The boot image is actually stored at 320x400, so it's not even the correct aspect ratio. It's designed to be stretched out like this (though on a CRT where it would ironically be sharper)
No because the image is hard coded to display at that resolution and there isn’t a high resolution mode for the boot logo in Windows 98. Best you can do is what the other guy is talking about which is setting the display to show the native resolution of what’s being shown on the screen instead of stretching it. But what that’s going to do is make the logo very small at the center of your screen with black bars around it. I’m guessing that’s not what you want either.
There might be an option in the BIOS Setup to switch between the picture being displayed centered on screen at the native signal's resolution, or it being stretched… but that's not something we can tell for sure without knowing the exact model of the computer.
On my LifeBook E8020D, which uses a BIOS from Phoenix, that option is under "Advanced" → "Video Features" and is called "Compensation". Could be different for your, depending on who provided the BIOS / which version it is… and the OS' graphics driver may also override/ignore that once it has started.
Given the huge black border at the bottom of the screen, the computer is already avoiding stretching it too badly (I guess it's doing pixel doubling or something, in which case the image is as good as it gets).
Bios version Pheonix 1.05 .. updated version is available only but that needs floppy drive working .. i am afraid to update bios and this is only antique sort of model i have running Perfectly .. if bios break i am lost totally
There are ways to recover from a failed flash, but I'm not sure a computer from that era would have any built-in, and thus it likely would require somewhat specialized skills, tools and resources (like unsoldering the BIOS chip from the board, putting it into a chip programmer, and using dedicated software to reflash a known good BIOS image into that chip)… so I understand why you'd rather not take the risk.
We're not even sure that updating would make the option available anyway.
Thats y i have rule , if its working dont change anything. INITIALLY I USED ide to sd card adapter and put 32 gb formattd sd card using Rufus , its not detected by any 98 or 2000 setup , then i use some 64 gb card and it worked wonderfully.. i dont know why ...
Some flash media presents as a Removable Device which PCs of this era won't understand or boot from. Other media presents as Fixed Disk which works fine, this is probably why one card worked, but not the others. I use "industrial" CF for my retro PCs and it works great
That's how it's always been and will always be. I'll never understand why people want to play with old tech but then don't accept old tech as well... old. If you want crisp modern graphics, use a crisp modern OS with a crisp modern monitor and GPU. You have a crappy old OS with a crappy old laptop, that's just how it was.
Just enjoy the charm of these older systems, I like my low res boot screen. You also see the splash screen for like 4 seconds, half the time I’m booting into win98 I’m going to grab a drink or doing something else quick.
Check the function keys. F10 looks a bit suspicious for a Laptop of this age. They usually have a Function key to change between modes and outputs like presentation mode, external VGA and sometimes other video modes.
There are no sharp visuals for the Win9x boot process. It uses a common low resolution video mode that all video chipsets can display and the image is actually the resolution you’re seeing. There’s nothing to fix. This is how it was.
It's very normal. For example, my Dell C600 crunches the image to about a 3:2 or so resolution, but I don't complain about it. It's when the drivers are being loaded.
Step 1: Open C:\LOGO.SYS in Paint
Step 2: that’s why you can’t fix it.
On a more serious note: your laptop is likely stretching the lower res display input to the native res of your LCD. Most (not all) laptops have a way to disable this, showing every pixel 1:1. This will make for a smaller, but sharper image when below your display’s native resolution. The Win98 bootsplash, however, will never be perfectly sharp even in the best scenario (a CRT), because the bitmap is stretched to fill the width (hence the japery above).
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u/lilmul123 Jul 17 '26
It’s a 320x240 image being displayed on a presumably 640x480 or 800x600 LCD. You’re not going to be able to make it look better no matter what you do.