Upgrade to Windows XP

[victor]

I run Windows ME and I'm considering upgrading to Windows
XP. My Windows ME system gives me a lot of trouble when
I'm online. It's not unusual for me to experience the
following when I'm online: Get bumped-off line, freezes,
links that don't work (especially AOL links), infinite
loops, etc. Are there any former Windows ME owners out
there that had a similar online experience and that solved
the problem by upgrading to Windows XP? I'm trying to
assess if upgrading will solve my problem or if there
might be other solutions. I've already done two clean
installs of Windows ME but that didn't help much. I've
also done hardware and software diagnostic tests on my
system and everything seems to be okay. I also do
periodic virus scans on my system so I know it's not a
virus problem.

My other concern is how smoothly my system will run if I
upgrade. I own a Dell Dimension L866r. Dell told me my
system is upgradeable to Windows XP. I know I have
sufficient hard drive space and memory to support the
upgrade. My cpu though is only about 900 Megahertz and
I'm hoping that my system will not run too slowly

Your knowledgeable advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

The 900 MHz CPU will provide adequate (though it'll be no speed
demon) performance as longs as you've _at least_ 256 Mb of RAM. More
RAM would, of course, be better.

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:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Steve L]

I had the same issues with ME... Upgrading will correct
these issues FOR SURE! However, upgrading is not an easy
process. You will have many issues with software and
hardware on your machine that wiill need to be
addressed.

I strongly recommend upgrading, but also recommend you do
a lot of reading before attemping it. Initially, your
printer will not work, your virus protection will not
work, etc. You have to remove many software programs
before upgrading because once you upgrade, you cannot
easily remove the OLD software.

When you install the upgrade disk, there is a tool that
will tell you what compnents are not compatable with XP..
read this very closely and remove all those components
before installing XP. Then go back (after you install XP)
and insatll the software/hardware that you removed.

Everything is fixable and you will enjoy XP much more
than ME, but it can be a painful experience getting the
upgrade done.

.... And you would think Upgrading would (or should) be
easy, wouldn't you?

 

[Harry Ohrn]

The speed of your system is really not an issue here. A 900 MHz system is
more than adequate to run XP so don't worry about that. However you might
want to check your system for parasites/spyware. Antivirus programs
generally won't locate these and it is very easy to be reinfected. Check
Jim Eshelman's site for information and links to software that might be
useful http://aumha.org/win5/a/parasite.htm

Try cleaning your caches for your Temporary Internet Files and History
through the Control Panel->Internet Options->General Tab. If the problem
persists you might have an issue outside of your system. This will mean
contacting your ISP.

 

[D.Currie]

I run Windows ME and I'm considering upgrading to Windows
XP. My Windows ME system gives me a lot of trouble when
I'm online. It's not unusual for me to experience the
following when I'm online: Get bumped-off line, freezes,
links that don't work (especially AOL links), infinite
loops, etc. Are there any former Windows ME owners out
there that had a similar online experience and that solved
the problem by upgrading to Windows XP? I'm trying to
assess if upgrading will solve my problem or if there
might be other solutions. I've already done two clean
installs of Windows ME but that didn't help much. I've
also done hardware and software diagnostic tests on my
system and everything seems to be okay. I also do
periodic virus scans on my system so I know it's not a
virus problem.

My other concern is how smoothly my system will run if I
upgrade. I own a Dell Dimension L866r. Dell told me my
system is upgradeable to Windows XP. I know I have
sufficient hard drive space and memory to support the
upgrade. My cpu though is only about 900 Megahertz and
I'm hoping that my system will not run too slowly

Your knowledgeable advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Whether an upgrade will fix your problems depends on why you are having
those problems in the first place. If the problem is software-related and XP
changes that software, you're fine. But if it's software-related and
changing the OS doesn't modify the software, you have the same problems. And
if the problems are hardware related, changing the OS has no effect on that.
And yes, I understand that you did some sort of tests on the hardware, but
I've never seen any that are foolproof. Most of those diagnostics aren't
very useful as they aren't very thorough, and bad or failing hardware can
easily test good as long as it is recognized in the system and responds to a
few basic tests.