Haste truly makes waste

A word to the wise: Never, never delete your hardrive backup made during an operating system upgrade until the subject PC has been running for several weeks. I have lost an entire weekend because of such stupidity. After upgrading a Windows 98 machine to Windows 2000, in my haste to get another PC on the bench I deleted the backup before completing all Windows Critical Updates. Well, the attempted Service Pack 4 destroyed all this work and was the last major upgrade on the list! After being up all night I finally restored the remnants of 98 and the PC is back in working order. Next time I WILL mirror the drive. What a nightmare.

If you are using Windows 98 in the workplace as a client PC it is a good idea to upgrade. Be sure and check your system configuration when deciding to upgrade to either Windows 2000 or XP. You will want at least an AMD K6-2 500 or Pentium II processor for Windows 2000. Even though this operating system will run with less memory, a minimum of 192 megs is desired. 256 megs will work even better. XP needs at least double that amount of memory to run efficiently and I wouldn't install it on any machine with less than a PIII type processor. Don't believe Windows "minimum" requirements. It's all smoke and fog. Especially XP.

Yes, it is ok for an adventurous individual to upgrade an operating system. DON'T get in a hurry. The security and functionality gained from the move to Windows 2000 (or XP) is well worth the time and effort. Oh yeh, this is real important - XP Pro is worth the extra 100 bucks. Be sure to get those ducks in a row, back up and ask questions. Many web sites deal with the subject of OS upgrades and have step by step procedures that can be printed for easy reference. If you do not have all your Windows Critical Updates installed, please do not attempt such a transition. Capiche?

"The dumbest people I know are those who know it all."
-Forbes