Windows ME upgrade

[stevieB]

I'm thinking of upgrading my os from windows 98 to windows me.Will I lose all data and settings if I upgrade?Are there any known problems with this upgrade [I've been told not to upgrade from 98 to XP,apparently there are a few probs].Cheers.

[GaryRouth]

If your current installation of Windows 98 is working well enough for your to run the programs you like, it won't hurt to stick with it. This is especially true if your Windows 98 is 2nd Edition = which remains compatible with a great many recent programs, including some of the newer games. WinMe retains much of the same Win9x core, it just shifts to the more XP-like interface.

If you're hardware is recent enough to consider upgrading to XP, that might be a reasonable idea. It is more tolerant for today's multi-tasking computing, especially online: where a antivirus, antispyware, and firewall are all running 24/7 just to keep the system somewhat secure. The old system-resource usage problem can surface in Win9x systems that try to do too much multi-tasking.

There is a Windows Upgrade Advisor you can run to see how well your current system would fare with XP. On the webpage article below, "A Description of the Windows XP Upgrade Advisor", there is a link to download just the advisor tool directly. This can be handy, since you can run this to determine whether you want to go with XP before spending your hard-earned dollars on it:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;307726

Best of luck
. . . Gary

[glc]

In my opinion, going from 98 to ME is a downgrade. If your system is marginal for XP but you want more stability, consider Win2000.

[stevieB]

I am currently running windows 98 first edition,even trying to find compatible hardware for this os is like trying to find a needle in a haystack,hence the reason for upgrading.I will certainly weigh up the options regarding 2000 and xp,thanks for your advice guys.

[glc]

What's your system specs? If it's really marginal, and it's running okay on 98FE, upgrading to 98SE will not hurt performance and it will give you a lot more compatibility - and this is a simple "over the top" upgrade. I'd consider 200 MHz and 128mb ram as the practical minimum for 2000, and 400 MHz and 256mb ram as the practical minimum for XP. 2000 will survive on a 4gb hard drive if you don't load a bunch of programs, but XP needs 10gb.

If it will run ME, it will run 2000 - and 2000 is worlds more stable.

[stevieB]

Originally Posted by glc What's your system specs? If it's really marginal, and it's running okay on 98FE, upgrading to 98SE will not hurt performance and it will give you a lot more compatibility - and this is a simple "over the top" upgrade. I'd consider 200 MHz and 128mb ram as the practical minimum for 2000, and 400 MHz and 256mb ram as the practical minimum for XP. 2000 will survive on a 4gb hard drive if you don't load a bunch of programs, but XP needs 10gb. If it will run ME, it will run 2000 - and 2000 is worlds more stable.

System specs are : 1.3MHz AMD Athlon,256MB RAM[8MB share graphics],40gb hard drive.I'm gonna stick another 256MB of RAM in soon along with a PCI graphics card(64mb)and a modem.Does upgrading from 98FE to XP home have any known probs,I've heard a lot of horror stories.Idealy I would prefer XP.Cheers

[GaryRouth]

Your 1.3ghz Athlon, with 512mb system memory, and a 64mb PCI video card [is that the Ati Radeon 9200 PCI?] would run XP very nicely. [it should run most any available OS well].

If you have backups of your data, and don't mind reinstalling some older favorites, you could wipe the drive, and do a clean install of XP, then restore your personal data and load your software favorites fresh. For some of the older Win98 software, you can install these using XP's "Compatibility Mode" = a wonderful tool to help older programs run well & install without creating havoc. [a quick Google on XP Compatibility mode will yield plenty of reading material]

*Special Note* if you happen to live in the Southern California area, the local Best Buys are offering the Upgrade Edition of XP for $90, with a $50 mail-in rebate (so after your rebate comes back, your total is only $40 = this is the lowest price I've seen for XP). To run a clean install with the Upgrade Edition, you simply start as you would for a normal clean install (boot with the XP CD, prepare the hard drive, and start the installation) - then the Upgrade edition will prompt you for proof of previous version = you simply put your Win98 CD in the drive for verification at that point.

I prefer clean installs for XP = but if there are forum members who've had good luck with in-place XP upgrades from Win98, help us out & post your comments here.

. . . Gary

P.S. ... the Upgrade Xp edition on sale at Best Buy is the Home Edition

[stevieB]

I have decided to upgrade to Windows 2000,I have been advised that it is more stable than XP.I haven't decided which graphics card I will use yet,although ATI will be one of the first manufacturers I will look at.If anyone has any thoughts or advice regarding upgrading from 98FE to 2000,please let me know,never done this one before.Thanks.

