Should I use a 4Gig HD?

rizla01

40 gig HD died so bought a new machine.

The old machine is sitting there looking very sorry for itself, so I have aquired an old machine to rob for parts.

It has a network card which I will transfer to my old machine but only a 4 Gig H/drive with windows 98 installed.

Question is, since this will only be used for Word, Etc and to network to my new baby, would It take a copy of XP that came with my new machine or should I leave it as '98? Or should I use the system disk that came with it complete with ME?

The thinking is that should I need more space I can always add a 40 - 80 gig slave drive at a later date.

Would there be any problems installing the XP software that came with my new machine(Dell)?

Thanks.

amcluesent

>Would there be any problems installing the XP software that came with my new machine(Dell)?<

Probably. Dell's OEM copies of XP generally check the BIOS. If it's not Dell, it won't install.

johnmc

In short; leave as 98.

You only have a licence for one machine on XP.

Anything less than 1Ghz will run like a three legged dog on XP.

chuckles1066

rizla01 wrote:

40 gig HD died so bought a new machine.

The old machine is sitting there looking very sorry for itself, so I have aquired an old machine to rob for parts.

It has a network card which I will transfer to my old machine but only a 4 Gig H/drive with windows 98 installed.

Question is, since this will only be used for Word, Etc and to network to my new baby, would It take a copy of XP that came with my new machine or should I leave it as '98?

The thinking is that should I need more space I can always add a 40 - 80 gig slave drive at a later date.

Would there be any problems installing the XP software that came with my new machine(Dell)?

Thanks.

4gb would barely hold XP unless you switch off System Restore and Pagefile.

Dell XP CDs are bios-locked...........it will install on a non-Dell but you'll need a non-Dell product key and you'll have to activate after 30 days.

espresso

The XP software supplied with your new Dell is for that machine only! There are millions of users around the world still using WIN98SE which is heaps better than ME ever was, so your first option would be fine i.e. adding a slave drive.

shutton54321

You can sometimes have problems if you are using a slave hard drive that is much bigger than the primary hard drive. Its always reccommended to use the newest or biggest as the primary hard drive.
Would reccomend using the 4gb as a slave and installing xp on a new hard drive.

amcluesent

You could pop Ubuntu onto it. Then use Firefox for surfing t'interweb.

bat999

Hi

I agree with all of the above.

Either Windows 98SE or Ubuntu Linux.
:cool:

rizla01

When I boot up the old machine with the 'new' HD which has 98 installed I assume that I will need the original system disk(With ME ) for the motherboard Etc drivers?

This 'puter is an 850Meg BTW.

Zagu

bat999 wrote:

Hi

I agree with all of the above.

Either Windows 98SE or Ubuntu Linux.
:cool:

I agree with the Linux option. I never had much joy out of 98, well, not for more than a month or two.

There are several Linux distributions now that are very Windowsesque, and for a second PC, some are ideal. They are typically much smaller than Windows XP, and generally the software is free. The only real area where Windows excels is in games, in my opinion.

Have a read about them here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_distribution

And if you want to take the plunge, these should help you select which one is best for you.

http://desktoplinuxathome.com/distro.html

http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php?firsttime=true

One thing I wouldnt do is take a hard drive with a copy of '98 installed and slap it straight into a different machine. Unless its a very similar setup (motherboard/processor), you will probably end up with a very unstable PC.


Linux can take a bit of getting use to, but its a great option for a free, compact and stable system.

bat999

Hi rizla

The motherboard (chipset) drivers should already be installed, I think.

When you power up, your BIOS might notice that the hard drive has changed.

With any luck the pre-installed Windows 98 will 'see' your mouse, keyboard and monitor and reconfigure itself.

You might need drivers later for sound/graphics/NIC cards. Maybe download them from manufacturers' websites.

There's only one way to find out

PS Windows 98 will run well with an 850MHz processor.