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#1
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Win98SE Upgrade Won't Install
My mom was given an old IBM laptop that has Win98 (not SE) installed on it.
I wanted to upgrade it to "SE", and since I had moved on to XP I tried to "install" my own copy of SE over the top of hers. After spending 15 minutes checking out her system the install aborted and gave the message that it needed an "upgrade to SE" rather than an original SE. So I asked around for someone that might want to sell me an upgrade copy, found one and bought it. When I tried to install it this time it gave the error message that it needed an upgrade from Win98 to Win98SE. A closer examination of what I had purchased showed that it was an upgrade to Win98SE "from" Windows 3.1, or Windows 95. Is there some work around that I can use to either install my original SE, or the SE Upgrade that I purchased. Ted Smith |
#2
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That disk *should* also Upgrade from 98 to 98SE. The only reason they
don't mention 98 on the disk is because at the time of issue, they presumed that anyone upgrading from 98 to 98SE would instead use the $20 Updates CD, which will *only* upgrade an installed 98 to 98SE. Your previous copy of XP from your own machine was probably an OEM disk, one which is only legal to install on the hardware it came with. Particularly if you used that 98 as eligibility for upgrading to XP, it isn't legal to install it to any other machine. In any case, it will not upgrade an existing installation--it will only install "clean" (though workarounds exist in some cases.) While I think what you have should work, it is usually not a really successful endeavor to upgrade a currently up-to-date Windows 98 to 98SE--it's actually a downgrade, since many, many system files now on it are newer than those which came with SE. The better solution is to reformat and clean install. Either your original OEM disk should work for that, or you can run the Upgrade CD and show it the OEM CD as proof of eligibility. One or the other should work. Easier, perhaps, than figuring out what's wrong with the Upgrade procedure, and definitely bound to be more successful in providing a stable machine for your Mom. CAVEAT: This being an IBM laptop, it's good that you have your own system handy to find drivers. It's also good that it's not likely the kind of system that will *only* install decently using the disks that came with it. By the way, do you have those disks? -- Gary S. Terhune MS MVP Shell/User "msnews.microsoft.com" wrote in message ... My mom was given an old IBM laptop that has Win98 (not SE) installed on it. I wanted to upgrade it to "SE", and since I had moved on to XP I tried to "install" my own copy of SE over the top of hers. After spending 15 minutes checking out her system the install aborted and gave the message that it needed an "upgrade to SE" rather than an original SE. So I asked around for someone that might want to sell me an upgrade copy, found one and bought it. When I tried to install it this time it gave the error message that it needed an upgrade from Win98 to Win98SE. A closer examination of what I had purchased showed that it was an upgrade to Win98SE "from" Windows 3.1, or Windows 95. Is there some work around that I can use to either install my original SE, or the SE Upgrade that I purchased. Ted Smith |
#3
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Thanks Gary. I think you have given me what I needed to know. I wanted
something at least a little better for my mom, and if the "upgrade" is actually more like a "downgrade" then what's the point. I would really rather invest my time and money in getting her something much more up to date. I've already spent way too much of my time just trying to keep the thing alive just because it was a "gift" from a relative. So, I think I'll just bite the bullet on this one, and let it go - maybe build her an XP later. Thanks again. Ted Smith "Gary S. Terhune" wrote in message ... That disk *should* also Upgrade from 98 to 98SE. The only reason they don't mention 98 on the disk is because at the time of issue, they presumed that anyone upgrading from 98 to 98SE would instead use the $20 Updates CD, which will *only* upgrade an installed 98 to 98SE. Your previous copy of XP from your own machine was probably an OEM disk, one which is only legal to install on the hardware it came with. Particularly if you used that 98 as eligibility for upgrading to XP, it isn't legal to install it to any other machine. In any case, it will not upgrade an existing installation--it will only install "clean" (though workarounds exist in some cases.) While I think what you have should work, it is usually not a really successful endeavor to upgrade a currently up-to-date Windows 98 to 98SE--it's actually a downgrade, since many, many system files now on it are newer than those which came with SE. The better solution is to reformat and clean install. Either your original OEM disk should work for that, or you can run the Upgrade CD and show it the OEM CD as proof of eligibility. One or the other should work. Easier, perhaps, than figuring out what's wrong with the Upgrade procedure, and definitely bound to be more successful in providing a stable machine for your Mom. CAVEAT: This being an IBM laptop, it's good that you have your own system handy to find drivers. It's also good that it's not likely the kind of system that will *only* install decently using the disks that came with it. By the way, do you have those disks? -- Gary S. Terhune MS MVP Shell/User "msnews.microsoft.com" wrote in message ... My mom was given an old IBM laptop that has Win98 (not SE) installed on it. I wanted to upgrade it to "SE", and since I had moved on to XP I tried to "install" my own copy of SE over the top of hers. After spending 15 minutes checking out her system the install aborted and gave the message that it needed an "upgrade to SE" rather than an original SE. So I asked around for someone that might want to sell me an upgrade copy, found one and bought it. When I tried to install it this time it gave the error message that it needed an upgrade from Win98 to Win98SE. A closer examination of what I had purchased showed that it was an upgrade to Win98SE "from" Windows 3.1, or Windows 95. Is there some work around that I can use to either install my original SE, or the SE Upgrade that I purchased. Ted Smith |
#4
