Replace W98SE on Compaq 1800T Notebook with XP?

[Dave. W. Kugelstadt]

I have a 4 year old Compaq Presario 1800T Notebook with Windows 98SE.

It is now at the point where it is beginning to behave badly, as in lockups
and crashes, probably as a result of years of programs in and programs out.

I could re-install the original configuration but I was thinking, perhaps it
would be better to install Windows XP as I think it is a better system.

The machine has a 500 Mhz Pentium III, 128 MB RAM and a 4 GB C: drive.

Anyone with experience or insight in this matter would be appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[Malke]

I have a 4 year old Compaq Presario 1800T Notebook with Windows 98SE.

It is now at the point where it is beginning to behave badly, as in
lockups and crashes, probably as a result of years of programs in and
programs out.

I could re-install the original configuration but I was thinking,
perhaps it would be better to install Windows XP as I think it is a
better system.

The machine has a 500 Mhz Pentium III, 128 MB RAM and a 4 GB C: drive.

Anyone with experience or insight in this matter would be appreciated.

Thanks,

It would be a good idea to use your Restore Disk and bring the machine
back to factory condition. It would be a bad idea to try and put WinXP
on this machine. Laptops are very proprietary. It will be hard to find
XP drivers for your laptop's hardware, and your hardware is marginal
for good XP performance. That laptop was designed for Win98SE and it
will run best with that operating system on it.

Malke

 

[MGGP]

Not enough RAM for XP, hard drive too small for XP, I'd
say do a clean install of Win98SE (save your data first).
The CPU is probably fast enough for XP but it's probably
not worth it to upgrade the RAM and hard drive ($350
minimum). My opinion.

Good Luck !

 

[TheUnknownSoldier]

It would be possible to install XP onto this laptop, but XP is fairly HD
hungry and would take up a most of the HD space.
(I have previously installed XP Pro onto a P3 500Mhz Dell Laptop). If you do
want to put XP on it, I would suggest you also invest in a bigger hard
drive.

 

[Airman Basic]

I'm running XP quite successfully on an Armada 7800 with a 366 Pentium
proccessor and have run it on a 266 with 128 MB ram. Just turn down the
eye candy and you'll be fine.

 

[Dave. W. Kugelstadt]

Thank you all for your valuable insight!

Best...

DWK

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

I have a 4 year old Compaq Presario 1800T Notebook with Windows 98SE.

It is now at the point where it is beginning to behave badly, as in
lockups and crashes, probably as a result of years of programs in and
programs out.

I could re-install the original configuration but I was thinking,
perhaps it would be better to install Windows XP as I think it is a
better system.

The machine has a 500 Mhz Pentium III, 128 MB RAM and a 4 GB C: drive.

Anyone with experience or insight in this matter would be

appreciated.


You need more RAM (256MB) and probably a bigger hard drive. The
CPU is adequate, but it will be far from a speedy system. There
may be other hardware issues as well, and you may have trouble
getting appropriate drivers. Unless you need XP for some reason,
I'd stay with 98.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

You'd need to at least double your RAM and replace the hard drive
with a larger one, and even then the machine would be awfully slow.

If you turn off all
of WinXP GUI eye-candy, it will still be very slow, but it might
usable for simple word processing, email, web-browsing, etc. It won't
be any good for graphics-intensive applications, and most newer games.
(During the public preview period, I tested WinXP on a 500 MHz machine
with 256 Mb of RAM.)

1) Right-click the Task Bar > Properties > Start Menu, ensure
"Classic Start menu" is selected.

2) Right-click an empty spot on the Desktop > Properties > Themes >
select "Windows Classic."

3) Right-click My Computer > Properties > Performance > Settings >
Visual Effects, ensure "Adjust for best performance" is selected.

However, with a PC this old, it's essential to make sure it's
components are WinXP-compatible _before_ proceeding. Have you ensured
that all the PC's components are capable of supporting WinXP? This
information will be found at each of the PC's component's
manufacturer's web sites, and on Microsoft's Catalog:
(http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx). Computer components
designed for use with Win9x/Me very often fail to meet WinXP's much
more stringent hardware quality requirements.

Can you obtain OS-specific device drivers for your PC's
components, and any necessary motherboard BIOS updates? Additionally,
you can download and run Microsoft WinXP Upgrade Advisor to see if you
have any incompatible hardware components.
(http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/upgrading/advisor.asp)

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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