Question About Using Older Software on XP

[Monroe]

OK ... as of now I still use Win 98SE and spend most of my time in the Windows 98SE/ME forum. However, I spend some time over in this forum learning things about XP. I have a Dell Latitude with an extra hard drive case and hard drive which I can switch out with my Win 98SE setup. I have decided to install XP SP3 PRO on this extra hard drive to experiment with XP. I have looked on Google for an answer to several questions that I have before doing this. First I have read lots of stuff concerning a FAT32 or NTFS setup. Most all seem to recommend a NTFS setup which I would have to reformat the hard drive ... I have a 20 GB and 40 GB hard drive but right now both are FAT32 ... I know the XP CD can change the hard drive from FAT32 to NTFS with no trouble. However, this is the question I have that I can't seem to find a clear answer to. I have some really older programs that I would like to run on XP ... for instance MS Money 97 ... very good money program that runs good before the later MS Money programs became "bloated" and slow. I have many others that I'd like to carry over from Win 98SE to XP .... many were listed in those days as also working with XP as well as 98SE, before Vista arrived on the scene. So my question is, will these older programs work OK on XP with the NTFS system or should I just let the hard drive stay in the FAT32 format for these older programs? Will they actually run better under FAT32? I know the NTFS system is supposed to have better security and such but I am the only one using the notebook so that is probably not an issue. .... any help or suggestions appreciated ... thanks

Edited February 6, 2011 by duffy98

[allen2]

It is very unlikely that using fat32 or ntfs would prevent an old program from working on XP unless this was a requirement (video editing tools need usually ntfs as fat32 can't handle file bigger than 4GB). Also you can install XP on a fat32 drive without worrying, it will only be less secure (and a little faster).

[Monroe]

allen2 ... thanks for the input. I was thinking of just staying with FAT32 but I wanted some further input. I did read a few other times that some posters (Google) said that FAT32 would/should be a little faster ... not that much to be noticed though ... I have a Pentium 3 in the Dell. I really like some of my older programs and wanted to carry them over, if possible.

[dencorso]

I have a dual-boot system with Win XP SP3 and Win 98SE. I have set-up my XP to run on FAT-32, and I'm very happy with it. This way I can use 98SE to give XP maintenance and vice-versa, and both OSes see all partitions, without need to add any additional software to make 98SE capable of using NTFS. My advice is: stick to FAT-32. Most will disagree with me, and say it preempts part of XP security, that was built on top of NTFS. True. Then again, I didn't want that added security in the first place. YMMV, of course. BTW, cannie's tutorial, over on the 9x forum, is a very interesting thread for anyone interested in dual-boot machines... it should be of interest for you, at this point.

[Monroe]

dencorso ... I appreciate your input about the FAT32 question. I follow your advice at the 98SE forum so this will be no exception. I had made up my mind to stay with FAT32 but your post makes my decision feel better to me. I may try out a dual booting system one day but just want to get the feel for XP right now and want to use some of my older software. Thanks for the cannie's tutorial link ... I will be getting a copy for additional help.

Edited February 7, 2011 by duffy98