Thank you for your thoughts.

You say in your reply that "... security risks to a 98 system are likely to be aimed at programs such as Internet Explorer, for which your Win98 system will be covered..."

With respect to Internet Explorer, Microsoft's website http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/desktop/consumer/components.mspx#4
states that "All security hotfixes (no-charge and fee-based, including General Distribution Releases or GDR's) are no longer available at the end of the Extended support phase."  A table on the same website indicates that Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2 and Internet Explorer 6 SP1 running on a system using Windows 98se will exit the Extended Support Phase on December 31, 2003 and January 16, 2004, respectively.

I interpret all of this to mean that no new security updates for any version of Internet Explorer will be provided by Microsoft after January 16, 2004.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for the reply.

With respect to systems running Windows 98se, your idea about updating IE 6 by accessing the Microsoft XP critical updates website is interesting.

Under the Security Update Information/Prerequisites tab on the page you suggested, i.e.,

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-048.asp

here is what Microsoft states:

"Note: Versions of Windows and versions of Internet Explorer that are not listed in this article are no longer supported. Although you can install some of the update packages that are described in this article on these versions of Windows and of Internet Explorer, Microsoft has not tested these versions to assess whether they are affected by these vulnerabilities or to confirm that the update that this article describes addresses these vulnerabilities. Microsoft recommends that you upgrade to a supported version of Windows and of Internet Explorer, and then apply the appropriate update."

It will be interesting to see if, after January 16, 2004, Microsoft drops Windows 98se from the list of supported systems on this page.  If they do, I guess Microsoft is making no guarantees for users of Windows 98se.

 

 

 

Denny Denham

Your assessment of Microsoft's statement regarding security updates for IE6 running on Windows 98se is probably correct.

In any case, I think that I will at least upgrade my Internet Explorer (I am currently running IE5.5 SP2) to IE6 SP1 and install a firewall to make my computer a little more secure in anticipation of January 16, 2004.

It will be interesting to see if security updates to IE6 download from Microsoft's Windows XP site will work on systems running Windows 98se after January 16, 2004.  You said that you are reasonably confident that such downloads will work.  If such downloads do not work, can you anticipate any problems that might result from attempting to do so?  In other words, would such an attempted download simply fail to install or would it create other problems such as disturbing the functionality of Internet Explorer?

Thanks.

garrffyy

Thanks for the reply.

Your idea to upgrade to Windows 2000 instead of Windows XP is interesting.

Regarding an upgrade to Windows XP, the Dell upgrade advisor states:

"While this Dell system may comply with Microsoft hardware requirements it may not provide the best customer experience with Windows XP, as its BIOS & drivers will not support Windows XP to Dell's testing standards.  

Dell will not be creating another BIOS or Drivers to support this operating system. 

If you are interested in running Windows XP, Dell recommends that you upgrade to a new system designed for performance and compatibility with the Windows XP operating system. 

Microsoft requires a minimum of 64 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM) for Windows XP. For a better user experience, Dell strongly recommends at least 128 MB of RAM. Dell also recommends an Intel® Pentium® II microprocessor or higher for optimal performance with Windows XP. Microsoft and Dell recommend Internet access to fully utilize the Windows XP features." 

With regard to an upgrade to Windows 2000, the Dell upgrade advisor states:

"Congratulations! Your Dell System, configured as it was originally shipped to you, is ready to migrate to Windows 2000 Professional.  

There may be more recent versions of your BIOS and/or drivers available that could provide better compatibility or enhanced functionality with Windows 2000 Professional. If files exist to assist you in upgrading, please follow the below link. These files are not required for a smooth migration, however. 

For the best user experience with Windows 2000 Professional, 64MB RAM is the Dell recommended minimum memory requirement, and 128MB RAM is preferred. An Intel® Pentium® II processor or greater is recommended for good performance with Windows 2000. 

Please bookmark and return to this site frequently for the most recent released versions of BIOS and drivers for your Dell system. 

Complete listing of the latest files for your system

*If you have modified your system from its original configuration - added peripherals or loaded additional software or drivers - you may experience conflicts with Windows 2000 that are not found in Dell's testing. In this case, if you experience a problem with Windows 2000 please contact Microsoft or your peripheral/software vendor for assistance."

I am not sure what I am going to do, but thanks for providing another alternative. 

Signals

As simpswr says, you may want to check HP's website for XP drivers that will support your HP scanner and printer.  In addition, you may also want to check HP's support forums to read about the experiences of others in updating their drivers for XP. 

barkupatree2002,

Comments on your alternatives:

1. Do nothing and hope that my antivirus software protects my computer from future threats.   This is a fairly safe approach. Virus authors are not likely to target Windows 98 in the future and security risks to a 98 system are likely to be aimed at programs such as Internet Explorer, for which your Win98 system will be covered.

2. Upgrade to a Microsoft-supported operating system, namely Windows XP, and risk having problems with the upgrade.   Given your system configuration this is not a terribly attractive option. You will need to increase your RAM to at least 128MB, with 256MB a more useful level. There is a possibility that some of the hardware and software you presently use will not be supported under XP, and a 13.6GB hard disk is smallish for XP use.

3. Purchase a new computer with Windows XP pre-installed and incur the additional cost of acquiring a new system.   This is clearly the best long-range solution, but until your present hardware suffers a catastrophic failure, in my opinion you are not at great risk using your first alternative.

Thanks for the information Denny. My situation is very similar to barkupatree2002, i.e., "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Your response also answers my questions as well.

barkupatree,

It's not completely clear what that means. At a minimum it means that if one went to the Windows Update site using a 98 system nothing would be displayed. However, updates to IE6 will still be available for supported OSs, such as Windows XP. If one checks the critical updates for Windows XP any updates to IE6 will still be shown there. The latest such update is the one described here. For my Windows 98SE system if that update were not identified as applicable to Windows 98 systems I would attempt to install it in any case since IE6 is installed on that computer.

barkupatree2002,

Microsoft's statement "Microsoft has not tested these versions to assess whether they are affected by these vulnerabilities or to confirm that the update that this article describes addresses these vulnerabilities" sounds to me like a CYA statement absolving them from responsibility (and hoping, of course, to sell XP). It is quite similar to the Dell statement on the upgrade page for older systems advising that "your system will not perform optimally under Windows XP and Dell will not be issuing any BIOS revisions to support Windows XP on your system" or words to that effect.

At least dozens (from posts in the XP conference) and probably hundreds of users to which that statement applied are happily running XP today. I am hopeful (and reasonably confident) that future security updates to IE6 will work properly on my Windows 98SE system.

Microsoft would really be shooting them selfs in the foot for not supporting 98SE anymore. A long with 95. A lot of people can't afford to but new pc's or wont due to upgrade risks. But bill gates dont see it like that. Of coarse if you had 43+Billion dollars you wouldnt either.