Can someone give me a fast lesson please ?

[MICRO]

I have for many years had 98se on my machine and must reluctantly move
on a bit - I have an unused OEM of XP SP2 -

Can I simply Format the 98se HDD and install the new XP without issues, or do I need to consider other things ?

[HURST]

AFAIK, just format and install.
Be sure to have all the needed drivers!
BAckup all your data ;)

[WSFuser]

As long as the computer can handle XP, you should be fine.

[19monty64]

I did the same thing a couple years ago without issue. It was a 256m/ram & 1gHz/CPU that was not as fast with XP, especially with some of the bloated software I used. Never the less, a simple format and install was all I needed...

[jonyjoe81]

Yes, that should work. I recommend you format the hard drive with NTFS. You can use FAT32, but NTFS is design for windows xp and will work very well. I format all my hard drives with NTFS including my external drives and have never had any problems.

I was also very hesitant to move from windowsME to windows xp, but it was definitely worth the upgrade.

[ErikAlbert]

Once XP is installed and activated, take an image and keep it for restoration only.

[farmerlee]

Installation is pretty straight forward. The only issue you may have is whether your computer has the necessary resources to run XP efficiently. You may find XP run very slow compared to 98 if your hardware is not up to speed.

[EASTER]

If it helps any i run XP Pro on only 256Mb right now with this unit of 1Ghz myself and even watch FLV movies on it with no serious impact, but then i also cut some services like the usual Messenger, WirelessConfig, TaskScheduler, Remote Registry etc.

No matter how one cuts it, with reducing unused services the XP certainly does respond to that bit of relief especially when using limited RAM.

[djohn]

{QUOTE-> Yes, that should work. I recommend you format the hard drive with NTFS. You can use FAT32, but NTFS is design for windows xp and will work very well. I format all my hard drives with NTFS including my external drives and have never had any problems.

I was also very hesitant to move from windowsME to windows xp, but it was definitely worth the upgrade. <-QUOTE}
My god ME, I jumped on XP first chance I got from windows ME Fat32 to XP NTSF.My Opinion windows ME was the bugiest and most unstable OS MS ever released.

[HURST]

Same here...escaped from ME as fast as I could and installed XP as soon it came out.

Eventually I had to go back to 98se, since it was a 750 mhz P3 with 128 MB...

[MICRO]

{QUOTE-> I format all my hard drives with NTFS including my external drives and have never had any problems.
<-QUOTE}

I say thanks to everyone for the help - but then it leads to other questions
such as yours jonyjoe.,

When you say you format 'with NTFS' I wonder where you see the option
because whenever I format at the Dos prompt on 98se I don't remember
seeing any alternatives ?

[lodore]

{QUOTE-> I say thanks to everyone for the help - but then it leads to other questions
such as yours jonyjoe.,

When you say you format 'with NTFS' I wonder where you see the option
because whenever I format at the Dos prompt on 98se I don't remember
seeing any alternatives ? <-QUOTE}
Hello MICRO,
you get the option to format as NTFS when you install windows xp.
during the install you select the partition you want to use and it will give you the option of formattting it as ntfs.

it wasnt an option in windows 98 it has only been an option for microsoft operating systems based on NT such as NT 4.0,windows 2000 pro windows XP windows vista.
hope this helps

[MICRO]

{QUOTE-> AFAIK, just format and install.
Be sure to have all the needed drivers!
BAckup all your data ;) <-QUOTE}
Thanks HURST -
Will XP have generic Drivers for some things ? such as the
Floppy,CD and Plug 'n Play - I do have disks for the external Modem and the DVD.

[RAD]

I upgraded from ME to XP and didn't have to format the HD. It preserved all my documents, programs, and settings and just transferred the approriate things to XP. It all worked seemlessly.

[MICRO]

{QUOTE-> Hello MICRO,
you get the option to format as NTFS when you install windows xp.
during the install you select the partition you want to use and it will give you the option of formattting it as ntfs.
<-QUOTE}
Thanks lodore - Ah I see - Can you imagine that the majority of XP'ers
do go via NTFS ?
I have been using ATI for several years via Fat without one single hitch and
must hope that ATI will work equally as well with NTFS.

[HURST]

{QUOTE-> Thanks HURST -
Will XP have generic Drivers for some things ? such as the
Floppy,CD and Plug 'n Play - I do have disks for the external Modem and the DVD. <-QUOTE}

Yes, most of hardware has generic drivers, but some can be really tricky.

[MICRO]

{QUOTE-> Once XP is installed and activated, take an image and keep it for restoration only. <-QUOTE}
Thanks Erik., - I have been taking ATI's for several years on my 98se and am hoping to do the same on XP - I also use 'Syncback' each week to backup
onto DVD's.

