Eric V wrote:
My desktop, using W98, has become slow/unstable over the last 6 months,
despite virus/adware/spyware protection. Specs indicate it can handle XP
(512Mb RAM, 1.8 Ghz). Can anyone comment about the value of the change, and
the risks, if any, that it entails?

I consider the switch periodically.
Some applications port right over. Some don't. You have to check each one.
Anything that deals directly with the OS or the hardware is gonna break.
Utilities like Norton are gonna break.
Parallel-port connected hardware is gonna break.
Check for XP drivers for all your hardware.
If you write programs that deal with the hardware, your life will get
MUCH more difficult.
For me, XP is just the tip of a VERY BIG iceberg of money.

If you don't have some program or piece of hardware that absolutely
requires XP, I'd wait. Microsoft will come up with another way to get
your money soon enough.

Don't discount the possibility of hardware stability problems.
Get into the bios and crank memory timing back a notch.
Some people get very hyper about cranking out the last bit of hardware
performance, then bitch about the OS crashing.

Reload 98. Leave off all the crap that you never use.
You don't say how big your disk is. I've found that partitions under
40gigabytes seem to be slightly more stable than those over.
Can't think of any reason for this, just anecdotal...or placebo effect.

Dump Windows Explorer. Never click on MyComputer.
There's a shareware program called windows commander that's much more
versatile and doesn't crash.
Even a windows 95 system using windows commander is rather stable.
mike

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