Problem upgrading 98 to XP

[Ernie Moshurchak]

Was attempting to upgrade Win98 to XP Home on a Compaq DeskPro EX
computer as follows:
Intel 667Mhz, 191Mb RAM, 35Gb available space.
Upgrade completed without a problem and activated OK. On restart
after XP loading and welcome screen, get a large Win98 emblem and
computer becomes unresponsive except for task manager which showed CPU
activity and running processes but no applications.

Tried to repair installation with same result. The upgrade report
showed the following:
Hardware incompatibility: HP PSC 900 series printer
Software incompatibility: Windows 98 (current screen saver)
Norton Antivirus LIveUpdate

In retro, should have disabled AV. Today will try to boot to safe
mode or may have to re-install original OS. Has anyone run into a
similar problem?

Ernie

 

[DL]

Do a clean install of xp
You will need to install chipset and other drivers from Compaq site for
winxp (Assuming they have them)
You will need to backup all data
You should upgrade ram to at least 256mb

 

[Ernie Moshurchak]

Probably good advice DL. Unfortunately I purchased an XP upgrade CD.
Backups were done. I will check in with Compaq support as well.
Thanks.

EM

 

[Alias]

Probably good advice DL. Unfortunately I purchased an XP upgrade CD.
Backups were done. I will check in with Compaq support as well.
Thanks.

EM

You can do a clean install with an upgrade version. It will ask you for
proof of a previous OS and all you have to do is stick the 98 CD in to
prove it.

 

[Ernie Moshurchak]

You can do a clean install with an upgrade version. It will ask you for
proof of a previous OS and all you have to do is stick the 98 CD in to
prove it.

The 98 CD is part of the Compaq restore package but hopefully will do
the job. Thanks.

em

 

[Malke]

The 98 CD is part of the Compaq restore package but hopefully will do
the job. Thanks.

em

A Restore Disk won't act as qualifying media. Borrow a real Win9x cd
from a friend.

Malke

 

[bxf]

Nobody has anything to say about installing XP on a 667MHz, 191(!?)MB
machine? Do these meet XP's minimum requirements?

 

[Alias]

Nobody has anything to say about installing XP on a 667MHz, 191(!?)MB
machine? Do these meet XP's minimum requirements?

It will work but very, very slowly. You need at least 384MB of RAM. You
will also need at least 32MB of video memory on your video card.

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

Upgrade memory to 512mb and turn off all eye candy.. if you do graphics
intensive stuff, eg Photoshop etc, look to 1Gb or more of RAM..

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Ernie,

Hit F8 at startup and choose Safe mode, then uninstall the upgrade (assuming
you chose the option to backup the current installation) using Add/Remove
programs. If successful, uninstall the Norton software and disconnect the
printer before attempting the upgrade again.

How to start in Safe mode:
http://www.rickrogers.org/fixes.htm#Safe mode

If you cannot load Safe mode, try the Safe mode with command prompt. Then
run "control appwiz.cpl" to load the Add/Remove dialog.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

The 98 CD is part of the Compaq restore package but hopefully will do
the job. Thanks.

Not simply. You can also do a clean installation if you have an OEM restore
CD of a previous qualifying version. It's more complicated, but it *can* be
done. First restore from the Restore CD. Then run the XP upgrade CD from
within that restored system, and change from Upgrade to New Install. When it
asks where, press Esc to delete the partition and start over.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Nobody has anything to say about installing XP on a 667MHz, 191(!?)MB
machine? Do these meet XP's minimum requirements?

Yes, they are above the official minimum requirements. XP will work with
that configuration, but don't expect great performance. The 667MHz isn't too
bad, but 191MB (you're sure it's not 192MB?) of RAM is really the absolute
minimum I would try to run XP with.

How much RAM you need depends on what applications you run, but most people
running a typical range of business applications find that somewhere around
256-384MB works well, others need 512MB. Almost anyone will see poor
performance with less than 256MB. Some people, particularly those doing
things like editing large photographic images, can see a performance boost
by adding even more than 512MB--sometimes much more.

 

[Plato]

Was attempting to upgrade Win98 to XP Home on a Compaq DeskPro EX
computer as follows:

Next time see this in advance:

http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpupgrad.php
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sg_9xupgrade.asp
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=316639

 

[Ernie Moshurchak]

While on the phone with MS upgrade support, the start menu and tour
invitation suddenly appeared! XP had finally surfaced with Win98
wallpaper. Yesterday I had waited for a response for approximately 20
minutes without any prompts or indication of disk activity and had
done several reboots with the same result. The installation appears
fine and the computer is running XP well. I guess the lesson learned
for me is that patience is a virtue when upgrading.

Thanks to all who replied to my thread. I will save several replies
for next upgrade.