Ok all you computer smart type people out there, is updating from windows 98 to windows xp home, worth it? I have xp here at work and don't really like it, probably because I'm used to old version, but I've heard a lot of people gripping about xp.
Should I or should I not buy the xp upgrade?
Thanks for the help
Bruce graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Bruce, you'll get 50% For and 50% against WinXP. If you don't really like it at work, you won't like it at home.
XP Home and XP Pro are a little different. I run XP Pro at home and work and I really can't complain. It's my business to know operating systems and how to make them run, etc. and I never have problems with my computers.

WinXP is a whole other beast than the old Win98\ME. It takes a pretty decent processor and lots of RAM to enjoy WinXP. It'll run on slower systems but you're defeating the purpose that way. It definitely made my internet cable connection faster at home, but I'm running a 2Ghz processor, 512Mb of RAM and a 64Mb video card.

Now, as far as upgrading Win98 to WinXP, don't. Any problems with Win98, whether you know they're there or not, will follow the upgrade. Upgrades of operating systems over the top of themselves gets real messy. If you decide to upgrade your operating system, wipe the harddrive clean by formatting it, then install the new operating system fresh from scratch. You'll be a lot happier when it's done.

If you really want to upgrade and want a stable computer, think about Windows2000 Pro. It's pretty forgiving and a lot of aftermarket software and hardware vendors support it just as well as they do Win98.

Just my opinion. There's more to upgrading than just loading an operating system.

I agree with Joe. If you don't have the hardware for it you will never be happy with XP.

I myself have tried each and every OS since win98se and I did not move off of win98se until XP. I am now running XP Pro on all my machines both at home and work and I love it. Smallest PC I have it on is a 600mhz notebook and it works for surfing the net, but I wouldn't want to run it everyday. My 1.33ghz with 512mb or RAM runs it nicely and it is the next smallest machine in the stable.

I also agree with Joe in not upgrading over win98se. The best thing to do is format and start from scratch. Backup all important data and anything you wish to keep beforehand.

Good luck!

I third the "clean" install. Are you having problems with the home computer? What do you use the computer for? Posting the specs of the home machine will also be helpful - the Microsoft "minimum" requirements for XP are a joke:

PC with 300 megahertz (MHz) or higher processor clock speed recommended; 233-MHz minimum required;* Intel Pentium/Celeron family, AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor recommended
128 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported; may limit performance and some features)
1.5 gigabyte (GB) of available hard disk space.*

This is for the home version. If you don't have double any of that then I don't think you'd be happy with XP. I've had some of the users I support still force me to install on a machine that meets the minimum requirements and then I'm there a couple of months later because it's too slow for them.

getting rid of double post...

[ 02-09-2004, 06:08 AM: Message edited by: George1968327 ]

In regards to the Windows operating system, I have Windows98 on one computor and WindowsME on the I use all the time. I have a few questions. On Windows98 I can go into Windows Explorer and everything that is on my harddrive expands so I can see whats what. On WindowsME it doesn't do it. I have to manually expand it. Anybody know how to fix this?

Next...When i want to save a picture to check it out in detail at a later time, say for instance a nice shot of a Z28 engine bay, if I right click to save, save as, or even copy, I always get a .art file and not a jpeg or a bitmap even though it is a bitmap or jpeg file. If I pick bitmap which is the only other format to come up I still get it as a .art file and my computer doesn't support. art files. How can I change this. With Windows98 I don't have that problem.

thanks for all the replies. I'm not having any troulbes with my computer, I was just thinking about upgrading it. But for the price of a new computer, nowadays, I might as well just buy another one. The one I have now is just a Dell Dimension, L series. All we use it for is surfing, bills, and storage for pic's of my car, and also family pic's of course.....
thanks again,
Bruce

Next...When i want to save a picture to check it out in detail at a later time, say for instance a nice shot of a Z28 engine bay, if I right click to save, save as, or even copy, I always get a .art file and not a jpeg or a bitmap even though it is a bitmap or jpeg file. If I pick bitmap which is the only other format to come up I still get it as a .art file and my computer doesn't support. art files. How can I change this. I think this is happening because of AOL. I did a quick search on google and found the following advice:

If any of the graphics you see on this page are blurry in any way, it's because AOL's default is to automatically compress graphics - frequently to oblivion! To turn this off, go to settings, preferences, www. Then click on the graphics tab and uncheck the box that says to compress graphics. Clear your cache then go surf and enjoy the view!

I don't know my way around aol, but my guess is that this is set on one of the machines and not the other.

The explorer problem might be fixed by the following if you have a shortcut for exploer:

Change the properties for the shortcut (right-click on the shortcut) to the
following in the "Target" box:

C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n,/e,C:

I don't have a ME machine to test on though, so use at your own risk...

I'm glad someone posted this because I've been thinking og doing the same thing.....

I'm having issue with my hard drive....sometimes it won't find the operating system at all..... I get alot of lock ups, problems shutting down, not booting all the way, real slow opening files or programs sometimes and not others etc....I've been in contact with Dell and run their diagnostics and according to the results, my hard drive is screwed up... they recommended I replace it.......

So I figured if I replace it, I should upgrade from Win98 to XP......

