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Windows 98

Upgrade 98 with Care

by John Heckman

I READ Richard Corzo's account of installing Windows with increasing apprehension 98 (see "Windows 98: Another view of Microsoft's latest OS," August 1998 ). I think a few words of caution are in order if you are upgrading to Win 98 instead of installing it fresh. Corzo installed Win 98 on a separate logical drive, avoiding some of the problems that have been reported in the computer press. But anyone who is installing over an existing Win 95 setup should be aware of a number of issues.

First, leading laptop makers, including Dell, IBM, Gateway, and Compaq, have advised users against upgrading until new BIOS are available. You could be faced with a machine that simply doesn't work.

Second, these same manufacturers have advised against using the Win 98 automatic update feature, since you never know exactly what you are getting.

Third, if you are running older programs, it is entirely likely that they will not work under Win 98 until you get updates, new drivers, etc. If you plan to upgrade, you should check with the manufacturer of all your programs for updates, new drivers, etc. beforehand.

The basic reason for a lot of the problems with the upgrade is that Win 98 ruthlessly overwrites any .dll or driver that was installed by other programs (including some of Microsoft's own programs), regardless of whether it is older or newer than the version being installed. According to Microsoft, this is to provide a "known, working baseline operating system." So Windows is guaranteed to work, even if none of your programs do! A little like the cheap computer ads for which monitors are an added extra.

Brian Livingston, author of the "Windows Secrets" books, has documented how to track what is being replaced through the Version Control Manager. The VCM can be found under Start/ Programs/ Accessories/ System Tools/ System Information/ Tools/ Version Conflict Manager. If different versions have been installed, your original file or files will have been moved to C:\windows\VCM.

A utility from Barry Press lets you see whether any of your applications are dependent on particular .dlls. You can download the utility from http://www.aros.net/~press.

The computer trade press has been replete with horror stories about upgrading to Win 98, so I would advise especially those with older PCs to proceed with extreme caution. If you do want to upgrade to what columnist Stephen Manes refers to as "$90 worth of duct tape," consider adding more memory and setting aside the better part of a weekend.

Windows 98

Upgrade 98 with Care

*by John Heckman*
I READ Richard Corzo's account of installing Windows with increasing apprehension 98 (see "Windows 98: Another view of Microsoft's latest OS," August 1998 ). I think a few words of caution are in order if you are upgrading to Win 98 instead of installing it fresh. Corzo installed Win 98 on a separate logical drive, avoiding some of the problems that have been reported in the computer press. But anyone who is installing over an existing Win 95 setup should be aware of a number of issues. First, leading laptop makers, including Dell, IBM, Gateway, and Compaq, have advised users against upgrading until new BIOS are available. You could be faced with a machine that simply doesn't work. Second, these same manufacturers have advised against using the Win 98 automatic update feature, since you never know exactly what you are getting. Third, if you are running older programs, it is entirely likely that they will not work under Win 98 until you get updates, new drivers, etc. If you plan to upgrade, you should check with the manufacturer of all your programs for updates, new drivers, etc. beforehand. The basic reason for a lot of the problems with the upgrade is that Win 98 ruthlessly overwrites any .dll or driver that was installed by other programs (including some of Microsoft's own programs), regardless of whether it is older or newer than the version being installed. According to Microsoft, this is to provide a "known, working baseline operating system." So Windows is guaranteed to work, even if none of your programs do! A little like the cheap computer ads for which monitors are an added extra. Brian Livingston, author of the "Windows Secrets" books, has documented how to track what is being replaced through the Version Control Manager. The VCM can be found under Start/ Programs/ Accessories/ System Tools/ System Information/ Tools/ Version Conflict Manager. If different versions have been installed, your original file or files will have been moved to C:\windows\VCM. A utility from Barry Press lets you see whether any of your applications are dependent on particular .dlls. You can download the utility from http://www.aros.net/~press. The computer trade press has been replete with horror stories about upgrading to Win 98, so I would advise especially those with older PCs to proceed with extreme caution. If you do want to upgrade to what columnist Stephen Manes refers to as "$90 worth of duct tape," consider adding more memory and setting aside the better part of a weekend.

John Heckman is president of Heckman Consulting, specializing in the legal industry. He has taught Optimizing Computer Use for Small Business at Norwalk Community Technical College.