Prep for Win98 Update

I have Win98 and have never done an update to it. I am running IE 5.5. Before
I attempt to download the latest version from Microsoft, is there anything
that I need to do? The only addition that I made to my hardware is the
addtion of a zip drive.

Thanks,

Bryan

bryan wrote:
> I have Win98 and have never done an update to it. I am running IE 5.5.
> Before I attempt to download the latest version from Microsoft, is there
> anything that I need to do? The only addition that I made to my hardware
> is the addtion of a zip drive.

Do you mean updating IE 5.5 to 6.0+ or do you mean installing all the
updates you have missed on the whole Win98 system?

If just updating IE, no special prepping should be required. OTOH, if you
are updating the whole system for the first time, you may want to backup
your personal data files to a safe place (that new Zip drive, for instance
<g>) just in case.

--

....Sky

================

Sky,
Thanks. The purpose of the upgrade is to assist in protecting me from
malware.
So I definitely need to upgrade from the vanilla Win98 to the latest.
Besides a backup, what else should I do? Thanks. Bryan

"Sky King" wrote:

> bryan wrote:
> > I have Win98 and have never done an update to it. I am running IE 5.5.
> > Before I attempt to download the latest version from Microsoft, is there
> > anything that I need to do? The only addition that I made to my hardware
> > is the addtion of a zip drive.
>
> Do you mean updating IE 5.5 to 6.0+ or do you mean installing all the
> updates you have missed on the whole Win98 system?
>
> If just updating IE, no special prepping should be required. OTOH, if you
> are updating the whole system for the first time, you may want to backup
> your personal data files to a safe place (that new Zip drive, for instance
> <g>) just in case.
>
> --
>
> ....Sky
>
> ================
>
>

bryan wrote:
> Sky,
> Thanks. The purpose of the upgrade is to assist in protecting me from
> malware.
> So I definitely need to upgrade from the vanilla Win98 to the latest.
> Besides a backup, what else should I do?

You are going to have quite a few updates waiting for you, Bryan. Before
going to the WU site the first time, I'd recommend this:

1. Clean up your system, to include emptying the Temp/Tmp folders, the
Recycle Bin, the IE Temporary Internet Files folder, and verifying you have
enough free space on your hard drive.

2. Run a program to clean up "malware" items. A very good free one is
AdAware; you can download the free version here:
http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/

3. Close everything down and boot from your Win98 StartUp diskette. Run this
3 (yes, 3 <g>) times: scanreg /fix

4. Remove the floppy and boot back into Windows. Run Scandisk on all your
drives/partitions. If you haven't done so in a while, run Defrag on your C:
drive.

OK, now you are ready! Go to http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com and
run the Scan. Be prepared to see a lot of things returned, so only grab a
few at a time to download/install. Restart as necessary. Repeat the
scan/install/restart process until all the items in the "Critical Updates
and Service Packs" have been installed.

That should be enough for one day --- relax and have a cold one!
Tomorrow you can work on getting a firewall installed.

--

....Sky

================

Sky,
Thanks for the instructions. Sounds scary. Just one question; would'nt the
latest patch have all prior updates?

"Sky King" wrote:

> bryan wrote:
> > Sky,
> > Thanks. The purpose of the upgrade is to assist in protecting me from
> > malware.
> > So I definitely need to upgrade from the vanilla Win98 to the latest.
> > Besides a backup, what else should I do?
>
> You are going to have quite a few updates waiting for you, Bryan. Before
> going to the WU site the first time, I'd recommend this:
>
> 1. Clean up your system, to include emptying the Temp/Tmp folders, the
> Recycle Bin, the IE Temporary Internet Files folder, and verifying you have
> enough free space on your hard drive.
>
> 2. Run a program to clean up "malware" items. A very good free one is
> AdAware; you can download the free version here:
> http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/
>
> 3. Close everything down and boot from your Win98 StartUp diskette. Run this
> 3 (yes, 3 <g>) times: scanreg /fix
>
> 4. Remove the floppy and boot back into Windows. Run Scandisk on all your
> drives/partitions. If you haven't done so in a while, run Defrag on your C:
> drive.
>
> OK, now you are ready! Go to http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com and
> run the Scan. Be prepared to see a lot of things returned, so only grab a
> few at a time to download/install. Restart as necessary. Repeat the
> scan/install/restart process until all the items in the "Critical Updates
> and Service Packs" have been installed.
>
> That should be enough for one day --- relax and have a cold one!
> Tomorrow you can work on getting a firewall installed.
>
> --
>
> ....Sky
>
> ================
>
>
>
>
>
>

Sky,
when you say 'Run Scandisk on all your
drives/partitions.' do you mean to go to dos prompt and then type scanreg
/fix at the C: Prompt?

