upgrade from win98 to XP

[Greenwood]

I have purchessed a new copy of winXP and attempted to install it over win98se. In the dropdown box for type of install full install is the only choice and this formats the hard drive. I would like to keep my files. Are there two types of XP discs? Do I need one that says its for upgrades? This one says for sale with new computer only.

[kc0arf]

Hello,

I think you have the wrong license for what you are trying to do. If your disks do say "for sale with a new computer only" it implies that you got a PC with it, and you want to restore it to the specs of that computer release. The place you purchased the disks from could get in trouble for selling to you that license.

As your present computer has Win98 on it, are you sure that it will handle XP? Computers made in the days of 98 had smaller memory and hard drive spaces. If your computer was designed for 98, it might be horribly slow under XP.

To answer your question, you are after the Upgrade CD's... if they exist to go from 98 --> XP. I have not looked.

But... the question also needs to be asked... is this the only set of files? Do you keep backups on CD-ROM or maybe floppies? If this set of files are your only copies, you have much greater issues to be thinking about than merely changing OS from one level to another.

Never wait for the day you need your backups. Protect what you have now.

Christian

[Greenwood]

Thankyou for your help. The pc's should handle XP, they( I have more than one to upgrade) all have 20gig HD's, 256megs of mem. and pentium 3s. Yes I do have backups, but I was hopeing to avoid a complete software reload.
Greenwood

Hello,

I think you have the wrong license for what you are trying to do. If your disks do say "for sale with a new computer only" it implies that you got a PC with it, and you want to restore it to the specs of that computer release. The place you purchased the disks from could get in trouble for selling to you that license.

As your present computer has Win98 on it, are you sure that it will handle XP? Computers made in the days of 98 had smaller memory and hard drive spaces. If your computer was designed for 98, it might be horribly slow under XP.

To answer your question, you are after the Upgrade CD's... if they exist to go from 98 --> XP. I have not looked.

But... the question also needs to be asked... is this the only set of files? Do you keep backups on CD-ROM or maybe floppies? If this set of files are your only copies, you have much greater issues to be thinking about than merely changing OS from one level to another.

Never wait for the day you need your backups. Protect what you have now.

Christian

[DMR]

This one says for sale with new computer only.

I think Christian's take on the above may be on the mark.

Where exactly did you get the disk? Does it have a PC manufacturer's name on it? Install disks labelled in that way are OEM versions meant for distribution only by PC makers. They are not retail versions, and are often not identical to the off-the-shelf versions of Windows.

In terms of the upgrade path in general, Microsoft specifies that Win 98 can be upgraded to XP (home or Pro) with either a full or upgrade version of XP. Personally I'd go for the full, fresh install method myself; 98->Xp is quite a jump, and any "ragged edges" that your current 98 installation might have will be carried over and possibly magnified in the course of an upgrade to XP.

[Greenwood]

Thanks for your help. It appears that there are two diff. versions of XP. This one was sold with hardware that satisfies licenseing. Im sure your advice for a full install is correct and I belive that is what we will do. Thanks, Greenwood

[DMR]

This one was sold with hardware that satisfies licenseing.

OK- as Christian and I alluded to, that particular disk might not offer the "upgrade" installation if it was tailored to be a restore disk for the system it came with. That's the only reason I can think of at the moment why you didn't get the "upgrade" option when you tried the install.

Im sure your advice for a full install is correct and I belive that is what we will do.

Yeah- even though the program reinstallations are a pain, you may avoid other irritations by going the "whole banana" installation route.

If you're planning on upgrading to SP2 once you get the base XP install set up, you should so before doing anything else (reinstalling programs, adding new programs, etc.). It's best to install SP2 over a "virgin" XP if you have the opportunity, and then start rebuilding your environment once you're sure that the operating system itself is in good running order.