I successfully upgraded a PC running win98 (first edition), built by Gateway
in the Fall of 1998. However, there were some issues I had to resolve.
First, as suggested by other replies, download and run the Microsoft Upgrade
Advisor and note any hardware/software incompatibilities that it sees.
Develope a plan to treat these.
If the issue is hardware, get new/more. For example, XP really likes RAM.
I have seen 128 Meg work, but poorly. Try for 256 Meg or more, but be aware
that your older motherboard has some limit that is likely a lot lower than
the limit set by XP. My ateway GP-450 could only handle 384 Meg of RAM, but
XP was quite happy on it. Read the motherboard manual, or is a common
pre-fab PC, contact the manufacturer.
XP also uses a lot more disk than did 98. Be sure to have at least 2 Gig
free, preferrably 4 Gig, if you want to make use of the system restore and
hibernation features. If you do decide to upgrade your disk, do it before
you install XP. If the disk is ATA/100 or 133, be sure that it uses an
80-pin connector. XP demands this, but 98 will accept 40 or 80 pin.
As for software, uninstall all system-level software inclusing anti-virus,
such as Norton, Symantec, MacAfee, PowerQuest, Go-back, Take-Two, Parition
Magic, etc. After a uccesful XP installation, install XP-compatble versions
of thees utilities. The minimum Symantec/Norton for XP is version 2002, but
version 2003 has lss issues. Avoid Norton Antivirus 2004, as that seems to
have problems with product activation turning off the virus scanner. (Check
with Symantec, maybe they have fixed this.)
Also, uninstall all CD/DVD-writing software, then install XP-compaible
versions and patches. The minimum version of Easy CD Creator is 5, but that
absolutely requires the latest patches before you attempt to use it. Better
to use version 6, although that also has some patches. the latest Nero also
works.
If you have Microsoft Office 97, that will work under XP, but it needs SP-2
for Office. Apply the patch to Office before the upgrade, if you can.
Else, apply it before you try to use Office under XP. Note that Outlook
97/98 will not work under XP. However, XP comes with Outlook Express, which
is similar.
Try to get a copy of XP that includes SP-1. Otherwise, expecrt to download
about 100 Meg of patches. Not too bad if you have have a high-speed
internet connection, but nealy impossible with a 56K modem. By the way,
SP-1 is available on a CDROM, from Micrososft for about $10 to cover
shipping anf handling. Eeven with SP-1 installed, there will be several
critical updates to download and install. Take these seriously, since one
of them will give you protection against the blaster worm.
Of course, backup all personal data before you upgrade, just in case.
After a successful upgrade, think about getting a USB 2.0 card, if you have
a free PCI slot. There is a lot of hardware tha will literally plug and
play via USB, uncluing hard drives, CDDVD writers, pen drives, scanners,
etc. And, USB 2.0 is a lot faster than USB 1.1, whihc you probably have on
a win98 machine.
Overall I found XP much better than 98, even on my aging PC.
