I want to upgrade my computer and I need some advice.

I have a HP Pavilion 600MHz Pentium III Computer with 128 MB SDRAM Memory. The hard drive is 15.3 GB 7200 rpm. I have a 8X Max Speed DVD Drive and a 1.44 MB floppy disk drive.

I know I need more memory and I really would like to to replace the CD drive with a re-writable one.

The computer is running Windows 98, should I upgrade that to something a more recent or just keep what I have.

Help, please.

So long as your Windows 98 still gives you what you need, why change? I still use Windows 98 (Second Edition). It's very stable and works just fine. I tried Windows 2000 and didn't like it -- no compelling reason to change.

Unless you have an application which requires more-recent software, there's no need to upgrade your operating software.

But you'll experience MUCH more speed and flexibility by upgrading your memory. As much as you can afford. At LEAST 256 MB. 512 MB would be better.

Second thing is the CD ROM burner. I use mine all the time to make backups of my HDD's, and also to make personal use copies of my music CD's (only for my car, since it's a dirty environment and eats factory CD's). I think you're probably okay with the copyright laws if that's all you use it for.

I just ordered and configured for my my wife an XP 2000+ machine - 512mb PC3200 RAM, 40 gig drive, CDRW + CD, onboard LAN and audio and a spiffy clear-sided case for $550 shipped.

Not sure what you use your computer for - if you play games, you're about 4 years out of date.

If just surf, do email and minor stuff, get another stick of memory, maybe $40 for another 128mb. More memory (up to a point) makes everything go faster. Maybe a new AGP video card, too.

I doubt you'll be able to upgrade your processor.

Frankly, if it were me, I'd find a way to just put together a new machine.

First, double your memory, and replace the cd drive. A good rewritable drive can be found for $60 or so.

If your Win98 install is not giving you problems, you can save the price of an upgrade cd. But your computer would easily support XP if you want to invest the money, and if you have things you'd like to do that aren't supported under 98.

Things to remember if you do an upgrade-- BACKUP YOUR FILES. You can save your My Documents folder, your Favorites folder, your email database (Outlook or Outlook Express), your Address Book, and so on. Beg or borrow a Zip drive from someone and back things up before you start.

Also, uninstall any printer drivers, and uninstall any firewalls and antivirus programs. During the upgrade inspection Windows may inform you of other programs that will not work any more.

Too much information for your question, I know. But it's all important if you decide to upgrade, so you may as well write it down now and begin the prep!

PM me (there are several PC geeks here at DU you can talk to) if you have specific questions.

word processing and Excel spreadsheets and stuff like that. But I do have a lot of information stored on the hard disk right now that I don't want to lose. I figured if I got a re-writable CD drive I could take that stuff off the hard drive and save it on CD's.

Backing up your data, in large chunks -- 640 MB or more on each disk. And the disks cost about 50 cents each.

If you are planning to buy another soon anyway, you can probably tweak it up for better speed. -- this could damage your machine, so I am not suggesting it, specifically, but it might be a temporary solution.

If you get a new one, I recommend whatever you get, find one with an 800Mhz FSB -- that matters more than the CPU multiplier -- a 2 Ghz machine with an 800MHz FSB is faster than a 2 Ghz machine with a 400 MHz FSB.

I had good luck with pcusa.com

Get 512mb of pc133 memory, 2 sticks of 256mb each. You can get a top end lite-on cd-rw for about $40, which is amazing.

With 512mb of ram you will have a real nice fast windows 98 box.

I would not upgrade the OS unless you plan on putting more money into a faster CPU and possible a motherboard. Even though 512mb is plenty for windows xp, it will still be slow on a 600mhz cpu.

Look for sales at Office Max, Best Buy, etc. I got 128Megs of RAM for my old Compaq about a year ago for about $20 on sale. In other words, you won't be raked over the coals for memory like us Dell owners. To find out what kind of memory you need, go to Kington or Crucial or some other RAM site.

Then get a CD burner. They are very cheap, and pretty easy to install yourself.

600Mhz is still pretty decent for what you use it for (I have a PIII with 850Mhz as my main system). WindowsXP is a phenomenal OS compared to Win98, but if you plan on buying a new system soon, then I'd wait. Longhorn, the new Windows OS, makes its debut in a couple years. Stay away from WinME.

Speaking of buying a new system, this may not be a bad idea, especially if there are quite a few people in your house. New systems can be had pretty cheap nowadays.

I would check into a Dell. They have some good deals now and a system with upgrades isn't expensive.

I would also check into an LCD monitor: the quality is phenomenal and you don't have a 25,000 Volt transformer in front of you trying to push electrons through a phosphor screen. The upgrade is fairly cheap through Dell.