Upgrading from Windows 98' on a refurb notebook?

[BenderGonzales]

I posted this under non-aviation topics but didn't get much response. Thought I might try here:

I bought a refurbished IBM Thinkpad T22 on Overstock.com for around $300 to use while traveling (FBOs, hotel rooms, etc). Nothing spectacular. It's a refurb, got a DVD drive and wireless.

Only things i'll use it for are watching movies, surfing the net, the occasional word-processing etc.

Anyway, it came with Windows 98. I've been advised NOT to upgrade it to XP since XP is a resource hog.

Any suggested upgrades to 98 to make it a more stable platform using less system resources (and possibly protect from spyware/viruses)?

Will Firefox work on Win98?

Some folks have suggested Linux, but I dont know enough about it to make an educated decision. What are some differences between Linux and Win98? Can anyone explain to me how the Linux operating system works?

Any advice appreciated. Here's the details:

• 900 MHz Pentium III processor
• 256 MB SDRAM
• 32 GB hard drive
• CD/DVD-ROM drive
• 14.1" TFT screen (1024 x 768 max. resolution)
• Windows NT Professional OS
• Integrated Sound Blaster 16/Pro-compatible audio card
• Connectivity and expansion slots: 1 USB 1.1 port; 1 VGA monitor port; 1 Serial port; 1 Parallel port; 1 infrared port; 1 S-Video out; 2 PCMCIA (or PC Card) slot (Type I/II); 1 headphone jack; 1 microphone jack
• Integrated 56K modem (V.90)
• RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Gigabit Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems)

 

[Gorilla]

It sounds to me like the machine has plenty of "oomph" to run XT! If you can upgrade the RAM, there's no doubt it'll run well. Can you get it to a gig of memory?

When you install XP, do a custom install and keep the fluff to a minimum. Obviously you'll need to emphasize multimedia stuff, since you want to watch movies, but I'm sure there are a number of XP applets and processes that you can skip. The idea is to keep programs which run in the background, and aren't necessary, off the PC, especially stuff that deals with databases, financial apps, and the like.

I think its a very good idea to load XP. Win98 sucks, and XP finally seems to be a Windows version that I can live with.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me will pipe up. Good luck!

 

[yasir1212]

You should not have any problems upgrading to XP. Just format the entire drive and start fresh, instead of just upgrading '98 to XP. Use the XP cd to boot and format the hard drive and then start installing XP. I you have a choice, install XP Pro over XP Home.

 

[BenderGonzales]

Would anyone recommend an upgrade to 2000? If so, does anybody know a place to get a Windows 2000 upgrade CD CHEAP?

 

[Gorilla]

IMO, skip 2000 and do what yasir says... format the HDD and install XP. Do a google search, there are ways to use a cheap XP "upgrade" disk to do the job. You don't need a "full install" disk set.

XP is currently the superior product for home users.

 

[sky37d]

You actually can't get 2000.
There are significant differences between 98 and XP, but I have several users who still use 98, and will continue to do so, until I get them new computers. XP has some flaws, and if you do decide to install it, get the full version, format the drive, and install it. You will find that a full version of XP is about the same price as your computer.
Then you have to get a mailer, I would suggest mozilla thunderbird. it's free.

An alternative, not the one you are looking for, is to keep 98. I do not recommend a Linux distribution for someone who does not know a lot about installing it. You will be disappointed, at least at this point. Some versions have difficulty monitoring your battery, for instance.

 

[BenderGonzales]

Ok, I found an XP upgrade CD at Wal-Mart for $89. With only 256mb of RAM will I have any problems running XP Home?

As far as keeping 98', I had thought about that but 98 gets such lousy reviews (frequent crashes etc..) that I didnt even consider it as an option...

You've had better experiences?

 

[sky37d]

First,
An upgrade for XP keeps 98, and overwrites some files, ending up with XP. It takes considerably more disk space than a clean install of XP, since it doesn't completely wipe out 98. It is also considerably more expensive than the upgrade is.

Second.
I have a lot of users running 98, with no errors, no crashes, no stability problems. They will get XP when I replace their computers. The issues with 98 are that you can't easily install some software and hardware. No one makes stuff specific to 98. However, most stuff is backwards compatible, and therefore not much of an issue. I had a wireless card that, no matter what, would not work on a 98 computer. All the cards I found needed 98 SE, and I couldn't upgrade the 98 to 98 SE.

So, if the computer you bought is fully functional with 98 on it, you might be better off keeping 98. If you want to add some features, hardware or software, than putting XP on makes sense.

 

[BenderGonzales]

Can you recommend a wireless card that will work with 98?

 

[rjcap]

I don't mean to be a jerk but your $300 deal is starting to get more expensive as you seek to make it workable.

Windows XP
Wireless card
What else comes next.

Box up that piece of crap up and send it back to Overstock.com.
There are plenty of notebooks out there that can bought on the cheap with the wireless and XP already installed.

I bought a flat screen TV/DVD from Overstock and when it showed up it had the wrong power cord/transformer. Returning it was an absolute pain in the as-. I never intend to buy anything from them again.

Goodluck

 

[BenderGonzales]

No, to be honest you're right. I should've been a little bit LESS cheap and bought something that already had XP and wireless.

Unfortunately the return policy includes a 15% restocking fee. Gotta make it work now.

 

[rjcap]

No, to be honest you're right. I should've been a little bit LESS cheap and bought something that already had XP and wireless.

Unfortunately the return policy includes a 15% restocking fee. Gotta make it work now.

Maybe not.

If you can make the argument that what was delivered was not what was advertised/ordered they will happily waive the return fee.


Also, 15% of $300 is only $45 bucks. Are you sure you want to commit to spending $150 or more to make this thing work ???

