[GH-ISSUE #25] QEMU PCI detection with light images #23

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opened 2026-03-03 18:48:18 +03:00 by kerem · 7 comments
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Originally created by @ManuHry on GitHub (Jan 8, 2025).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/oerg866/win98-quickinstall/issues/25

First of all thank you very much for these high quality images ! Pretty simple to install, I use them for emulation with UTM (QEMU-based hypervisor) on a M1 iPad.

Stock Windows 98 SE image works well, I have few issues but nothing related to your project.
However PCI bus is detected as BIOS on Lite images, and seems to prevent PCI detection for VGA adapter. Did you experience any similar issue ?

Thanks in advance !

Originally created by @ManuHry on GitHub (Jan 8, 2025). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/oerg866/win98-quickinstall/issues/25 First of all thank you very much for these high quality images ! Pretty simple to install, I use them for emulation with UTM (QEMU-based hypervisor) on a M1 iPad. Stock Windows 98 SE image works well, I have few issues but nothing related to your project. However PCI bus is detected as BIOS on Lite images, and seems to prevent PCI detection for VGA adapter. Did you experience any similar issue ? Thanks in advance !
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@oerg866 commented on GitHub (Jan 9, 2025):

Hi, no I haven't, as QEMU is a very poor emulator for Win9x and gets a lot of legacy things wrong. Can you make screenshots or a video so I can understand what problem you may be experiencing?

Thanks! :)

<!-- gh-comment-id:2581440199 --> @oerg866 commented on GitHub (Jan 9, 2025): Hi, no I haven't, as QEMU is a very poor emulator for Win9x and gets a lot of legacy things wrong. Can you make screenshots or a video so I can understand what problem you may be experiencing? Thanks! :)
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@ManuHry commented on GitHub (Jan 11, 2025):

Hello, of course here are links for stock and lite images usage:

I took time for each menu to let you vizualize which options I set up.

Performance on QEMU is fast enough for me, but the most annoying well-known bug is that I have to manually shut down the « virtual machine » each time a reboot is triggered.
If you know a better alternative for iPad devices, I’m in!

Edit: it seems some video parts are not recorded correctly, I will try again later (sorry for the inconvenience)

<!-- gh-comment-id:2585211467 --> @ManuHry commented on GitHub (Jan 11, 2025): Hello, of course here are links for stock and lite images usage: - [win98qi_v0.9.6_stock](https://youtu.be/HCf4X8fiKZM) - [win98qi_v0.9.6_micro_directx81](https://youtu.be/fVXmnqasuUU) I took time for each menu to let you vizualize which options I set up. Performance on QEMU is fast enough for me, but the most annoying well-known bug is that I have to manually shut down the « virtual machine » each time a reboot is triggered. If you know a better alternative for iPad devices, I’m in! Edit: it seems some video parts are not recorded correctly, I will try again later (sorry for the inconvenience)
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@ManuHry commented on GitHub (Jan 12, 2025):

Due to incorrectly recorded medias, here are preliminary screenshots:

  • win98qi_v0.9.6_stock: PCI bus correctly detected, PCI devices like VGA automatically added

IMG_0274
IMG_0275

  • win98qi_v0.9.6_micro_directx81: PCI bus detected as PnP BIOS, PCI devices like VGA missing

IMG_0272
IMG_0273

<!-- gh-comment-id:2585650292 --> @ManuHry commented on GitHub (Jan 12, 2025): Due to incorrectly recorded medias, here are preliminary screenshots: - win98qi_v0.9.6_stock: PCI bus _correctly detected_, PCI devices like VGA _automatically added_ ![IMG_0274](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/570e694e-0165-4e4f-a2cd-e7af5bfee14f) ![IMG_0275](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b818d2d3-26da-4f65-9f4c-bf3449fa03d6) - win98qi_v0.9.6_micro_directx81: PCI bus _detected as PnP BIOS_, PCI devices like VGA _missing_ ![IMG_0272](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/01c9e4cd-76c3-46dc-8a1b-0d64ac5c9612) ![IMG_0273](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d8fc890c-81fd-4af9-a888-5a0be6f54557)
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@ManuHry commented on GitHub (Jan 14, 2025):

Hi, I just found a workaround for UTM: using a non-PnP BIOS, PCI devices are correctly detected.
As steps below are a bit tricky, could you still check your lite images and/or add a new entry to your FAQ? Thanks! :)

  1. Compile SeaBIOS without PnP feature, or download a precompiled binary from SoftGPU project
    edit: SoftGPU documentation changed, here is old download link: https://files.emulace.cz/seabios-qemu.zip (SeaBIOS 1.16.2 as of 16th September 2025)