What I most could do with knowing is how one can lighten XP from any rubbish such as 'Messenger' I believe it's called and I think there are other
things too - I always hoped to never have to switch out of 98se and it's very unfortunate that I do, due to many Apps. now dropping the compatibility with 98se.

[MICRO]

{QUOTE-> If it helps any i run XP Pro on only 256Mb right now with this unit of 1Ghz myself and even watch FLV movies on it with no serious impact, but then i also cut some services like the usual Messenger, WirelessConfig, TaskScheduler, Remote Registry etc.

No matter how one cuts it, with reducing unused services the XP certainly does respond to that bit of relief especially when using limited RAM. <-QUOTE}
Thanks EASTER -
Can you say 'how to' lose all those items you mention safely please, because I would not want them either, and any more that you can think of -
Is it simply via 'Add/Remove' ? or do other measures need to be taken ?

[djohn]

I Remember back when I had ME,my tech support for my pc had a list or cheat sheat if you will, which services can be disabled safely. it made a world of difference In performance with a 800mhz with a 128mb stick,but then added another to get 256mb before the upgrade to XP.It was not by any means a speedy machine,but well worth how stable it became.

[lodore]

MICRO this maybe useful to you
http://www.nliteos.com/
its used to remove unneeded componants.
its also used to create an unatended install of windows xp so you dont havw to aanswer questions during install.
NTFS is a much better fileing system than fat32 and doesnt fragment as much.

btw disabling services doesnt really make much difference in speed but can cause problems later on when using certain software/hardware and can be hard to trace which service is causing it.

[WSFuser]

MICRO - look here on how to disable services (http://www.blackviper.com/AskBV/XP1.htm)

Black Viper's site has lots of info on the services too so reading it should help you decide which services to disable.

[HURST]

MICRO

more info on XP performance tweaks can be found here:
http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/WindowsXP.htm

needless to say, backup before doing this, in case anything goes wrong

[Infinite Luta]

{QUOTE-> When you say you format 'with NTFS' I wonder where you see the option
because whenever I format at the Dos prompt on 98se I don't remember
seeing any alternatives ? <-QUOTE}

You should be able to just boot from the CD, format, and go from there. No use of DOS required. :)

The windows XP installation has the ability to format partitions as either NTFS or FAT32 and has a limited ability to create/delete partitions. It practically has to since WinNT/2k/XP doesn't have a 16-bit DOS subsystem like Win9x does. There's a totally different beast under the hood than Win9x.

BTW, Windows 2000 Professional SP4 might be a viable option for computers than can barely handle Windows XP. It's still more resource hungry than Windows 98 was, but lighter than XP and just as stable in my own experience.

[MICRO]

{QUOTE-> MICRO this maybe useful to you
http://www.nliteos.com/
its used to remove unneeded componants.
its also used to create an unatended install of windows xp so you dont havw to aanswer questions during install.
NTFS is a much better fileing system than fat32 and doesnt fragment as much.

btw disabling services doesnt really make much difference in speed but can cause problems later on when using certain software/hardware and can be hard to trace which service is causing it. <-QUOTE}
Thanks again lodore and the other guys who are being so helpful - I have taken a scrolling pic. of the page so that I can refer to it and the same re. the addy pages.

In the meantime I've decided to put together a new machine to which I shall install XP instead of possible anxious moments with mine which I need daily, but am wondering how one works out certain items, such as I have my eye on getting a Intel E6750 CPU but don't know which motherboard to go with it - did you ever come across a site which tells of all the pieces required in a box ?
1) The box and PSU
2) CPU
3) Motherboard
4) Graphics card
5) RAM memory
6) Combo CD/DVD burner
7) Sound card, or is that on the Mobo ?
Can you think of what else I require ? - what are those strap like things in the box ?
I don't need any real fancy machine for 'gaming' or watching 'tv' etc., just a
reasonably quick machine that can burn, and I can play a video if ever required.

[MICRO]

{QUOTE-> MICRO - look here on how to disable services (http://www.blackviper.com/AskBV/XP1.htm)

Black Viper's site has lots of info on the services too so reading it should help you decide which services to disable. <-QUOTE}
Thanks WS. - It's got very good pages as has HURSTS tweakhound - I will need them all once I get a new machine up and running to be able to lose certain M$ items, and of course try to learn the workings of a new to me OS.

[WSFuser]

For a computer, you need:

Case
Power supply
CPU
Motherboard
RAM
Hard drive
CD/DVD drive
Graphics (can be separate card or builtin to the motherboard)*
Sound (can be separate card or builtin to the motherboard)*

*Since you dont need a powerful computer, you can just use the builtin components