My wife has Windows XP, needs Windows 98 on her computer

[T Roosevelt]

I've considered getting rid of XP in favor of 98, or dual boot XP/98. To me the first option (98 only) seems more logical and less troublesome (since she doesn't really need XP).

What's the best solution, and the best way to go about it?

[FlashHarry]

1. Personally, I'd stick with XP

Win98 is (or soon will be) no longer supported by Microsoft. Personally, I've had far fewer problems with XP. In fact, and I hate to say this, I've had far fewer problems with XP than with Mac OSX at work.

[Japhy_Ryder]

2. I looked into this

And there appears to be only one way. You have to delete your hard drive, and then boot from a 98 install CD. XP is pretty much set up to not let you uninstall it.

[trotsky]

3. Why does she "need" Windows 98?

Old software? XP has some options you can set on the program icon to enable different compatibility modes, have you looked into that?

[xJlM]

4. 98 is kind of limited

But it's good enough for a lot of things. Microsoft won't support it after the first of the year, though. I have it, just to play games or watch DVDs, but I prefer Linux. Linux doesn't have the basic limitations built into it that W98 does.

[LTR]

23. How about Windows ME?

It's still the same OS as Win98, and it's still being sold and supported. You could possibly borrow the operating system disk from a friend (you didn't hear that from me ;) ). It may or may not be as good as 98se, but it will most likely be supported for a while yet.

Also, Win98 is still being supported by Microsoft. I've got it on my second computer because I have a few programs and peripherals (visioneer scanner, Adaptec CD Creator 4x, etc) that are incompatable with XP. Haven't seen on the Windows Update site if it's being left behind soon, but updates are still available. I know there are many computers still running it, but Microsoft has been known to be kind of greedy.

[Occulus]

27. WinME

Is the poorest fscking excuse for on OS ever made. It's buggy as hell.

Avoid WinME like the plague.

[hlthe2b]

5. I need to go the other way: upgrad WIN98 to WINXP

TRoosevelt: while I still really like WIN98 on my home desktop, it can't deal with all kinds of JAVA scripts and lots of multimedia problems.

CAN anyone advise me how best to go about the upgrade without risking what's on my hard drive? THanks!

[FlashHarry]

6. I prefer a clean install.

I've upgraded in the past and had problems. Do you have a CD-R? If so, I'd backup everything on my HD, reformat it, and perform a clean install of the full version of XP.

Just my two cents.

FYI, I upgraded from French Win98 to English Win98. It was hilarious! Half the error messages were in French, half in English!

[OKNancy]

24. I upgraded from 98 to XP

without a clean install. Lots of people say that, but I had no problems. One thing to do is run the compatibility check BEFORE you do the installation.

Here's the thing...... follow directions.

[Kamika]

7. stick with xp

It is ALOT better, and more stable then 98, im not a computer person at all and i think xp is ALOT better then 98

[T Roosevelt]

15. The problem is old software

It will not run in XP (98 or earlier). The upgrade software isn't worth the cost (thousands of $), so 98 is our solution.

[Kellanved]

18. Did you try the compatibility mode?

Probably you did, but I ask anyway.

[quisp]

8. one word: Linux

Check out http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/

It's a home/office friendly linux distribution. You could also keep M$Windoze on the machine and dual boot the system. If you would be comfortable setting up a dual boot XP/98 machine, linux will be a snap.

And there is plenty of software packages to do all you need:
Open Office (complete office productivity suite) www.openoffice.org
GIMP (does mostly what Photoshop does) www.gimp.org
Mozilla (internet browser,mail,calendar,chat,address) www.mozilla.org
GAIM (instant message client) gaim.sourceforge.net

Plus there is a huge, friendly, community to help you through the rough parts. Load it up and give it 2 weeks and I'll bet you never look back.


Linux: It's not just for geeks anymore.

[newyawker99]

10. Hi quisp!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[quisp]

14. thanks, it's nice to be home...

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[FlashHarry]

13. No worries. Just a dupe post!

FlashHarry
DU Moderator

[Deja Q]

12. WINEX, and WIn4lin to run older Win apps

vmware is not reliable and costs a lot of money. Win4lin only uses Win9x OS (no NT/2k/xp) but it will run apps at native speeds.

WINEX is useful for playing (many) of the DirectX games for Windows.

[sexybomber]

17. greetings quisp

nice to see somebody likes the same distro I do :D

I need a bigger hard drive to run it though, since I've nearly filled my current one...

anyway, welcome to DU! :hi:

[quisp]

20. thanks, glad to be here

I actually into my debian disto, but that's because I'm a propeller head with masochistic tendancies. I've got my kids working on Redhat. But Mandrake has a good reputation as being easy to install and run.

