Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (
More info?)
If you purchased the system with Windows 98 installed on it, the system is probably about
7 years old? The speed of the CPU is probably on the very low end of what I would
consider acceptable for Windows XP. If you have not installed a new hard drive during the
time you have had the system, the drive probably will not last much longer, and probably
does not have enough storage space for Windows XP and other things that you will be
wanting to do with Windows XP. Other components are probably corroding and getting ready
to fail. The speed of the memory modules and BUS are probably slow. You do not have USB
2 ports (much faster than USB 1.1). PC years are faster than dog years. Expect a life of
maybe 5-6 years. Some of your utilities will probably not work with Windows XP. Some of
your Windows 98 peripherals (printer/scanner/etc.) might not have Windows XP drivers, and
might be orphaned. If you are asking my personal opinion, being halfway through 2005, I
would not spend the money, time and effort to try to upgrade an old Windows 98 system to
Windows XP. Like I said in my previous post, DELL has weekly online specials. Some weeks
offer more freebies than others. A few weeks ago, a client hit the jackpot: The special
was: Pentium 4 2.8 GHz processor, free double memory, free upgrade to a 17" flat panel
monitor, free upgrade to an 80 GB hard drive, free upgrade to CDR/CD-RW, free shipping,
free upgrade to a three year warranty, and an instant $100 rebate. The total package came
to about $699, with an option to finance through Dell (if needed) interest free for a
year. Each week the specials/freebies change. If you can wait until you get a deal close
to the one above, I would jump on it. Consider your old system to be like an old car.
You can put money into it. But, it will still be an old car, not really capable of what
you want it to do, and constantly needing repairs. You would be spending for the Windows
XP upgrade CD, then soon a new hard drive, more memory (Windows XP is a memory hog). If
you have a CD burner, the software will probably not be Windows XP compatible, so you
would have to purchase a new XP compatible version) If you have your original Windows 98
compatible antivirus software, chances are it will not be compatible with Windows XP. I
could go on, but you get the idea. Aside from all that I have previously mentioned,
Windows XP will run extremely slow on a system that old.
--
T.C.
t__cruise@[NoSpam]hotmail.com
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"GMM" <GMM@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:34A4D17D-1D7C-42CB-A083-ED660A0885D2@microsoft.com...
> So you have gotten to my dilemma. Should I try to upgrade my system or just
> buy an new one and start a clean slate? My anti virus and anti spy ware
> programs indicate that my system is clean, but I still can't get IE to work.
> It just hangs. So that's why I suspect my system still has some lingering
> affects.
>
> Thanks.
>
> In re
> "t.cruise" wrote:
>
> > It is not a good idea to upgrade a system that might still be infected. An upgrade
would
> > not clean up the problems. I would suggest a clean install of Windows XP, swapping
your
> > Windows 98 CD when asked for proof of upgrade eligibility, giving the path to that CD,
and
> > when upgrade eligibility has been confirmed swapping back to the Windows XP Upgrade CD
to
> > continue the install. Since it would be a clean install, back up any data files that
you
> > would not want to lose. Also, since it is a Windows 98 system, are you sure that the
> > hardware/software/utilities/etc. are Windows XP compatible? Did you run the Windows
XP
> > Upgrade Advisor? If it turns out that you system is old enough to have some hardware
> > components, software, and utilities that are not Windows XP compatible, between the
price
> > of the Upgrade CD, and other things which you might have to upgrade, you might be
better
> > off buying a $699 Dell special of a week, on a week where flat panel screens, free
> > shipping, double memory, and CDR/CD-RW or DVD drives are given as freebies. I cannot
> > imagine trying to run Windows XP SP2 on an older Windows 98 system.
> > --
> >
> > T.C.
> > t__cruise@[NoSpam]hotmail.com
> > Remove [NoSpam] to reply
> >
> >
> >
> > "GMM" <GMM@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > news:74ABC9FE-4B40-41C7-BFF3-731AF8BB970A@microsoft.com...
> > > I have had viruses on my Windows 98 machine, that I have cleaned up through
> > > ad ware and spy ware software - again. I would like to upgrade to Windows
> > > XP. Can these viruses reappear when the new OS is up and running (assuming
> > > no new ones infect via Windows XP.
> >
> >
> >
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