LittleD653

I know this has been posted and discussed millions of times but I need to compile everything I have read together...

I have a computer that is running 98 but I want to upgrade it to 98SE. How many ways are there to do this and what are they? I have read about update vs. upgrade cds, an "over-the-top" installation, etc. Which of these ways work, what do they all mean, and what is the best way to do it (to keep my computer working as well as possible)?

OldGrayGary

Hi LittleD


To upgrade you'd need a licensed copy of Windows 98 2nd Edition. An upgrade can be done with either full retail or the "upgrade" versions (though the procedure varies). You cannot use a Recovery Disk from another PC to perform the upgrade, nor can you use OEM disks with non-transferable licenses to do this (their Registries are often customized, as well).

The pros of an upgrade:
1) a smidgen better USB compatibility
2) better overall software compatibility
3) slightly better hardware compatibility

If you have an unused Win98se CD, it's an easy task to perform - but you might have to spend a fair amount of time at Windows Update afterwards, installing the Critical Updates from the time of Win98se's release to mid-2006, after which no further patches were released for the Win9x/Me series.

To use an upgrade disk, just follow the prompts. For the full details of an "over-the-top" use the Advanced Search for this forum & you'll find threads with the guide copied in. . . . or let me know if you'd like me to paste in the full guide here.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

LittleD653

My reason for upgrading is that I want to set it up for wireless networking. I thought I read that the upgrade disk will not allow an upgrade from Windows 98FE to 98SE, is that not true? And what are the different methods you refered to? If you could paste that too that would be GREAT!

Thank you so much!

OldGrayGary

Hi again


I would imagine the "over-the-top" in-place 'upgrade' would be the easiest and fastest. Using a Win98se disk upgrades a Win98 installation.

Here's the guide:
_______________________

Windows 98/Me "Over-the-top" Reinstall

Sometimes an over-the-top reinstallation of Windows can be a timesaver. On most recent computers the whole procedure can take as little as 30 or 40 minutes. A nice feature of this procedure is that your programs do not have to be reinstalled, and your data is not lost. You likely will need to visit Windows Update when finished, though, to download and reinstall some of the Security Updates. [Windows Update still works for Windows 98/Me, even though its period of active support by Microsoft expired in mid-2006 (all the updates up to that point can still be found there)].

Beforehand:

You may need to temporarily disable the Bios virus protection that is found on some motherboards (if your motherboard does not have this feature, you can skip this step). Enter Bios Setup by pressing the key displayed during startup, and somewhere on the first or second menu should be an item to Enable or Disable Bios Virus Protection (might be called BiosShield, or VirusGuard, or whatnot) ---> then, when you're finished with your reinstallation of Windows, re-Enable the Bios protection feature.

During the reinstall, it is also a good idea to be entirely disconnected from any networks, wired or wireless (unplug ethernet cables, disable wireless), and to be disconnected from printers, scanners, cameras, multifunction devices, fax machines, PDAs, memory card readers, USB flash drives, external USB/Firewire/eSATA drives, etc.

Over The Top ReInstall:

Place your Windows98/Me CD in the CD/DVD drive (or be ready to point Windows to the place on your hard drive where your Windows 98/Me installation files are stored).

Boot with a bootable floppy (or from the Win98/Me CD - "with CD-rom support"), and from DOS rename the win.com file to win.bak. Like this

C:
cd \Windows
rename win.com win.bak

If you have the Windows 98/Me CD in your CD/DVD drive, you can then switch to the drive letter of your CD drive [often drive D:], simply by typing the drive letter followed by a colon ( for example - D: ) at the command prompt. Then type Setup


*** Important!*** When Windows asks if you want to use the directory C:\Windows.000, instead choose Other and type in C:\Windows (without the .000 following).

Make sure that you have your antivirus, antispyware, and firewall running before you connect to networks afterward. Don't forget to visit Windows Update ASAP to get the Critical Patches the need reinstalling.
____________________________

Wireless ---
Thankfully most recent routers have built-in hardware firewalls, so that will help protect your Win9x PC online. If you need to purchase any new wireless devices for the older PC, make sure that they have Win98se drivers available beforehand.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

dai

98se was just a free sp for 98

OldGrayGary

(dai -- are you thinking of the 98-to-98se-only upgrade CD? It should have been free, but at the time Microsoft charged for it. They never did release it as a Service Pack, though many of us urged them to).

dai

all i paid for it was the postage $8

OldGrayGary

(such a bargain: I think it was $10 or so here -- but that CD wasn't available for long, and they didn't make it redistributable ... if I'm remembering right? I think they pulled it after a while, rather like the 2004 Security Update CD .. which was completely redistributable as well as free)

dai

i think they learned from the complaints and switched to calling them sp's
the security update one was the first one they let the computer mags put on their free cd's i must have a dozen or more here

OldGrayGary

. . . Do you think if we send enough emails to Microsoft, they'll release Windows 7 as a free Service Pack for Vista :) :) :)

I suppose I'll have to stop making no sense now, since I'm nearly asleep as well! Good night down under . . .

dai

when i was beta testing vista i had the impression 7 was well under way before vista came out of beta stage from something that was posted

LittleD653

uhh...does anyone have an answer to my question? and what are the different procedures and which cds go with which procedures?

dai

boot into windows 98
pop in the 98se cd
run the upgrade install

LittleD653

which version of the cd do i need

dai

any should work

OldGrayGary

. . . if you have a Win98se CD that is marked "for use only with a new PC", you can use the "over-the-top" procedure above. Otherwise, with a full retail, or an upgrade CD, you can run the upgrade install just as dai mentions.


. . . now if only I could finish the PTA budget I'm working on . . .

LittleD653

okay so how many versions of the cd are there...and what are they?

OldGrayGary

Hi again


Sorry if we made it sound confusing.

Store-bought CDs:
1) A full-retail version of Windows 98 2nd Edition
2) An upgrade version of Windows 98 2nd Edition
3) An OEM 'system-builder' version of Windows 98 2nd Edition
4) There was also the special CD that was usually available directly from Microsoft (but dai mentions it appeared as an extra on some PC magazines in Australia) -- that special CD had only one purpose: to upgrade Windows 98 original PCs to Windows 98 2nd Edition. You can think of it as the 98-to-98se CD.
----- All of the above editions are clearly labeled on the CD itself. An OEM 'system builder' version will have the words printed on the label: "for use only with a new PC". Such a version is usually used with a blank hard drive.
_______________

Windows CDs that ship with a PC:
1) PCs made by the major PC manufacturers can have specialized OEM versions of Windows: these disks will carry the name of their manufacturer on the label (IBM, DELL, HP, etc.) ... and these disks are only meant to be used with the PC that they shipped with.
2) Recovery Disks are even more specialized OEM versions, and are the most completely tied to the PCs they ship with. The procedures vary quite a bit for the Recovery Disks - for those, it's best to consult the system manual.
_________________

If you have #1,#2, or #4 of the store-bought versions, follow the simple instructions dai gave for the easy upgrade.

If you have a #3 type CD, follow the 'over-the-top' upgrade instructions.

You can actually use the 'over-the-top' instructions for any of the store-bought #1, #2, or #3, versions, it's just a bit more work to do.

For OEM CDs (that are not Recovery Disks), if they are used with the PC they came with, they can use the easy installation method that dai provided, or the over-the-top instructions -- it shouldn't matter.

For Recovery Disks, you have to follow the specialized instructions from the PC's manufacturer.
_______________

If you aren't sure what sort of disks you have, give us what info you have about them & we can help you figure your best choice.

It's not nearly so complicated as this might sound.
. . . Gary