Updating from 98 to XP

[Guest]

A friend asked me for help with installing a MS wireless keyboard and mouse.
(It always seems to start out inocent)They were running 98, it didn't support
the wireless device. My understanding of XP (and it isn't much) is that you
if you want to upgrade to it, you are going to have to start over. You are
going to have to install all your programs onto the XP platform. Upgrading
to XP isn't like upgrading from 95 to 98 where you didn't miss a step in the
upgrade. For the most part it was like plug and play. But XP isn't?
Correct? I tried to explain this to the person I was helping and they didn't
understand and thought that is should have been a 'simple task'. He was
telling me when they had someone upgrade them from 95 to 98 the person
upgrading just backup the datafiles that were wanted and installed the new OS
and didn't have to reinstall any of the programs.

 

[Rich Barry]

Well, 98 was like a older brother to 95. WinXP would be like a adopted
brother. Same family but different bloodline.
So yes, the possiblity of compatiblity problems is much greater,
especially with old hardware. Hopefully his computer
was purchased this Century and he has Win98SE ( Second Edition ). The
best course of action would be to do a
WinXP Compatibility Check for Software and Hardware and if he still
has the Win98 CD you can just do a clean
install. For further info check here
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/upgrading/advisor.mspx

 

[Bruce Chambers]

A friend asked me for help with installing a MS wireless keyboard and mouse.
(It always seems to start out inocent)They were running 98, it didn't support
the wireless device. My understanding of XP (and it isn't much) is that you
if you want to upgrade to it, you are going to have to start over. You are
going to have to install all your programs onto the XP platform. Upgrading
to XP isn't like upgrading from 95 to 98 where you didn't miss a step in the
upgrade. For the most part it was like plug and play. But XP isn't?
Correct?

No, that's not at all correct.

Upgrading to WinXP from Previous Versions of Windows
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/upgrading/matrix.asp

I tried to explain this to the person I was helping and they didn't
understand and thought that is should have been a 'simple task'.

And he was correct, in theory.

He was
telling me when they had someone upgrade them from 95 to 98 the person
upgrading just backup the datafiles that were wanted and installed the new OS
and didn't have to reinstall any of the programs.

That's the way it should work, yes.

Has he verified that all of his 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)

He 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 quite 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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[Guest]

Thanks Barry. What exactly does a clean install mean? As far as the 98SE, I
didn't check. I'll have to do that. What I did do to avoid loosing the old
data was to install a new hard drive and loaded XP on it. The computer
worked fine. It was a PIII 700MHz and had about 196M ram. The problem was
that the people I was working with didn't have all the software for the
programs they wanted. Unless I loaded the software programs on the XP drive,
like Office, the XP drive didn't have a program association with the files.
In most cases I could look at the 98 hard drive, open up the program that was
on it, then open the file. They use Quicken and didn't have the disks to
load it. Must have lost them. I told them if that comp. craps out on them
they are going to be hurting.

Thanks again Barry!

Todd

 

[Ken Blake]

A friend asked me for help with installing a MS wireless keyboard and
mouse.
(It always seems to start out inocent)They were running 98, it didn't
support
the wireless device. My understanding of XP (and it isn't much) is that
you
if you want to upgrade to it, you are going to have to start over.

No, not true. You can do it either way. 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.

 

[Rich Barry]

A clean install is basically just formatting the Win98 drive and
installing WinXP, but since you did that on a new drive
mission accomplished. Did you install XP with the Win98 drive connected?
Which would have given you a dual boot.
Since their older software is on Win98 and they no longer have the CD's
maybe it would be best to keep
Win98 for awhile.