  2. In UTM import bios.bin image on virtual machine

IMG_0281

  1. Modify image type to BIOS

IMG_0282

  1. Start virtual machine, and eventually check any different message

IMG_0283

<!-- gh-comment-id:2590897765 --> @ManuHry commented on GitHub (Jan 14, 2025): Hi, I just found a workaround for UTM: using a non-PnP BIOS, PCI devices are correctly detected. As steps below are a bit tricky, could you still check your lite images and/or add a new entry to your FAQ? Thanks! :) 1. Compile SeaBIOS without PnP feature, or [download a precompiled binary from SoftGPU project](https://github.com/JHRobotics/softgpu/blob/main/README.md#non-pnp-bios) edit: SoftGPU documentation changed, here is old download link: [https://files.emulace.cz/seabios-qemu.zip](https://files.emulace.cz/seabios-qemu.zip) (SeaBIOS 1.16.2 as of 16th September 2025) 2. In UTM import bios.bin image on virtual machine ![IMG_0281](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b2ac6f27-f0d3-406f-b32e-b4e841640a36) 3. Modify image type to BIOS ![IMG_0282](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6fe66360-d3bc-4a25-a32d-d23ab0f4f4fc) 4. Start virtual machine, and eventually check any different message ![IMG_0283](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/df81ec43-9aa1-4a21-91e6-3c9393d50f6f)
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@oerg866 commented on GitHub (Jan 15, 2025):

Hello,

I am a bit busy right now, but just so you know I didn't forget about this.
I'll check this out for myself sometime next week or so

thanks for the guide!

On Tue, 14 Jan 2025 at 20:06, ManuHry @.***> wrote:

Hi, I just found a workaround for UTM: using a non-PnP BIOS, PCI devices
are correctly detected.
As steps below are a bit tricky, could you still check your lite images
and/or add an entry to your FAQ? Thanks! :)

Compile SeaBIOS without PnP feature, or download a precompiled binary
from SoftGPU project
https://github.com/JHRobotics/softgpu/blob/main/README.md#non-pnp-bios
2.

In UTM import bios.bin image on virtual machine

IMG_0281.jpeg (view on web)
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b2ac6f27-f0d3-406f-b32e-b4e841640a36

  1. Modify image type to BIOS

IMG_0282.jpeg (view on web)
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6fe66360-d3bc-4a25-a32d-d23ab0f4f4fc

  1. Start virtual machine, and eventually check any different message

IMG_0283.jpeg (view on web)
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/df81ec43-9aa1-4a21-91e6-3c9393d50f6f


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<!-- gh-comment-id:2592326450 --> @oerg866 commented on GitHub (Jan 15, 2025): Hello, I am a bit busy right now, but just so you know I didn't forget about this. I'll check this out for myself sometime next week or so thanks for the guide! On Tue, 14 Jan 2025 at 20:06, ManuHry ***@***.***> wrote: > Hi, I just found a workaround for UTM: using a non-PnP BIOS, PCI devices > are correctly detected. > As steps below are a bit tricky, could you still check your lite images > and/or add an entry to your FAQ? Thanks! :) > > 1. > > Compile SeaBIOS without PnP feature, or download a precompiled binary > from SoftGPU project > <https://github.com/JHRobotics/softgpu/blob/main/README.md#non-pnp-bios> > 2. > > In UTM import bios.bin image on virtual machine > > IMG_0281.jpeg (view on web) > <https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b2ac6f27-f0d3-406f-b32e-b4e841640a36> > > 3. Modify image type to BIOS > > IMG_0282.jpeg (view on web) > <https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6fe66360-d3bc-4a25-a32d-d23ab0f4f4fc> > > 4. Start virtual machine, and eventually check any different message > > IMG_0283.jpeg (view on web) > <https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/df81ec43-9aa1-4a21-91e6-3c9393d50f6f> > > — > Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub > <https://github.com/oerg866/win98-quickinstall/issues/25#issuecomment-2590897765>, > or unsubscribe > <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAISOPMUAH3EIYQUXTMQ3532KVN3VAVCNFSM6AAAAABU2VDSOGVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDKOJQHA4TONZWGU> > . > You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: > ***@***.***> >
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@rawr51919 commented on GitHub (Jun 16, 2025):

This seems to be a bug in upstream QEMU and not related to this whatsoever. I'd check an install from the original install media to see if the bug persists there too, and then reporting this to upstream QEMU.

<!-- gh-comment-id:2977495736 --> @rawr51919 commented on GitHub (Jun 16, 2025): This seems to be a bug in upstream QEMU and not related to this whatsoever. I'd check an install from the original install media to see if the bug persists there too, and then reporting this to upstream QEMU.
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@rayrapetyan commented on GitHub (Sep 5, 2025):

I can confirm the issue occurs only with the micro image and only with PCI devices. The sb16 audio device works since it’s ISA-based, but AC97 and other PCI-based sound devices are not detected. This doesn’t appear to be a QEMU issue, as everything works fine with the stock image.

<!-- gh-comment-id:3259235003 --> @rayrapetyan commented on GitHub (Sep 5, 2025): I can confirm the issue occurs only with the micro image and only with PCI devices. The sb16 audio device works since it’s ISA-based, but AC97 and other PCI-based sound devices are not detected. This doesn’t appear to be a QEMU issue, as everything works fine with the stock image.
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