Can you upgrade windows 98 to something more recent?

I have windows 98 and i wanna upgrade to a newer version so my computer will run better and faster. Is there a way of upgrading or am I stuck with windows 98????? Any help would be apreciated!

 

I have Win 98 and win XP in dual boot. I find no noticable speed difference.

Your system may be underpowered for the amount of software programs you are running, particularly background programs, but a straight upgrade will make the machine even slower because Win XP is basically a larger system.

Go to Control Panel -> System, on the first tab it shows you the CPU speed and the amount of RAM installed. On the Performance tab you will see the amount of free resources, if this is much under 40% I think the system is overloaded.

Alternatives?
Upgrade to Win XP, but you will putting in an even bigger OS.
Find what is causing the slow speed (Antiviruses can be large cause).
Backup, reformat, but this will mean updating again (Windows Updates, Internet Explorer, DirectX, reinstall drivers and software, etc), although it should be as fast as when you got it. Hold out and get a new system that is Windows Vista capable (Vista will be released in January). Win XP will be having it's support reduced soon.

If you get more RAM and that does not markedly improve the performance of 98, then upgrading to XP will only make things worse. You would then need to format and install XP fresh.

More RAM might tide you over until you can get a Vista system. Again, watch that the system you get is well covered for requirements or you will be in the same position later on.

Matt

 

carleneweeks19--Just to add to what has been said.
Another cause of slow running could be that you have not cleaned your cache or defragmented your PC.
Click My Computer|right click the drive with the operating system (probably C:\)|General tab|DiskCleanUp. Let the scan run, uncheck any boxes you know you do not want to clean, OK.
Then go back to Click My Computer|right click the drive with the operating system (probably C:\)|Tools tab. Turn off all running programs including Screen Saver, Scheduled Tasks, even Internet connection. Run ScanDisk and when that is finished run Defragmenter. They will take a while. Probably best to reboot.
If you determine you do not not have the correct requirements to install XP or Vista on your present PC, perhaps best to buy a new PC? Get one that has XP preinstalled but is Vista-Ready and which should come with a coupon to get Vista free sometime in 2007. Of course, if you can get a real bargain on a closeout PC with XP, but no coupon, consider that, too.