OT question about installing Windows XP

[Robert K]

We recently purchased a refurb Dell laptop and received an XP Professional reinstallation disk. When I loaded the disk in my desktop that's running 98SE and ran a compatability check, it said that it could not upgrade from 98SE to XP. My question is this: If I reformat the drive and then insert the XP Pro disk, will I be able to install XP on my desktop? We've been running XP on a newer desktop and I really like the restore function. Anyone who's dealt with 98 will no why. I also like that everything you plug into an XP machine just works...no drivers to find. The scary thing is that once I reformat the drive, it's pretty much the point of no return. The couple of times I've had to reinstall 98SE, it's taken a few days to get everything loaded back up and running properly. I don't even know if it would be possible now that MS has quite supporting 98. So, I'm seeking some expert advice here before I really mess something up that I'll regret.

Grace and peace,

Robert K
1991 535i

[Anton CH.]

You can make a ghost image of the drive provided that you have a second drive. I believe Norton makes some sort of utility for that. Alternatively, make 2 partitions so you have both 98 and XP but it can get messy.

But seriously, 98? Vista already came out.

[genphreak]

But seriously, 98? Vista already came out.You are way better off with a real Operating System, the best of breed for making the switch from 'doze is Ubuntu 7.04 (http://www.ubuntulinux.org/). Believe me, you'll never, ever look back... there is just no need to put up with MS now.

[Tiger]

If you are ready to clean install... simply boot up from the CD during startup... they will say press any key to boot from CD... Once you are there, you can tell it to format the hard drive and do clean install. This is highly recommended method as you do not want any crap from old system affecting new system.

What is the current spec of the old computer?

[Robert K]

We actually bought a brand new Dell laptop with Vista. It took about all of a day to realize we weren't going to sit around waiting for the computer to do what we asked it to. Granted, we only got 512 Mg of memory, but it was an absolute slug compared to our 98SE and XP machines. We returned it ASAP for a full refund. Then we bought a Dell refurb laptop. It was a lot cheaper AND had XP Pro on it. It works great and you don't sit around waiting for it to process whatever it is that Vista always seems to be processing.

I just read an article yesterday that said that Dell was going back to offering XP on most of their machines. Now, if you want Vista, you have to specify it. I just now checked their website and it's true. In my opinion, just because Vista is new doesn't necessarily mean it's better.

Grace and peace,

Robert K
1991 535i

[Robert K]

To be honest, it runs fine now. I actually think it's as quick as our 1 year old Dell running XP. However, occasional lockups, driver issues and the ever pending crash are the main reasons I'd like to put XP on it.

Grace and peace,

Robert K
1991 535i

[632 Regal]

you have a real XP disk? If its a repair/reinstall that is most likely the problem and will only work on the laptop, not your other PC.

If you reformat set it to 16 bit not 32 and it will be faster like 98SE, Im not the government and dont need this security crap, Vista is 64bit and is more invasive when it comes to microlimp.

I always set my XP machines up as 16bit and not 32 simply because I like it better, the only disadvantage is you cant download or use any files over 4gig.

I also shut off that automatic update thing that sneaks into your PC and narks if it's not the correct disk for the passcode. How many times should I pay for the stupid disk anytime I redo a new drive or some ****. Also make sure you disconnect the internet during install for the same reason.

If you need a real disk pm me and I can mail a backup to you. Or you can torrent one if you know about them things ;)

[dacoyote]

Said Something

dude... starting early today?

[632 Regal]

http://www.bimmer.info/%7Eregal632/bumpchop5.jpg
dude... starting early today?

[Tiger]

Robert, do yourself a favor... please upgrade the memory to at least 512MB... I prefer 1GB Ram... in your case, I'd pop in 512MB with your 256MB to give you 760MB. Even on your newer Dell.

Install it on FAT format... don't bother with FAT32 or FAT16 like Jeff said... they are not worth it.

I have installed XP on much slower computer and they run fine as long the memory is there. Dell usually don't give you full version XP... they give you restore CD unless you bought them from a reseller instead.

[Qube]

If you have at least 256MB and 5GB disk space, XP will be fine. If you have a FULL version of XP, then it will also install fine... BUT you will need to get drivers for maximum performance. For example, in-box drivers will provide basic functionality like basic video. You may be able to get a newer graphics driver from the manufacturer or Omegadrivers.net.

Install it with NTFS unless you have a drive smaller than 5GB. It will give you better overall performance and tolerance to fragmentation than FAT.

Keep in mind these are recommendations from someone that makes a living working INSIDE Microsoft for Enterprise Platforms Performance.

As a base, I run XP Home on my Sony Vaio U1. This has a 933MHz Crusoe processor with 256MB of ram and an upgraded 30GB 1.8" drive. It ran like a slug even when completely tweaked because the 'older' 20GB drive was the performance bottleneck. After the upgrade, it does fine.

For more intensive tasks, I've replaced it with a UX17GP with 1.2GHz Core Solo and 512MB on 30GB 1.8". Runs just as spiffy, except I can do more 'pretty things' with it.

To cap it off again, the primary issue of XP being slugs on older computers is that you have less than 256MB of memory or a slow hard drive. It is already presumed that the processor is more than 800MHz and that is a non-issue. The only other issue left is end user expectation. Understand that basic tasks will work great. Office 2003 will run fine... surfing the 'net will be great, but ripping MP3s, playing HD rips and such won't be.

NB: In regards to Vista... if the PC says Vista Capable, don't bother. It should at least say Vista Premium Ready for acceptable performance. Too many OEMs are shoehorning Vista into Capable boxes just for marketing.

[Robert K]

The disk I have is a reinstallation disk from Dell, which I'm assuming means that I either shouldn't or can't use it to do the install on the older machine. I probably just need to back up the important stuff to a disk and keep plugging away with 98SE until it crashes. When that happens, maybe that will be the sign that it's time to just get a new computer.

P.S. Thanks to everyone for the advice and help.

Grace and peace,

Robert K
1991 535i

[Tiger]

It is definitely cheaper to buy new computer than to upgrade that old computer... Dell has $449 with dual Intel processor and 19" LCD monitor computer set... You really can't beat that.

[tdgard]

I don't think you'll have any luck installing XP on a second machine. I think you will have to convince MS that your laptop has turned into a desktop & then all the support for the laptop is gone.

I--with great trepidation--just bought a new machine with Vista installed. It replaced an old win2K and very upgraded desktop that just died. In a hurry I had to buy something off the shelf & Vista is all you can get now (special order for XP).

After immediately sticking in 2MB ram on top of the 2MB installed & getting a NVIDIA 8800 graphics card that supports DX10 on top of the dual core processor, I can say I am more than pleased with this machine and operating system. Vista is a bit of a bitch to get used to with all the stupid warnings that pop up constantly, but after a couple of weeks you get all those turned off & it's been quite stable.

If you have even a mediocre machine I would not recommend it, but if you buying a new one--they are now cheap enough to get something that can support Vista and be happy with it.