Hi Steve:
This is really weird… I’ve gone to the Matrox official site and downloaded the '98SE driver and the XP driver… I have gone to Drivers.com and downloaded another (unofficial ) driver that claims to work for as many as, returns a comment to them regarding it’s behaviour…
The '98SE version is w9x_682 that is installed and working in the '98SE partition… (official version)…
The XP driver is 2kxp_595_005 (official version)
The XP driver (unofficial) version is 2kxp_595_006 Supposed to work… 
However, none of the xp drivers appear in the Device manager list… after installation… But both appear to load at install-time… and requests a reboot to finnish the install… But… after reboot, no extended screen to show the G-450 config. in the settings screen… from either set of drivers… However, there appears an uninstall.exe in the ADD-and-Remove list… I’ve used the utility to uninstall the files and xp requests a reboot to confirm the uninstall… That works fine… And then xp requests that a reboot to confirm the action… At reboot time a default driver is loaded by XP that takes the monitor right to a 600 x 800 reselution… At boot time the task-bar reports that a new hardware is found and automatically installs this, whatever driver it is, into system 32 of the windows folder. But, no config panel in the device manager… for the graphics card… But the device manager reports that a matrox G-450 card is installed and working properly.
I’ve entered the REG. files and removed anything in there that is related to Matrox… by useing RegCleaner v4.3… I think that’s the version… Checking… Yes… v4.3 it has always worked around these machines… for that purpose…
But, now that I remember… the offical Matrox page suggests that if the Windows program removal .exe doesn’t work… there is… and I think a driver removal tool/.exe to remove and update drivers… But, I haven’t downloaded or used this utility, as yet… Mabey, this is the next step for me to investigate… Well…
Bill
Are the OSes installed on two completely different partitions, including all apps (should be or there can be MAJOR problems)?
If this isn’t a hardware issue dual-boot may be stepping on each other somewhow.
Hi phoo:
I hear you loud-and-clear… I went to the Matrox page and downloaded the uninstaller and went to the task of uninstalling the windows Matrox, uninstaller… No problems. I rebooted the box and sure enough, the uninstaller was not in the add/remove list… GONE… But still a default driver automatically loaded into system 32 and the monitor came up with a 600 x 800 screen reselution view… Then the task bar reported that new hardware was found and windows was installing drivers for the hardware… I went back and uninstalled the files and returned to the install new hardware wizzerd after uninstalling whatever drivers was installed… This time, I didn’t reboot… It seems like there is a “Catch-22” going on here… Mabey… me…
I now have mabey, ONE thought going on… Could there be an outdated windows installer going on here… Now that .netframwork rev.2 is up-and-running … Or something… like that? 
The latest version G-450 driver is 2kxp_595_009 not 2kxp_595_005 that I downloaded the other week… By-the-way… the uninstaller that was on the page removes the windows uninstaller and anything else that may be in the registry that is connected to Matrox… I guess… Well… This is getting to the point where it might very well be beyond my “Pea Brain”…
I have one foot on a Bananna Peel, and the other foot in-side the Computer… 
Bill…
P.S. Yes… I thought about that idea… Phoo… if I only knew what I was doing… You gys are way ahead of me… What a MESSAGE BOARD… this place is… Thank you all… for your help and concerns… The '98SE desk is installed on it’s own drive. the XP desk is on it’s own drive. and all apps are installed on their respective '98SE and XP drives. In fact at boot time and when each desk appears the '98SE desk doesn’t even see the NTFS and XP boot drive… But, XP does. So, now after saying that, my next attempt at installing Matrox XP Drivers will be to unplug the "98SE drive from the IDE Ribbon and Power Cable as I boot to the XP Desk…
What do you think? phoo… And… Oh yes… I checked the default driver that automatically installs at reboot-time… It is v5.92.6.0 If I’m not mistaken, that is the 9x.xx drivers… I am unable to check the about file on the '98SE desk, from where I am, at the moment…
Hey Bill, I feel you pain with all this.
I changed my graphics card in my DAW a few weeks ago, and also added a DVD burner. At the weekend I was trying something out so I disabled (in XP!) my NIC, and when I re-enabled it, XP said I needed to re-activate. Why? !!! And come on guys… adding a DVD burner? That’s a periperal, surely? What if it was a USB burner? Huh?
What’s more, I fiddled around to get my DAW to connect to the Internet and now the activation wizard says my codes are invalid. !!! Arrgghhhhhh!
Ho hum!
Mark
Hi Mark:
Same thing going on here… my network cards are my “Gateway” to the modems I have installed… on this internal network…
I find I am and have lost the access through to it’s Browsers and Mail on the P-111 800khz. machine… I am able to use and access the other computers and their drives. through the HUB… but not to it’s Browser and Outlook Express… I had it available to me, before I did the DEED on this Ram Issue… There must be something turned off or not config’d right… But I don’t know how to access and config that issue…
On another front, I found where I can go and turn off the “Send Report to Microsoft” but it still creates a log, for future connection to microsoft at update time… Now, I think I can “Dump” the log entry, but that might create an issue, somewhere, down the Road. Who, Knows?
