Best method to upgrade from 98 to Xp Pro. HELP????

[IhateComedians]

Well I currently have a Windows 98 machine with an Athlon 1Ghz CPU and 196MB of SDRAM. I am going to upgrade the O/S to Win XP Pro. But I am debating whether I should wipe out the HD and start from scratch, or just perform an in place upgrade. At first I was more than willing to wipe the HD and start from scratch, but then I realized how many programs I have installed that I would have to re-install all over again. At this point I?d rather just do the upgrade cause it seems easier, but?????..

What would you do? I?ve read in the past that sometimes just starting from scratch is the best way to do it, but I don?t know if I would just be creating more work for my self for nothing. Tips and suggestions please. Thanks a lot guys

 

[Workin']

I would start from scratch. There have been many, many, many stories of apps that don't work after upgrading, instability, and othe unexplainable weirdness. I never do an upgrade, always a fresh install. Why risk having to do it all over, just take the plunge and do it. Especially considering that unless your existing 98 install is perfect (like that is even a possibility if you have a ton of other software installed), you'll just migrate any existing problems to the new setup.

 

[AndyHui]

Format and install WinXP fresh.

You should never upgrade from Win9x to a 2K/XP installation unless it is absolutely unavoidable.

You might want to create a dual boot first, and then remove Win98 later when you are comfortable.

 

[japetto]

I would definitely clean install especially if you are going to use ntfs, since converting a filesystem is not as good an idea as a fresh format. And don't forget the issue of program compatibilty with xp. You may upgrade and have some programs that won't run anyway. To fix this you can always use a program like partition magic and install xp on its own partitions and run a duel-boot. Then from within xp you can still run many (compatible) programs from the 98 partition, or boot into 98 to run incompatible programs. Hope these ideas help!

 

[ibor]

whenever there is a change of versions (ie 98 -> NT or 98 -> XP) and/or filesystems, i always like to do a clean and fresh install... i have experienced frustrating and strange issues with drivers and apps if i don't. it will probably be more work initially but it will save you the headaches if you run into any problems.

ymmv,

ibor

 

[TheWart]

as if you needed another vote for clean install...

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Definitely reformat. If this is too scary a proposition you may want to dual-boot, or even buy a new HD for the XP installation in case something gets hosed. You can always use your existing HD as a second drive once XP is up and running and you have reinstalled and/or replaced your apps.

 

[Boobers]

I would go as far to say that you should Fdisk and remove all partitions on your boot drive, boot from the XP CD-ROM, and follow the install, letting XP partition and format (NTFS) the file system.

You might think that installing all your software again will take a long time, but I want you to know that it will take even more time to figure out all the bugs in a Win98 -> XP "Upgrade". You will spend endless hours trying to figure out why something keeps crashing, why programs refuse to run properly, or why there is trash listed in the Explorer Window. I have upgraded Win98 -> XP a few times, and I will NEVER do it again.

If you're still curious, use Ghost to copy your current OS partition to a backup file somewhere on another HD, then do the Win98 -> XP "upgrade", and you'll see what I mean (you can always use the Ghost to restore the partition if you need to).

I even have a machine here that I "upgraded" from W2K -> XP, and it still shows the W2K start-up and shut-down screens and there are wierd links shown in the Windows Explorer window, like if I open D: drive, there is a folder called "E: Drive" and if I click it, it shows the entire contents of E: drive IN the D: drive window. I know it's just a messed up link, somehow, but it isn't right...

 

[GregMal]

Well......First (of course) backup all of your important stuff.
Then I'd install XP as an upgrade. See if it works OK.
You can always reformat and install clean later............Greg

 

[WhoDeeny]

Originally posted by: Boobers
I would go as far to say that you should Fdisk and remove all partitions on your boot drive, boot from the XP CD-ROM, and follow the install, letting XP partition and format (NTFS) the file system.

You might think that installing all your software again will take a long time, but I want you to know that it will take even more time to figure out all the bugs in a Win98 -> XP "Upgrade". You will spend endless hours trying to figure out why something keeps crashing, why programs refuse to run properly, or why there is trash listed in the Explorer Window. I have upgraded Win98 -> XP a few times, and I will NEVER do it again.

If you're still curious, use Ghost to copy your current OS partition to a backup file somewhere on another HD, then do the Win98 -> XP "upgrade", and you'll see what I mean (you can always use the Ghost to restore the partition if you need to).

I even have a machine here that I "upgraded" from W2K -> XP, and it still shows the W2K start-up and shut-down screens and there are wierd links shown in the Windows Explorer window, like if I open D: drive, there is a folder called "E: Drive" and if I click it, it shows the entire contents of E: drive IN the D: drive window. I know it's just a messed up link, somehow, but it isn't right...

What she said...

 

[zbalat]

I will say that a clean install is the way to go but I have never had a problem upgrading 98 to XP. I have done it on about 10 machines and all are up and running fine. One thing that I would advise you to do is download all the XP drivers for your hardware before you upgrade. Try the upgarde 1st. If it doesn't work do a clean install.

Good luck

 

[Boobers]

Yeah right, zbalat. You don't pay very close attention, do you?

(What's that guy smoking???)

BTW, I can turn lead into gold, I know because I've done it ten times...