So I guess my questions are (1) should I upgrade at all and (2) if I upgrade, what the best way to get all my old stuff onto the new drive (its all Win98 based stuff etc) ???

If I get a new hard drive and put XP on it as a clean install, then can I transfer all my old stuff onto the new drive or is there an issue since alot of that stuff originated from Win98 ???

I considered upgrading the current hard drive to XP and then transferring everything over, but it sounds like thats not a good idea....

I just have so much stuff saved on the current hard drive !!!! I hate to have to reset and set-up everything all over again......

I have a Dell Dimensions XPS with 750 Mhz processor, currently a 40 Gb hard drive, 128 MB RAM

George1968327...i tried both solutions and i still get the .art files and I can't seem to find what i need to have my folders expand when I go into windows explorer. At the moment it is set to My Documents, which expands and I want my hard drive to expand instead. Anybody else have a solution?

i've had XP pro on my 5 year old Dell P2 350 with 192 megs of ram for over 2 years now- and i like it just fine. it is faster than 98 was, and i haven't had to re-format and re-install every 6 months like with 98. computer starts up in about half the time, as well. i lost the ability to use my old scanner due to drivers not being available for XP(maybe they are now- i haven't checked in a while. HP scanjet 4100C if anyone knows where to find them. HP hasn't supported it for a few years now), but everything else works as good as or better than it did with 98. it sees a cd burner as just another drive so i can drag and drop to cd's, which is a good thing compared to 98.

I just upgraded from Windows 98 to XP Home and are having a lot of problems. First I did the upgrade and there were problems so I re-installed it as a full installaton. Seems to work ok. I then tried upgrading Office 97 to Office XP and it crashes every time I open it. I spent about 3 hours on the phone with Microsoft tech people and they couldn't solve the problm. They've elevated the issue to a higher level person and I have an appointment for next Wednesday. If the box says you have the right hardware and software to do an upgrade, it should work and I shouldn't have to put up with this! :mad:

coach,
did you re-format the hard drive and start over with a clean slate? that is the ONLY real way to get a good install. and how much is it costing you to trouble Micro$oft with your problems?

I may be having the same or similar problems as you'll are.Had XP for about 6 months. 2 weeks ago everything went to hel?. I have finally got the internet back but have not been able to to find or re-install other programs. This is after I had to buy a new modem. Not sure where to go now. Have needed to e-mail several people here but it's not working. I think I'll use this one for target practice and start with a new system. :mad:

Originally posted by HwyStarJoe:
Now, as far as upgrading Win98 to WinXP, don't. This goes for their other products as well. Including Office suites. Upgrading from Office97 to Office2000 was a huge mess also Coach. Microsoft has never done a decent upgrade in my opinion. Their stuff has to be installed fresh to function properly.

I was about to do a clean install of XP pro until i read this. I have WIN 98 SE now with a Pentium III 550 w/128mb of RAM,will i be dissapointed?

I thought I was the only one having problems with my computer.
I have a three year old Gateway that I just upgraded from Windows 98SE to Windows XP Home and ran into some problems. I upgraded the Ram from 128MB to 386MB.
I added a CD RW drive, this was the only thing I wanted to do in the first place but Gateway "talked" me into upgrading.
I did the XP upgrade without a full install and have had no issues. I deleted any software where there were conflicts from the after installation report. My 98SE OS worked fine for 3 years and I had one virus two years ago.
I didn't lose any data files, but I backed up my files before hand anyway. I did lose files in my mail program in a folder I call "mail to keep". Address book was OK and unchanged.
Here is what Gateway didn't tell me (and they had my software & hardware specs in front of them).
My 98SE Symantec software isn't compatible with XP so I had to upgrade that.
My speakers wouldn't work and after a couple of hours of on line help with Gateway they said my sound card wasn't compatible with XP.
I installed the new sound card Saturday and still no sound. Played with it a few more hours and hook up with Gateway tech support again on line and get this, now they tell me my Boston Acoustic 735 USB speakers aren't compatible with XP. :mad:
I now have $500.00 in this upgrade and if I had to do it over, I would have just got the CD RW drive for now and bought a new computer later that is even faster for a little more money than I spent on the upgrade.
I have XP Pro at work and I like it which is why I went with the upgrade. It's much faster and a more stable OS and is a little more "user friendly".
Good Luck on whatever you choose.

George1968327...i tried both solutions and i still get the .art files and I can't seem to find what i need to have my folders expand when I go into windows explorer. At the moment it is set to My Documents, which expands and I want my hard drive to expand instead. Anybody else have a solution?
google groups (http://http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&threadm=OzQFgzvmCHA.2360%40TK2MSFTNGP09&rnum=5&prev=/groups%3Fq%3D.art%2Bgroup:microsoft.public.windows me.internet%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26group%3Dmicrosoft.public.windowsme.internet%26 selm%3DOzQFgzvmCHA.2360%2540TK2MSFTNGP09%26rnum%3D 5)

Hey Gary,

There's tons of information on google groups on the aol .art files. See the link above and see if that helps you. If not, you might want to search the microsoft.public.windowsme.internet group - lots of good information. I actually have to do job related work for a little (boss does not have a ‘maro so does not understand why I’m here multiple times a day…) but I hope to get back and maybe even get the non-functioning ME machine here working to see if I can be of any more help...