Upgrading W98 to WXP-Home

[Guest]

I have an "old" computer with Windows 98 (SE) at home. I am upgrading just
about everything (new case, new motherboard & processor, new video card, new
memory) - the only things I know I am keeping are the drives, the sound card,
and the ethernet/modem card.

I got a copy of XP-Home (OEM) with the new system; the guy at Fry's
Electronics said that since I had W98, this would work as an upgrade.

My question is this: Is anyone else familiar with upgrading from W98 to
WXP? Since I'm going to be putting this on the same drives, I don't want it
to "wipe out" everything on my computer. I have a number of items that I
can't easily install again (if at all), such as GoBack, Norton Utilities (a
new "downloaded" version), etc., so I want to make sure that this will
actually "upgrade" from W98 to WXP without wiping out everything that
previously existed that's not part of the Operating System.

(I'm also assuming that I should put XP on "last", after setting up the new
drivers for the video card, etc.)

Thanks,
Paul

 

[R. McCarty]

OEM XP cannot be used to upgrade an earlier Microsoft OS.
OEM disks can only be used for a "Fresh" install. The guy at
Fry's was mistaken/wrong. Don't trust sales people to give you
sound technical advice. That's like trusting the receptionist more
than the Doctor. You need a Retail (Green Box) XP upgrade.
(~$90). Whatever your backup status, I would Image the 9X
machine before starting the upgrade. Also run the XP advisor
on the 98 - You'll likely have a number of applications that are
not compliant with XP.

 

[Detlev Dreyer]

I got a copy of XP-Home (OEM) with the new system; the guy at Fry's
Electronics said that since I had W98, this would work as an upgrade.

It's more than likely that you cannot upgrade using an OEM version.
OEM/DSP/SB versions are meant for clean installation only. See also

Table: "Windows XP Versions: Comparative Pricing & Capabilities"
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpupgrad.php

Example: http://www.outletpc.com/c5701.html (Excerpt)

| This version is for new installations. This version will not upgrade
| previous versions of Windows.

In order to upgrade, you need a Retail version (update or full version).

 

[Tom]

I have an "old" computer with Windows 98 (SE) at home. I am upgrading just
about everything (new case, new motherboard & processor, new video card,
new
memory) - the only things I know I am keeping are the drives, the sound
card,
and the ethernet/modem card.

I got a copy of XP-Home (OEM) with the new system; the guy at Fry's
Electronics said that since I had W98, this would work as an upgrade.

My question is this: Is anyone else familiar with upgrading from W98 to
WXP? Since I'm going to be putting this on the same drives, I don't want
it
to "wipe out" everything on my computer. I have a number of items that I
can't easily install again (if at all), such as GoBack, Norton Utilities
(a
new "downloaded" version), etc., so I want to make sure that this will
actually "upgrade" from W98 to WXP without wiping out everything that
previously existed that's not part of the Operating System.

(I'm also assuming that I should put XP on "last", after setting up the
new
drivers for the video card, etc.)

Thanks,
Paul

The guy at Fry's is wrong, as OEMs cannot perform upgrades, only clean
installs. If you want to upgrade, you'll need to get a retail "upgrade"
version of XP Home. Noting you say you have "drives", I take it you have two
physical drives, or one drive with two partitions? If either, why not
install XP home on the second as a dual-boot, and leave the 98 the way it
is. You then can choose to boot to either operating system, you then can
install and use what you please on XP. This also may save you the hassle of
what may, or may not work with XP that you have on 98, and possible data
loss/reinstalls.

If you have program for 98 that run ok, I am going to assume that they are
older, and probably will not run on XP anyway, so it would be best to leave
98 alone IMHO. Also, if you decide to install XP over 98, or as a dual-boot
system, back up anything important to you, as anything can go wrong.

 

[ByTor]

(e-mail address removed), =?Utf-8?B?UGF1bCBhdCBBc3Blbg==?=
says...

I have an "old" computer with Windows 98 (SE) at home. I am upgrading just
about everything (new case, new motherboard & processor, new video card, new
memory) - the only things I know I am keeping are the drives, the sound card,
and the ethernet/modem card.

I got a copy of XP-Home (OEM) with the new system; the guy at Fry's
Electronics said that since I had W98, this would work as an upgrade.

My question is this: Is anyone else familiar with upgrading from W98 to
WXP? Since I'm going to be putting this on the same drives, I don't want it
to "wipe out" everything on my computer. I have a number of items that I
can't easily install again (if at all), such as GoBack, Norton Utilities (a
new "downloaded" version), etc., so I want to make sure that this will
actually "upgrade" from W98 to WXP without wiping out everything that
previously existed that's not part of the Operating System.

(I'm also assuming that I should put XP on "last", after setting up the new
drivers for the video card, etc.)

Thanks,
Paul

I agree with McCarty's advice as far as incompatible
applications....Norton Utilities for one installs specific needs to
specific OS's....Go Back you won't need anymore as the built in system
restore in XP is actually a carbon of GoBack(I guess GoBack would have a
little more settings spunk)........I would **HIGHLY* recommend saving
your data and do a clean install.....Why? After a little investment for
current apps it's well worth it in the end run, I feel you'll have to
many layered updates, your hardware for one, old drivers new drivers if
98 even finds it than on top of that wanting to upgrade...blah, blah,
not worth it in my opinion.....You already have the OEM version as
McCarty told you it's a full install......