My mother has an old Intel Pentium II that she bought in 1998. I would like to completely wipe out the hard drive (I can't even defragment because it freezes all the time) and start clean. I decided to try doing a Clean Install of Windows XP but I got an error message saying something about needing updates for BIOS or motherboard drivers or something like that (my mother never updated any of this stuff). Because it is so old, I have been unsuccessful in finding updates for it on the Internet. Then, come to find out that Windows XP requires 128MB of RAM. I believe this computer only has 64MB of RAM. So, the guy at Best Buy told me I could upgrade my RAM, but he would need to know the computer's model # in order to select the correct RAM that is compatible. I don't know the computer's model # because I believe the guy my mother bought it from built it himself (there is no label with that info anywhere on the computer case or inside). Now, I have the motherboard manufacturer and model # and the BIOS info. Can I use this info to get the correct RAM that is compatible? Or does anyone have any other suggestions? This is starting to drive me completely nuts.

well, you could start by posting your motherboard manufacturer and model #. That way we could help you. Build-in-Progress: NZXT Nemesis Elite Athlon 64 3200 Abit An8 OCZ EL PE Rev2 DDR400 X800PRO

Minimum Requirements for XP Home You may be better off getting something a bit newer if it is your goal to run WinXP. Just meeting the minimum requirements will not likely be enough for enjoyable operation. Upgrading the OS on a 'problem machine' may not be the solution Still, sure - if you know the motherboard make & model you can likely track down its specs Computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and perhaps only weigh 1 1/2 tons. - Popular Mechanics, 1949

Only realistic options: Stick with Win98 for such an old machine and forget XP. Buy a new PC.

I agree with Jizumonkey... ASUS A7N8X-X Athlon XP 1800+ 8.5 x 200MHz 1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7 Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB WinME/WinXP Pro SP1

i would say ists a hard drive prop if it is coming up with errors when you try and reformat try a differnt hard drive and by the way if the errors come up when it is doing somthing with the hard drive it will not be the ram because i have a machine that is 64mb and 255mhz cpu and it works fine but there is no point going to xp if you have the 98 restore discs because it will be alot faster in 98 but if you want to use a ipod get windows 2000 pro you can get them off ebay for about 40£ never look at a dead man:

Microsoft used to have a disk or you could download the files necessary to determine if your machine will handle XP. I would be suprised if a Pentium II would do the job. The disk from Microsoft was free and so was the download if you cannot find the disk. I would run it before spending any money on the computer. You could probably buy a used Pentium III for the price of upgrades you would need. I don't know that I would do that either but if you don't want to spend the money on a Pentium 4, it would be an alternative. My Pentium III runs XP just fine. The Pentium III would not be that great but more likely to handle XP and it would probably have more capacity in the RAM and hard drive.