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Dumb Upgrade Advice/Question
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Posted by: jrpm
Okay, 30 years+ in DP, almost as many playing with PC's.
Would you believe this is the first time I am considering an upgrade in place?
I have a 450MHZ Sceptre with 20GB disk and 256MB RAM. It is just above the minimum for XP. It is currently 98. For reasons not relevant I have come into an XP Pro upgrade package that says it can take the laptop to XP Pro. Since I use it mostly for work, it would be convenient to have Pro on it.
In the past,when I have jumped OS releases like this (three, maybe four levels), I just bought a new computer and re-installed the software. That is not convenient in this case because of the work files, etc. (My employer tolerates my using my own laptop because I started with it years before their 'If We Did Not Buy It, You Can't Use It' policy for security. They won't release some of the software if I use my old 'get a new one' approach and their required models come with a bureacracy load that is way too much.)
So my question/request for advice. Will the upgrade bring along my software and files or am I essentially facing a new install even though it is an upgrade in place?.
(Yes, I will back up first,)
Posted by: RAcastClarke
The files and whatnot should still be there, unless XP Pro uses a different file thingy (I think I mean like FAT32 and FAT and stuff) compared to Windows 98. Basic stuff like text documents and bitmaps and whatnot will definetly transfer, because they're universal formats.
But you already knew that.
Posted by: Ocean
are you asking whether or not you should put winxp pro on your laptop?
my advice: no
one of the strengths of winxp is the stable ntfs file system. just upgrading win98 to winxp wont change it, so you will lose some of the potential stability benefits. but you will still be running very sluggishly due to only meeting the minimum functional requirements for winxp. chose windows 2000 pro instead for that machine.
your applications will work on an individual basis, youll have to check each ones compatibility with win2k/winxp
you will have to backup everything as you wont be left with a functionally upgraded system if you just upgrade over win98.
if you want better speed and stability, choose windows 2000 (which is ntfs). but no matter what operating system you chose, you will have do a wipe and a reinstall in order to see any benefits that are buisiness related.
Posted by: jrpm
I am not concerned as much about performance. Most of what it is used for is SQL Server Enterprise Manager, Oracle Enterprise Manager, related SQL utilities and secure terminal emulators (also EMAIL, etc.) Most of the actual work/processing is done on remote servers. The few other programs I use I already have on XP Pro machines, so I know they work. (And the games, after all it is my machine, not the company's.)
My question was more towards having to worry about re-installing those programs, that is, in normal circumstances will I have to do a re-install. The em's and terminal emulators will take a lot of time to reconfigure if I have to install because of the number of servers I support.
My wife is in the same boat with her desktop. She's a SOHO and is extremely reluctant to upgrade if it means she will have to reload all her software.
As for the stability factor, I am one of those rare people that haven't had too many problems, hardware or OS. My worst was what led me here, and that turned out to be my motherboard on a new computer (the one I am using now, in fact, which is XP Pro), and that was several years ago. I am looking to upgrade because there is enough increased capability in networking in XP, and the new software doesn't support 98 any more, to make it viable. But viable does not mean preferable, yet.
I'll nibble at the bullet, if it is not too inconvenient. But I will delay biting it until I have to (which will probably be Longhorn.)
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