Hi, Phillip.
There are generally 3 ways to transition from WinME to WinXP: Upgrade;
Clean Install; Dual-boot.
1. Upgrade: You end up with WinXP only; it will be in the same volume
(primary partition or logical drive in an extended partition) as WinME was
in. WinXP Setup "migrates" your hardware device drivers and installed
applications.
2. Clean install: WinXP Setup reformats (after repartitioning, if you
choose) your WinME volume and installs WinXP there. All or most of your
hardware will be installed using device drivers on the WinXP CD-ROM; you may
need to locate and install drivers for very old, very new or unusual
hardware. You will need to reinstall all your applications. Backup your
data (don't bother with Windows files or applications) and restore it after
the install.
3. Dual-boot: You end up with both WinME and WinXP in separate volumes,
one of which may be Drive C:. As in the clean install, WinXP Setup will
install hardware and you must install applications in WinXP so that the
proper entries can be made in the WinXP Registry. WinXP Setup will
automatically create a menu that you will see each time you reboot, from
which you can choose which Windows version to use for this session. In a
few weeks, when you are comfy with WinXP, you can delete WinME and reclaim
the disk space it is using. Or, you can continue dual-booting indefinitely.
Method 1 is usually the quickest and easiest - in the short run. Many
upgraders, though, report that they end up doing a clean install in a few
weeks, anyhow, because of all the little niggling quirks introduced by the
almost-but-not-quite-perfect migration process. A clean install gives you a
fresh start, with no accumulated garbage carried over from before.
As to your "hardware and drives issues", it might help if you tell us your
configuration, especially how many hard drives, how they are partitioned,
and which interfaces (IDE, ATA100, SCSI, RAID, etc.) they are using. Or
just tell us the make and model of your computer if you bought it as a
standard package. Was WinME pre-installed on your computer?
RC
