R
RWhite
Well-known member
I have been intending for awhile to upgrade one of my PCs (NOT my main recording PC) from Win 98SE to Win XP. Now I generally live by the rule that if you are going to install a new OS, wipe you hard drive first and do a clean install.
However, because I do "mastering" on this PC, and it has boatloads of software on it, and just for general amusment purposes, I decided it would be fun to try it as an upgrade. This machine has been getting cranky, occasionally refusing to shut down, so it made a perfect "worst-case" candidate for an XP upgrade. Furthermore, I have been planning on replacing the motherboard soon and I wanted to wait until I did that before doing a complete clean upgrade. I had intended to do the upgrade and then test run all my audio apps (Cakewalk, Sound Forge) etc. and write a little review on it here. And then switch back to Win 98 until I get my new mobo.
Well, to make a long story short it never happened. Despite running the Upgrade agent first and then removing every app / hardware XP identified as being a potential problem, the XP upgrade refused to complete. It would get to the "Now preparing for upgrade.." part and then just lock the machine. Tried everything I could think of, no dice. Eventually I had to give up and restore my Ghost backup (which I made just before the upgrade).
Moral of the story: The convensional wisdom is the best wisdom. If you are going to migrate to XP, do it clean don't try the update.
However, because I do "mastering" on this PC, and it has boatloads of software on it, and just for general amusment purposes, I decided it would be fun to try it as an upgrade. This machine has been getting cranky, occasionally refusing to shut down, so it made a perfect "worst-case" candidate for an XP upgrade. Furthermore, I have been planning on replacing the motherboard soon and I wanted to wait until I did that before doing a complete clean upgrade. I had intended to do the upgrade and then test run all my audio apps (Cakewalk, Sound Forge) etc. and write a little review on it here. And then switch back to Win 98 until I get my new mobo.
Well, to make a long story short it never happened. Despite running the Upgrade agent first and then removing every app / hardware XP identified as being a potential problem, the XP upgrade refused to complete. It would get to the "Now preparing for upgrade.." part and then just lock the machine. Tried everything I could think of, no dice. Eventually I had to give up and restore my Ghost backup (which I made just before the upgrade).
Moral of the story: The convensional wisdom is the best wisdom. If you are going to migrate to XP, do it clean don't try the update.