instll ME over win98???

[needhelp]

I have a friend who has just bought Windows ME full edition and is currently running windows 98 se. she doesn't want to do a clean install cos she doesn't want the hassle of backing up all her files and reinstalling all her other programs.
Will ME install over win 98 with no problems. Whats the best way to install it this way. Thanks guys in advance.

[edge345]

Install win-me over win-98 from within win-98. boot to the desktop with 98 then install win-me. you should have no problems as long as you are not having any problems at this time....

[Confused]

I wasn't aware that full versions would do a upgrade. I know you can do a fresh install with a upgrade if you have a qualifying OS, but I sure didn't know that you could do a upgrade with a full version.

That said I wouldn't bother going from WIN98SE to ME. ME is just too bloated for the few benifits that if offers of WIN98SE.
Chas

[TwoRails]

I'm with Confused!! I put ME over my 98.2 and took it back off in about 2 - 3 weeks.

TwoRails

[Doobie]

Well I'm one of the few that rather use Win Me than Win98. I have never had any problems with Win Me that I wouldnt of had with Win 98.

[Force Flow]

I would just stick with win98. There isn't a whole lot of difference between the two. Besides, ME has more bugs in it.

[Doobie]

The thing is the friend already BOUGHT Win Me.... So he/she should go ahead and install it... True there really isnt much of a difference but might as well use it.....

[Confused]

I just gave my opinion about ME versus 98 for the user to consider.

The real question is;

Will a full version do a update?

After all she doesn't want to backup and do a fresh install.
Chas

[needhelp]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I will print them out and let her make her own decision as to install or not. I must say though I have Windows Me and seems like, to keep the thing running smoothly, its necessary to format and reinstall quite regularly. I find that the restore thing never works when you want it to.

[not important]

My understanding has been that you cannot do an upgrade from a full install disk.

[GaryRouth]

Since the price for the upgrade disk can save her some money, remind her that she has the option of returning the full version disk and purchasing the upgrade disk (should be a bit cheaper & will be what she wants, an "inplace" upgrade rather than clean install). She might be able to do the whole thing from the customer service desk: as an exchange, with some money back for the lesser expensive OS.

The only difference between the upgrade disk and the full version disk is the installation process.
. . . Gary

[Confused]

Thanks Gary and Not Important for getting this back on track. I didn't think a full version could do a upgrade, but wasn't sure enough to make a definitive statement.

Chas

[HAL9000]

I did a WinME upgrade on both my machines when ME came out and never had a problem.

To upgrade 98 to ME with the full CD, boot from the CD or boot disk. Rename the WIN.COM file in the windows directorly to WIN.XXX. Run the setup. During the setup, when prompted for an installation directory, it will be defaulted to C:\WINDOWS.000, rename this back to C:\WINDOWS and continue with the install. This will now fully upgrade you to WinME and retain all of your data and settings. If you forget to rename the WINDOWS directory, it will appear as a clean install. Not to panic though, this is reversible.

[Nuclear Krusader]

I asume that trick works also with previous versions, HAL?

Like upgrading 95 to 98 or 98FE to 98SE?

[HAL9000]

Yup.... my bench machine at work actually went thru that process from 95 to 98, 98 to 98SE, finally 98SE to ME.

[GaryRouth]

True, that the renaming of Win.com will do, but then she won't have as easy a time going back to Win98 if she decides she doesn't like WinME. (She can just use uninstall if she uses the Upgrade version, since it will offer to save - in compressed form - her Win98 setup). And she should be able to save a few dollars by using an upgrade version.

Hal - did you ever have to reverse any of those upgrades? (did you keep the old win.xxx around just in case?) Just curious. You have a lot more WinME experience than I have.

. . . Gary

[HAL9000]

Actually... I usually just delete the WIN.COM file. I personally don't understand what people have against ME that they get it then get so obsessed with hating it. It's the exact same thing as 98, just no ability to boot to DOS and I find that it tends to boot a bit quicker.

As for the reverse... you mean try the same trick to go from 98 to ME.... no... never tried it to see if it would work or not... gut feeling tells me it would make a mess... but you never know.

[GaryRouth]

Hal - Thanks for the info. Re: WinME: I built a few machnes with WinME for friends at the lab when in first came out, and it's been a nice OS for them. I think what might have given WinME some of it's reputation is it's trouble with older sound cards, - even some older video cards. When it first came out, the drivers weren't as ready as they could have been, so some folks had to either wait for the next revision of the driver, or try a different card. [On one of the systems, I had to flash the bios of the motherboard, flash the bios of the video card, and wait two weeks for a decent sound card driver reivision - but those weren't WinMe's fault - the third party suppliers just didn't have drivers ready - It does seem like it might have been pushed out the door into the marketplace a tad early] . . . Truth is, the friends that wanted WinMe - wanted it because it had the nice screens. It also has System Restore: nice when little tykes are around.
. . . Gary

[HAL9000]

Ya... I can see that situation... Win2K was similar.. there were some issues with video cards when it was first released. Some people hate the system restore, I have never had a problem with it and have used it many times.

[TwoRails]

Originally posted by HAL9000 I personally don't understand what people have against ME that they get it then get so obsessed with hating it.

Hi HAL9000 and Everyone,

Actually, I don't hate ME. In fact, I choose ME for the system I built for my very own sister. I felt it was best for her with the nice, more user friendly features.

I don't like it, however, for my personal system. I tried it, gave it a fair shot, and I just like Win 98.2 better. Now that I think about it, I probably had it on my system longer than the several weeks I posted above. For me, and how I use my box, 98 is much more stable than ME was.

Plus, at that time, there were a lot of driver issues and the like, because ME was not out long at all. In fact, I bought it the day it was released. And that's not to mention I had a lot of troubles just playing games.

TwoRails