Upgrade a Windows 98 Laptop to XP

May 27, 2006 11:33 AM

How to upgrade and old Gateway solo 5300?

I have a Gateway solo 5300 Laptop that originally had Windows 98 on. I recenly upgraded it to Windows XP. I am running into a few issues.
1. Under the Power managment on the Advanced tab i do not have the "when i close the lid of laptop" option.
2. I now do not have the ability to scroll with the touchpad.
3. If I boot into the Bios I have a "current operating system" option that only alows me to select ..
A. Win98/2000/ME
B. Windows 95
C. Other
4. Various other limited options..
Should I reinstall windows XP with a format rather than an "Upgrade"?
Is there an updated Bios version I should try to find on the Gateway web site? If so what should I do to Install it?
Generaly what steps Should I take to get this thing running with the new OS like its a brand new Machine?

posted by slowtree to computers & internet (3 comments total)

Generaly what steps Should I take to get this thing running with the new OS like its a brand new Machine?

Ideally, format and install XP from scratch. The big problem with upgrading from Win98 to XP is that you can't carry over any vendor-specific drivers, especially for things like power management. There's also a BIOS update for the Solo 5300.
posted by holgate at 12:21 PM on May 27, 2006

Oh, here's a better link for 5300-specific drivers. You might get by with just installing these, but a clean install is always going to have less in the way of crud.
posted by holgate at 12:23 PM on May 27, 2006

My last laptop was a Gateway Solo 5300, and I upgraded it from 98 to XP, which I then reinstalled probably 3 times over the life of the laptop. The Synaptics touchpad always needed the newest drivers from the synaptics site in order to work right. As mentioned, there is a BIOS update which I would imagine would fix your "current operating system" issue, although I don't remember ever seeing that option. I never had the power management issue that you mention, but I always did clean installs, which I sort of expect would fix that. Like holgate, I would recommend a format and install from scratch, and then go get all the drivers from Gateway. That always worked well for me.
posted by Who_Am_I at 9:39 AM on May 30, 2006