Re: Upgrade to XP

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

Ted Zieglar wrote:
"Chacun sont gout" as the French say, so permit me to disagree. The
number one advantage of an upgrade is convenience. Once you've
sufficiently prepared you just pop in the CD, answer a few questions
and in about 30 minutes' time you're back in the saddle. Can't beat
that. And if you're missing install CDs for your software or didn't
keep the installer for downloaded programs, an upgrade is the only
way to go.
On the other hand, if you're a savvy user then with the same amount of
preparation you can start from scratch and end up with a brand new
config unaffected by whatever mistakes or questionable practices
you've committed in the past, when you didn't know what you know now.
You also get a chance to revisit changes or choices you made in the
past that you wish you hadn't and would change today if only you
could remember what they were.

When you're finally done, you can make an image of your disk (or
system partition) to which you may return at any time in a matter of
minutes.
There's a cost for all this: It's a good way to kill a weekend. But if
you're particular about your system, or just an aficionado, a clean
install is the way to go.
---
Ted Zieglar
"Backup is a computer user's best friend."

Michael Stevens wrote:
Rick Rogers wrote:
I'll disagree with the clean install advocates. First, the XP
install will be replacing the entire operating system file set as
well as the registry. The only "leftovers" will be entries that
exist for your personal settings and installed software (these are
imported into the new registry files during setup). Problems with
the operating system will not be carried over (though any
malevolent spyware and adware will be, you do want to make sure the
system is clear and free of these first).
Also, XP does not suffer from registry bloat as did Win98, if there
are dead entries that get through the upgrade they will simply be
meaningless in the new system and have zero effect on performance.
Try it, as you can always go back and do a clean install if the
results are not to your liking (but you can't do a clean install,
then decide to go back and do an upgrade instead). This will
preserve your user settings, programs, and data (though there is
still no excuse for not backing up to guard against disaster).

"Sailor" <Sailor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:DC3F028B-8AF5-4D46-87A1-D1DDF468F5A1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
If I upgrade to Windows XP from 98se, will the 98se registry (which
is bloated) be carried over into XP intact, or will a new registry
be installed
with XP? Is there any way to clean the registry of the many
uninstalled or unused programs in it? I've had to reinstall 98se
recently and it is now shown on Explorer as 'Windows.000'. I'm
concerened that some of my past problems with 98se will be carried
over to XP.

Absolutely agree with you, the upgrade should be the first choice
when it is an option. Prep the system as if you were doing a clean
install before running the upgrade.

I see it as a partial disagreement. 8-) I will concede that a clean install
is noticeably faster when initially setup, but I have not seen much
difference between a clean XP install and an XP upgrade after all the
software, updates and tweaks have been applied to the clean install. The XP
upgrade when done properly is very, very close to the same performance and
stability to the clean install after the clean install is configured to the
same level of hardware, software and configuration of the software and
hardware.

--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
xpnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com
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