Upgrading from Win 98 to 2000 Pro

L

learninglisted

My old Pentium II machine (not my trading computer) runs Win 98 and is getting tons of fatal error messages, blue screens of death, locking up, etc.

I want to use it for scanning, etc., but not in its current state.

I run 2000 Pro on my trading computer and have the CD.

My question is, can I upgrade my Win 98 computer to 2000 Pro with the CD or do I need the UPGRADE Cd?

To clarify, I know I could erase my hard drive and then install 2000 Pro using the CD, but I'm wondering if I could upgrade without having to back up tons of stuff first.

I'm not sure if that would solve the various problems, though.

Expert opinions welcome.

P.S. Would an alternative be to buy an XP upgrade?
 
Quote from learninglisted:

My old Pentium II machine (not my trading computer) runs Win 98 and is getting tons of fatal error messages, blue screens of death, locking up, etc.

I want to use it for scanning, etc., but not in its current state.

I run 2000 Pro on my trading computer and have the CD.

My question is, can I upgrade my Win 98 computer to 2000 Pro with the CD or do I need the UPGRADE Cd?

To clarify, I know I could erase my hard drive and then install 2000 Pro using the CD, but I'm wondering if I could upgrade without having to back up tons of stuff first.

I'm not sure if that would solve the various problems, though.

Expert opinions welcome.

P.S. Would an alternative be to buy an XP upgrade?
More...

1. I have Win2000 and XP on trading computers. I prefer Win2000.

2. IMO... Save youself some headache and go for a fresh install of Win2K. At least that way, you should have to do it only once.
 
Is win2000 a restore disc that came with a new computer? If so it may not install on another computer. If it is a regular cd then you can install it right over 98 with the option of dual boot or not. I would reccomend fdisking and starting from scratch, though.
 
You may encounter software or hardware incompatibility problems going from W98 to W2K. I would download the latest W2K drivers for your video and sound cards before starting. In addition some software programs just won't run on W2K. Older versions of WordPerfect , for example, as well as Adobe Acrobat, I believe. I'm sure there are many others. When you do the W2K install, I'm pretty sure the install will generate a report listing hardware and software incompatibility, and giving you an opportunity to cancel install. If you do the install, be sure to get the latest Windows updates from the Microsoft website.
 
Thanks for all the responses.

It sounds like it would be better to reformat the hard drive and do a "clean" installation of whichever new operating system (2000 Pro or XP).

I've never reformatted a hard drive before and installed a new OS. Is it difficult?

How do I know if XP will even run on my old PII computer?

What about the BIOS? Does that change automatically with the new OS or do I have to somehow get another one? Or is that part of the motherboard function?

You can tell I'm not a computer whiz!

Thanks again.
 
Somewhere on the microsoft site there is a place that will check out your puter and tell you if it can be upgraded.Go to mocrosoft and search for windows upgrade.
 
Quote from learninglisted:

Thanks for all the responses.

It sounds like it would be better to reformat the hard drive and do a "clean" installation of whichever new operating system (2000 Pro or XP).

I've never reformatted a hard drive before and installed a new OS. Is it difficult?

How do I know if XP will even run on my old PII computer?

What about the BIOS? Does that change automatically with the new OS or do I have to somehow get another one? Or is that part of the motherboard function?

You can tell I'm not a computer whiz!

Thanks again.
More...

Do a search on google or yahoo "installing windows 2000". You will come up with several step-by-step articles. I am not a computer whiz either, but by following the articles I located on the web was able to do successfually do a clean install of Win 2000 pro on my machine.
 
Quote from mail2smitty:

Would be a good idea to start from scratch as gnome suggests. You will eliminate the old problems and can make use of the NTFS file system instead of the Fat32 system that Win98 used. The following website is handy for doing this:

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/win2k_pro_install.asp

Hope this helps,
smitty
More...

What a great site. Thank you! And you're right, NTFS kicks butt over FAT32--much more stable. Data compression too, if you want. I've also heard that a fresh install of Win2K/XP is better than upgrading from 9x.

To 'learinglisted': Windows 2000 and XP are equally stable. Some prefer 2000 because there's less 'eye candy', which actually takes up resources.

Your BIOS for 2000 should be fine. I have a P-I 'puter from '96 with 2K on it and the original BIOS--works fine. Not sure about XP's req's.

Good luck. :)
 
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