Whats the easiest way to upgrade my computer from windows 98?

Question

I got given a computer - decent looking but got Windows 98 on which is not compatable with bt broadband. Im uming and arring about whether I need to buy a brand new computer - its only for the kids to research their homework and play on

Answer 1

upgrading from 98 will present problems...things like your soundcard and your graphics card may lose functionality....the spec of an old system limits what you can upgrade to..in this case the best bet is Windows M.E... XP etc need a minimum RAM to run and will declare your graphics card as extinct (you'll only get 16 colours).. M.E will be ok for the kids but hardly comparable with XP that is run in schools...
you may need at least a new graphics card (sound you can do without for homework...) new cards are fairly cheap and come with drivers on disc... but if your hard drive and processor are worth the addition of XP...then go for broke I say. ummin and arring suggests your up my neck of the woods.. are you? I'm in Sheff... if you're anywhere near, call in.. I'll have your PC in bits in about 8 minutes. hehee. Good luck

Answer 2

Take a look at the hardware in the computer itself -

If it's less than 300 MHz Pentium II or less than a 450 MHz Celeron or K6, has less than 128 MB of RAM, or has less than 10 GB of hard drive space, it's not even worth upgrading to a newer version of Windows or any current version of Linux.

If it's a Pentium II or III between 300 MHz and 600 MHz, a K6 faster than 450 MHz, or a Celeron between 450 MHz and 750 MHz, and it has 128 to 256 MB RAM and between 10 GB and 30 GB for the hard drive, this would be a good candidate for Windows 2000 or a lower-end Linux OS like Xubuntu Linux, as these operating systems have lower real-world requirements than Windows XP and Ubuntu/Kubuntu Linux do. (Note - Windows 2000 and XP have the same command line commands for networking via TCP/IP, so your cable tech support person shouldn't have issues supporting it. Also, Windows 2000 still supports a large number of Windows XP applications that won't run on Windows 98 or ME.)

Finally, if your computer is a Pentium III running faster than 600 MHz, a Celeron running faster than 900 MHz, or an Athlon/K7 processor, with 256 MB RAM or more and at least 30 GB of hard drive space, go ahead and get Windows XP or any major distribution of Linux. Though this computer isn't the fastest thing on earth, it will still be strong enough to power through the internet without issues.

Answer 3

First, Windows 98 WILL work on BT Broadband ... they just recommend Windows XP or higher. Secondly if its just for the kids to play around with it should be fine. If the machine processor is at least 1 Gigz or higher you could upgrade to Windows XP and do just fine. The upgrade disk will run you about $90.00. That will also make the BT Broadband people happy. DON'T waste your money on a new computer if its for " the kids to research their homework and play on". Good luck!

Answer 4

You could get a decent budget pc for £300 which will bring it right up to date but use windows xp..vista is a bit of a pain in the backside..if you don`t want to pay out for a new pc try getting a pay as you go dial up connection set up on the windows 98 pc..it won`t be as fast as broadband but it will get connected to the internet for not much money as you only pay for the time your kids are online..a evening and weekend package will always be cheaper too

Answer 5

If your coms are failing u... change to a new com. Theres cheap coms for basic setup for kids. but soon u will need to get a higher specs cos your kids will grow and need to keep up will the forever growing technology. Memeroy, space in the harddisk, rams, speed... will be more important. The rest will be like its a must to enable the current technology.

Answer 6

Buy a new PC it's not worth the trouble and you will be disappointed you are dealing with a dinosaur.

Answer 7

Upgrade to XP/vista u have to find hardware compatiblity. If ur computer hav 256ram or higher then u can upgrade to xp. else batter to buy new one.

Answer 8

All the above advice is good but until you know whats in your pc its all worthless
run this and lets find out
\Belarc\Advisor
then compare it to this
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/SupportCD/XPRequirements.html

now you should have an idea if your pc will support xp
good luck

Answer 9

you have to download windows xp or windows vista. but you have to buy the software to do so, and then take windows 98 off.

Answer 10

The PC is probably too old to run XP or later.

Try the (free) Kubuntu Linux:

Also, google for Edubuntu

It's supposed to be a great OS for kids.