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Win 98 To Xp

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by petza, 2005/10/01.

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  1. 2005/10/01
    petza

    petza Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hi guys i have win 98 SE installed i want to upgrade to win XP
    do i just stick the XP cd in the drive and install it,or do i need to convert my HD to a new file system ??.
     
    petza,
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  2. 2005/10/01
    mailman Lifetime Subscription

    mailman Geek Member

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    Welcome to WindowsBBS, petza.

    You can keep your existing FAT32 file system when you upgrade to Windows XP or you can elect to change to the NTFS file system when you install Windows XP.

    I don't know if converting to the NTFS file system will keep all your existing programs and data intact. A WindowsBBS expert will probably advise you about this shortly.

    NTFS is reportedly a more secure file system than FAT32. (Edit: See message #10 below for details.)

    Before you do anything "major" like upgrading your operating system (OS), you should always back-up your current system to another hard drive, tape, CD-Rs, or DVD-R(s).

    Here is a Microsoft Knowledge Base link I would use if I were to upgrade from Windows 98 to Windows XP...

    How to prepare to upgrade Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition to Windows XP
     
    Last edited: 2005/10/02
    mailman,
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  4. 2005/10/01
    petza

    petza Inactive Thread Starter

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    oh i right clicked on m my c drive i have FAT32
     
    petza,
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  5. 2005/10/01
    petza

    petza Inactive Thread Starter

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    OK it said on the MS website that FAT32 is bad for XP i wont loose my data i back it up on cd's
    ill swap to the other file system

    how do i convert my D drive to the new system
     
    petza,
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  6. 2005/10/01
    petza

    petza Inactive Thread Starter

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    omg i went to that link its a massive huge page full of stuff u have to do i thought all i would have to do was put the disk in the drive and follow what it told me to do
    i can install win 98 NO problems
    im depressed now i just bought a cool game and it only works on XP
     
    petza,
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  7. 2005/10/02
    BillyBob Lifetime Subscription

    BillyBob Inactive

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    OK it said on the MS website that FAT32 is bad for XP

    Would some one please tell me why ?

    I did an overtop of 98SE with XP Pro in Fat 32 and unless I am big time missing something I see no problem.

    BillyBob
     
    BillyBob,
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  8. 2005/10/02
    charlesvar

    charlesvar Inactive Alumni

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    petza,

    how do i convert my D drive to the new system
    Can't do that now anyway while running 98, can change to NTFS when running XP. And there is noting wrong with an XP running a FAT32 file system.

    For the record, have two XP installations, one MTFS and one FAT32 and no problems with it :)

    Don't worry about FAT32 -NTFS, just follow the instructions that mailman gave. You're making this much harder than it realy is.

    Regards - Charles
     
    charlesvar,
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  9. 2005/10/02
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    petza

    No need to be depressed :) - some of these Microsoft Knowledge Base articles can be a little daunting - even to those of us who have a lot of experience with Windows.

    Bottom line is - FAT32 is not 'bad' for XP, in fact under certain circumstances it is essential, specifically when you have Win 98 on the drive as well as XP (in separate partitions). The Win 98 partition will only see data on the XP partition if that partition is FAT32 also. Of course there are differences between the FAT32 and NTFS file systems, but for the average home user FAT32 is more than adequate.

    The basic preparation needed for an upgrade to XP from 98 is to ensure that 98 is running without problems. It is helpful to clear out all your temporary files, including Temporary Internet files, but the more important point is to ensure that you have the XP drivers for your hardware. XP has a vast array of drivers on the CD and will install those that it can on detecting your hardware. For some hardware items only basic drivers will be installed so it is a wise move to download the XP drivers from the manufacturer's web site before making the upgrade and to burn them to CD, or in your case, store them in a folder on the D: drive. This way you can get most things up and running if there is an initial problem with your Internet connection.

    Look for drivers for your video card. sound card, scanners, printers, etc.

