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Windows Upgrade

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9 replies

by je

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I currently have a Hp Pavilion which was supplied with WinME on 2 HP disks wich include drivers etc for the system. If I upgrade to Win2000 or XP using the upgrade as opposed to Full Install, will my drivers be retained for use with these programmesor will I have to reinstall the drivers.

9 replies

by bobho

Unfortunately the answer is maybe/maybe not. There are some drivers that might work with XP but it is quite a finnicky OS. the only way to find out is to do the upgrade and see if they work. If they don't work, many manufacturers have updated XP drivers available on there web sites (but some don't!). And there are some pieces of hardware that XP simply does not support, period.

Prior to the install XP will do a system check and notify you of what it thinks will be incompatible. You could then take this report and check with the manufacturer to see if XP drivers are available for their product.

Not an easy question to answer without actually trying the install. Here's a link to some XP installation tips:

http://www.windowsreinstall.com/install/tips/index.htm

Enjoy,

DrBob:>)

by bobho

Same with w2k. The pre-install will report whatever conflicts it sees and you can then check for appropriate drivers with the manufacturer. I have used win98 drivers in w2k when I couldn't find a w2k-specific driver but not all drivers will allow you to do this and some may behave erratically. My opinion (for what it's worth) is that w2k is more stable and less prone to conflicts than XP. Others have different opinions. Either way you go (if you do), a clean format and install is always less prone to problems than an update (but that's not always possible).

Enjoy,

DrBob:>)

by thechas

Either way (XP, W2K) even if your existing drivers are "compatible" you want to install the latest drivers available to maximise performance.

I would begin by checking if HP has posted XP or W2K drivers for your system.
If so, download the files, and extract them to a dos path folder such as C:\drivers

Then, when you install XP or W2K, you can direct the driver wizzard to use the HP drivers.

If HP does not have a driver package, run a system information utility such as Belarc Advisor or Sandra (www.belarc.com www.sisoft.com)
Running the utility will provide a detailed list of the hardware and drivers installed on your system.
Use this list, and www.driverguide.com to download the drivers direct from the hardware manufactures.
I fully agree with DrBob, the best way to install XP or W2K is on a clean hard disk.
You can do this with the upgrade version as long as you have your HP restore disks.
Or, you might be able to purchase on "OEM" version for less than the cost of the upgrade package.

(XP Pro "OEM" goes for $140 or less at many e-tailers with "hardware" purchase.) (So, get a new CD-RW or hard drive for free with the OEm as compared to the upgrade version.)

Chas

by je

I did try this with Win 2000 but opted for the full install and even trying to force the search into my win ME disks but this did not result in the drivers being picked up. When I eventually looked in the driver file from ME and subsequently aftera reload of ME I found that win had installed drivers that were not apperent within the folder,Drivers , on ME.

I ask again-- can I just do the upgrade to win2000 and if so will my crivers be retained.

by emotion

I did the same upgrade you did. Win Me is not directly upgradeable to Win 2000. You will need drivers for Win 2000 (or XP) for just about everything. Check with HP for drivers, as well as the manufacturers of any additional hardware you may have added. They will have the drivers. So, to answer the question, no your drivers will not be retained!!!

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