how difficult to migrate from 98se to XP

First can you just upgrade from 98se to XP ?
and will it fix alot of the problems in 98SE such as 66 character length,
512 memory max etc. Will there be any big problems ?
Read alittle on XP, do you have to start at XP and then get all the
fixes in sp1,sp2,sp3 or can you upgrate with a copy that already has
the fixes. Just getting tired of chasing error and problems and would
llike to play some of the great games that require mem, and good
graphics. Just don't want to spend more time chasing errors.

Thanks All
Michael

 

Yes but run the upgrade advisor first, it'll warn you about many foreseeable problems with your Hardware/Drivers and software.

See: Description of the Windows XP Upgrade Advisor

Also have any install disks available for your currently installed software and back up your Data (I recommend a clean install).

The 66 character path limit is a DOS issue not 98.

XP 32bit will use all available memory up to ~3.5 Gigabytes, don't even contemplate the 64bit version.

You can upgrade straight to SP3.

 

As far as memory goes, XP will handle more, but will your Mother Board. That is another question. Probably won't handle what XP will because of it's age. For the price of an XP Disc, spend a few bucks more and get you a NEW PC with Windows 7 and be done with it. XP will expire in 2014 for any updates.

 

The upgrade advisor should catch that.

Can't argue against this though. Sound advice oldntryn, perhaps worth considering?

 

One problem seems to be obvious - Dial up in your Specs.
I would try and get a CD of XP SP3 as Downloading will take several hours with Dial up.

I originally moved from 98SE to XP and you have sufficient hardware specs to use XP OK. Just make sure you have plenty of space in your Hard Drive. Get rid of programs you don't need before you start.
All the best and you will enjoy XP. Cheers Neil.

 

Thanks everybody !
And Neil thanks the first hand info...

Well off to find XP...

PS can I use a used copy or will MS deny me updates because somebody
else has used it already..
Michael

 

Another consideration here, your file systems on your drives.
You have 80 Gb drives with the FAT32 file system. Assuming one is the C: drive and the other is the D: drive, the size of your file clusters would be 32Kb, leaving a lot of unused space on your drive. One a drive of this size, the unused space could add up to almost 1 Gb, depending on how the files fill their final cluster.
If formatted to the NTFS file system, those clusters will be 4Kb, minimizing the unused space.

 

You don't want to
XP is so different than win 98
On top of that some of the programs and versions of programs you have that worked on 98 won't work in xp
You will have nothing but troubles
On top of that your computer will have to chug along forever
do a fresh install