Member Avatar for tez

Help! I am buying XP Home suite and intend to install it on my PC over ME, which has become very unstable and a real pain, constantly crashing and proving difficult to start up, in spite of running de-frag frequently.
However although I feel confident about doing this, I am alarmed at some of the comments on some threads saying it is 'not possible to load XP over ME' because the PC may not be able to handle it.
My PC is about 4 - 5 years old, surely not too old to handle XP? I have had a second hard disk fitted and the memory increased.
Any serious advice would be most welcome.
Thanks, Tez

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by rasputinj

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Short answer: yes — the XP installer supports upgrading from Windows ME, but the practical, low-risk route is to treat this as a reinstall project and prepare carefully. and are right to push a fresh start; and were right to flag drivers and backups. Microsoft published XP as an upgrade path for 9x/ME, but you should plan the steps ahead. (itprotoday.com)

What your box has vs. what XP expects: Microsoft’s published minimums are very low (233MHz CPU, 64MB RAM; 300MHz/128MB recommended), so your Duron 600 / 320MB / 20GB meets the letter of the requirement — but don’t expect snappy multitasking. In practice, adding RAM (ideally to 512MB if you can) will make the experience usable rather than merely functional. (news.microsoft.com)

Practical pre-install checklist (do these before you sit down with the XP CD): confirm whether your XP disc is an Upgrade or Full retail copy and keep your original ME CD for verification; download and save chipset, LAN and video drivers to a second drive or CD; update your motherboard BIOS if the vendor offers a newer build; uninstall antivirus and non-essential add-ons; disconnect all non-critical USB/peripheral devices during setup; and be ready to press F6 early in text-mode setup if you need to load third-party SCSI/RAID/SATA drivers. If you want to test without wiping ME, use the “install to a new folder” (parallel install) or install XP to a separate partition first. (itprotoday.com)

Backup checklist (verify these copies on another machine): documents and Desktop; exported browser favorites; export or copy email/address-store — Outlook Express (Win9x/ME) stores .dbx files under the Windows Application Data Identities tree and IE favorites live in C:\WINDOWS\Favorites, so export or copy those folders rather than relying on in-place migration. After install, apply the latest XP updates/SPs — and note that XP is now end-of-life (no security updates), so keep internet use limited or consider a newer OS for connected machines. (shorewalker.com)

If you want a short, ordered checklist to follow on install day, I can post one tuned to your exact motherboard and peripherals — include make/model and I’ll tailor the driver list and partition steps.

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Member Avatar for Crack

If possible, ALWAYS do a clean install instead of upgrading. It seems it creates fewer problems for you in the long run.

Member Avatar for Mr. M

I agree. I also upgraded from ME to XP (a long time ago) and no doubt I wiped the drive and did a clean install. Plus, you want to use this opportunity to back up your files anyway (and junk the ones you really don't want).

BTW tez, what processor do you have? Ram? HD?

Good luck.

Member Avatar for tez

I agree. I also upgraded from ME to XP (a long time ago) and no doubt I wiped the drive and did a clean install. Plus, you want to use this opportunity to back up your files anyway (and junk the ones you really don't want).

BTW tez, what processor do you have? Ram? HD?

Good luck.

AMD DURON 600Mhz / 320mb Ram / 20Gb
Thanks for your help. Still considering!
Tez

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Your system is quite capable of running Windows XP. In your situation it would definitely be worthwhile to download all the necessary Windows XP device drivers, back up your data files, wipe your system clean and do a fresh clean install of Windows XP.

Member Avatar for rasputinj

You will be much happier if you just backup and do a clean install, getting the drivers ahead of time is also very important. As long as your computer can handle it, you will love the stability difference.

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