Making the switch from W98 to W2kpro... what issues are there?

[Trey]

I think I'm gonna install W2kpro tommorrow. I'm on 98 now, so what changes will I have to make? I know that there are some drivers and programs that are made specifically for one OS, and I'll have to replace those with the 2k version. But anything else? And how big of an issue will this be?

Thanks

[vintron]

DONT DO IT MAN!!!!

i was using 98 and did the same mistake u r about to do. i switched to 2k.... i agree it gives u less BSODs than 98 but it sucks... esp with application compatibility. OH, and once it gets messed up, forget the whole thing and reinstall from scratch.... you wont believe , but i reinstalled 2k 5 times since i switched.....

Anyways, now i have finally switched back to 98 and happy again

DO NOT do it unless it's for STRICTLY professional use and u dont usually "mess" with ur system

[This message has been edited by vintron (edited 05-27-2001).]

[jray]

I say go for it!
When you run W2k upgrade from 98, it does a compatability check on both hardware and software, and tells you what hardware you need to get updated drivers for.

Another option would be to install it in it's own directory leaving 98 intact (dual boot). But either way, if you have any important data on there, you should definately back it up first.

[Trey]

I'm not sure how to go about doing a dual boot. I believe I understant the concept (just 2 OS's on one machine), but I have no idea how it works.

[jray]

Setup will ask you if you want to upgrade your existing Windows, or install a new copy; choose new, it installs in C:\WINNT, leaving Windows intact; When you boot, it will ask which Windows you want to run. That's how I installed W2k the first time. Now, it's the only OS on my machine.

[VERT]

If you want to dual boot, install Win2k on a different partition to your other OS, this is not a must but it will allow your Win2K OS run a lot smoother. Also check this out www.ntcompatible.com (http://www.ntcompatible.com)

[Trey]

But when you try to install a new OS, doesn't it say something about you can't cause of the win.com file?

[wyvrn]

Naw. Just have two partitions. You just need a copy of partition magic to setup a 2-3 GB D:\ drive for Win2k. You can leave all of your programs on the Win98 partition and just make shortcuts in Win2k to them (some programs Win2k may want you to reinstall). That way, if you do not like Win2k, you can simply delete that partition and be back at your friendly Win98 setup. If you do like Win2k better, you could then remove all Win98 files (c:\windows) and then use Partition Magic to merge c and d together. Remember with Win2k before you merge the partitions you have too edit boot.ini to reflect it. Or thirdly you could stick with your dual boot configuration.

Win98 is better with some games, though you will like the 2K stability once you run it for awhile. It is purely a personal choice of which OS you run, so run both to find out which you like better http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

If you need specific help in getting all of this setup, email me and I can walk you through it.

[paul233]

A good running 98 is a fine o/s. I have 2000 for biz stuff and 98 for games, but 2000 is not a huge improvement over 98 99% of the time. There is some hardware that 2000 drivers are not available for, and with XP on the horizon, I bet most games will never be coded for 2000.......unless you are doing some heavy financial number crunching where reliability is paramount, I would leave it alone.