    No great matter if you do not have them prior to an upgrade, just more convenient. If some peripheral ceases to work after upgrading to XP the odds are that you need an updated driver. Note, however, that some older pieces of hardware may not be compatible with XP - that is info that you will find out when looking for the drivers before upgrading.

    HTH
     
    PeteC,
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  10. 2005/10/02
    BillyBob Lifetime Subscription

    BillyBob Inactive

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    I believe that in my case where I do access files on this XP machine from two other 98SE machines Fat32 is at least one of those circumstances.

    Also we play a lot of games between machines over the LAN so I think NTFS might be a problem there too. ( only guessing on that )

    BillyBob
     
    BillyBob,
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  11. 2005/10/02
    mailman Lifetime Subscription

    mailman Geek Member

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    In case anyone reading this thread is interested in learning more about differences among file systems, here are a couple links I found this morning.

    Microsoft TechNet Article: Choosing Between File Systems
    Published: October 15, 1999

    Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: Overview of FAT, HPFS, and NTFS File Systems
    Last Review: January 26, 2005, Revision: 5.0

    These articles appear to have been originally written before Windows XP was available to the public because they contain no mention of Windows XP. However, since Windows XP can use either FAT32 or NTFS, I expect you can replace "Windows NT" with "Windows XP" almost anywhere you see "Windows NT" in the article where the FAT32 and NTFS file systems are discussed.

    Edit:
    I still don't know from the posts above whether converting from FAT32 to NTFS during an "over the top" upgrade from Windows 98 or Windows ME to Windows XP will leave one's program and data files intact. Can anyone here answer that concern directly? (I'm considering such an upgrade with my laptop.)

    Edit#2: I noticed Charles' statement: "...can change to NTFS when running XP." so, I expect the program/data files WILL remain intact if converting to NTFS during the XP upgrade installation. I just want to be certain. :)
     
    Last edited: 2005/10/02
    mailman,
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  12. 2005/10/02
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    mailman

    Not sure that you can convert to NTFS on upgrading to XP over 98/Me without formatting without running through the install process to check.

    However, once you have upgraded .....

    How to convert a FAT16 volume or a FAT32 volume to an NTFS file system in Windows XP
    HTH
     
    PeteC,
    #11
  13. 2005/10/02
    charlesvar

    charlesvar Inactive Alumni

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    Hi Mailman,

    I noticed Charles' statement: "...can change to NTFS when running XP."
    What I had in mind was converting to NTFS if desired once the uprade is done and the user is satisfied that it went well. That may take days to find out.

    If on top of that you introduce yet another element at the time of the upgrade - converting the file system, I think that's needless and ups the probability of problems.

    Regards - Charles
     
    charlesvar,
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  14. 2005/10/02
    mailman Lifetime Subscription

    mailman Geek Member

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    Charles, your advice makes sense. Thanks for clarifying.

    To summarize, it makes sense that (for smooth upgrade to Windows XP) one should be certain of the following before an upgrade is performed, especially if retention of data is critical...

    1. Be sure the existing OS installation has no existing problems (such as recent BSODs, registry corruption, system file corruption, computer freezes, etc.)

    2. Back-up. :)

    3. Have, on-hand, updated Windows XP device drivers for existing hardware (best done by downloading them directly from the websites of the vendors ahead of time and putting them on floppies, thumb drive, CD-R, etc.).

    4. When performing the upgrade, make it as simple as possible for Windows XP upgrade SETUP. In other words, eliminate as many changes as possible SETUP needs to make during installation. (i.e., Choose to retain the FAT32 file system during SETUP and wait several days/weeks after upgrading - in case problems arise - before converting to NTFS.)

    5. Immediately before converting from FAT32 to NTFS, back-up again. :)


    Pete, thanks for the link and quoted caution. I added the link to my bookmarks for reference when I upgrade. I may take a chance by performing the "over the top" upgrade and conversion during SETUP anyway (after critical data backup) just to see what SETUP does. :)

    I expect this thread should help petza make wise decisions and the posts here have also helped me (and, perhaps, lurkers). Thanks again.

