Windows ME Upgrade $29.95

[giant96]

Staples has the ME upgrade for $49.95....add rubberbands to hit $50...use the 20 off 50 coupon from techbargains and you got yerself a cheap copy of ME....enjoy!

 

[Ranger X]

I switched from Win98 SE to WinME on one computer and personally, I don't think it is that much better than Win98/Win98 SE. I hear people are starting to report massive amounts of bugs in WinME but I haven't had any problems with it, yet.

 

[RayEarth]

i did a clean installation of winme & when i tried to install the creativelabs 3.68 tnt2 ultra driver, it gave me a fatal error after reboot, & any other drivers starting from 5.22 & up will not work with rogue spear, giving it garbaged text & locks up within a few secs. I even tried to do a clean win98se install with the 3.68 drivers & from there upgrade to winme & it locked up at 55% & when i rebooted, it had already removed some of my important dll files & i have to fdisk & format my computer 4 times yesterday, IMAGINE! 4 fresh installation in one day can make you mad, i use to install 25-30+ coomputers a day, but it was my job, but doing this at home can waste a whole day.

 

[awp]

Has anybody who has done the upgrade installation have any hardware compatibility problems?

 

[MisterE]

This is a pretty good deal. I bought WinME and a $.70 eraser. I qualified for free shipping, too! With tax, the order came to $33.05.

I don't even know why I ordered this (I think that I'm a "Hot deals" addict), as I won't even use Win98SE. I would still be using Win95 if any USB support existed for my Athlon motherboard. Oh, well, I can always sell it to someone.

 

[tchinhe]

guys do you need the Win98SE CD for the full install on the ME?

 

[MisterE]

for the $49.90 version, you need either Win98 or Win98SE. There is a more expensive upgrade for Win95 users. There is an even more expensive version if you want WindowsME without having a previous Win9x OS.

 

[robisc]

That's kinda what I wanted to know too, I mean there are 3 versions: An upgrade for 98 or 98se, an upgrade for 95, 98 or 98se and a full vesrion. I wonder if you can do a clean install with the cheap $49 upgrade, like maybe trick it with the 98se disc when it asks for verification of a product, kinda like you could with the older MS Windows and Office stuff.

 

[DragonSlayer81]

I personally think Win98se is better then WinMe.

 

[TCool]

WindowsME is great. I would take it any day over Windows95 or 98.
The install was smooth as its ever been, and it is very stable on my system.

The only people who don't like it are linux users.

 

[MrCoyote]

Yes, you can do a clean install with WinME "Step-up" version for $49. Just make sure you have your Win98 CD.

 

[SLEEPER5555]

coyote how do i do that? i have my 98 cd but can u post a link to a site for info on this or post some more info please! I should have Me by next week and want to do a new install!

 

[todays]

You just start the install with the Windows ME disk. It will ask you at some point to put your Windows 98/se disk in form verification. Then it tells you to take it out and put the ME disk back in and continues installing. It's really a no-brainer.

 

[db]

Does winme make "home" networking setup/repair any easier than other win?

 

[TheManiacal1]

i think the biggest bug ...err... feature... in ME is media player 7... that thing crashes like there's no tomorrow... other than that, ME is more stable than 98SE, and memory management has improved a little as well... 98SE is just a memory leak disguised as an OS.

ICS (internet connection sharing) in ME is one of its best features. (not a bug, for once). it's easy to setup and from what i hear, actually works fairly well.

 

[db]

Can you use this for 1 computer to run apps on a second computer, as if it were a terminal? Are they peered or what?

 

[Eeks]

Wait for Whistlet to come out - WinMe = Windows98 Third Edition more or less

 

[WATERBUFFALO]

I upgraded from Win 95 to 98. When I did a clean install, I was asked to put the Win 95 disk in during the install to confirm I had it.

Does anyone know if I can get this version of ME, or do I have to use a more expensive version?

 

[woodie1]

I took the plunge and will soon be giving ME a try. For $30 why not.

 

[SimMike2]

I have to resurrect this thread from the dead, because Staples really came through for two people in my family. We both ordered using the $20 off $50 coupon. We didn't order the free software, because we didn't want to mess up the $20 coupon. $30 was a good price. When both orders were filled at the local Staples stores, they took the liberty of adding all the free software and the discount coupons for the free software. So I got ME, plus five software titles for $30, $34 with tax. Shipping was free, since I spent over $50. Way to go Staples.

 

[SimMike2]

One quick point about the Step-up version of ME. This version requires Windows 98 to install. I just couldn't resist trying a clean install from the DOS prompt. I booted to a Windows 98 start disk and formatted my C: drive. The only thing on the D: drive were some driver files and the Win98 directory off the Windows 98 CD. Just the cab and setup files, not the subdirectories of this directory. This takes about 130MB of space. I always leave this on computers and prefer to install from the hard drive, not the CD. To cut to the chase, when ME Step-up asked for confirmation of Windows 98, I clicked on the browse button and found this directory. After checking this directory for a minute or two, ME took off and installed fine.

 

[Bohemian]

ME BITES. Stepped up to ME. Many lockups, modem wouldn't work, etc. ad nauseum. I'm happy with my stable 98 SE.

 

[SimMike2]

I don't necessarily recommend ME either. My main computer still runs Windows 98 SE, even though I've had ME for a couple of months courtesy of beta testing ME. But for inexperienced users with less complex computers, ME has some nice features. The system restore app might work pretty good for many people. I like the built in safety net for protecting and restoring critical files that get overwritten by any of a thousand poorly written software and driver programs. One more thing I like about this is the ability to sell your old copy of Windows 98 to someone else. This cuts the $30 cost even more. Now Microsoft will recommend that you keep 98 just in case you need to clean-install ME, but as I have demonstrated, all you need are the Win98 files, not the CD. A CDR copy will even work. I'm not recommending you rush out and sell your copy of 98, but Microsoft doesn't say you have to keep it. ME doesn't ask for your 98 CD key. Personally, I think it is legal to sell your old copy.

For people with many devices, such as you and I, 98 is better.

I have heard a rumor that ME was a testing ground for inexperienced Microsoft employees.

 

[TSDible]

Technically...

If you sell your 98SE original you are bound by law to destroy any backup copies that you have made.

Just a little FYI

 

[SimMike2]

You're right. Microsoft is hurting big time. I shouldn't be too glib, because it is a shameful part of family history that my Grandmother went to jail for tearing the tag off a mattress. That left a dark cloud hanging over the entire family. If only she could go back and change the past...