trying to replace win 98 with XP

[Gary]

I have been trying to replace win 98 with XP and the install gets so far and
then the computer shuts off. I went to Dell to download the driver updates,
there were 4 bios, but the previous owner of the laptop, Dell Inspiron 7000,
password protected the bios access. I tried the typical passwords, bios,
phoenix, PHOENIX, BIOS, CMOS, Dell, and still I get locked out after three
tries. I haven't removed the CMOS battery yet but I might try that. But now
that I have started the install of XP, I can't do anything else, it always
goes back to try and complete the install. Help!

 

[Jerry]

BIOS password can be changed to default (none) by jumpering the CMOS per
motherboard instructions or removing the battery - only two choices.

 

[Anteaus]

I think there's a litle confusion here. BIOS passwords can be cleared as
stated, BUT a BIOS update doesn't require access like that anyway. A BIOS
update is done by 'Flashing' the EEPROM chip on the mobo with with a special
program.

Usually this has to be done with a 'plain vanilla' DOS bootdisk or boot CD;
if you try to do so in Windows (or even with himem.sys or other DOS drivers
loaded) you stand a good chance of wrecking the PC.

I would advise against trying to flash the BIOS unless (a) you know it's
necessary, and (b) you fully understand the method.

One frequent reason to need to 'flash' the BIOS would be the inability of
old BIOS's to support hard-disks over 128GB. But, if you haven't changed the
disk then this is not an issue.

In any case, you only need the latest BIOS update of the four, they are not
cumulative.

If the machine will run Win98 then chances are it should run XP, given at
least 128MB memory. The issue here might be that you are trying to do an
'over the top' upgrade. I would try a clean install. To do this, rename the
"Windows" and "Program Files" folders so they're out of the way of Setup. You
can do this from DOS, provided it's still FAT32.

If you haven't backed-up your data (unwise!) then just make sure you select
"Leave partition as-is" when asked whether to format or convert it.