Upgrading to XP Professional

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Guest

I'm trying to upgrade my older computer with XP from Windows 98. I get a
report telling what will happen to other files after the upgrade. There is a
program called Secure Remote that is blocking the upgrade. I've gone through
the Add/Remove Programs and removed many programs, have done a search to try
to locate this program without results (except for some files the the work
secure or remote in them). I can't find a program like this. I thought I
would try to do the install anyway and see if it will let me. Anyone had any
experience with something like this?
 
In my opinion you will be far better off saving off the data, then wiping the
drive and loading the new operating system (Windows XP). You'll have far
fewer problems getting software to run correctly.
 
Our computer club has upgraded almost 18 of our older computers from Windows
98 to Windows XP with no problems. We have assisted hundreds of members with
their own upgrades with no problems. I don't agree with just wiping drives
for no real reason. Upgrading is not a real reason.
 
Chuck said:
Our computer club has upgraded almost 18 of our older computers from Windows
98 to Windows XP with no problems. We have assisted hundreds of members with
their own upgrades with no problems. I don't agree with just wiping drives
for no real reason. Upgrading is not a real reason.
Click to expand...


Agreed. Many uninformed people do recommend that one always perform a
clean installation, rather than upgrade over an earlier OS. For the most
part, I feel that these people, while usually well-intended, are living
in the past, and are basing their recommendations on their experiences
with older, obsolete operating systems or hearsay. One would save a lot
of time by upgrading a PC to WinXP, rather than performing a clean
installation, if there're no hardware or software incompatibilities.
Microsoft has greatly improved (over earlier versions of Windows)
WinXP's ability to smoothly upgrade an earlier OS.

Certainly, there are times when an in-place upgrade is
contra-indicated:

1) When the underlying hardware isn't certified as being fully
compatible with the newer OS, and/or updated device drivers are not
available from the device's manufacturer. Of course, this condition also
causes problems with clean installations.

2) When the original OS is corrupt, damaged, and/or virus/malware
infested. I've also seen simple, straight-forward upgrades from WinXP
Home to WinXP Pro fail because the computer owner had let the system
become malware-infested. Upgrading over a problematic OS isn't normally
a wise course to establishing a stable installation.

3) When the new OS isn't designed to properly, correctly, and safely
perform an upgrade.

But to cavalierly dismiss *all* upgrades as unsafe and inadvisable
is patently absurd. A properly prepared and maintained PC can almost
always be successfully upgraded by a knowledgeable and competent
technician. I've lost count of the systems I've seen that have been
upgraded from Win95 to Win98 to Win2K to WinXP (usually with incremental
hardware upgrades over the same time period), without the need for a
clean installation, and that are still operating without any problems
attributable to upgrades.


--

Bruce Chambers

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