Upgrading Dell Win98se to XP terminology

[ryoko]

Had a dumb attack since I haven't played around on Win 98 since 2000.

Obtained a older Dell 550 processor, Win 98SE OS. Was looking to upgrade to either XP Pro or W2K Pro.

Found numerous websites with OS system checks and went to all, updated their recommendation (which was mouse drivers and update printer drivers).
I forgot XP has a check system engine on its CD. When I did a system check it listed "Blocking Issues: Secure Remote must be removed before you upgrade"
What is Secure Remote??
The report also concluded "Settings that will not be upgraded: NetBEUI"

Was googl'ing answers to this and none appeared.

Issues I have: I have only upgraded "home built" computers (systems I KNOW whats in them) and get nervous about all the old garbage Dell has and will it botch the installation?

My present sys is W2K Pro with 1 gig ram - the Dell max. out at 512RAM, I have only 266 in it now. Was looknig to swap OS and put the W2K Pro on the Dell, but the drivers have me thinking it would work better with XP?

Thanks for any thoughts on how to waste my time more wisely...

[jamesrpm]

NetBEUI , is a networking protocol , came with older operating systems , I installed it on this PC with XP to use with Internet connection sharing.

[glc]

Either XP or 2K will install very nicely on that Dell, I'd advise a wipe and a clean install with all peripherals disconnected except keyboard and mouse. You are going to have some minor issues to deal with if you try to do either as an upgrade. Before you wipe it, go into device manager or run a Belarc report to see what drivers you may need to chase.

[ryoko]

Thanks for the replies! I found out the Secure Remote is VPN (Virtual Private Network) previous owner used for banking - so I know how to look for this to remove. Thanks for the other definitions. Read horror stories on clean installing comcrap systems and hoped Dell would be easier to deal with.

[glc]

There's a very good chance that Win2K will have native drivers for everything in the Dell - if not, chasing drivers shouldn't be too bad.