XP pro over 98se

XP pro can be purchased at the local school for $12.95. Would it be advisable to install XP pro over 98se? Please advise. Thanks for your time.

 

Yes.Win98SE is well maintained and not having any problems. However, I do not have a Win98 CD, just a recovery disk. XP pro I have purchased at the local college for $12.95 is aparently of no value to me? Thanks for your reply, Christer.

 

Lis,

Is the WinXP Pro cd you purchased legit from Microsoft or a copy? I ask this because if its from Microsoft it should say right on the CD if it is an Upgrade CD or a full version WinXP CD. If it is the full version, you can do a clean install onto your computer (means reformatting as Christer stated) and not have any problems with upgrade compatibility. If the CD is an upgrade, do what Christer said to see if it is compatible with your version of Windows 98SE. You cannot use an upgrade cd for a clean install (w/ reformat), but I do think you can use a full version for an upgrade.. not sure.

As for your original question, I would definitely prefer XP Pro over 98SE. There is sort of a learning curve associated with the switch (nothing major, just things moved around or different ways to access them), but as long as your system has enough RAM and an OK processor speed to let XP Pro run smoothly, I think the switch would be beneficial, opening up a bunch of new features as well as continued product updates (I saw in another thread that 98SE would be ending soon for critical updates. ? again not 100% sure though.) Beware with a clean install you may need to find some drivers, although XP does an excellent job in taking care of most of them for you.

SKEL

 

That would raise questions for me.

An OEM machine with a Recovery disk.

I myself put XP Pro overtop of 98SE with no problems. But I do not have an OEM machine.

The first thing Lis would need to determine is there HD space enough. XP takes bit more than SE. ( almost twice as much for me )



BillyBob

 

You cannot use an upgrade cd for a clean install (w/ reformat),

If the upgrade is like the SE upgrade you can. All you need is the SE CD to verify a previous version.

The upgrade is just the same ( OS wise ) as the Full Other than needing a previous version.

BillyBob

 

Thanks for the correction BillyBob. I was not aware they were the same, nor that you could do that with a 98SE upgrade. Good to know though!

 

What kind of XP Pro is it? My son's college gives away free copies of Office (something). But that disc can only install to two computers then the disc is toast!

 

Lis - I'm sorta like the others in liking a clean install vs an upgrade for most things. 2000 server over NT4 server is about the only upgrade I know that seems bullet proof if NT is working OK.

That being said, XP over 98 if 98 is running OK is likely to do you a good job. XP over ME is often a horror tale but based on comments here (and especially the results Billy Bob had and reported on) I really wouldn't hesitate to load XP over 98.

As to how the disk you have will work, no opinion on that.

 

The disk is a new legit microsoft XP pro. OS. I shall place the disk in the tray, follow the yellow brick road and "Shazzam" up and running with XP. Hopefully, the loading is that easy? Currently my PC is malfunction free. Perhaps I should leave well enough alone? However, Microsoft will stop security updates for 98se in January 04. To do or not to do that is the question? Does XP require more DRAM?