My daughter has a gateway computer with windows98, 256mg ram. My question is can she install a bigger hard drive with xp installed or would there be problems with doing that? Thanks.

You need to expand on your question (clarify) - is she replacing the hard drive (getting rid of the old one) with one that has windows installed? Or is she adding a hard drive just for the extra space?
If it's the first option, there will be problems. The new hard drive will not (most likely) have the chipset drivers for the computer into which it will be placed, so things will probably not work, and you will need to do a fresh install of Windows and then the chipset drivers anyway....I think. I guess this makes me a cluebie - I know just enough to cause problems...

most likely (and you can find out for urself when opening up the computer) is to see if it still has an area & cable to install another harddrive in there.


if so, there's no need to yank out the old (if its still usable and fast enough for you) and just place the new one right ontop. That way, you'll have two HDD's.

good luck
Jim

Yes, I whole-heartily agree.
If space in the case permits,
add a second HD.
You will not regret it.

But wait a sec - isn't whitty asking if he can just throw in the new hard drive "with xp installed" to upgrade it from windows 98 - otherwise why bother mentioning it?

How big is the first hard drive? If it's too small to be useful, and if it's getting old, it might be sensible to get a new hard drive and Windows XP, and some more RAM would be good, too. But by the time you make those improvements, you've still got an old computer and you've spent money for the HD, the OS, and the RAM. Sometimes, it's better to put the money into something newer.

But XP will run on 256MB and as others have said, you can keep both drives, assuming there's space on the primary IDE cable. I don't know if the power supply will handle more equipment, though. Home equipment hard drives are designed to last about three years, though many definitely last longer than that.

If you are going to install new OS and componants, download, and burn to disk all driver BEFORE making the upgrade. Run Everest Home 2.2. It will give you all the information about your daughter's computer.

If your Gateway came with W98, then I would have to agree with Herk, you would make a better investment if you purchase a new computer. Unless you are going to be using the new hdd on a new build sometime in the near future, it just dosen't make sense to put money in a machine whos peripheral devices could start dying any day now.

Another way to look at this is, if you purchase Windows XP, it will cost you about $115.00, and a new hard drive of 40GB to 80GB will cost you any where from $40. to $80., so now you have at least $150. invested in a upgrade, for another $150. you could have a new computer with XP installed, with a much faster CPU, more RAM, new monitor, keyboard, mouse...and a warranty. I dosen't take long to see what the best bang for the buck is going to be.

You have to install Windows XP on the computer. It cannot be "preinstalled" on the hard drive.

Windows XP Professional (or Home) Minimum System Requirements
Published: August 24, 2001

Here's What You Need to Use Windows XP Professional or Home
•

PC with 300 megahertz or higher processor clock speed recommended; 233 MHz minimum required (single or dual processor system);* Intel Pentium/Celeron family, or AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor recommended
•

128 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported; may limit performance and some features)
•

1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available hard disk space*
•

Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution video adapter and monitor
•

CD-ROM or DVD drive
•

Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device


Now, those are the absolute minimum requirements. In reality you need much more capability like a larger processor, more RAM, etc, for it to function acceptably.

Windows XP Advisor (will inform you if Win XP will be able to be installed on your computer - use the wizard at the bottom of the page)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/upg...ng/advisor.mspx

Programs that are known to experience a loss of functionality when they run on a Windows XP Service Pack 2-based computer
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...ct=windowsxpsp2


Some programs seem to stop working after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/842242/

If you are going to install XP, get XP Pro rather than XP home. Microsoft will support it with extended support five years longer than XP home which is scheduled to have support discontinued when Vista debuts (which is this December). It also has far more security features and many other features not included or available with XP Home. and it is not that much more money.

Thanks for the comments. I was curious if she could do this.

Just another question about the hd. It came out of a 3 year old emachines computer. It had winxp, 80gig. Any suggestions as what to do with it? I have an hp with xp, 40 gig hd.

Vista has been postponed until January.

XP Home support should last another two years.

You can put the hard drive into the HP, format it, use it to store files. Switch the jumper on the back to slave, put it on the second IDE attachment point, go to the Administrative Tools in the Control Panel after you start up and Computer Management, then click on Disk Management on the left. Find the new drive and format it from there. Fer heaven's sake, don't format the C: drive!

Thanks for suggestions. I just may give it a try.