Installing 98SE over ME

[Spyda]

I have ME and i dont like how it always stalls and hangs, everyone i have told says get 98SE instead of ME, cos ME sucks. I tend to agree, i have 98SE, but when i put the CD in, it says a newer version of windows has been found, the setup function has been disabled, i want to install 98SE over ME,

do I really want to install 98SE over ME?

if it is a better idea, how can i do it?

Thanks

[Confused]

I don't know of a method to downgrade operating systems. Probably best method by far is to do a format and clean install when going backwards in OS releases.
Chas

[Force Flow]

Downgrading is next to impossible unless you reformat. In addition to that, you may have to seach for drivers for your hardware, which can sometimes be difficult.

But, yes, reformat if you want to downgrade. That whould be the easiest thing to do and would not cause problems later on.

[GaryRouth]

If WinMe is only stalling and hanging in certain situations, we could have a go at a fix for that - if you like WinMe for everything except for some performance issues. WinMe is pretty particular, especially with multimedia and communication drivers, but once it's working smoothly, it's pretty good at maintaining a steady pace.

Otherwise, I'd second the recommendations to reformat before you install Win98 2nd Ed. Just make sure to make as good a backup of your current data as you can - and search for recent drivers for your hardware, since for some devices the drivers might be different for Win98 2nd Ed. and WinMe.

Both are good. Should be able to get your system running well with either. It comes down to which you like best.
. . . Gary

[p.s. ....and if you reformat, scan your backup data for viruses before you place it onto the new system]

[Spyda]

i thought i had figured out a way to install 98without formatting at college today, but i forgot how i was gonna do it, even if it would work.

[reboot]

Try this old trick, rename win.com to win.bak, DO NOT restart, and install.

[raftero]

i upgraded to w2k on a machine a while back,it just didn't do like i wanted it to so being dumb i just put my old windows 98 disk in and it formated fat 32 and installed without a hitch,sometimes ignorance is bliss i guess. wonder how that happened?

[morriswindgate]

WinME is at it's core Win98, they just added some features to it. One feature they added was the AUtomatic driver install which can cause problems. Alway use the advanced feature which allows you to tell windows which driver to install.
If a person does the above, you will find that Windows Me operates faster than 98 and is very stable. I use it on a machine that I have in my daughter's room and I have not had to do anything to the machine for the past two years.
The idea that ME is junk is one of those Internet items that built itself up like a snowball rolling downhill, it just gets bigger and bigger.
Just use you card disks and make sure that those are the drivers that are installed.

[GaryRouth]

raftero - that worked because Win98 doesn't read the NTFS file system that you probably used for Win2000. So it figured the drive needed to be formatted to FAT32 (which is Win98's favorite), and Voila. Just think, if you'd bought a lottery ticket that day, we might all be listening to your private jet overhead, off to Hawaii for sun and surf.

Spyda - keep us posted

. . . Gary

[p.s. - I have to agree with morris on WinMe: it's pretty good. Most operating systems are pretty good, really. Third party programs, on the other hand.... can be quite an adventure]