I just got an IBM Thinkpad A21m and I think it was made in 2000 or 2001. It has Windows 98 on it. If I load Windows XP onto it, will it slow down my computer since it's newer then the computer.
2007-01-10 08:41:30 · 7 answers · asked by Will 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Laptops & Notebooks
The computer will only run as fast as it was made to.
If you load Windows XP on it, you will notice it running slower
than with Win 98. (XP needs more RAM and H.Drive space and likes faster processors)
You may want to take a middle step for an Operating system
and load Windows 2000 on the laptop.
It's more like WinXP but needs a less powerful computer to run
2007-01-10 08:48:05 · answer #1 · answered by etenden 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
IBM Thinkpads are well-built, durable machines. It's worth it to upgrade it by buying bigger RAM and possibly a bigger hard drive if your current one's less than 20 GB. Ask around and see if getting a faster processor is recommended.
Before you spend that money, though, it's worthwhile to go ahead and try to upgrade to Windows XP. When Windows XP came out, people who upgraded to it were upgrading from Windows 98 or Windows 2000 machines, and I think Windows XP is designed with that in mind. If it's too slow for you, try just upgrading the RAM to 512MB or more. The hard drive should only be an issue if, after running the computer for a few days straight, the free disk space drops below 4GB.
2007-01-10 09:12:52 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It will slow it down significantly!
The speed of a computer depends on many factors. Processor speed, RAM (memory) size, hard-disk size and speed are just a few among the top hardware factors.
There are also software factors, such as number of programs installed, number of fonts, size of Windows registry, and many others, but if you have a clean install of Windows, those don't really factor in.
I would NOT install WinXP on the computer you have. The standard specs that I have found for your system are Pentium III 800MHz, with 128Mb RAM and 20Gb HDD. You might have a little more, but in any case this can only run Windows 98 at a decent speed. Anything above that (Win2000, NT, XP) will very likely slow it down so much you won't be able to use it at all.
According to Microsoft, 128Mb of RAM is the absolute minimum for WinXP, but trust me, it will work EXTREMELY slow... So, in short, don't do it.
2007-01-10 08:54:34 · answer #3 · answered by Sorin R 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes as it wasnt meant for that laptop. We used to have a really really old IBM and when we put XP on it, it literally took 30 minutes to boot up but had no problem with windows 95.
Try upgrading your RAM then putting it on, but your best off with a solid windows 95/98 as your pc will run faster although you may be plagued with compatibility issues if your into the latest software etc.
2007-01-10 08:45:27 · answer #4 · answered by ricerfuel 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Depends on things like total RAM - Windows XP is more memory intensive than Windows 98.
You may also encounter driver problems. I would suggest going to www.ibm.com and go to support. All you should need to do is input the serial number on the bottom, and it should take you to a support site with all the info you need.
Anyway - as much as I despise Microsoft, I'd suggest doing the upgrade... despite its flaws XP is vastly superior to Win98.
-dh
2007-01-10 08:47:09 · answer #5 · answered by delicateharmony 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depending upon the amount of memory yopu have, it may slow down a bit, but not too much. XP would be replacing 98, it's not like you'll have 2 opsys.
2007-01-10 08:45:51 · answer #6 · answered by Jay's Mom 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it shouldnt slow the commputer down at all unless the computer doesnt have much ram or cpu power . because just running xp uses more ram than windows 98 does.
2007-01-10 08:44:12 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