Jump to content

Upgrading from Windows 98 Gold to Windows 98 SE


Svenne

Recommended Posts

Hello!

Yesterday I got my hands on a computer with a Pentium II processor, 64 mb RAM and a 6 gig harddrive. It runs Windows 98 Gold (first edition). Now, I'd like to upgrade to 98 SE for more stability and better software compatibility. However, it has the Plus! pack installed wich I don't want to lose. So, can I safely upgrade to 98 SE without losing it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Guest wsxedcrfv

Yesterday I got my hands on a computer with a Pentium II processor, 64 mb RAM and a 6 gig harddrive. It runs Windows 98 Gold (first edition). Now, I'd like to upgrade to 98 SE for more stability and better software compatibility. However, it has the Plus! pack installed wich I don't want to lose. So, can I safely upgrade to 98 SE without losing it?

If your intent is to run win-98/se on a dedicated PC, you are wasting your time with a relic like that. Getting your hands on various versions of win-98/se and/or the plus-pack is not the limiting factor. Get yourself better hardware first, then install the OS from scratch. Throw the 6-gig drive in the trash - it likely is near the end of it's useful life, and I bet it makes a god-awful noise when it's powered up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest wsxedcrfv

I'm not going to use it as my everyday system, just for playing old Win9x/DOS-games.

Then you won't gain anything trying to go from win-98fe to 98se. You'd gain more by increasing the ram on the system.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not going to use it as my everyday system, just for playing old Win9x/DOS-games.
Then you won't gain anything trying to go from win-98fe to 98se. You'd gain more by increasing the ram on the system.
Agreed. And FWIW, I don't think an "upgrade" will wipe the Plus!98. Not for sure (I'd have to dig into my "stash"), but there may be a couple of items that may be "upgraded", but otherwise...
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Then you won't gain anything trying to go from win-98fe to 98se. You'd gain more by increasing the ram on the system.

Windows 98 SE supports USB disks wich is neccesary for transfering files.

Agreed. And FWIW, I don't think an "upgrade" will wipe the Plus!98. Not for sure (I'd have to dig into my "stash"), but there may be a couple of items that may be "upgraded", but otherwise...

Thank you . I'll back up some files just to be sure.

Edited by Svenne
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest wsxedcrfv

Windows 98 SE supports USB disks which is neccesary for transfering files.

You'll still have to tinker with adding various third-party USB driver enhancements to get the desired level of USB functionality on a win-98se system. Besides, you can always transfer files by burning them to a CD-R.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Throw the 6-gig drive in the trash - it likely is near the end of it's useful life, and I bet it makes a god-awful noise when it's powered up.

I wouldn't advice that. I think older HDDs are more reliable and live much longer than modern ones. I still have 1,7 Gb HDD bought in 1997 as main and only HDD in my second (Windows 98) computer. It outlived two modern HDDs already. Only this year I started to hear loud clicks, meaning that it is not reliable any more and can die soon (Am I right about click meaning?). Several months before I started to hear such clicking in my third modern HDD in my main computer. So, it lives more than three modern HDDs together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest wsxedcrfv

Throw the 6-gig drive in the trash - it likely is near the end of it's useful life, and I bet it makes a god-awful noise when it's powered up.

I wouldn't advice that. I think older HDDs are more reliable and live much longer than modern ones.

I built my first PC from parts in 1986, and since then I've built about 500 PC's - most of them from 1996 to the present (on average, 35 per year, some years more like 45). We have some responsibility over those PC's to the extent that even if one of the older ones break down, we hear about it even today. I've found that the most unreliable drives are those in the 5 to 20 gb range. They are certainly the noisiest drives that have ever been made - many of them make an intolerable high-pitched whine. In a few situations I've been able to revive a drive by replacing it's circuit board with that of an identical model. I've found the WD 40 and 80 gb drives to be extremely reliable, but some of them are also noisy (moreso the 40 gb ones).

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "older", but I don't bother with any drive under 40 gb. But I am suspicious of the operational stability of drives made in the last 2 years - those larger than 500 gb and especially 1tb and larger.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not going to use it as my everyday system, just for playing old Win9x/DOS-games.
Then you won't gain anything trying to go from win-98fe to 98se. You'd gain more by increasing the ram on the system.
Agreed. And FWIW, I don't think an "upgrade" will wipe the Plus!98. Not for sure (I'd have to dig into my "stash"), but there may be a couple of items that may be "upgraded", but otherwise...

I'm not certain, but it may depend on how Plus! was installed. Some had the Win98 + Plus OS media, others you could install Plus! using a separate disc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Windows 98 SE supports USB disks wich is neccesary for transfering files.

Svenne,

If your purpose in upgrading from Win98FE to SE is to be able to use USB, this might help:

http://www.technical-assistance.co.uk/kb/win98fe-usb-mass-storage-drivers.php

I installed the FE USB 2.0 driver on my FE tower, and it has worked well for me. (I confess that I did not download the recommended service pack, but the USB driver works anyway.) A much simpler solution than upgrading/installing an operating system, if all you need is USB support.

But, if by "USB disks" you mean an external USB hard drive and not a USB thumb drive, then I am not certain as I have not tried an external HDD on that computer.

Good luck!

--JorgeA

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...