As far as hdd's go, c'mon they're going for less than a dollar a meg at CompU$A. I bet you could get yourself a 120gb hdd this weekend for $100.

[Nlighten1]

25. Indeed...

Welcome to DU!

[TacticalPeek]

9. I would go xp>w98 when there are specific reasons so to do.

I would say do it for general reasons, except its a considerable hassle.

First, I have never quite understood the caveats about M$ 'not supporting' something after x date (or IBM, anybody). I've seen nothing that ever effects my use of the products before or after the drop-dead date, for the specific uses I make of the product. By the time so-called 'support' is dropped, all significant bugs are fixed or worked around. That is why I prefer the older, and in my view, more stable version over the newer version starting it's way up the fix ladder.

A specific reason I often take clients from xp to w98 is that I find serial I/O in xp to be problematic, flakey and slow, usually. And the 'support' of service packs never seem to help it any. So when serial I/O is important, we go to w98 which we find faster and more reliable.

Without such a requirement though, we stay with XP due to the hassle of down-shifting. If you do step down, the main task before doing so is to first get all the w98 drivers you will need for your hardware, etc. Since drivers are currently usually obtained off the internet, make sure you find and get these first (double backed-up, and install instructions printed out). I have found no way around a full reformat and full install of w98. When the situation has required this move, we have been completely satisfied with the results.

However, my philosophy on this is based on the primacy I give to reliability and integrity of data when making IT decisions, and that stems from the business applications arena I work in. For purely personal use, these factors may be less important than others. If you like to try out 'new stuff', or need to interact with others' systems that tend toward the 'bleeding edge' of our technology wonderland, then better to stay with xp and its follow-ons.

[einsteins stein]

16. The problem with the xp/98 dual boot..

is that you have xp on there already, to dual boot xp/98, you have to completely wipe XP from the drive, install 98(SE I hope), then set up XP as the second OS.

The two systems dual boot nicely, and this may be a solution to your issue. If you need details on how to install the dual boot, take a look at Windows XP Inside-Out, by Microsoft Press. It's probably the best Microsoft Press book I've ever read, because it isn't written in Ancient Geek.

Good Luck

Stein

PS - I run 98se by itself. Of all the early Win versions, it is by far the best. Unfortunately, XP is the future, and 98 will go the way of Win 3.11 some day. :-(

However, don't do as I do, 'cause I'm just stubborn. ;-)

Dual booting now will keep you in XP territory, and when you have to change it will not be as difficult.

XP is just a better OS than anything Microsoft ever put out, don't toss it. I only stick to 98se because I was certified there, and am in a comfort zone (lazy).

[Spider Jerusalem]

21. Not necessarily.

You can create a separate FAT32 partition on the drive for installation of 98. Partition Magic 8 allows you to create new partitions without having to format the disk first. Clean wipe of the drive is NOT required.

[E Pluribus Unum]

19. xp needs lots of ram to work efficiently. You really need at least

500 ram for it to work very well.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

22. Win 98 is a step backwards, however

a clean install on a fast machine, and Win98 works fine. Fast and for the most part stable, it's still a good system if it's updated properly. It has limitations (it's a waste to add bouceaup memory because it won't use it), but it works fine. Soon there will be no further patches and updates, as they plan to discontinue support. They don't really care that there are MANY Win98 machines out there, working perfectly and happily.

You can't go backward from XP to Win2000, ME, or 98. You need to install 98 first on a clean hard drive (fdisk it from a boot floppy with two partitons) then you can add XP on the second partiton. If you want 98 to see the XP partition, be sure to install XP using Fat32. If you use NTFS it will be invisible to 98.

Don't forget to back up your critical data before wiping and reinstalling. Folders to protect are FAVORITES, MY DOCUMENTS, DESKTOP (if you have any executable files on your desktop), any Outlook files (outlook.pst), your AIM buddy lists, your address books, etc. Go through each directory to make sure you're not forgetting something important.

[BeFree]

26. 98 support going down?!?!?

This calls for a class action lawsuit.

Considering what I paid for that 98cd, and now they want to ditch me, I oughtta get at lest some of my money back.

Or, they could release the code so that I can change it at will.<g>

One of the two... this calls for class action action!! Who's with me?

[The Lone Liberal]

28. I have a problem ---- New computer with XP

Had a power bump a few days ago and have a lot of the functions, plus cannot change the color settings. Any thoughts? I tried recovery no help.