Can I upgrade to XP?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ed
  • Start date Start date
E

Ed

Hi,
I'm thinking of upgrading my OS to XP. The machine
is a Toshiba notebook with Pentium MMX-266 and 96MB of
RAM. I know it's bare minimum, but it's only going to be
used for e-mail and light internet use on a DSL wireless
card.
The machine came with Win95, and a free upgrade to
Win98, which hasn't exactly been bug free. Since Win98 is
required for the upgrade to XP, should I buy the upgrade
and try it or am I asking for problems since it would be
an upgrade on top of another upgrade? Would I be better
off spending the extra $100.00 for the full version and
formatting the hard drive first and using a clean
install? If I do that, will XP come with the drivers I
need for video and sound etc?
Any comments are appreciated.

Ed
 
Download and run the latest version of the XP Upgrade Advisor:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/upgrading/advisor.asp

Here's What You Need to Use Windows XP Home Edition
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/evaluation/sysreqs.asp

Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

Laptop computers require specialized hardware drivers only the
laptop manufacturer can provide. After installing Windows XP,
visit the support website of the manufacturer of your laptop,
download and install all the available Windows XP compatible
drivers.


--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


| Hi,
| I'm thinking of upgrading my OS to XP. The machine
| is a Toshiba notebook with Pentium MMX-266 and 96MB of
| RAM. I know it's bare minimum, but it's only going to be
| used for e-mail and light internet use on a DSL wireless
| card.
| The machine came with Win95, and a free upgrade to
| Win98, which hasn't exactly been bug free. Since Win98 is
| required for the upgrade to XP, should I buy the upgrade
| and try it or am I asking for problems since it would be
| an upgrade on top of another upgrade? Would I be better
| off spending the extra $100.00 for the full version and
| formatting the hard drive first and using a clean
| install? If I do that, will XP come with the drivers I
| need for video and sound etc?
| Any comments are appreciated.
|
| Ed
 
It is possible that XP might work on your PC, but it will not work well. It
is also possible that it will refuse to install, since the CPU is below the
XP minimum requirements. XP is also touchy about ISA-based add-on cards.
Further, XP requires at least 2-3 Gig of disk to install and for temporary
files while it is running. Older PCs often do not have that much free
space.

Running the upgrade advisor, as suggested by the previous reply, is a really
good idea. I had a more modern PC than youtrs and it correctly identified
possible problem areas and suggested fixes. However, some of those fixes
cost money (e.g., new virus software, new CD burning software). I also
tripled my RAM to 384 Meg, and while not required, did make XP run better
than PCs with only 128 Meg.

Overall, I would suggest that you do NOT spend the money on upgrading your
current PC to XP. Instead, buy a bottom-line new PC with XP pre-installed.
You might be able to save money if you are willing to use your current
monitor. Check out prices at Gateway or Dell or your local CompuUSA or
similar. $500 should get you such a PC, and it will perform far better than
you could ever hope for with your current PC and an upgrade.
 
I know this is the logical explanation, and I can tell
it's the right one. Thanks. I need to have it be a
notebook, so I'll probably buy a cheap one and at my
leisure restore win95 on the old one and give it to one of
my kids.
 
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