updating a computer

themadhacker · Post by **themadhacker** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 7:18 pm

I have never updated a computer before, and I was wondering. If I, say, update windows 2000 to xp, will I have to reinstall all the drivers and programs that were previously on it?

robm · Post by **robm** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 9:29 pm

WinXP will usually automatically download the required drivers to run your system, if for some reason it doesn't already have them. As far as resintalling any programs go, that depends on whether or not you decide to format your hard drive to the newer NTFS format, as opposed to the older FAT32 format. If that's the case, yes, you will lose everything and must reinstall.

Otherwise, if you stick with FAT32 (not really recommended,) then any programs that did not require a registry entry should still work. Any programs that required a registry entry will need to be reinstalled regardless.

Post by **bicostp** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 12:20 pm

If you install XP over 2000, there shouldn't be any problems with yoru applications.

However, if you can back everything up and reinstall all the software on that computer, it's best to reformat and start fresh.

themadhacker · Post by **themadhacker** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:03 pm

now, lets say, if I wanted to update 95 to 98? Would it instal the drivers like xp would?

Harshboy · Post by **Harshboy** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:19 pm

Upgrading OS's instead of installing fresh results in performance loss so if I were you just format the Hard Drive, install new OS, and re-download drivers for new OS.

Post by **bicostp** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 3:09 pm

themadhacker wrote:now, lets say, if I wanted to update 95 to 98? Would it instal the drivers like xp would?

Same thing. There shouldn't be any problems upgrading that. 98 can use some 95 drivers, and of course it comes with its own universal default drivers. (But obviously brand-new stuff probably won't work with an 11 year old version of Windows's default drivers.

)

Just remember, it's always best to run the newest version of the drivers released for your hardware and OS, no matter what combination you have.

The only times I've seen real issues with upgrades were upgrading from a DOS based Windows (1.0 through ME) to an NT based version (NT 4 through Vista), and that was because of compatibility issues with third party software.