windows xp upgrading

[t_rock0703]

i recently upgraded my computer from windows 98 to xp. however i was rather unprepared and i failed to uninstall the programs that have problems on xp such as my hp printer, norton, and easycd. i only have 1 partition on my hd so i continued the process on this partition. it said it would overwrite the older os and i continued. next it said that it may delete files and programs previosuly installed it i continued or i could hit "L" and create a new folder (i think?) so i did this not wanting to delete my other files (though i wasnt sure it was correct) the installation process finished rebooted and started over again (rather odd i thought and i didnt understand y). after botrh processes finished xp booted up but the only thing on the desktop was the recyclin bin. in the start menu all the programs i previously had were missing. however i open "my computer" and all the files were still there. my desktop is blank and all the programs seem to be not installed. i went to add/remove programs and it is completely blank. i need to kno how to get back the old programs or uninstall xp or something i need help badly plz HELP ME. thank u.

[Confused]

I know you say you upgraded from Win98 to XP, but did you do a upgrade or install when you booted with the XP CD? Was it done using a retail, upgrade or OEM version of XP? There is a big difference.
Chas

[patrickt]

TRock, it's a mess. I do not know of any way to install WindowsXP on top of Windows98 and have it work. You're mixing a DOS program with NT. IMHO, the only thing you can do is save the data you need on CD or floppy, and reinstall WindowsXP formatting the hard drive, using the NTFS option, And, yes, most of your critical DOS programs will have to be replaced.

Have you checked to make sure your hardware is compatible? All of mine was but some hardware on older computers may not be. MY HP printer is a really old 4L and it works fine once the XP drivers are in place. How much RAM do you have?