Upgrade Tips
Upgrading can go very well for some and can really be a disaster for others. You should make absolutely certain that you have made a backup of your important data first. This cannot be over emphasised. While most well thought out upgrades are problem free no major upgrade like this can be 100% perfect so BACKUP.
Upgrading Windows 98 and Me will leave you with an
"Uninstall Windows XP" option in the Control Panel->Add and Remove
Programs and Windows 98/Me FAT32 file system will be retained in order to
facilitate an uninstall if necessary. However upgrading from Windows 2000 to
Windows XP is a one-way street so don't expect to
uninstall later.
If you are upgrading from Windows XP Home version to Windows XP Professional version you may find that you aren’t able to do so if Service Pack 2 (SP2) has previously been applied. If so then you can either uninstall SP2 prior to upgrading or slipstream SP2 into your Windows XP Professional version and then run the upgrade. For more info on slipstreaming check here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/slipstream.htm
When Upgrading from any previous version of Windows, in my opinion, it is preferable to make a full system image of your previous setup using a product like Acronis TrueImage or Norton Ghost (or other imaging program). That way if things really go wrong you can quickly revert back to your previous setup to either try again or live with.
There are a number of first things
to do before upgrading.
1) Ensure that you have XP drivers for your hardware. Everest is a freeware app. It will tell you a lot about your
hardware and direct you to downloads http://www.lavalys.com/products/overview.php?pid=1&lang=en Make certain that you have drivers for your motherboard,
network card or modem. You may need to get on line ASAP after the upgrade. Unnecessary if you are upgrading from
Windows XP Home version to Windows XP Professional.
2) Windows XP has an Upgrade Advisor on the CD. You should run that before upgrading and heed the report it generates. Unnecessary if you are upgrading from Windows XP Home version to Windows XP Professional. If you do not already own a copy of Windows XP you can download the Advisor from here but it is very large so be forewarned http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/upgrading/advisor.mspx
3) I suggest that if you have a high speed connection you should download SP2 (Service Pack 2) and copy it to CD. You can get the full version of it here http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/6/5/165b076b-aaa9-443d-84f0-73cf11fdcdf8/WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe
4) Run anti-spyware programs like CWShredder, Ad-Aware or SpyBot Search & Destroy etc and do a virus scan. Visit Jim Eshelman's page here http://aumha.org/win5/a/parasite.htm to learn how to clean up your system and find excellent free tools to help
5) Prior to running the upgrade you must do some serious disk cleanup and maintenance work. The first thing to do is to uninstall programs that will cause problems for you later if not uninstalled first. You can later reinstall them if they are supported in XP.
a) If you are upgrading to XP from Windows 98/Me/2000 you must uninstall all CD Writing software - (Easy CD Creator, Direct CD, Nero, InCD etc) Look for Windows XP versions of your software to install after the upgrade.
b) Uninstall any third party disk management tools like Norton SystemWorks, GoBack, System Mechanic or the like. These can be reinstalled after the upgrade.
c) Uninstall any Antivirus software and any Firewall software you have installed. These can be reinstalled after the upgrade.
d) If you've used tweaking programs reset back to the default. Remove the application if your previous OS was Windows 98 or Me
e) Ensure that you have the installation files or CDs handy for your currently installed apps. Many programs make the transition fine but others will need to be reinstalled again after the upgrade. Check the software sites for current updates for your software.
f) Do a decent cleanup, dump temp files, empty the recycle bin
g) Run defrag. The above should render your system in decent shape for an upgrade
6) Unplug unnecessary peripherals like scanners, printers, cameras, usb drives and the like.
7) Reboot to the desktop and pop the XP CD into the drive. Select Install->Upgrade [recommended] and let the games begin.
8) When the install completes you will be asked if you want to Activate. Choose "Not at this time". You really need to finish the setup and ensure that your hardware is supported before Activating. You can choose to Register or not as registration is optional but you must Activate within the allotted Grace period.
9) You don't want to go online until you've enabled the Firewall. In fact you may wish to temporarily disconnect your internet by pulling the cable. Do this to avoid contracting the Blaster or Sasser Worm virus.
10) Install SP2 from the download you saved and finally install your Antivirus software.
11) You may need to reinstall certain applications again before they will run on XP.
More info here
Upgrade info
Clean Install info
Windows XP Upgrade Advisor
Using the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard
Service Pack 2 info
How to Remove the Windows XP Uninstallation Files
Removing Windows XP and restoring
Windows 9x/Me
Windows
XP Software Compatibility Site
