win98 to winXP upgrade question

  • Thread starter Thread starter williams12345
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williams12345

I am currently running 98SE with:
400mhz celeron
150mb memory
60gb disk

I would like to upgrade to winXP. The reason is to
increase security, and be able to run stuff I cannot
run on 98SE. My current computer is plenty fast for me.
And, I think my existing hardware may be adequately fast
for winXP. A typical day for me would be to read news,
read mail, search medical sites. No games, no mp3,
occasionally flash player. So, I have very little
demand on my computer resources. The following plan
allows me to try out winXP on my existing computer
to see if my hardware is adequate. If not, then
it allows me to put that winXP on new hardware.
Any comments?

A. purchase winXP home edition OEM ($86 newegg.com)
B. backup existing 98SE files.
C. install winXP
D. Try it out for 30 days, to see if my existing hardware
is adequately fast (as I understand the XP licensing
implementation, I have 30 days before needing to register).
If it is adequate, then register it with MS.
If memory seems to be a bottleneck, buy more memory
and register. If my existing hardware is not sufficiently
fast, then goto step E.
E. Purchase/build a new system (probably 2-3Ghz celeron),
and install winXP on it. If I get to this point,
I have not registered the winXP. So, register it with
this new hardware.
 
You can go to the XP part of the Microsoft web site and download the Upgrade
Advisor. When run on your system you will be presented with any and all
hardware and software incompatibilities. Review that list and then decide if
you even wnat to try an upgrade with what you have.
 
I am currently running 98SE with:
400mhz celeron
150mb memory
60gb disk

I would like to upgrade to winXP. The reason is to
increase security, and be able to run stuff I cannot
run on 98SE. My current computer is plenty fast for me.
And, I think my existing hardware may be adequately fast
for winXP. A typical day for me would be to read news,
read mail, search medical sites. No games, no mp3,
occasionally flash player. So, I have very little
demand on my computer resources. The following plan
allows me to try out winXP on my existing computer
to see if my hardware is adequate. If not, then
it allows me to put that winXP on new hardware.
Any comments?

A. purchase winXP home edition OEM ($86 newegg.com)
B. backup existing 98SE files.
C. install winXP
D. Try it out for 30 days, to see if my existing hardware
is adequately fast (as I understand the XP licensing
implementation, I have 30 days before needing to register).
If it is adequate, then register it with MS.
If memory seems to be a bottleneck, buy more memory
and register. If my existing hardware is not sufficiently
fast, then goto step E.
E. Purchase/build a new system (probably 2-3Ghz celeron),
and install winXP on it. If I get to this point,
I have not registered the winXP. So, register it with
this new hardware.
Click to expand...


Acceptable performance is, of course, a matter of personal opinion
and depends entirely upon what *you* expect to do with your computer. If
all you want to do is play WinXP's built-in games, send and receive
simple emails, browse the Internet (while avoiding the more "ornamental"
web sites) etc., such a machine will easily meet your needs. If,
however, you plan to take advantage of WinXP's multimedia capabilities,
play graphic-intensive games, or do advanced word or data processing,
such a machine would probably be woefully inadequate.

"Glacial" is the term that comes to my mind, I'm afraid, if your
computer doesn't have a CPU of at least 500 MHz along with at least 256
Mb of RAM. If you turn off all of WinXP GUI eye-candy, it will still be
very slow, but it might usable for simple word processing, email,
web-browsing, etc. It won't be any good for graphics-intensive
applications, and most newer games. (During the public preview period,
I tested WinXP on a 500 MHz machine with 256 Mb of RAM, and it was much
slower than I like.)

To help improve WinXP's performance on older machines:

1) Right-click the Task Bar > Properties > Start Menu, ensure "Classic
Start menu" is selected.

2) Right-click an empty spot on the Desktop > Properties > Themes >
select "Windows Classic."

3) Right-click My Computer > Properties > Performance > Settings >
Visual Effects, ensure "Adjust for best performance" is selected.

However, with a PC as old as yours must be (at least 5 to 7 years,
judging by the CPU speed you've mentioned?), it's essential to make sure
it's components are WinXP-compatible _before_ proceeding. Have you
ensured that all the PC's components are capable of supporting WinXP?
This information will be found at each of the PC's component's
manufacturer's web sites, and on Microsoft's Catalog:
(http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx). Also bear in mind
that computer components designed for use with Win9x/Me very often fail
to meet WinXP's much more stringent hardware quality requirements.

Can you obtain OS-specific device drivers for your PC's components,
and any necessary motherboard BIOS updates? Additionally, you can
download and run Microsoft WinXP Upgrade Advisor to see if you have any
incompatible hardware components.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/upgrading/advisor.asp



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Bruce Chambers

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