upgrade 98 to xp

[drb46]

First of all, I did do a search and read quite a few posts about this subject, but I'm probably even more confused than before and I still have questions. A friend wants me to upgrade his 98 machine to xp, and he thinks that he has the orginal 98 install disk. I think that it would be best to do a fresh install, expecially since he is having some touble with the machine, but I know that he would rather upgrade. So, if I do get an XP upgrade disk, and we do an upgrade, what should I do to his machine before I try the upgrade? Also, if you upgrade, what happens in regards to the NTFS file system? Is it possible to switch to the NTFS system? If you can and do switch, will the 98 programs on the machine now run? I've installed XP several times but only as a fresh install and never as an upgrade. Also, he has a usb external hard drive, does that need to be reformated to NTFS or what? I appreciate any replys or help. Thanks.

[flanzig1]

Before upgrading, make sure he backs up ANY data he wants to save.
Have him look for the 98 disc and any other driver discs for his machine(if no driver discs, list all the components so you can download drivers from the OEMs).
If he doesn't have a 98 OS disc, get an OEM XP Home disc from Newegg.
Fresh install is best.
Should be able to read the USB drive without formatting.

[Statica]

1) As flanzig1 mentioned .. a fresh install is ALWAYS the best. Backup the information needed and do a fresh install.
2) Converting to NTFS is very seamless. It is recommended that if you're going to do an upgrade, you dont convert to NTFS to begin with. Install XP on the existing filesystem. Make sure that everything is working and then convert to NTFS using the convert command
3) If a program is compatible with XP running FAT32 then it should be fine to run on XP & NTFS.
4) Before beginning, it is HIGHLY recommended that you run the upgrade advisor (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/upgrading/advisor.mspx)

[patrickt]

1. Have your WindowsXP upgrade disk and your Windows98 program disk handy.
2. Back up all data you need to save onto CDs or DVDs.
3. Insert WindowsXP disk and follow instructions. It will ask if you want to format the hard drive with NTFS. Yes, you do.
4. Then, forty minutes later, more or less, you're ready to personalize XP and install your programs.

I would never install WindowsXP over Windows98. A clean install onto a formatted hard drive is, in my opinion, mandatory.

[glc]

The only good upgrades you get are on nice clean systems. If you upgrade a system with issues, you will have XP with issues.