I can still click the buttons where I know their physical location on the screen should be.

On the sound issue that I mentioned about not hearing clicks and engine noise...the clicks I figured out. I slowed down the sound hardware acceleration and now I can hear all the menu buttons just fine. It doesn't look like it had to do with the ISO image of the CD. I also figured out the engine noise. Kind of. The reason I can't hear engine noise is because my engine has no fuel! In every mission, my gas tank starts as completely empty. That is obviously not how the game is supposed to work, and I have NO IDEA how to troubleshoot that issue. I've never seen that before. The gauge in the actual game interface is reading 0 gas, and sure enough I can't take off (if I start a mission on the ground), or I immediately lose speed and altitude (if I start a mission in the air). For missions in the air, I hear the engine noise for a brief second and then it goes dead, so it clearly is an issue with the fuel setting. This is not something that you can affect in-game (you can't modify your fuel load, other than by adding additional under-wing fuel tanks--and that doesn't do anything for this issue). So I'm at a loss.

And perhaps it's an issue stemming from the ISO image, you might say. Well I uninstalled the game, made a BIN/CUE instead, and used that to install and play the game. Still no differences, graphics wise, or with the fuel problem.

So then I tried installing Jane's Fleet Command from an ISO image I had created from a CD I own (I created it before tk suggested BIN/CUE, but I wanted to just try out another program for testing purposes). I can get Fleet Command to install, but it won't run after install. I get an error message saying "This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down." So apparently now I'm in legal trouble too.

I don't know if it's something I've done wrong with set up and/or drivers. I followed a dude on YouTube pretty much to the letter in setting up the emulated machine. Or maybe I'm just completely striking out with the games I'd like to try.

I do have Star Trek Armada, the X-wing/TIE Fighter sims, Jedi Knight, all on physical CDs from back in the day (these are games you guys have mentioned). The Star Wars games I don't really have a need to play through an emulator because I've picked up the Steam versions super cheap over the years and they work fine. But if you recommend I create BIN/CUE files from any of these games' CDs for testing purposes, let me know. Or let me know where you pick up ready-made files for these games (if you are able to share).

I do greatly appreciate y'alls' advice.

[harrison98]

The things you're reporting about Windows errors with icons and colors are definitely unusual. How confident are you that you set up the Voodoo 3 drivers correctly? There shouldn't be anything noticeably different at the surface level about Windows 98 running on PCem vs real hardware.

You might consider starting over: use a new build, re-install Windows 98, install Voodoo 3 1.07.00 (follow readme directions), install DirectX

Download the V3 and DX drivers here: http://falconfly.3dfx.pl/3dfx.htm

In regards to Jane's games: I have the memory that these were often difficult to get running well back when they were released (but I never bought any, so I could be wrong). Two ideas come to mind:

1) PCem just doesn't handle them well - this seems a bit unlikely to me, but there are some games that have issues

2) The emulated hardware is not handling the games well - this often turns out to be the case. You should try to set PCem's emulated hardware as close to the recommended hardware for the game as possible. More than a few games have subtle issues when the CPU is too fast, and these are not always obvious.

For example, in Dark Forces, if you're using a slightly too-fast CPU, you won't move correctly on the ice in the Robotics Facility, making the game very difficult to complete. It took me a while to figure that one out...

The Voodoo 3 came out in 1999, so there might also be issues using it on games that are older. Such issues probably aren't very common, though.

But if a game isn't working as expected, one of the first things I do is use a PCem build that gets as close to the recommended specs as possible with hardware that would have been available when the game came out.

[harrison98]

The reason I can't hear engine noise is because my engine has no fuel! In every mission, my gas tank starts as completely empty. That is obviously not how the game is supposed to work, and I have NO IDEA how to troubleshoot that issue. I've never seen that before. The gauge in the actual game interface is reading 0 gas, and sure enough I can't take off (if I start a mission on the ground), or I immediately lose speed and altitude (if I start a mission in the air). For missions in the air, I hear the engine noise for a brief second and then it goes dead, so it clearly is an issue with the fuel setting. This is not something that you can affect in-game (you can't modify your fuel load, other than by adding additional under-wing fuel tanks--and that doesn't do anything for this issue). So I'm at a loss.

