how do you upgrade from win 98 to XP?

[mamazon]

friend wants to get ontp the internet she had it all installed but her PC is saying its not compatible as she needs XP but its running on windows 98.

she went to PC world and was told that they dont sell the upgrades and she will need a whole new PC.
i don't believe this si correct.

does anyone know who she goes about it, and how does she do it as cheaply as possible

[NadineBaggott]

that doesn't sound right

but what do I know?

[themoon66]

No she doesn't need a whole new PC. I've upgraded my laptop to XP and it was windows 95 or some such antique when I got it.

She just needs the discs for XP. I believe it will overwrite.

DH will know the details, but he is sitting on the loo with the daily papers at the moment !

[mamazon]

hmm nice.

where would she get the discs from if not Pc world?

could she borrow someon elses? im wondering if we could ask on freecycle (or would that be incredibly cheeky)

im not very good at this techy stuff

[themoon66]

No you cannot borrow them. They are coded to the buyer. Unless you know a geeky person who can overide them. Which is what I did.

[kindersurprise]

I "borrowed" them from my mum, worked fine, with no decoding needed. Don't know if that was just luck though

[themoon66]

Been thinking about this..... windows 98 should still get you onto the internet. I don't see why she needs XP if that's all she wants to do.

[Kaloo20]

however if the license number is not unique your PC will get slower and s l o w e r and s l o w e r

MS are clever

[Reallytired]

It should be possible for your friend to access the internet with Windows 98. Does she want Broadband or to use an old fashioned dial up moden?

What is the specification of her PC. The machine might not cope with the upgrade

PC world are not best place to buy software. I imagine she wants XP home

www.amazon.co.uk/Windows-Upgrade-without-Media-Player/dp/B0009YD2LG/ref=sr_1_2/026-98?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21 54395-7682052?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1189283401&sr=1-2

Prehaps one problem is that Microsoft have released Windows Visa. Maybe your friend might be better buying a new PC with Visa instead of up grading to Windows XP.

[hex]

lol...We have windows 98SE (special edition) on the computer I am using now so it obviously does work...I do online banking, buying flights, ebay, email, etc etc. Some things I can't access like 'designing an ikea kitchen', etc cause you need a more updated version...but most things I want or need, I can.

[Oenophile]

PC World are not the best place for PC advice and often what they say is dismissive as it's much less trouble, and more profitable, to sell you 'a whole new pc'. Your friend would do much better to find an independent techie person advertising pc services - I'd be surprised if her pc couldn't be connected to the net as it is.

I've been on the internet since about 1997, starting with a pc running Windows 3.1 (several versions ago!) The only thing I can think of re this 'not compatible' message is that her router, or her modem, doesn't have 98 drivers installed, as most things are geared to XP and later these days - but it might be an easy matter to sort that out.

Having said that, I clung on to 98 till last year and then reluctantly upgraded to XP - and wouldn't go back now. XP is MUCH more stable and less inclined to crash, and it makes certain things such as adding new hardware a complete doddle. However, as another poster pointed out, it's very resource-hungry and if her PC is very old it may be too slow to handle XP. In which case 98 is perfectly adequate - back to finding a suitable PC repairman, who would probably visit her in her home to advise her (at a cost of course.)