Upgrading & Fixing Laptops DUMmIES

Writing data or recovery files or drivers directly to a drive, without using

the operating system tools

Formatting and partitioning

You can get to the Recovery Console via two routes:

If you are unable to get the operating system to start on a hard drive,

install the Windows XP or Windows 2000 Setup CD in your drive and

boot the system from there. Onscreen instructions offer you access to

the Recovery Console, and walk you through the process.

Install the Recovery Console utility on your computer. This becomes, in

effect, a separate operating system available to you at startup. That is, if

the hard drive will start up. If not, use the first option outlined earlier.

Installing Windows 98 ..................................................................................

Although Windows 98 is no longer the recommended Microsoft operating

system, and official support is being withdrawn bit by bit, many older

machines and some legacy hardware and software are unable to work with

the newer Windows 2000 or XP. And for many users, the final version of

Windows 98, called 98SE (second edition) is capable enough for laptop tasks.

(For the record, Windows XP is more stablethan any of its predecessors —

less likely to crash or freeze — but it is also considerably larger and more

demanding of processor power and RAM. If you have a laptop running

Windows 98SE, you may not need to upgrade to XP and probably shouldn’t

unless you have a specific reason to do so.)

If your machine is still running the original Windows 98, or one of the

dinosaur operating systems like Windows 95 or Windows ME, you should

consider going to Windows 98SE at the very least. This allows access to

useful facilities including Plug and Play, USB, and WiFi communication.

Here are the minimum requirements for use of Windows 98SE:

Intel 486DX 66 MHz or faster processor. A Pentium or later processor is

recommended.

At least 16MB of RAM, with 24MB recommended.

195MB of available space on your hard drive. The actual required space

may vary between 120–295MB, depending on the hardware in your

machine and optional software components.

A CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive and a 3.5-inch high-density floppy disk drive.

A video adapter and monitor that supports VGA or higher resolution.

A mouse or other pointing device.

Chapter 17: Installing a New Operating System or Migrating Upwards 269