Got curious and checked this out - my installation did the same thing. Fuel immediately goes to zero upon starting any mission (on both ver 1.0 and 1.1).

It turns out this is may be some form of copy protection:

https://forum.quartertothree.com/t/clas ... 157349/118

Copy protection is one weak point of PCem. The CD-ROM emulation apparently does not handle the specifics used by most copy protection methods such as SafeDisc. There are two possible solutions:

1) Apply a no-cd patch
2) Copy the bin/cue over to the PCem drive and run it with Daemon Tools in Win98. Daemon Tools can emulate some of the more common copy protection methods, including SafeDisc.

I tried both of these:

1) There is a no-CD patch for IAF (labeled 'Hebrew' - but it works). I could successfully launch the game without the CD image loaded, but the fuel problem persisted. This makes me wonder if the fuel problem is actually copy protection...
2) The fuel problem persisted, even with all of Daemon Tools' anti-copy protection features enabled. Could it be some obscure method of copy protection?

It's equally possible this is some PCem bug. The forum post I linked to was using 86Box. I couldn't find any other mention on the internet of a no fuel problem in IAF.

So, unless anyone has some other ideas, it looks like IAF might be unplayable in PCem / 86Box.

[JP$]

I remember that issue in Dark Forces on the ice! Until you find the ice cleats that mission is such a pain in the ass on dosbox!

I’ll try reinstalling the voodoo 3 drivers and the directx drivers from your link. Not sure if they are different than what I installed but may as well try.

On all of the machines I’ve ever played these Jane’s games, I don’t think I ever used voodoo for graphics. If I don’t emulate voodoo, any recommendations on a next-best option for graphics? I will also try experimenting with slower pentium II versions, though changing settings like this does seem to destabilize my emulated environment. Do I need to install different drivers or mess with BIOS when changing emulated processors?

Regarding the CD protection and fuel issue, is there any way within the PCem environment to just hookup a USB peripheral ODD? I have a USB ODD. I have the physical CDs for these games I’m trying to play. Can I just hook up the drive and use the physical CD rather than loading an image through the menu?

[harrison98]

There aren't really other good 3D accelerator options in PCem aside from Voodoo, and a Voodoo 3 will handle most everything (aside from a few DOS Glide games and such). I can get Jane's IAF to display fine on the Voodoo 3, and I doubt the graphics card is messing with the game logic...

You should be able to freely change the CPU as long as you keep the motherboard the same. I do this all the time and have never encountered any issues.

The recommended specs for IAF are Pentium 266 / 64 MB RAM, so it's possible it doesn't like the Pentium II for some reason. Not likely, but you never know.

In regards to using a real CD: I have no idea. Definitely worth trying.

Another thing to test is the IAF demo: https://archive.org/details/IAFDEMO

If even THAT shows the no-fuel problem, then we can eliminate copy protection as the problem.

[harrison98]

OK, just tested the demo - it has the same no-fuel problem, so this is not a CD copy-protection mechanism.

I tested a variety of PCem builds: P1 MMX, Voodoo 2/S3 Trio, Win 95, Win 98 - all had the same no-fuel problem.

Definitely looks like a PCem bug. Oh well.

[JP$]

Ugh. Man I was hoping this was going to be the ticket to being able to play these games. Turns out my Latitude C640 decided to crap out too (the lcd inverter is dead so I can see a screen, it just has no brightness whatsoever), so that is no longer an option.

There are just a handful of games that I want to work on the emulator that are nostalgic for me, including these Jane’s simulators. They are all games from that gray era where DOS was dying, and the compatibility challenges between games and PCs was enormous. All the other games that I want to play from that era are popular enough that they’ve been remastered or are available on Steam. Games from before that era tend to work on DOSBox.