    Now I just gotta figure out what "HTH" means and I'll understand everything in this thread. ;)
     
    Last edited: 2005/10/02
    mailman,
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  15. 2005/10/02
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    'You cannot be serious' :D

    HTH - Hope this helps
     
    PeteC,
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  16. 2005/10/02
    mailman Lifetime Subscription

    mailman Geek Member

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    LOL Yep! I was serious. Thanks! Now I can step away from this computer and mow my lawn, knowing that my understanding of this thread is complete, including a new JABBA . :cool:
     
    Last edited: 2005/10/02
    mailman,
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  17. 2005/10/02
    Newt

    Newt Inactive

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    Over the network, the local file system being used (FAT or NTFS) makes no difference whatever. The networking piece reads the data from the PCs so PC-98 will never have any idea what file system is in use on PC-XP.
     
    Newt,
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  18. 2005/10/02
    BillyBob Lifetime Subscription

    BillyBob Inactive

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    Thanks Newt

    BB
     
    BillyBob,
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  19. 2005/10/05
    petza

    petza Inactive Thread Starter

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    my pc had WIN XP installed when i bought it so the drivers should work,i asked my uncle to remove it becuase i prefered 98 but loads of games only work on XP ive upgraded my gfx card to an ATI RADEON 9600 I ALSO GOT A NEW MODEM
    my pc is only 6 months old
    i have 2 Hard drives there both 74 gig
    it said on the MS website that u cant format volumes above a certain size on xp using fat 32

    i dont mind loosing my data
    ill just keep using FAT 32
     
    Last edited: 2005/10/05
    petza,
    #18
  20. 2005/10/05
    petza

    petza Inactive Thread Starter

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    i have no partions on my two 74 gig hard drives

    so will they work on win xp ?



    my uncle is a pc repair man i dont see em for months,id feel stupid asking him to re-install XP again after he just removed it lol
     
    Last edited: 2005/10/05
    petza,
    #19
  21. 2005/10/05
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Hi petza

    Let's start over on this - as usual the thread drifted away from your original question a bit. :)

    You have 98 on one drive now and you want upgrade (return) to XP - right?

    You have 2 hard drives of 80 Gb each - BTW - each contains a single partition.

    You are happy to format one of the drives - there is no need to lose all your data,

    You do not have to have both 98 and XP installed unless you want it that way.

    Both drives are currently formatted FAT32.

    I suggest you do the following .....

    1. Copy your important data to your second hard drive - note that you cannot copy programs across as they are installed within Windows in addition to Program Files.

    2. Check in the BIOS that the boot order is set to CD-ROM > Floppy > Hard Drive (0).

    3. Boot from the XP CD and follow the on screen instructions - format the drive NTFS (you are right about the FAT 32 limitation of 32 GB when formatting FAT32 during an XP install). XP on the NTFS partition will see the FAT 32 partition on the other drive.

    There is a good guide here with screenshots which you should look at first. I would recommend creating a partition of, say, 10 Gb for Windows and Programs as detailed in Step 5 of the article. The remainder of the drive can be dealt with once Windows is installed.

    4. When Windows is installed install the drivers for your hardware not forgetting to install the chipset drivers from the motherboard CD (do you have this - if not let us know and we can point you to where to download them) and install your antivirus software before you connect to the internet. As your computer is new you will almost certainly have XP SP2 in which the firewall is on by default. Go to the Windows Update to obtain the latest updates and patches.

    5. Now convert the rest of the drive to a partition or partitions. Right click on My Computer > Manage to Disk Management. You will see your two hard drives laid out graphically. The first drive will show the Windows partition and the remainder as unallocated space. Right click on the unallocated space and select make partition. I would choose to use the whole space for a partition. Format it NTFS and use it for storing your data. By doing this the Windows partition can be reformatted if necessary at any time without losing your data.

    6. Install your programs and copy your data back to the new partition on the first drive - or leave it where it is.

    Any problems - post back :)
     
    PeteC,
    #20
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