Is win98 upgrade to winXP worth it?

[nightsky]

Tracking down winXP compatible drivers. I just need one more XP compatible driver for an ISA Creative Modem Blaster Flash56 DI5601-1. When I ran windows' XP upgrade adviser I was informed Highpoint HPT366 Ultra DMA Controller is not compatible with Windows XP Pro I found
infinst_auto_5001012.exe Driver for SY6BA+100 and hope it will work w/ my Soyo SY 6BA+IV which is PC100. Comments and suggestions are appreciated. Thanks

[ktkendall]

What processor do you have in there and how much memory?? Sounding like XP may not be a good investment for you till you upgrade your hardware also..

[Panama Red]

I've had better luck with Windows 2000 on older hardware - if you can find a copy. Another option would be the Ubuntu Linux distro.

[tomster2300]

PR is right, I'd try Windows 2000 or Linux before XP unless you feel like going through the hassle of finding those drivers and fixing your problems.

I got XP to work on an old Pentium I laptop though with 96 megs of ram, but it was a tad bit slow. Good luck.

[nightsky]

Sorry for not posting current system: PIII600, Soyo 6ba+IV PC100, 639mb, ATA100 segate 160gb, Geforce 2GTS 32mb video card, GB ethernet card, DSL 2WIRE GATEWAY, di5601-1 modem, PLex cd-writer w8432Ti, Asus S520 cdrom. Although I did found most xp drivers, isa modem driver hardest to find. Site links today redirect to non-related sales and advertising, its a far cry from real internet.

[nightsky]

Seems like there is no way around the High Point 366 UDMA 66 controller issues. I am considering purchasing a different PC100 , BX 440, Slot1 mobo and am looking for suggestions as to which would be the best in its category to look for.

[flanzig1]

Your probably only going to find PIII/slot motherboards on the used parts market. And with Soyo being out of the motherboard business for about 4 years now, they probably won't provide updated drivers.

[michaellewis32607]

If you're considering a MOBO transplant, you might find an equal form factor replacement that updates to the present if the case mounts are modular standardized. Procuring a suitable replacement that can fit perfectly is like looking for a needle in a stack of needles but it can be an enjoyable and educational research project that usually ends in choosing to build a completely new system with the abilities you crave being designed in by you and your choices and your project budget. You might get lucky and find a perfect fit that supports all of your existing periferals. There are lots of new socket 478 and 775 boards available that cater to legacy compatibility sacrificing some of the more advanced support options but letting you make your familiar and sentimental hardware live on into the next generation of operating systems. Is it all worth it? Sometimes. But sometimes it is just as worth it to keep a system factory original. I reply to this old thread because it is sounding like my own decision to supe-up an old chassis on one of my systems and on the other hand, keeping everything factory original on another system. My introspect was to ask myself what I was going to be doing with the machine that I was judging, and if I was going to like what the result, if successful, was going to say about my values to myself and to others. There is no shame in doing the math and opting for a new system either. Good Hunting to you or who ever else like me, who is drawn to this thread. I too would like to hear from more people about the worth to them to upgrade or not to upgrade and the reasons that they have for their choice.

[Lespaul20]

I 3rd the W2K suggestion. I've had XP on a 1GHz PIII with 128MB Ram and it was annoyingly slow. Is there a reason you need XP?

[nightsky]

Thanks everyone, I did windup building a new XP Unit with the Digital camera and photo editing software I needed but I still use my old win98se MSFN version more internet and web page building, this old unit is a dualboot with Slackware12 intalled on a second 160gb hdd using xfce but I still have not gotten slackware to a point that I can transition what I do iin win98. There is so much to learn with Slackware. I thought I could setup my old box as a file server but that is a big learning project too and I need to concentrate on building some webpages. So this is where I am. lol Guess I should download the Ubuntu to have a look at it. I don't want to run the new XP box online at all, would like to share printer... Don't know.
Michaellewis32607, my old PC is not a factory build, it is my first home build still runs good, not slow.