"Sky King" wrote:

> bryan wrote:
> > Sky,
> > Thanks. The purpose of the upgrade is to assist in protecting me from
> > malware.
> > So I definitely need to upgrade from the vanilla Win98 to the latest.
> > Besides a backup, what else should I do?
>
> You are going to have quite a few updates waiting for you, Bryan. Before
> going to the WU site the first time, I'd recommend this:
>
> 1. Clean up your system, to include emptying the Temp/Tmp folders, the
> Recycle Bin, the IE Temporary Internet Files folder, and verifying you have
> enough free space on your hard drive.
>
> 2. Run a program to clean up "malware" items. A very good free one is
> AdAware; you can download the free version here:
> http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/
>
> 3. Close everything down and boot from your Win98 StartUp diskette. Run this
> 3 (yes, 3 <g>) times: scanreg /fix
>
> 4. Remove the floppy and boot back into Windows. Run Scandisk on all your
> drives/partitions. If you haven't done so in a while, run Defrag on your C:
> drive.
>
> OK, now you are ready! Go to http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com and
> run the Scan. Be prepared to see a lot of things returned, so only grab a
> few at a time to download/install. Restart as necessary. Repeat the
> scan/install/restart process until all the items in the "Critical Updates
> and Service Packs" have been installed.
>
> That should be enough for one day --- relax and have a cold one!
> Tomorrow you can work on getting a firewall installed.
>
> --
>
> ....Sky
>
> ================
>
>
>
>
>
>

bryan wrote:
> Sky,
> Thanks for the instructions. Sounds scary. Just one question; would'nt
> the latest patch have all prior updates?

In general, the most recent patches cover older patches on the same
topic/issue. That's why I suggested you grab just a few at a time (ideally
the list would be sorted to have the most current ones on top, but not sure
about that). But there won't be just one huge patch that contains
everything your system needs.

--

....Sky

================

bryan wrote:
> Sky,
> when you say 'Run Scandisk on all your
> drives/partitions.' do you mean to go to dos prompt and then type scanreg
> /fix at the C: Prompt?

No, Scanreg is different from Scandisk. The first (scanreg) checks your
Registry for errors and cleans them. The second (Scandisk) checks your
storage media for errors.

If you invoke Scanreg from within Windows you will be forced to Restart the
computer. Thus my suggestion to run Scanreg while you are booted from the
floppy diskette.

One way to run Scandisk from within Windows is to open My Computer, then
right-click the C: drive and select Properties, then the Tools tab. From
there select the option to Scan the disk for errors. Repeat that for each
of your drives/partitions.

--

....Sky

================


--

....Sky

================

Sky,
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!!!! REALLY APPRECIATE IT!!!

Bryan

"Sky King" wrote:

> bryan wrote:
> > Sky,
> > when you say 'Run Scandisk on all your
> > drives/partitions.' do you mean to go to dos prompt and then type scanreg
> > /fix at the C: Prompt?
>
> No, Scanreg is different from Scandisk. The first (scanreg) checks your
> Registry for errors and cleans them. The second (Scandisk) checks your
> storage media for errors.
>
> If you invoke Scanreg from within Windows you will be forced to Restart the
> computer. Thus my suggestion to run Scanreg while you are booted from the
> floppy diskette.
>
> One way to run Scandisk from within Windows is to open My Computer, then
> right-click the C: drive and select Properties, then the Tools tab. From
> there select the option to Scan the disk for errors. Repeat that for each
> of your drives/partitions.
>
> --
>
> ....Sky
>
> ================
>
>
> --
>
> ....Sky
>
> ================
>
>

bryan wrote:
> Sky,
> THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!!!! REALLY APPRECIATE IT!!!

You are certainly welcome.

--

....Sky

================