Need help converting Win98 to Vista!!!

[Adrienne]

I have Win98 loaded onto my current PC and need to transfer my files to my
new PC which has Vista. My PC does not recognize a USB flash drive to save my
old files, photos, etc...so how can I get all of my old files transferred??
Please help!!!! Thanks so much!!!

 

[Ron Martell]

Adrienne <Adrienne@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>I have Win98 loaded onto my current PC and need to transfer my files to my
>new PC which has Vista. My PC does not recognize a USB flash drive to save my
>old files, photos, etc...so how can I get all of my old files transferred??
>Please help!!!! Thanks so much!!!


1. Does your Windows 98 PC have a CD Burner drive? If so then use
it.

2. Go to the USB flash drive manufacturer's web site and download
their Windows 98 driver software and install it. (Note: The driver
may have come on a CD with the flash drive - check for that first.)

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Don Phillipson]

"Adrienne" <Adrienne@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
newsDB76FBE-5FEF-4334-B8DE-5933E154311C@microsoft.com...

> I have Win98 loaded onto my current PC and need to transfer my files to my
> new PC which has Vista. My PC does not recognize a USB flash drive to save
my
> old files, photos, etc...so how can I get all of my old files
transferred??

Various methods, depending on total file size (in Gb),
your skill with a screwdriver etc.
1. Has your your Win98 PC any USB sockets?
If so, you can instal Win98FE drivers for USB.v.1
or Win98SE drivers for USB.v.2. You should be
able to beg or borrow either a flashdrive or an
external (USB) hard drive: you can then copy
data files (or all files) onto the USB drive and
thence onto the Vista PC.
(Newest USB equipment may require drivers
unavailable for Win98, but anything marketed
before 2004 may meet your needs. You may
be able to buy a working older USB drive cheaply.)
2. Both PCs can be connected by an Ethernet
cable directly between their NIC jacks on the
back panel. (Google for setup instructions if needed.)
3. You may be able to remove the hard drive from
the Win98 PC and add it to the Vista PC as a second
drive. (Check Vista documentation first to ensure
this is worth trying.)

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

 

[Bob Harris]

If you have win98SE (second edition), then the odds are good that there is a
driver for the USB drive, available from the maker of the USB drive. If
plain 98, the odds are much poorer.

Other ways to move data:

(1) CD writer drive
(2) ZIP drive
(3) mount win98 hard drive inside the Vista PC
(4) mount win98 hard drive in a USB 2.0 enclosure (a small box available at
most PC stores and fairly cheaply), then plug into the Vista PC's USB port
(5) boot your 98 PC using a live LINUX CD. Such a CD does not install
anything onto the hard drive. Rather, it just runs LINUX directly from the
CD. Most LINUX distributions come with drivers for all sorts of USB things,
so it may recognize your pen drive. My favorite is KNOPPIX, but that is a
large download, about 700 Meg for the CD version (more for the DVD version).
Here are some links to live CDs and to KNOPPIX:

http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html

Note that nearly all live CDs come as ISO-type files. To make a CD, use an
option like "burn-from-image" in Nero or Easy CD Creator. The CD can be
burned on any PC, and then used on any other PC.

Note that modern LINUX distributions assume considerable RAM, a lot less
than Vista, but maybe more than 98. If you do not have at least 128 Meg of
RAM on the 98 PC, look for an older version of a LINUX live CD (e.g.,
KNOPPIX 4 instead of 5).


"Adrienne" <Adrienne@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
newsDB76FBE-5FEF-4334-B8DE-5933E154311C@microsoft.com...
>I have Win98 loaded onto my current PC and need to transfer my files to my
> new PC which has Vista. My PC does not recognize a USB flash drive to save
> my
> old files, photos, etc...so how can I get all of my old files
> transferred??
> Please help!!!! Thanks so much!!!

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

Are you on Dial-up or do you have broadband networking. If broadband, do you
have a network router involved?

I just talked a lady through this method and had no problems. There are
tricks to use, however. Win98 and Vista have issues when networking, but if
you know the tricks, it's easy and preferable, particularly if the old
system isn't Win98 Second Edition, because the original edition of Win98 has
almost no USB support. And as for putting the old drive into the new box,
that can be tricky with these new machines.

What email application are you using on the Win98 machine? Outlook Express?
Outlook? Something else? What Address Book or Contacts, whatever? There are
special procedures for converting all that to Vista's Windows Mail and
Contacts format, though SP1 has made it easier.

So, take stock of what you have and please post back with more info. Do you
have a router? How is your old machine connected to the internet.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
http://grystmill.com

"Adrienne" <Adrienne@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
newsDB76FBE-5FEF-4334-B8DE-5933E154311C@microsoft.com...
>I have Win98 loaded onto my current PC and need to transfer my files to my
> new PC which has Vista. My PC does not recognize a USB flash drive to save
> my
> old files, photos, etc...so how can I get all of my old files
> transferred??
> Please help!!!! Thanks so much!!!