In addition to XP and the wireless card you will have to upgrade the RAM for XP to work well. How much is that going to cost you ???

Cut your losses and try to return the thing.


AS you can tell, I have been down this road before.

 

[BenderGonzales]

True, but IF I can keep windows 98' on this thing and just pay $40 or so for a wireless card then it's still a good deal. I don't want to launch the space shuttle with this thing, just look at the internet on overnights!

 

[JimNtexas]

I posted this under non-aviation topics but didn't get much response. Thought I might try here:

I bought a refurbished IBM Thinkpad T22 on Overstock.com for around $300 to use while traveling (FBOs, hotel rooms, etc). Nothing spectacular. It's a refurb, got a DVD drive and wireless.

....

• 900 MHz Pentium III processor
• 256 MB SDRAM
• 32 GB hard drive

..

My wife has the same computer, she uses it when she travels or when she wants to sit at the kitchen table and pay bills using our home wifi network.

I would not upgrade it to XP unless you have a application that requires XP. Win98 still works fine for most things. If you do decide to upgrade be sure IBM/Lenovo can provide XP drivers. I can't see paying another $100 to Bill G to install an OS that probably will be very sluggish on an older machine like this.

We have two PCMCIA wireless cards that work in this computer, one from 2Wire that came with my dsl modem/router, and another that I got for ten bucks at Frys from Trend Micro. Any PCMICA wifi card will work. We run them with a wifi program that I wrote, which is far better than the crap programs that come with the cards, but the program that comes with the cards will be OK. I do find that the more modern WPA security doesn't work as well on Win98 as it does on XP.

Win98 isn't as reliable as XP, you will get blue screens and freeze ups. Be sure and backup any important documents you create on this laptop. Your T22 should have a restore partition on it. We find that about once every six months to a year we have to restore Win98.

It's certainly worth $300, enjoy it as it is.

 

[JimNtexas]

Would anyone recommend an upgrade to 2000? If so, does anybody know a place to get a Windows 2000 upgrade CD CHEAP?

You'll be in device driver hell, even though you can probably "borrow" a W2K disk from someone.

 

[BenderGonzales]

Jim,
What kind of wireless card did your wife get for her T22 that was compatible with Win98?

Thanks

 

[JimNtexas]

I edited my first response to mention that we use a 2Wire card that my DSL provider gave us, and a ten dollar Trend Micro PCMCIA card I got at Frys both work fine.

I actually write wifi software for a living, and I have another T22 that I am touching at this moment as I type this. I've found pretty much any PCMCIA wifi card that has a driver for Windows 98 (which is most of them) will work fine.

I have my work T22 setup with ghosted images of Win98SE (you need SE, but you probably have it now), Win2K, and WinXP. The T22 works OK with XP when you have 512M, but I wouldn't recommend it with 256M.

From what you wanting to use this laptop for I just wouldn't spend the money on more RAM an an OS upgrade. It'll work fine as is for watching DVDs, web surfing, email, word processing, etc.

It wouldn't be the best choice to edit the next Pixar cartoon feature, but it doesn't sound like you're into a lot of audio/visual work.

 

[BenderGonzales]

Thanks Jim. I'll find out when it gets here if its got 98 or 98SE. Sounds like if it's got SE then i'll leave it as-is. If the blue-screen of death starts to bug me a few months from now, i'll add some more memory and upgrade to XP.

How hard is it, by the way, to add memory to a T22? I saw on walmart.com that I could get 512MB of SDRAM for around $90.

 

[Famous Dave]

Dude, I have an old laptop. PIII 600 mhz with 192 MB ram. It originally came with Win 98. I installed a full version of XP Pro. I bought a 802.11b PCMCIA and the intenet is super fast. The notebook you have is more than qualified to run XP. I would not install the upgrade version. Rather I would completely reformat the hard drive and install a full version of XP. Keeping 98 would just waste space and maybe cause some hang ups. My laptop was purchased in 1999 and is solid as a rock. Good Luck.
Dave

 

[hyper]

Return it or sell on ebay and get your $ back out of it.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=iB120S1&s=dhs

add the wireless and you're into it for $489. WITH XP, larger HD, CD burner and warranty.

The only way you can make your IBM practical is to use it the way you have it and add a wireless card. Outside of that, you're upside down compared to a new one.

You HAVE to have 98SE to run wireless. You may have it already but upgrade disks were going for $50-90 on ebay. (I have one I'll sell ya cheap)

Upgrading to XP is not cost effecient and unless you're well steeped in driver update knowledge, you'll be frusterated to no end.

You'll be LUCKY if 98 doesn't drive you nuts, and if it doesn't, use a friends computer with XP......and it will.

Good luck

 

[BenderGonzales]

Thanks, i'll take all of the luck I can get. The computer should be delivered Monday. I'll report back what operating system is actually on the thing and you guys can help me get it cranking.

I dont want to pour money into this thing. It's just supposed to be a junk computer that I dont mind banging around the cabin so I can look at flightinfo.com on overnights.

 

[JimNtexas]

How hard is it, by the way, to add memory to a T22? I saw on walmart.com that I could get 512MB of SDRAM for around $90.

I haven't done it myself, but I don't think its hard. I'm not sure it would be worth it though.

 

[BenderGonzales]

Well I got the computer today. It's pretty useless. Windows 98 (standard not SE). Has an ethernet PORT but no card, so I cant even hook it into my home network until I get a wireless card.

I think i'm going to eat the $45 restock fee, call it a lesson-learned, and return the computer.

Unfortunately, I got my taxes back from the accountant today too. I owe Uncle Sam some $$ so I think i'll put off buying a laptop for a while.

Oh well. Maybe next year.