Hello everyone. I have the Windows Me OS in my Compaq Presario 5108US. I am planning to upgrade to Windows XP Home Edition. Does anyone have any recommendations or suggestions on how to make this upgrade go smoothly? According to Microsoft's "XP Update Advisor", I only have a few hardware/software compatibility issues that I can resolve before performing the upgrade. Thanks for your help.

Ensure that you have resolved or are satisfied that any compatibility issues will not prevent XP from running or cause you to lose functionality. Before you install XP make sure that any anti-virus program that you have is not running. As a general precaution, back up [copy to CD or ZIP or another PC] all your personal information. Data Files - WOrd, Excel etc. EMail - Address Book, Inbox etc. WHilst XP should not corrupt the system, this is a good precaution on the off chance that something may go wrong. Many would reommend to do a clean installation of XP, however if you have lots of applications on the Presario, then an upgrade to XP may save you 7 or 8 hours of installation and internet downloads for all the applications and utilities that you'd have to reinstall. Let alone phone calls to Software Manufacturers if you have to re-register or work around previous recorded registrations. All of this is time consuming and frustrating. XP upgrade itself should be completed within 70 minutes, but to avoid lengthy internet connection time for upgrades to XP, after installation is completed: make sure that you have the latest version of the software and not one that is a year old.

Thanks Brian for the excellent advice. The points you made are well taken. I will be using an overlay or upgrade, as this was made available to me free of charge when I purchased my computer. Thanks again for your recommendations. Maybe I can return the favor someday. Have a great day....texascowboy3000.