OT question about installing Windows XP

[Robert K]

We recently purchased a refurb Dell laptop and received an XP Professional reinstallation disk. When I loaded the disk in my desktop that's running 98SE and ran a compatability check, it said that it could not upgrade from 98SE to XP. My question is this: If I reformat the drive and then insert the XP Pro disk, will I be able to install XP on my desktop? We've been running XP on a newer desktop and I really like the restore function. Anyone who's dealt with 98 will no why. I also like that everything you plug into an XP machine just works...no drivers to find. The scary thing is that once I reformat the drive, it's pretty much the point of no return. The couple of times I've had to reinstall 98SE, it's taken a few days to get everything loaded back up and running properly. I don't even know if it would be possible now that MS has quite supporting 98. So, I'm seeking some expert advice here before I really mess something up that I'll regret.

Grace and peace,

Robert K
1991 535i

[Anton CH.]

You can make a ghost image of the drive provided that you have a second drive. I believe Norton makes some sort of utility for that. Alternatively, make 2 partitions so you have both 98 and XP but it can get messy.

But seriously, 98? Vista already came out.

[genphreak]

But seriously, 98? Vista already came out.

You are way better off with a real Operating System, the best of breed for making the switch from 'doze is Ubuntu 7.04. Believe me, you'll never, ever look back... there is just no need to put up with MS now.

[Tiger]

If you are ready to clean install... simply boot up from the CD during startup... they will say press any key to boot from CD... Once you are there, you can tell it to format the hard drive and do clean install. This is highly recommended method as you do not want any crap from old system affecting new system.

What is the current spec of the old computer?

[Robert K]

We actually bought a brand new Dell laptop with Vista. It took about all of a day to realize we weren't going to sit around waiting for the computer to do what we asked it to. Granted, we only got 512 Mg of memory, but it was an absolute slug compared to our 98SE and XP machines. We returned it ASAP for a full refund. Then we bought a Dell refurb laptop. It was a lot cheaper AND had XP Pro on it. It works great and you don't sit around waiting for it to process whatever it is that Vista always seems to be processing.

I just read an article yesterday that said that Dell was going back to offering XP on most of their machines. Now, if you want Vista, you have to specify it. I just now checked their website and it's true. In my opinion, just because Vista is new doesn't necessarily mean it's better.

Grace and peace,

Robert K
1991 535i

[Robert K]

To be honest, it runs fine now. I actually think it's as quick as our 1 year old Dell running XP. However, occasional lockups, driver issues and the ever pending crash are the main reasons I'd like to put XP on it.

Grace and peace,

Robert K
1991 535i

[632 Regal]

you have a real XP disk? If its a repair/reinstall that is most likely the problem and will only work on the laptop, not your other PC.

If you reformat set it to 16 bit not 32 and it will be faster like 98SE, Im not the government and dont need this security crap, Vista is 64bit and is more invasive when it comes to microlimp.

I always set my XP machines up as 16bit and not 32 simply because I like it better, the only disadvantage is you cant download or use any files over 4gig.

I also shut off that automatic update thing that sneaks into your PC and narks if it's not the correct disk for the passcode. How many times should I pay for the stupid disk anytime I redo a new drive or some ****. Also make sure you disconnect the internet during install for the same reason.

If you need a real disk pm me and I can mail a backup to you. Or you can torrent one if you know about them things

[dacoyote]

Said Something

dude... starting early today?

[632 Regal]

dude... starting early today?

[Tiger]

Robert, do yourself a favor... please upgrade the memory to at least 512MB... I prefer 1GB Ram... in your case, I'd pop in 512MB with your 256MB to give you 760MB. Even on your newer Dell.

Install it on FAT format... don't bother with FAT32 or FAT16 like Jeff said... they are not worth it.

I have installed XP on much slower computer and they run fine as long the memory is there. Dell usually don't give you full version XP... they give you restore CD unless you bought them from a reseller instead.