Upgrade from Windows 98 to XP

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My 1998 Gateway system meets the requirements for XP (Pentium II, 400MHz, 128MB Ram, etc.) and am considering upgrade to XP from 98. I have two big hard drives; C: contains Windows 98 and some frequently used programs like Word, Access, Excel and my big photograph album program. I use the D: hard drive for lesser used programs and for backing up my pictures. There is plenty of space on both drives. I am concerned about loading XP over 98 on C: and generally about what this process may do to existing files. What is recommended for backing up files and/or programs? Is putting them on the D: drive sufficient? Is the upgrade process a piece of cake or can it be fraught with problems?
 
JimH said:
My 1998 Gateway system meets the requirements for XP (Pentium II, 400MHz,
128MB Ram, etc.) and am considering upgrade to XP from 98. I have two big
hard drives; C: contains Windows 98 and some frequently used programs like
Word, Access, Excel and my big photograph album program. I use the D:
hard drive for lesser used programs and for backing up my pictures. There
is plenty of space on both drives. I am concerned about loading XP over
98 on C: and generally about what this process may do to existing files.
What is recommended for backing up files and/or programs? Is putting them
on the D: drive sufficient? Is the upgrade process a piece of cake or can
it be fraught with problems?

That's usually what I recommend as far as files etc...
Programs you would need to reinstall from the disks but copy all other files
over to your D Drive and then I recommend a clean install of XP. then you
can reinstall and copy your files back to C if you prefer.

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Those are minimum requirements, and you would not be satisfied with the
performance of your system. If you have a Pentium II 400 MHz that's a bit
borderline, and you should have at least 256MB RAM. If your system is 6
years old, it's possible that some of the hardware might not have Windows XP
compatible drivers. About that time, Gateway was using Ensoniq sound cards
which do not have XP drivers, and some of the Display Adapters that Gateway
was shipping about that time are also Windows XP orphans. You might want to
go to the Microsoft site and run the Compatibility Advisor for Windows XP.

If it turns out that some of your hardware isn't compatible, and you also
have to pay for the Windows XP upgrade, that could almost add up to the
price of a new Dell $499 "As Advertised" special, which has an over 2.4 GHz
Pentium 4 processor, If you catch those specials on the right week, you can
also get free CD burner, free double memory, and free shipping, and
sometimes a free upgrade to a Flat Screen monitor, on a system that's
designed to run Windows XP. I bought my Dell on a week when they were
offering all of the above, plus a $100 mail in rebate, which I used to
upgrade integrated audio to Sound Blaster Live and to upgrade the speaker
system. The "As Advertised" specials change weekly. I only mention the
above as being an alternative if the cost to upgrade your system to Windows
XP is close to that amount.
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JimH said:
My 1998 Gateway system meets the requirements for XP (Pentium II, 400MHz,
128MB Ram, etc.) and am considering upgrade to XP from 98. I have two big
hard drives; C: contains Windows 98 and some frequently used programs like
Word, Access, Excel and my big photograph album program. I use the D: hard
drive for lesser used programs and for backing up my pictures. There is
plenty of space on both drives. I am concerned about loading XP over 98 on
C: and generally about what this process may do to existing files. What is
recommended for backing up files and/or programs? Is putting them on the D:
drive sufficient? Is the upgrade process a piece of cake or can it be
fraught with problems?
 
Hi Jim,

I had done several personal installs over Win98 to XP without any issues,
having three hard drives installed, multi-partitions and multi-operating
systems.
 
My 1998 Gateway system meets the
requirements for XP (Pentium II, 400MHz, 128MB Ram, etc.)

I would not upgrade that machine. You will not be happy.

You could easily find a very cheap new machine that would only cust a
couple hundred dollars over the cost of purchasing the WinXP upgrade
and you'd be much happier.
 
JimH said:
My 1998 Gateway system meets the requirements for XP (Pentium II, 400MHz, 128MB Ram, etc.) and am considering upgrade to XP from 98. I have two big hard drives; C: contains Windows 98 and some frequently used programs like Word, Access, Excel and my big photograph album program. I use the D: hard drive for lesser used programs and for backing up my pictures. There is plenty of space on both drives. I am concerned about loading XP over 98 on C: and generally about what this process may do to existing files. What is recommended for backing up files and/or programs?

Normally an upgrade run from the 98 system will retain all your data and
almost all programs. Backup in the ordinary way, noting that the
backup programs supplied in 98 and (maybe) in XP are not compatible.
The wizard supplied in XP is useful, see Gary Woodruff's article on
Files and settings Transfer at http://aumha.org/win5/a/fast.htm and on
upgrading to XP at http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpupgrad.htm

But I would not upgrade on that minimum hardware spec. You would get by
on the CPU (though no ball of fire) but despite the recommendation,
128MB of RAM is not really enough, and I think you would be better to
stick to 98. Or get an upgrade to 256 MB , which would not be that
expensive
 
In
JimH said:
My 1998 Gateway system meets the requirements for XP (Pentium II,
400MHz, 128MB Ram, etc.)


"Requirements" deal with the minimums needed to get it work at
all, not with what you need to get it to work with acceptable
performance. The 400MHz processor will be slow, but usable (my
wife uses one), but I wouldn't consider doing this unless you are
prepared to upgrade to at least 256MB of RAM.

And I'd be concerned about the "etc" Run the Microsoft Upgrade
Advisor at
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/upgrading/advisor.asp


and am considering upgrade to XP from 98. I
have two big hard drives; C: contains Windows 98 and some frequently
used programs like Word, Access, Excel and my big photograph album
program. I use the D: hard drive for lesser used programs and for
backing up my pictures. There is plenty of space on both drives. I
am concerned about loading XP over 98 on C: and generally about what
this process may do to existing files.


Although many people will tell you that formatting and installing
cleanly is the best way to go, I disagree. 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.

However, don't assume that doing an upgrade relieves you of the
need to backup your data, etc. before beginning. Before starting
to upgrade, it's always prudent to recognize that things like a
sudden power loss can occur in eth middle of it and cause the
loss of everything. For that reason you should make sure you have
backups and anything else you need to reinstall if the worst
happens.


What is recommended for
backing up files and/or programs? Is putting them on the D: drive
sufficient?


The need to do a backup doesn't begin the day you upgrade, and
doesn't end after the upgrade. Backup needs to be a continuing
process. For a one-time backup, you might consider using D:. But
as an ongoing backup scheme, I don't recommend backup to a second
non-removable hard drive because it leaves you susceptible to
simultaneous loss of the original and backup to many of the most
common dangers: severe power glitches, nearby lightning strikes,
virus attacks, even theft of the computer.

In my view, secure backup needs to be on removable media, and not
kept in the computer. For *really* secure backup (needed, for
example, if the life of your business depends on your data) you
should have multiple generations of backup, and at least one of
those generations should be stored off-site.

My computer isn't used for business, but my personal backup
scheme uses two identical removable hard drives, which fit into a
sleeve installed in the computer. I alternate between the two,
and use Drive Image to make a complete copy of the primary drive.


Is the upgrade process a piece of cake or can it be
fraught with problems?


If you do it carefully, there should be no problems.
 
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