Upgrading to Windows Xp

Hi,
I want to upgrade a computer that has Windows 98, 16 bit color to Windows XP..My primary reason is, the modem is not being detected and I think that once I download Xp, it will install it's own modem drivers and the modem will be ok..Am I on the right road or am I missing something...

 

Zero-2-Hero--If your only purpose in upgrading is to restore a modem's drivers, you are on the wrong track.
1) Most importantly, you cannot download WinXP. You have to buy it in a store. Cost is substantial.
2) Your old PC may not be able to handle WinXP.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/upgrading/sysreqs.mspx
http://windows.about.com/od/tipsarchive/l/aa011007a.htm
3) If your modem worked OK before, then you should only need to uninstall the modem and reboot. The Modem, if plugged in when you reboot, should be recognized and the old Win98 modem drivers reinstalled. If that does not work, go to modem maker's website and look for a driver download option.
4) If this is a new modem, did you look to see what the Modem's requirements are? If OK with Win98, then Step 3 should work.

 

Hi,
I recently upgraded it to a Windows Xp (so it will handle it)but because I was under the wrong impression when it came to using my own Xp cd to do so I had to roll it back to windows 98...Activating it with Microsoft was the reason for the roll back...The modem issue did not get noticed till after I rolled it back and tried to install Netscape...That's why I was wondering if the Xp cd will download it's own drivers if we went and got a Xp cd from a store ???...I did not try the uninstall and reboot trick but will be more than glad to give that a whirl...To add a little background to my thoughts, the computer desktop had nromal pixels when I installed the Xp, since I rolled it back, the pixels are at 16 bit and the pixels are slightly out of character. Hopefully this makes sense but figured if the pixels were fine one way -vs- the other than maybe the modem wall fix itself with the Xp setup also...

 

Sounds to me like you tried to use a bootleg version of XP... Just what I picked up by your post. Not saying thats the case... just how it read.

If that is the case your download was a waste of time. Yes, you can make a bootleg copy work but it's not worth it. I bought XP and went back to 2000. First off 2000 is better able to handle heavy application loads. Furthermore, if your XP is bootleg, don't ask me how to make it work.

On going back to 98 after installing XP, good luck. I managed to do it with going back to 2000 but so many glitches showed up it became easier to just reformat and start over with 2000.

Also, if you allowed XP to reformat to NTFS there is no way that I know of to sucessfully go back to 98 as 98 will not recognise NTFS.

As far as the actual modem problem...

Pull out the modem and get the FCC ID number off of it along with any other info printed on the card... model number, etc.. This is assumeing that you don't have the install CD. If you DO have the CD then just uninstall all references to it and run the CD. Anyway, once you have the FCC ID go to Drivers Guide and enter the info and do a search. Most likely you will come up with current drivers.

I must figure that you are on a different system to be able to send this post or are just looking to enable the modem for backup. In either case, once all references to the modem are removed reboot. Cancel out of the found new hardware wizard and run the download if it's an application. If it's not an application then in the hardware wizzard use specify location and point it to the download.

 

Hi,
Let me make an attempt to better explain...I bought an XP (Home edition) cd few months back and used it on my computer...I used that very same computer store purchased cd to upgrade a Windows 98 computer but did not have a chance to activate it thru Internet Explorer at that time...When I did get a chance, that is when I found out you can not use the cd on one computer to install or upgrade another (according to Microsoft)...So I rolled it back to Windows 98...I also had to do this on another computer without any problems..The main computer in question here is a computer given to a friend by a friend, not a computer bought from a store, it is approx 3 years old so who knows if this modem issue was already existing...It just happened to surface after the Xp upgrade was attempted and rolled back as explained...All I'm trying to figure out here is if the Xp cd will download it's own modem drivers and be the cure all before the owner of the computer goes out and buys the Xp cd...Or is this a helpless case and they are better off buying a new compurter...Thanks for your assistance as it's always appreciated....

 

Hi,
Thank you for your assistance and I will post an update soon...Thanks again