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Well, I didn't mean it exactly like that. There are functions in SE that
can be desirable, but if you don't really need them, what's the point? (Advantages have mostly to do with newer hardware support, though I believe it's also a bit more stable.) On the other hand, if she's going to really get into the cyberage, an XP machine is the way to go. -- Gary S. Terhune MS MVP Shell/User "msnews.microsoft.com" wrote in message ... Thanks Gary. I think you have given me what I needed to know. I wanted something at least a little better for my mom, and if the "upgrade" is actually more like a "downgrade" then what's the point. I would really rather invest my time and money in getting her something much more up to date. I've already spent way too much of my time just trying to keep the thing alive just because it was a "gift" from a relative. So, I think I'll just bite the bullet on this one, and let it go - maybe build her an XP later. Thanks again. Ted Smith "Gary S. Terhune" wrote in message ... That disk *should* also Upgrade from 98 to 98SE. The only reason they don't mention 98 on the disk is because at the time of issue, they presumed that anyone upgrading from 98 to 98SE would instead use the $20 Updates CD, which will *only* upgrade an installed 98 to 98SE. Your previous copy of XP from your own machine was probably an OEM disk, one which is only legal to install on the hardware it came with. Particularly if you used that 98 as eligibility for upgrading to XP, it isn't legal to install it to any other machine. In any case, it will not upgrade an existing installation--it will only install "clean" (though workarounds exist in some cases.) While I think what you have should work, it is usually not a really successful endeavor to upgrade a currently up-to-date Windows 98 to 98SE--it's actually a downgrade, since many, many system files now on it are newer than those which came with SE. The better solution is to reformat and clean install. Either your original OEM disk should work for that, or you can run the Upgrade CD and show it the OEM CD as proof of eligibility. One or the other should work. Easier, perhaps, than figuring out what's wrong with the Upgrade procedure, and definitely bound to be more successful in providing a stable machine for your Mom. CAVEAT: This being an IBM laptop, it's good that you have your own system handy to find drivers. It's also good that it's not likely the kind of system that will *only* install decently using the disks that came with it. By the way, do you have those disks? -- Gary S. Terhune MS MVP Shell/User "msnews.microsoft.com" wrote in message ... My mom was given an old IBM laptop that has Win98 (not SE) installed on it. I wanted to upgrade it to "SE", and since I had moved on to XP I tried to "install" my own copy of SE over the top of hers. After spending 15 minutes checking out her system the install aborted and gave the message that it needed an "upgrade to SE" rather than an original SE. So I asked around for someone that might want to sell me an upgrade copy, found one and bought it. When I tried to install it this time it gave the error message that it needed an upgrade from Win98 to Win98SE. A closer examination of what I had purchased showed that it was an upgrade to Win98SE "from" Windows 3.1, or Windows 95. Is there some work around that I can use to either install my original SE, or the SE Upgrade that I purchased. Ted Smith |
#5
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If you have an older machine and need 98SE due to budgetary constraints, ease
of using older software, or want the support that most manufacturers require at a bare minimum then I would stick it out. 98SE provides USB 2.0 support and is considered the best old-school operating system, imo. I personally would consider a new system but I would want to custom build it with a dual-boot for use with 98SE under Fat32 and XP Pro. under NTFS. As a matter of fact, I am using a system right now that has that and it is my own. smile "msnews.microsoft.com" wrote in message ... : My mom was given an old IBM laptop that has Win98 (not SE) installed on it. : I wanted to upgrade it to "SE", and since I had moved on to XP I tried to : "install" my own copy of SE over the top of hers. After spending 15 minutes : checking out her system the install aborted and gave the message that it : needed an "upgrade to SE" rather than an original SE. : : So I asked around for someone that might want to sell me an upgrade copy, : found one and bought it. When I tried to install it this time it gave the : error message that it needed an upgrade from Win98 to Win98SE. A closer : examination of what I had purchased showed that it was an upgrade to Win98SE : "from" Windows 3.1, or Windows 95. : : Is there some work around that I can use to either install my original SE, : or the SE Upgrade that I purchased. : : Ted Smith : : : |
#6
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"Dan" wrote:
If you have an older machine and need 98SE due to budgetary constraints, ease of using older software, or want the support that most manufacturers require at a bare minimum then I would stick it out. 98SE provides USB 2.0 support Well, no, not exactly. You can use USB2.0 ports in a Win98SE system, but you must get drivers from the manufacturer of the USB2.0 hardware. Win98SE includes drivers for USB1.0 hardware, but not USB2.0. -- Tim Slattery MS MVP(DTS) |
#7
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Thanks for the correction, Tim. You are correct, you must get third party
drivers to support 98SE with USB 2.0. AFAIK, 98SE is the oldest operating system that any manufacturer will make drivers for. I have neither seen nor heard any USB 2.0 drivers that are available for 98 standard edition. In addition, many new games require 98SE as the bare minimum requirement for their program to run. "Tim Slattery" wrote in message ... : "Dan" wrote: : : If you have an older machine and need 98SE due to budgetary constraints, ease : of using older software, or want the support that most manufacturers require : at a bare minimum then I would stick it out. 98SE provides USB 2.0 support : : Well, no, not exactly. You can use USB2.0 ports in a Win98SE system, : but you must get drivers from the manufacturer of the USB2.0 hardware. : Win98SE includes drivers for USB1.0 hardware, but not USB2.0. : : -- : Tim Slattery : MS MVP(DTS) : |
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