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Originally posted by DanielLee
Hi,
I have a customer who has a Compaq 7151wma which is running a problem plagued version of Windows ME.
My customer has the “Windows XP version 2000 Upgrade” and I am thinking of either upgrading or repartitioning the hard drive, formatting and doing a new install.
I am relatively new at computers although I have upgraded a few computers to Windows 98SE and am somewhat familiar with partitioning and formatting.
I am currently doing computer repair for a living in a small town in Mexico. This customer is very well connected socially and my reputation is riding on this project going smoothly.
First when the box says “upgrade” I assume it means I can do a fresh install on a clean hard drive not just run over the existing OS, is this correct?
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Af far as I know, this is not correct. I *think* the upgrade CD allows you to only do that - upgrade the OS - otherwise people would just buy upgrades instead of the full OS - I'd go out and buy a fresh version of XP if I were you (check Microsoft's site just to be sure).
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Second I know this was one of the first versions of XP to come out, is it worth using? Are there better versions out now that make it wiser to buy the new version rather than go through XX MB of upgrades?
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Depends what you mean by one of the first version to come out. If it's an official release (i.e. not a beta version or a release candidate) then it'll be fine to use - otherwise buy a new one.
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Is there any proprietary software on the Compaq 7151 wma that will prevent me from having a successful install if I were to format the hard drive?
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There shouldn't be as Compaq sell PC's running Microsoft Operating systems out of the box. If it's a fairly new PC then I'd be pretty surprised if you had any problems with it - check with Compaq if you're unsure (
www.compaq.com)
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I have used the Windows XP upgrade advisor and it reports this.......
HARDWARE THAT IS INCOMPATIBLE OR MAY NEED ADDITIONAL FILES-
Hard disk controllers - USB Optical storage Device (not currently present)
USB to ATAPI Adapter (not currently present)
Network Adapters - Wan Miniport (ATW)
WDM Modem Enumerator - Intel 537 Data Fax V.90 Modem
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You'll probably just need to download XP drivers for a couple of bits here - shouldn't be too much of a problem.
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SOFTWARE THAT DOES NOT SUPPORT WINDOWS XP
Digital Dashboard (in Control Panel) (I don’t even know what this is or what it is for.)
Intel 537 Data Fax V.90 Mode (in control Panel) (On the box the modem came in it says XP compatible)
Virus Scan (in control Panel)
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I wouldn't worry about digital dashboard as it could be a proprietery Compaq thing perhaps? The modem may just need some updated drivers and you will need to get a newer version of virusscan.
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SOFTWARE THAT MUST BE REINSTALLED -
McAfee VirusScan for Win9x. (Do I have to re-down load this program or can I burn it to a CD and reinstall it from there?)
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You'll need to buy a new version probably - you might be able to download it from McAffee but it ain't free.
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SETTINGS THAT WILL NOT BE UPGRADED -
Network Connection Protocol NetBEUI (I have no idea what this is.
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NetBEUI is a network protocol (as it says) used for small networks - you probably won't need it.
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INCOMPATIBLE FACTORY INSTALLED PROGRAMS -
Compaq Easy Access Buttons (This would probably not be a big loss, I don’t recall them ever using it)
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Yeh, wouldn't worry about this one.
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OTHER INFORMATION -
Windows detected a DVD movie player or decoder that may be incompatible. You may have to upgrade the decoder after setup completes. (Is this telling me that I have to buy another player or is it saying I will have to flash the chip or change the driver?)
So there is the current state of things, should I try the upgrade to XP? Another option would be to Install Win 98 SE of which I am very familiar, anything but Win ME.
Any assistance appreciated and I want to thank you in advance for your time and assistance.
Sincerely,
Daniel
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The DVD thing could just be an old version of some DVD software (e.g. WinDVD or PowerDVD) that will need upgrading - your DVD drive should work fine under XP.
One thing you should do (as with any upgrade/ re-install) is take a backup of the existing computer.
I'd go with XP unless you want the problems to continue after you've done the job - normal users always bugger up 98 after a few months of use - XP is much more resiliant.
Chris.
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