[glc]

If you want to do an in-place upgrade, clean up the system the best you can first (remove viruses, spyware, delete temp files, etc.) and put the CD in while in Windows. It will ask you if you want to convert the drive to NTFS, do not do it yet. It will create an upgrade report for you, read it before proceeding. It may advise you to uninstall some things, do so and start the upgrade again. It will tell you of any hardware and software incompatibilities and drivers you will need to go get. As long as you don't upgrade the drive to NTFS, you can uninstall Win2000 if the upgrade does not go well. Once you are satisfied it's running well, you can convert the drive. I'd wait till the upgrade is done before installing a video card, and it's advisable to disconnect all usb devices and peripherals during the upgrade, then reinstall them.

[stevieB]

Thanks

[stevieB]

Just an update on the upgrade folks,everything has went ok apart 1 small thing.The onboard graphics chips drivers[Trident Blade3d/MVP4] are not compatible with Windows 2000 pro,and I can't find updated ones anywhere!Looks like the graphics card upgrade has been brought forward a tad.Also need the latest version of Direct X(9),which I can't download,cuz I'm still using a good old fashioned dial up connection(not for much longer after today!!!!)I assume all new g cards will come with this on thier drivers cd?

[GaryRouth]

Yes, the new graphics card will come with a "recent enough" driver for you to install with. Then you can grab the latest when you have time (or stick with the semi-recent version on the disk, if you like their performance).
. . . Gary

[P.S. ... some of the drivers might want Win2000 to be at least Service Pack 1 or later to work best. So you might want to visit Windows Update and get the latest Service Pack before worrying about installing a card-specific driver (the Standard VGA should do until then)]

[stevieB]

Originally Posted by GaryRouth Yes, the new graphics card will come with a "recent enough" driver for you to install with. Then you can grab the latest when you have time (or stick with the semi-recent version on the disk, if you like their performance). . . . Gary [P.S. ... some of the drivers might want Win2000 to be at least Service Pack 1 or later to work best. So you might want to visit Windows Update and get the latest Service Pack before worrying about installing a card-specific driver (the Standard VGA should do until then)]

Will I be able to install service pack 1 after installing drivers,I have already installed graphic card drivers,should I uninstall these first?The performance has not been great since upgrading[screen freezes,sound cuts out]any ideas what could be wrong?Have I chose the wrong os for multimedia capabilities,if so,would it be possible to upgrade from 2000 to xp having just upgraded from 98FE?

[glc]

Only to XP Pro. You can't upgrade 2000 Pro to XP Home in place. Give 2000 a chance - when you get the drivers sorted out it's not that bad for multimedia. Give me the model of the motherboard and I'll find you proper drivers. If you have a friend with broadband and a CD burner, you can download the full Service Pack 4 and DirectX 9, and the other drivers you may need.

[stevieB]

Originally Posted by glc Only to XP Pro. You can't upgrade 2000 Pro to XP Home in place. Give 2000 a chance - when you get the drivers sorted out it's not that bad for multimedia. Give me the model of the motherboard and I'll find you proper drivers. If you have a friend with broadband and a CD burner, you can download the full Service Pack 4 and DirectX 9, and the other drivers you may need.

Cheers,the motherboard is MSI - MS 6378(VT8361)
I have ordered a Soundblaster live 24 bit sound card 7.1 to run along side the graphics card (Nvidia gforce FX 5200 PCI,128meg).It has improved drastically over the past day or so(I uninstalled/re installed graphics drivers after installing service pack 1),runs games no probs(football/soccer)sound is ok,having probs with Musicmatch jukebox which I will uninstall grudgingly later.Thanks for your help,I will post any developments,good or bad.

[glc]

You really need to get Service Pack 4, then about 40 critical updates.

http://download.microsoft.com/downlo.../W2KSP4_EN.EXE

Best graphics drivers for that card are the latest Nvidia drivers.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_71.84.html

You need the Via chipset drivers.

http://www.viaarena.com/downloads/dr..._4in1_443v.zip

Here's the integrated sound drivers if you need them.

http://www.viaarena.com/downloads/dr...odec_V580c.zip

I believe these are the integrated video drivers:

http://www.viaarena.com/downloads/dr...n2KXP_3137.zip

[stevieB]

Thanks

[stevieB]

Update

Installed new sound card(Creative Soundblaster Live 24 bit)everything ok.Pc restarted the other night while I was playing a game,maybe power supply(due to it having to work harder with new hardware installed?).I have a 450w psu in my old pc will swap them over.More RAM next on the list,once that is installed,here endeth the upgrade.Thanks for all your help guys.