I have 2 computers both HP pavilions, One is a 500 mhz 64 meg ram 13gig hd. the new one is an HP 700 128mg ram 20 gig hd. The 500 mhz has win 98se, the new one has win me, I was told I can't put win 98se in the new one, Something about the motherboard being tattoo'd ? What does this mean and does it mean I really can't go back to win 98se , The reason I ask is the 500mhz machine seems to run without the lagging and skippin in audio and choppy stuff when playing games like microsft combat flight sims and carmageddon sometimes the screen kinda jumps or stalls then jumps ahead. What can I do besides buying yet another computer. I can't afford to do that at the moment. HP's support line is useless, I gave up calling them after 6 times, with not so good results.

ok now i have heard it all who told you that it sounded like they did not know what they are talking about do you have a win98 se install cd and all the correct drivers i do not see why not let me tell you what gateway tech support told one person "you are suppose to use the internet explorer that is on it" well maybe not exact words but what happened was this person called them after she upgraded to the lastest version and incurred on some trouble and got a tech support dude that knew less about it than her makes you stop and wonder doesnt it or what about the time i did not know much about computers and a local computer shop told me i could not put a 24x cd-rom in a 486 bull you can put any speed cd-rom in a 486

John, welcome to the best and most stable microsopht's operating system. To make your faster windows ME computer run similar like your slower 98 computer you have to tweek ME(disable system restore, do msconfig and remove all the junk thats loaded there, disable virus protection, set it as network server, download WMP6 and get rid of WMP7 ...getting another 256 ram..(for your new computer, not the old one)...and so on and on) to deal with HP tech support do following - get a tape recorder, and adresses of HP, microsopht your congressman, of federal trade commision, better busines bureau, and any consumer protection agency you can find in the phone book. Then call tech support and notify them right at the begin that you will be recording the phone conversation - that way they will assign to you somebody qualified - then if they wont fix the computer send the complains registered return receit requested and C.C. them to microsft and HP dont do anything yet that would void your waranty (like changing the operating system) Regards Miro

well i agree with what he said but if changing the os will void your warranty maybe you don't need to buy a computer from that company anyway i can understand trying to work on a computer would possibly void a warranty if you told them or if they noticed it in some way but any company that would void a warranty for changing one piece of crappy software for another is a crappy company anyway and i would not reccommend dealing with them its like a car dealership telling a person to buy exxon gas or else the warranty is voided while the texaco or whatever has just as good as gas oil though changing brands of it would be a diffrent thing

xdf... i agree full about the gas .... the consumer laws regarding the cars are much more mature and comprehensive... computer operating systems are not governed by any laws (maybe in australia)... you prevail if you cause enough pain to the company that sold it to you... thats why the tape recorder and the certified letters.... administrative workers in the state government can iflict much more pain than the lawyers Regards Miro

i worked for HP Customer Care. changing OS's DOES NOT void the warranty. if that's what they told you, they were misinformed. HP cannot troubleshoot the OS you install after purchasing the computer. they cannot troubleshoot and hardware issues caused by doing this either. recording the conversation will get you no where. every call is monitored and listened to. every case is reviewed daily. if you want to speak to a supervisor, ask for one, otherwise you won't get one. You can install any OS you want. the tattoo of the mobo does not limit this. it does limit the use of the recovery CD's. once you install Win98 you will no longer be able to use your recovery disks. and they will not be able to provide drivers other than what is already on the HP site. They are trained to t/s the OS that is preinstalled. you'd be hard pressed to find a company that will support your PC and added software. when you install win98 that now becomes Microsoft's line of support assuming you have a registered version.

Thanks folks I will try the suggestions on speeding things up, However HP tech help line did tell me if I switch OS that I can no longer call them for help, which I have no intention of doing again anyway, but i will try win. me for awhile longer anyway and yes I have a legal copy of win 98 but not win 98 se.