Microsoft has a real tight hold on how It’s-and-Our, Operating System, is aligned with our computer hardware… and software…
I forsee, it’s gonna get even more tighter… The microsoft updates that are comming down are, in my opinion, gonna put such a strangle-hold on our DAWs that our Boot-up Logs will be full of stuff we just took for granted a year ago…
At some point in time, we’ll have every command we execute, logged and available, for someone, in the Microsoft organization, to see… or for anyone they want’ta give the “Policing”, to…
Could it be?? They have the ability to see that? NOW??
I’m not so sure that this is democratic and I’m not gonna call it a “VIRUS” or “SPAM”… just yet… But everybody, including the Writers and Users of this technoledgy are gonna have to “Walk-the-Walk” and “Toe-the-Mark”… There… I said IT…
I have Ranted… Today… hehe… Already…
I’m gonna try to install these Matrox drivers by booting to the Safe Mode…
But somehow I think this issue isn’t the installation of the drivers…
It has something to do with the Device Manager’s ability to display the “DISPLY” screen … in the Device Manager… It doesn’t have the Drop-Down Tabs anymore… I don’t know why… Something appears to be LOST in that utility… Mabey, a Corruption in the file that execuites the Disply Utility??? of the Display utility… How can I say that the “Right Way”??
Could that be possible… guys?
Bill…
[EDIT]
I forgot to comment on the USB/FireWire set-up…
USB/FireWire are just unimportant ADD-ONs to Microsoft just yet… Very low-and-down their list of things to look-at… just yet… SCSSI? and Storage Devices? Very important… In my opinion… Anything, that’s inside the BOX… They wantta know…
There’s something hardware wrong on you machine and trying to fix it through software configs is just not that right way to be going about it.
When an app crash for whatever reason the error checking in Windows detects it an creates a memory dump of the crash. It also logs the hardware config on the machine when that happens. Windows doesn’t log your every move. This is a VERY useful tool to find bugs, not only in Windows but in any app or driver that crashes. The fact that you are consistently hitting this tells you that something major is amiss. This is a good thing and not something to be paranoid about.
Have you tried any other motherboards? You’ve said these are older motherboards. If they were produced before WinXp was out, or even worse before Win2k was out, then there may be incompatibilities in the BIOS. If they are that old then the BIOS may need to be updated. Many motherboards that old do just fine. Many don’t.
Back track on the hardware and everything else. Pull EVERYTHING out of the machine except RAM and one C: drive and a video card. Get Windows working. Install one thing at a time - one app - one piece of hardware. Doing that is the first step to isolating the issue. Don’t dual boot until you get one OS working first. Do WinXp first. Be prepared for this to take a long time. Use in-box SVGA if that’s all that you get. Installing the video card is one of those things to do one at a time. It’s a hard but I think necessary process.
Don’t activate Windows until it’s running properly. You have 30 once installed before activation is required. Formating and reinstalling Windows will restart the 30 days. Be prepared to start over and over. If you find that installing SOMETHING mess up the machine. Start over and do that thing first next time. This will help determine what the combinations are that don’t work well.
Hi phoo:
That’s a nice annalledgy… Thanks for your reply… I sure I hope I’m learning about all this and how computers work and behave… I have to be awful tough or stupid to be Dawg’in at this for as long as I have been … I don’t think I’m tough…
I have a reply to a FLASH BIOS request I made to a place in MA. in my mail this afternoon. A copy of it looks like this… I’d like to see if this might help my idea of updating the BIOS on this 800khz. machine.
Thank you for submitting your Flash BIOS update request on-line this past Saturday.
Your Flash BIOS update case # is 0413C.
Please call me today regarding your BIOS update request and reference your case number 0413C.
I have a question or two regarding your computer. Your technical information will be in front of me, so there’s no need to be at your PC when you call.
On Mondays you can reach me until 7:30PM(EST).
Thank you,
**
If this is any help, at least I’ll have the BIOS Flashed to the latest version… We’ll see…
It’s a good thing I don’t work at any computer place… I don’t know if I could take the mental strain…
Bill…
Hey Bill,
Hot tip for you; Ghost. Get those boxes working then Ghost 'em. Ghost has saved my bacon more times than I care to think about. Great tool.
TG
Hi gtr4him:
I’m hearing all of you… Big Time. I’m sure that if any of you could see this set-up, first-hand you’d be able to put your finger on just how to set this thing straight… once and for all…
I used to be able to format a drive in from a floppy and install '98SE on a drive and then load whatever software I needed, was all that was nessessary to track a file…
If I think back over all this, I ran into an issue trying to install n-Track v4 on a drive that had '98SE installed on it… way back when Flavio first posted it… Sense then I’ve had the want to install and use n-Track, beyond build 1516… So, if I could setup v4.0.1 and build 1980, and beyond, on this setup I have, I’d forget XP, as an Operating System and revert back to '98SE… and get all of this behind me… Has anyone attempted to run build 1980 on a '98SE desk? Can .net framwork rev 2.0 be installed on '98SE?
That would be on the top of My Wish-List…
Weather we know-it-or-not… I think we are all stuck with Microsoft…
That’s what I think… I’m haveing a real time at Ranting… today… Sorry to everyone…
Bill…
[EDIT]
Your’re right. I should be Ghosting these drives on other hard drives and storing them in a safe place…