Can you upgrade Windows 98 Second Edition to Windows XP Home?

I am thinking of purchasing the Home Version XP upgrade version and would appreciate some advise.

I am currently running Windows 98 Second Edition. I would like to know if I can just install XP on top? Will all my programs run as they are currently running?

Are there any problems that I should be aware of?

Someone mentioned that I should unstall everything and start from scratch - I obviously do not want to do this as it is a big hassle and I have programs on my machine that I have to find again which could be difficult.

Please give me your feedback.

Thanks.

Anne

 

In fact when you install xp, home or pro. you have the option to upgrade from operating systems of 98se, ME, 2000. My advice would be to reload and before that to use some Kind of Wipe utility on you hard drive for better performance of the operating system after install. It will run tons better.

 

Assuming that your hardware will all work and that you have enough memory (both system RAM & Video RAM), the upgrade will probably do nicely. XP and 98SE are different enough that it is pretty much a total re-do.

I'd suggest an absolute minimum of 128Mb of memory and 16Mb of video memory. Better with 256 & 32/64.

I do suggest you opt for NTFS rather than FAT32 for the file system since this will also help in making the upgrade more like a clean install.

I normally do clean installs after having bad luck with some upgrades and when moving from some PCs from NT or 2K, I did all clean installs. However, the 95/98 to XP is one where I would try an upgrade myself.

Unless you have already bought XP, you might want to also consider getting XP-Pro rather than Home. Costs a little more but IMO is worth the extra.

After you complete the upgrade, there is a possibility that some of your older programs may not run or may not run well. If so, there should be an option on the shortcut to run them in compatibility mode where you can choose the operating system version they see when they run. Where necessary you can just tell the application is is still on 98 and all should be well. Exceptions to this are some of the really old 16bit apps (old DOS stuff) that may just not run.