Upgrading from Windows 98 Second Edition

[Bobbie]

I bought XP to upgrade Windows on my laptop. The upgrade
report lists "Compatibility Issues." I will list them
below.
"Hardware That Might Need Additional Files"
"Please note that some of the following entries might be
software that is registered as hardware."
1. Hard disk controllers
USB Disk Driver (not currently present)
2. Network adapters
WAN Miniport (ATW)
3. Printer
hpdeskjet 3320 (not currently present)
4. Printers
hp deskjet 3320 series
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Software Incompatible with Windows XP"
1. hpinfo (in the Windows folder)
2. uninstall software (on the Start menu)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Other Upgrade Information"
"Microsoft Direct 9.0"
To maintain compatibility with your DrectX 9.0
applications, you will need to download the DirectX 9.0
update for Windows XP.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
My questions are:
1. Do I need to uninstall my printer before I install the
Windows upgrade? I have downloaded the new driver for
XP, but I have not installed it yet. Will that resolve
all of the printer issues listed above?
2. Will I need to do anything about the USB disk driver
and WAN Miniport?
3. Should I download the update for DirectX 9.0 before or
after I update XP?

I am by no means a computer wizard. I am quite a novice,
so I would appreciate any help I can get. Thank you.

 

[Malke]

I bought XP to upgrade Windows on my laptop. The upgrade
report lists "Compatibility Issues." I will list them
below.
"Hardware That Might Need Additional Files"
"Please note that some of the following entries might be
software that is registered as hardware."
1. Hard disk controllers
USB Disk Driver (not currently present)
2. Network adapters
WAN Miniport (ATW)
3. Printer
hpdeskjet 3320 (not currently present)
4. Printers
hp deskjet 3320 series
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Software Incompatible with Windows XP"
1. hpinfo (in the Windows folder)
2. uninstall software (on the Start menu)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Other Upgrade Information"
"Microsoft Direct 9.0"
To maintain compatibility with your DrectX 9.0
applications, you will need to download the DirectX 9.0
update for Windows XP.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
My questions are:
1. Do I need to uninstall my printer before I install the
Windows upgrade? I have downloaded the new driver for
XP, but I have not installed it yet. Will that resolve
all of the printer issues listed above?
2. Will I need to do anything about the USB disk driver
and WAN Miniport?
3. Should I download the update for DirectX 9.0 before or
after I update XP?

I am by no means a computer wizard. I am quite a novice,
so I would appreciate any help I can get. Thank you.

Hi, Bobbie. Thank you for the very nicely detailed post. Every piece of
hardware inside a computer has corresponding software - called a
"driver" - that tells the operating system what to do with the
hardware. For instance, you might have a soundcard and Windows might
even know you have a soundcard, but without the drivers you won't have
any sound.

Laptop hardware by its nature is very proprietary. You will need drivers
for your laptop's motherboard components that will work with XP. Go to
the laptop mftr.'s website and look for XP drivers for your particular
model. If there are no drivers available or if the mftr. says that
model isn't compatible with XP do *not* install XP no matter how much
you want it. The laptop will never work right. You didn't say what
laptop you have or what its specs are, but unless you have a
top-of-the-line very powerful laptop with at least 256MB of RAM
(memory), XP will not run well and you should consider leaving Win98 on
it or buying a new laptop.

I hope this helped.

Malke

 

[Kenny S]

I would do a clean install of XP even though you have bought the upgrade
version you CAN do a clean install. XP will ask you to insert the windows 98
SE cdrom at some point of the installation.


--

Hope this helps. Let us know.
_____________
Kenny S
http://www.computerboom.net
FREE programs and MORE!

 

[CS]

On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 15:45:32 -0700, "Bobbie"

Hi Bobbie:

Good move on your part by checking compatibility issues. Most users
don't bother....

A lot depends on the age of your laptop and how current its BIOS is.
XP uses a later version of ACPI which operates quite differently than
that of the ACPI version in Win98/ME. Consequently, drivers for
hardware have to be XP ACPI compatible or they will be troublesome and
possibly not work at all. (called driver signing)

I would check for and obtain any drivers needed for your hardware
first. For example: Drivers for your HP deskjet, USB drivers for the
laptop if needed, HDD controller drivers, Power Saver software that
supports ACPI in XP, display driver, sound driver, network card
driver, modem driver, etc. Laptops are proprietary animals. Make
sure you can obtain all the driver support that's needed before you
attempt an upgrade.

If it was a desktop, the upgrade would be easier because hardware can
be replaced that's not compatible. Can't be done easily with a
laptop. Don't worry about DirectX 9, that will be the least of your
worries. You can always download that later after everything else is
running OK.

Good luck on the upgrade.

 

[Hilary Karp]

In addition to the other good advice already given by Malke you should
uninstall the printer and then disconnect it and any peripheral devices
leaving only the keyboard and mouse. Install the printer after you upgrade.

Make sure you back up all your data. An upgrade install usually goes
fine but sometimes things can go wrong and so you need to make sure you
have a backup of your data.

After installing XP but _BEFORE_ going on the internet activate a
firewall. Use the built in one in XP at the very least though there are
other freeware versions out there that do a better job. Here are three
options for a firewall.

Sygate Personal Firewall
http://smb.sygate.com/products/spf_standard.htm

Zone Alarm
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp?lid=staticcomp_za

Kerio Personal Firewall
http://www.kerio.com/kpf_download.html

You should then go to windows update and get the lastest update patches.
There will be link to windows update from the start menu.

See this link for good info on doing an upgrade:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

Good luck.

 

[Guest]

Bobbie,
All Very, good advice. here is my .02 worth. Don't froget your Anti-virus software. I would download the updates before the XP upgrade and put then onto a CD. Then after the upgrade install your AV software and update it before going onto the internet.