98SE free upgrade from 98FE

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DragonNOA1

Supreme [H]ardness
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Aug 15, 2004
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I don't remember how this went but if you have 98FE could you upgrade through win_update to SE or was it like a whole 'nother OS and had to buy the CD? j/c... thanks
 
IIRC you could get all the patches to make it like SE but the only way to get all the "features" was to do an upgrade install... it was so long ago though I could be wrong... wtf would you want to run 98 for anyway? nostagia gaming is the only reason I can think of
 
I don't want to run 98, I just didn't remember how M$ handled the OS. Just thinking if they did the same thing now with an XP Reloaded type deal or in the future with Longhorn if ppl would be upset to upgrade to the same OS. j/w. Thanks.
 
DragonNOA1 said:
I don't want to run 98, I just didn't remember how M$ handled the OS. Just thinking if they did the same thing now with an XP Reloaded type deal or in the future with Longhorn if ppl would be upset to upgrade to the same OS. j/w. Thanks.
Click to expand...
In the days when 98SE was introduced (1999), you could update a 98FE installation to 98SE by ordering a "Windows 98 Second Edition Updates" CD directly from Microsoft (sorry, that updates CD was never offered as a standalone retail package) for $19.95 plus tax and shipping. (The 98SE updates CD was also bundled with some networking hardware.) The Setup program on the updates CD could be run only in Windows mode - and it required a fully functional installation of Windows 98FE already installed on your hard drive.

The retail stores sold only the $90 (Upgrade) and the $190 ("For PCs Without Windows") CDs of 98SE at that time, both of which had Setup programs which could be run in either Windows or DOS mode. However, the $90 CD could not partition or format a hard drive on its own; you had to either have:
  • Had access to a Windows 98FE or 98SE Startup floppy that should have been made during the installation of those OSes; or
  • Opted for the $190 CD.

In addition, the $90 CD required a working installation or Setup disk(s) for Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 in order to validate the upgrade.
 
you have a better memory than me... of course, I am trying as hard as I can to forget Windows 9x/Me. ;)
 
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