Windows '98 / Upgrading to 2000 or ME

[Rich_aka_Wig]

Hi all,

To cut a long story short I really want an iPod. It's size, and amount of space for the price is absolutely amazing - I've seen MP3 players which are chunkier and with only 512MB space for more which makes no sense!

Looking at the Apple site it says you need at least Windows 2000 and I'm on '98 although it seems that some are forunate enough to be able to run stuff whereas others aren't. I really want to avoid compatibility issues and stay on top of things and I know a friend with 2000 and ME.

I'm not too sure where this should go, but on a tech-note is it possible for me to upgrade my Windows to either without losing what's on my hard drive, and without running into problems with Windows (like two people using the same serial key). Just asking here because I think it's possible that people here may have done so to use the iPod?

Cheers.

 

[Adam]

It doesn't work with ME, it does with 2000, and probably even better with XP.

I assure you that two people CAN use the same serial key, at least 70% (fake statistic) of the windows world would be windowless otherwise.

You can upgrade to 2000 or XP without losing the information on your hard drive.

Edit - I think the iPod does work with ME, but iTunes doesn't work with ME.

 

[Rich_aka_Wig]

Cheers Adam.

I tried an upgrade to XP once - had a couple of compatibility issues with my current USB though and couldn't connect to the internet to get updates cause my dad was impatient (on AOL broadband which uses USB for power).

If anyone else has feedback on this please let me know.

 

[TheChemist]

The 3rd gen probably wont work with Windows ME, but if you go to a reseller like Powermax.com or some other online store, you could probably find an older one. I got mine from powermax, and it works with my Windows ME, that scourge OS.

 

[palexc]

I would go to 2000. It's the most stable and least intrusive OS I've ever used.

However, the 2.1 updater requires you to install up to Service Pack 4 for Win2K.

 

[seinman]

Whatever you do, do NOT upgrade to ME. It's garbage. Get either 2000 or XP, both of which are very stable. I prefer XP pro myself.

 

[DeeTee]

Upgrade...

...I just upgraded to Win2K for the same reason (wife got me a 3g 20GB for my birthday before she discovered it wouldn't work with Win98 SE). The upgrade went a lot smoother than others I've done in the past. You won't lose anything on your hard drive, but you will probably have to reinstall or upgrade some drivers and software (I lost my saved games for Enter The Matrix because I had to reinstall the game, but there are worse things than having to have to play it all over again ). I made backup CD's of all my music, photos, documents and whatever else I wanted to be sure not to lose, but the issue never came up.

Just be sure you dowload SP4 and all the security patches for Win2K once you finish the upgrade. One reason I hadn't done it before now was that I enjoyed not being vulnerable to all the "Hackers exploit security hole..." news stories that seem to come out every few weeks.

FWIW, I hear upgrading to XP can be a big pain in the a$$. So, if you don't want to wipe your hard drive clean and start over with XP, you probably want to go with Win 2K.

 

[Rich_aka_Wig]

^^^ Sounds good.

Unfortunately I don't have a CD-Writer which is why I have to balance opinions. My main concern is my dad's patience! He uses eBay a lot - checks and puts stuff for auction on an everyday basis, and is impatient if there were compatibility problems with 2000 and our current USB/AOL software.

Where did you find the updats DeeTee - looking around windows.com I guess?

 

[DeeTee]

Once 2000 is done updating (takes about 45 minutes-hour), and everything windows wise is running fine, there should be an icon for "Windows Update" on your Start button. That will take you to the appropriate part of windows' site, and then it will analyze your system and tell you what you need to download. I had to do it three times, because the first two (SP6 for IE and SP4 for Windows) have to be installed independently, and finally all the security patches installed at once on the third go.

Sounds like you will need about 2 uninterrupted hours' time at the PC while your dad is not waiting to get on Ebay.

 

[Rich_aka_Wig]

Sounds good. I mean, when I tried to upgrade to XP before the main problem was that with my USB and my dad just made me reboot with '98 he was so impatient.

At least 2000 looks the same and there shouldn't be any problems so what he doesn't know won't hurt!

When upgrading to 2000, does it due a check like XP (about which hardware and software may be incompatible with 2000?)

 

[DeeTee]

For compatibility issues, check out this site:
http://www.techspot.com/tweaks/win2k_compatiblity/index.shtml

and Microsoft's site:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/server/howtobuy/upgrading/compat/default.asp