If you are currently running Windows 98/ME and are thinking of upgrading to Windows XP, this section will provide you with the know-how. Upgrading from Windows 98/ME is not without its dangers. You will need to prepare for it to avoid running into problems and damaging your existing Windows installation. Actually, calling it an upgrade is a bit of a misnomer; what happens is that Windows XP examines your system, moves all the personalised settings to a backup location, installs a fresh copy of Windows XP and copies back all the personalised settings to new locations. Also, it makes a backup of the previous version of Windows so you can uninstall XP and go back if anything goes wrong.
The activities that need to be carried out can be classified into the following stages:
1. Pre upgrade
2. Upgrade
3. Post Upgrade
Let’s look at the steps involved look at each stage.
1. The pre-upgrade stage
1. Verify the minimum requirements for the hardware and system configuration.
While Microsoft’s official recommendation is for a 300 MHz Pentium processor with 128 MB of RAM, experts and practical experience suggest you should at least have a Pentium III 500 MHz processor with at least 256 MB of RAM. Otherwise, Windows XP will be sluggish. In addition, you should have at least 1 or 2 GB of free hard disk space on your primary partition (the C: drive in most cases), an SVGA monitor that can support a screen resolution of 800 x 600 or higher, a display card, a sound card, a modem, and a CD or DVD drive. The sound card and modem are not essential, but you will want to connect to the Internet and update XP with all the latest patches once installation is complete, so a modem is required sooner or later. The sound card is preferable for your audio feedback (XP Setup sounds and music) at different stages of the setup process.
2. Which file system?
During setup, XP will ask you if you want to convert to NTFS from FAT/FAT32. FAT or FAT32 is the file system on which Windows 98/ME runs. NTFS is a newer, more robust file system used by both Windows 2000 and XP. Be warned, however, that this is a one-way street. If you convert to NTFS, you cannot convert back to FAT, and if you want to make your system a dual-boot, i.e. you want to be able to boot into either XP or Windows 98/ME, you will not be able to log into Windows 98/ME. The same goes if you want to uninstall XP and revert to your previous Windows version after converting to NTFS. During setup, it is best to leave it as FAT32, and later, after you have stopped relying on Windows 98/ME completely, you can convert from FAT32 to NTFS. In Windows XP, open a command prompt and type in “convert/?” to get details of the FAT32 to NTFS conversion process.
3. Hard disk clean-up
Run Scandisk and Disk Defragmenter. This will clean up the hard disk for the installation.
4. Run Upgrade Advisor
The Upgrade Advisor is an excellent tool that will test your system’s hardware and software compatibility with Windows XP. It is the same tool that runs during the XP Setup, but since you are running it independently, it will give you a report that will help you prepare for the upgrade. It is nearly 32 MB, in size and can be downloaded from www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/upgrading/advisor.asp.
Once you’ve verified and are satisfied about the compatibility of your hardware and software, you can start the upgrade.
2. Upgrading to Windows XP
1. Insert the CD-ROM and select “Install Windows XP.”
2. Close all running applications such as virus scanners, spyware scanners, etc.
3. Choose an installation type. You can either upgrade or do a clean install. The clean install will either overwrite the existing OS or create a dual-boot system where you can select to either log in to XP or your previous Windows version at system startup. If you’re opting for a dual-boot, don’t forget to retain your FAT/FAT32 file system. We assume you’re opting for an in-place upgrade, so choose “Upgrade (Recommended)” and click next.
4. Accept the license agreement and enter the product key in the next screen.
5. This step duplicates the Upgrade Advisor and verifies the hardware and software compatibility. Review the report and proceed if you are satisfied, else cancel the installation and rectify the problems identified by the Upgrade Advisor.
Running The Upgrade Advisor
The first screen is basic information about the Advisor.
In this screen, you are asked if you want to connect to the Internet and get the latest compatibility updates
More information on compatibility Even more information on compatibility, informing you about the report categories
Upgrade Advisor connects to the Internet and downloads the latest compatibility information updates
The advisor examines the system against the latest compatibility list
6. If you are connected to the Internet, Setup will ask you if it can get updated setup files over the Internet. It is strongly recommended to accept this, as you will get all the latest critical updates and driver updates.
7. Windows XP Setup will be updated. It will copy some files to the hard disk and reboot. On reboot, if you see a message to press any key to boot from the CD-ROM, ignore it. Setup has configured itself to run from the hard disk.
8. Setup will copy more files and reboot again. Ignore the message to press any key to boot from the CD.
9. Setup installs devices and the network, and then copies files and configures the rest of the files needed to install XP.
10. Finally, program and system settings are upgraded, temporary files are removed, and the system reboots again.
11. The first time XP boots, you are presented with the option of connecting to the Internet, activating Windows and optionally registering. You are then presented with the XP desktop.
The upgrade report lists all the software and hardware with problems and requiring either replacement or XP-compatible updates.
Save this report and review it to determine which hardware and software requires replacement or upgrades You can also visit the Windows Catalog Web site to get a list of hardware and software that will work with Windows
3. Post-Upgrade Tasks
1. Testing Installed Software
Check all your software programs to see if they are working. If any are not, try reinstalling the application or visit the software vendor’s Web site to get XP updates for the program. If they still don’t work, go to “Fixing a problem” in the “Help and Support Center” to get help in solving application and software problems.
2. Testing Installed Hardware
Check if all the hardware is working. Right-click on My Computer, and go to Properties > Hardware, and click on Device Manager. See if there are any problematic devices; double-click to see the properties page and the error code. See the Troubleshooting Hardware Device Conflicts in Windows section of this guide to understand what the Device Manager error codes mean, and their possible resolution. Update the drivers as applicable by right-clicking on the problematic device and selecting Update Driver. Leave the XP setup CD in the drive and try the option “Install the software automatically (Recommended)”. If that doesn’t work, get the updated Windows XP driver from the manufacturer. If that fails, go to “Fixing a problem” in the “Help and Support Center” to get help in solving application and software problems.
3. Run Windows Update
Update your installation of Windows XP with all the patches, other updates, and service packs by connecting to the Windows Update site.
4. Defragment your hard disk
The upgrade would have made your system files heavily fragmented. Open My Computer, right-click the installation drive (usually C:), select Properties, click on the Tools tab, and select “Defragment Now”.
5. Customise
Further customise the system—wallpapers, screensavers, etc. You are now ready to use Windows XP! Use Windows XP for a few weeks to verify that everything is working correctly. Once this is confirmed, go to Add or Remove Programs. Remove the option to revert to your old system. This will save on disk space, but be warned that there is no going back to your previous OS once you remove it.
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