Hello I need help, I absolutely know nothing about computers. I have a pionex computer, win 95, pentium 2 processor. I bought it brand new back in 95. It has been very dependable with no problems. I'd like to upgrage the system so I can use my digital camera (vivitar 3710) and photo printer (lexmark P915)with my computer (brand new pkg deal, still in box). When I ordered the camera and printer I was told it would work with win 95. That is not correct! On the printer box it recomends XP or 2000 but says it will work on 98 or higher, camera says win 98se, 2000, Me, or XP will work. What if any are my options other than shipping back printer and camera? Or would I be money ahead to purchase a new computer? I had more memory installed and want to get a cd burner installed. Any suggestions???? Like I said I know nothing about these things!

Win98 or ME would run reasonably well with those specs - XP would not. A newer machine might be your best bet in the long run. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?

Afraid not on two counts. There is no upgrade path from Windows 95 to Windows XP. You need Windows 98 at least. You will also need a CPU of at least 233 Mhz and 128 Mbs of RAM to even think about installing Windows XP. Even then it will be painfully slow. 1Ghz and 256 Mbs would be more reasonable. I would give some serious though to upgrading your hardware from scratch. What you have now is to old to be upgraded. If you are really desperate you might be able to get a copy of Windows 98SE. It is USB support that is the problem so you might need to purchase a USB PCI Card. Win 98 SE will run your camera and should run fairly well on the hardware you have. Stuart

If you bought it in 1995, it probably doesn't have any USB ports. If it does have USB it would be better to upgrade to Windows 98SE instead. If not you, you will have to get a new computer. If you don't have USB support on your motherboard it would not help to upgrade to XP.

Just reading the replies and yes I have two USB ports on the back of my computer. So if I understand, then I could upgrade to win 98se? Then I would be able to use the new camera and printer. How exspensive and how hard is this to do? Should I take it to a computer repair shop to have this done?

Eric you answered my question on how much it cost for win 98se os. I clicked on your link you gave me. Thanks! Have another question, it said "full product" is that every thing I need to load it on my system or do I need to buy something different? Told you I knew nothing! Sorry to be so dumb but studying up since I found this site which led me to a childrens site, which I've been reading up on. Guess you have to start somewhere!

It'll only cost you the price of the 98 CD - upgrade or full installation - probably not a great deal of money, considering the age of that OS. You'd have to scout around though. A clean installation after formatting is generally less likely to cause problems, but would mean erasing your drive. An upgrade would keep your data & programs intact, but there is a greater possibility of headaches. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?