Switching to XP from 98 FE

[Guest]

I am swopping over from Windows 98 first edition to XP Home Edition. This
will mean starting from the start with a blank hard drive, I believe. What
are the steps I take before inserting the XP Home Edition disc in the CD
drive?

 

[JS]

If you plan to do a fresh install of XP and not upgrade (convert) the
version of Win98 you are currently using, then all you need is an Upgrade
version of XP and your original version of Windows 98 CD which XP will ask
you to insert during the install.
By starting with a blank hard drive do you mean a new drive or re-formatting
the existing drive?

Also see: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/upgrading/default.mspx

JS

 

[Guest]

backup your important files on this hard drive. You will also need to go
online and get drivers for your system to run on XP. In a lot of cases XP
has default drivers but in many you will need the drivers for xp not for 98.
The problem being that after you install xp without getting the drivers first
then your internet connection devices will not work and you will have no way
of downloading the drivers. You need to also check and make sure your old 98
FE has the proper hardware to handle Windows XP. I recommend ATLEAST an 800
MHz CPU and 256 MB of Ram. Now you can check your hardware specs while
you're checking for what drivers you will need. To see your hardware you
will need to download Belarc Advisor and then go seach the manufacturers
websites for the proper drivers. If you have no luck google is good but
driverguide.com is better. If I have made no sence to you then take your
computer to a qualified professional in your area and they will do all this
for you.

Links..

Belarc Advisor
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Driver Guide
http://www.driverguide.com/

Good Luck,

Joe

Kemco IT Tech

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I am swopping over from Windows 98 first edition to XP Home Edition.
This will mean starting from the start with a blank hard drive, I
believe.

No, it doesn't mean that at all. Although you *can* do that, you can also
upgrade directly from Windows 98 (with either an Upgrade of Full Retail
copy; an OEM version, however, can only do a clean installation, not a
upgrade.). Unlike with previous versions of Windows, an upgrade to XP
replaces almost everything, and usually works very well

My recommendation is to at least try the upgrade, since it's much easier
than a clean installation. You can always change your mind and reinstall
cleanly if problems develop.

However, don't assume that doing an upgrade relieves you of the need to
backup your data, etc. before beginning. Before starting to upgrade, it's
always prudent to recognize that things like a sudden power loss can occur
in the middle of it and cause the loss of everything. For that reason you
should make sure you have backups and anything else you need to reinstall if
the worst happens.

What are the steps I take before inserting the XP Home
Edition disc in the CD drive?

Just make sure that you have a current backup of everything you need and
that you have the installation media for all your software. Then just boot
from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if necessary to
accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean installation (delete the
existing partition by pressing "D" when prompted, then create a new one).

You can find detailed instructions here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

 

[Guest]

Do an upgrade mate - it's easier and less time consuming. and most of your
hardware should still work, just make sure you follow the prompts properly
during setup.

And yes backup all your documents before you start.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I am swopping over from Windows 98 first edition to XP Home Edition. This
will mean starting from the start with a blank hard drive, I believe.

Not necessarily, although that is certainly an option. WinXP is
designed to install and upgrade the existing operating system while
simultaneously preserving your applications and data, and translating as
many personalized settings as possible. The process is designed to be,
and normally is, quite painless. That said, things can go wrong, in a
small number of cases. If your data is at all important to you, back it
up before proceeding.

What
are the steps I take before inserting the XP Home Edition disc in the CD
drive?

Have you verified that all of 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)

You should also take a few minutes to ensure that there are
WinXP-specific 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 early
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

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Guest]

I have a PC from 2001 that a new hard drive installed in 2003. So I guess
you'd say that I want to use that to install XP Home Edition on.

 

[Guest]

No, I do9n't want to upgrade. I want to wipe the hard drive of files, after
saving the files, then to install XP Home Edition. Is this all done for me
when I insert the XP Home Edition disc in the disc drive, or do I have to do
something for myself?

 

[Guest]

See my post above. I want to wipe the hard drive clean first. Are there
online instructions about what to do in this situation?

 

[Guest]

See my email. It's not an upgrade from 98 FE.

Not necessarily, although that is certainly an option. WinXP is
designed to install and upgrade the existing operating system while
simultaneously preserving your applications and data, and translating as
many personalized settings as possible. The process is designed to be,
and normally is, quite painless. That said, things can go wrong, in a
small number of cases. If your data is at all important to you, back it
up before proceeding.




Have you verified that all of 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)

You should also take a few minutes to ensure that there are
WinXP-specific 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 early
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

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

See my post above. I want to wipe the hard drive clean first.

Your choice, of course.

Are
there online instructions about what to do in this situation?

Did you read my message quoted below? I referred you to three sites, all
with excellent instructions for what you want to do.

 

[Guest]

If he wants to do a clean install, quit hassling him to upgrade.....!!!!!!

pop your cd in your drive and restart your computer. if the installation
doesn't start, then you will have to go into bios and change your boot
sequence. you can search google on how to do that. it is different for all
chipsets, but are generally the same. at some point in the installation it
will ask you things about partitions to install on. I would suggest that you
format the partition as NTFS. it will wipe the drive clean and change your
file system at the same time so that you will have a faster working, more
reliable hard drive. You currently are using a FAT system and if you want to
keep it, it is up to you.