If you guys think of anything else I’m open to suggestions—particularly if there is a way the emulator can read a physical CD drive. That may help my issue. For now I will keep tinkering with the hardware settings.

Appreciate all of your help.

[Arjen42]

Ugh. Man I was hoping this was going to be the ticket to being able to play these games. Turns out my Latitude C640 decided to crap out too (the lcd inverter is dead so I can see a screen, it just has no brightness whatsoever), so that is no longer an option.

Are you able to connect an external screen to the laptop using a (blue) VGA connector (also called DB15)?

[JP$]

[/quote]

Are you able to connect an external screen to the laptop using a (blue) VGA connector (also called DB15)?
[/quote]

@Arjen, yes the laptop has the output side of that connector. But my LG monitor only has more modern ports like HDMI, display port, and USB. I suppose I could find an adapter maybe with DB15 male on one side that connects to an HDMI or USB? Actually no clue if USB can support a monitor output.

[tk421]

Ugh. Man I was hoping this was going to be the ticket to being able to play these games. Turns out my Latitude C640 decided to crap out too (the lcd inverter is dead so I can see a screen, it just has no brightness whatsoever), so that is no longer an option.

There are just a handful of games that I want to work on the emulator that are nostalgic for me, including these Jane’s simulators. They are all games from that gray era where DOS was dying, and the compatibility challenges between games and PCs was enormous. All the other games that I want to play from that era are popular enough that they’ve been remastered or are available on Steam. Games from before that era tend to work on DOSBox.

If you guys think of anything else I’m open to suggestions—particularly if there is a way the emulator can read a physical CD drive. That may help my issue. For now I will keep tinkering with the hardware settings.

Appreciate all of your help.

PCem can read from an internal CD-ROM or DVD drive, but external optical drives are a different matter. To use an external drive for your physical CDs, you would need to use VMWare or VirtualBox, which would require the use of Windows XP or Win7, not Win95/98.

For many years now, a large number of PCem users have reported problems using physical CDs in PCem, to the point that virtual CDs were very highly recommended. Chances are this precipitated the inclusion of BIN/CUE support in PCem.

If the Voodoo 3 card does not fix some of the graphical control problems you have reported, have you tried using the S3 Virge DX? I find the older cards can work well with some of the older games, such as Star Wars Rebellion. That game produces control issues with the Voodoo 3, but these graphical control issues are resolved by using an older 2D video card. Sometimes the older 2D cards + Voodoo 2 is the best solution for this scenario. The advantage of the S3 Virge DX is that it is a 2D/3D card.

Sometimes reading this thread makes me think you should try VMWare for your Jane's simulators. VMWare works well with X-Wing, TIE Fighter, X-Wing Alliance and Jedi Knight. I needed a DirectX fix to do this in VMWare, but these old games still work well in VMWare, even with a USB joystick. I use VirtualBox for Battlefield 2.

Best,

tk421

[Arjen42]

...
@Arjen, yes the laptop has the output side of that connector. But my LG monitor only has more modern ports like HDMI, display port, and USB. I suppose I could find an adapter maybe with DB15 male on one side that connects to an HDMI or USB? Actually no clue if USB can support a monitor output.

Too bad, maybe you can find an older monitor with a VGA connector at a thrift store. Some older flat screen TV's (or projectors) have a VGA input as well.

An adapter might also work, but be careful you get the right one. Most of them work the other way around, to connect a digital source to an analog screen. If possible consider an adapter with a 3,5 mm connector for sound, but only if your laptop's sound port is close enough to the VGA port and your screen's speaker are good enough.

Modern laptops may be able to user USB-C to connect to a docking station, a device to connect to a monitor, other USB devices like a keyboard, mouse, printer, etc, and to supply power to the laptop.