I am in about the same situation as Rockhead, I have a P3 600 , 20 gig, 512mg, Dell XPS I bought in April of 2000. I don't really push it too hard but it does seem to lock up a lot and requires frequent restarts. Should I try to save money by replacing the the processor, mother board and add another hard drive or should I bite the bullet and replace it? I was placing an order for a new one Saturday but for some reason I didn't qualify for the 0% financing plan and that was what motivated me to pull the trigger. I have A+ rated credit so I have a request in to reevaluate. So new guts or new (expensive) computer? Also , I have lots of data on this Win 98 machine I would absolutly need to have on a new one; Hows that work from Win98 to XP?
replacing it is up to you, i think you are going to run into hassles and compatibility issues if you just replace the motherboard and processor. I would replace the HD before anything. The only deal about Win98 is that MS no longer supports it. 98 is still gonna work, but there will just be no more patches and updates. If you are going to get a new computer, you won't be able to get 98 installed on it from the factory. You'll need to upgrade to XP or Win2K. If you don't get a new PC my suggestion would be to do a fresh install of your OS with a new HD. good luck!
your lockups and frequent restarts are most likely not due to the hardware. your best bet is to backup your data, format your drive and install windows XP.
If you are replacing your guts, just add a new hard drive to the list and install the new OS on that and keep your old drive installed as a slave. That way you don't have to worry about losing anything in backup and restoration.
Will the fact that all the data on the old hard drive is in Win98 matter? (do you delete the Win 98 OS?) Who would you recommend for the new hard drive/OS system installation? UBM Computers is right down the street, Comp USA? My Dell 4 year warranty is up in April anyway but is anyone spaecifically Dell approved? By the way I don't know what the upgrade will cost but a new computer would be at least $1300 so thanks for saving me money.
can easily get 120 for around $100 and Xp, well we all know other ways of getting it much much cheaper, more around the 0 dollar price range. as for installing it and all. the harddrive and xp takes about an hour of clicking through...
