XP Upgrade from 98SE

[Guest]

I plan to upgrade to XP Pro from 98 SE was installed as an upgrade fom W95.
Should I expect any unusual problems? Thanks.

 

[PA Bear]

How to prepare to upgrade Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition to
Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q316639

 

[Donny Broome]

MANY PROBLEMS! If the machine is old enough to have run 95, you're
experience with XP will be AWFUL.
Here are some real-world MINIMUM hardware requirements for XP:

- Pentium III 866 MHz CPU
- 384 MB of RAM

If you don't have at LEAST this, forget about it.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

MANY PROBLEMS! If the machine is old enough to have run 95, you're
experience with XP will be AWFUL.
Here are some real-world MINIMUM hardware requirements for XP:

- Pentium III 866 MHz CPU
- 384 MB of RAM

If you don't have at LEAST this, forget about it.

I don't agree at all Windows XP can be run successfully on a *much* lesser
machine than that. I've personally run Windows XP on a PII-400 with 256MB of
RAM. It didn't run fast, but it was far from unusable.

 

[Chuck Davis]

I don't agree at all Windows XP can be run successfully on a *much* lesser
machine than that. I've personally run Windows XP on a PII-400 with 256MB
of RAM. It didn't run fast, but it was far from unusable.

Ken,
I visit two to three homes per week of our Computer Club's members doing
volunteer House Calls. I have seen many computers of that age with
successful installations of WinXP and I've also seen several where there
were too many hardware components obsoleted due to manufacturers no longer
providing drivers. In these cases, new computers were the answer. You
guessed it, I get to return to install same.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Ken,
I visit two to three homes per week of our Computer Club's members
doing volunteer House Calls. I have seen many computers of that age
with successful installations of WinXP and I've also seen several
where there were too many hardware components obsoleted due to
manufacturers no longer providing drivers. In these cases, new
computers were the answer. You guessed it, I get to return to install
same.

No argument from me. I'm not claiming that it's desirable to run XP on such
old hardware. There are certainly many potentials for problems, and it may
well be that he *doesn't* have enough computing power for Windows XP. I was
merely pointing out that the claim "Here are some real-world MINIMUM
hardware requirements for XP: - Pentium III 866 MHz CPU - 384 MB of RAM" is
greatly exaggerated.

By the way, we also shouldn't assume that because the original poster used
to run Windows 95 on this computer it is necessarily still the same
computer, with all the same components in it. It is possible that some of
those components could have been upgraded over the years.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I plan to upgrade to XP Pro from 98 SE was installed as an upgrade fom W95.
Should I expect any unusual problems? Thanks.

Have you made sure that your PC's hardware components are capable
of supporting WinXP? This information will be found at the PC's
manufacturer's web site, and on Microsoft's Windows Catalog:
(http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx) Additionally, run
Microsoft WinXP Upgrade Advisor to see if you have any incompatible
hardware components or applications.

You should, before proceeding, take a few minutes to ensure that
there are WinXP device drivers available for all of the machine's
components. There may not be, if the PC was specifically designed for
Win98/Me. Also bear in mind that PCs designed for, sold and run fine
with Win9x/Me very often do not meet WinXP's much more stringent
hardware quality requirements. This is particularly true of many
models in Compaq's consumer-class Presario product line or HP's
consumer-class Pavilion product line. WinXP, like WinNT and Win2K
before it, is quite sensitive to borderline defective or substandard
hardware (particularly motherboards, RAM and hard drives) that will
still support Win9x.

HOW TO Prepare to Upgrade Win98 or WinMe
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q316639

Upgrading to Windows XP
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpupgrad.htm


--

Bruce Chambers

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both at once. - RAH

 

[Guest]

Thanx. The upgrade will be going on Dell Latitude CPxJ, 20 GB HD, 1.86 GHz
PIII, 256 MB RAM.. Everything checks out on the upgrade advisor. Just need
to get the BIOS updated.

 

[Jonny]

Not of the OS XP installation itself. 3rd party programs, especially MS DOS
type may be problematic after the install.

If you aren't taking anything with you from 98, do a clean install of XP.
Backing up your personal files and settings is your responsibility.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thanx.

You're welcome. Glad to help.

The upgrade will be going on Dell Latitude CPxJ, 20 GB HD,
1.86 GHz PIII, 256 MB RAM.. Everything checks out on the upgrade
advisor. Just need to get the BIOS updated.

Why do you think you need to upgrade your BIOS?

Certainly don't do it just because it's X years old and there are upgrades
available. Although a BIOS upgrade normally goes well, it is not without
danger. If something goes wrong while the upgrade is an progress (for
example, a lapse in power) you can be left with no BIOS at all, and an
unbootable computer.

Do a BIOS upgrade if you need to--because you are having a problem that the
new version is known to fix--not just because one is available.