Hello,I am looking to finally upgrade to XP from 98SE and have some questions for you.1. What is the difference between Academic version and OEM version XP? My wife is a college student so we qualify for it. Is the Academic version exactly like the regular OEM and upgrade versions?2. Would I have any difficulty in getting the

Hi,1. Some computer brands deliver "recovery CDs" with their preconfigured machines that

Just a suggestion though, do not do an upgrade. Backup all of your data and do a clean install. It'll be a little more work up front but a lot less pain in the long run. Jay Eklund

Hello,and I thought I was the LAST Win98SE holdout to upgrade. Because of building a totally new computer and it not fireing up with my 98 HD, I upgraded to XP. I've never looked back nor regretted the move . . . join us in the 21st century . . .and computing will get easier and more efficient.Best,Clayhttp://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...ers/Dopke01.jpgClayton T. Dopke (Clay)Major, USAF (retired)"Drac"

Not sure on what you mean by OEM version? AFAIK, the OEM versions are licensed to a particular manufacturer and will only activate on that hardware, while the shrinkwrap versions will activate on any hardware, and allow a certain amount of hardware upgarding without reactivation (though I reactivated mine on a new system with no problem after about a year).I don't think MS academic softare works any different that the full price version, though I assume this is "home" and not "pro".scott s..

I have an academic version of MS Office, it is the exact same version as Office Professional, it is just priced lower for users who are in school, that's the only difference for that, so I assume windows is the same.I recommend getting a "full" version of windows rather than an upgrade, and formatting your computer (erases everything off so you start from scratch). This way you can be sure your new install is virus/spyware free, and it cleans things up nicely.Also be sure to have at least 256 MB's of ram before you even consider running Windows XP, and I recommend 512 or more for running Flightsim with Windows XP.I'm sure you'll like Windows XP, you'll forget about those "illegal errors" and horrid blue screens! I've only had Windows XP crash a handful of times in a few years!