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Upgrading from Win98 First Edition to 2nd Edition

R

rw120555

Golden Member
I want to upgrade a computer with Win98 First Edition to Win98 Second Edition. First I tried using a Win98SE full install disk, and it said I needed an upgrade disk. So, I got a win98SE upgrade disk, and it still said I needed an upgrade disk (I think the disk I have only works with Win 3.1 and Win95).

Is there no way to make this upgrade? I just added a Soundblaster Audigy card, and I need Win98SE to take advantage of the Firewire port and maybe some other features. The machine is primarily used by other family members, and I'm afraid I would zap something if I tried to reinstall the OS and all their programs and settings from scratch. Thanks for any advice. RW
 
I don't understand why the full install disk didn't work. When it asked for the upgrade disk when your were using the upgrade version, did you try loading the full install disk in the cd rom drive?
 
just boot up with a boot with the full install version, and install it that way, it will only install to your c:\windows directory , it wont hurt any of your data .. good luck ..
-neural
 
I'll give it another try, after backing everything up. One potential problem: The Win98SE full install disks are actually Dell Recovery disks from another system...Don't know if that matters or not. There are a couple of options when doing a recovery, maybe I just chose the wrong one. Thanks.
 
You can't upgrade with a OEM version, just clean install. To upgrade you need upgrade edition or the retail version.
 

come on guys? i thought people here knew how to upgrade a win98 to win98se. you can do this with win95 as well...
boot into DOS and into the c:\windows directory. the type: del win.com
once that is done copy your cabs from the CD to the harddrive and run setup from your harddrive. you maybe asked for your win98 CD key.
this is how you upgrade an win9x OS with a full version copy of a win9x OS.
have fun...
 
IIRC the firewire connector of the audigy should work with win98 first edition but the AC3 SPIDF output won't work correctly. even with the se edition you have to download a patch from MS for proper funcionality. MS doesn't have a patch for the first edition!
 
My OEM disk includes a "Refresh" option. As I understand it, this downloads all the system files while leaving the registry unchanged. It warns you that you may have to reinstall programs. But, I tried it, and as far as I can tell it works: the programs still seem to be there, and I now have firewire support. About the only downside I see so far is that I need to re-run Windows Update. I certainly won't delete my backups for a while though!

Is there a downside I might be missing? The main thing that worries me is if Win98se should make registry changes that aren't getting made because I used the refresh option.

As for the Win98se upgrade disk I purchased that didn't work -- I think I'll see if I can return it since I was erroneously told it would work. Maybe I can trade it in for a full version instead, which will both keep me legal and be potentially handy in the future.

Again, thanks for all the help. Looks like I had what I needed all along but didn't know how to use it. RW
 
GregMal, what OS did you have before the upgrade? I had Win98 First edition. My disk said it was for Win 3.1 and Win95, so I'm wondering if there are other upgrade disks out there. Also, how/where did you order the disk? From MS directly? Thanks. RW
 
Right after Win98SE came out, MS offered Win98 users a $20 deal to upgrade
to Win98SE. You have to have Win98 installed on the PC. Not sure if MS still offers
the deal. You had to purchase it directly from MS. (I had Win98 1st ed).
Greg
 
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