I recently ordered a laptop for my daughter for her birthday- She was picking the thing out on line from Dell and I told her when she ordered a printer to order two since mine died recently.
Well, I hooked that thing up tonight only to find that it is not compatible with Windows ME, which is what I have on my computer. A conversation on line with someone from Dell was not much help. They advised that I just install windows XP so it will be compatible.
Should I do that? Is that a major ordeal to do? Will I loose the info on my computer now? Am I biting off more than I can chew since I’m not much in the way of a computer person? Would I be better off just sending the printer back and trying to find one that works with Windows ME?
If it is a standard printer like HP or One of the common ones there is probably a driver for ME. but ME is old by computer OS standards. Installing Xp should not be big deal. You can actually connect to a different system… move your data over and then reuild it with XP and move te data over
Thanks. Yeah, it’s old for a computer- bought it in 2000. I may just wait and maybe get my nephew to help me when he comes home for a visit if I try to put XP on this one.
Or, would it just be wiser to keep the new printer since I’ll probably be getting a wireless laptop sometime within the next few months and use it then? (I really like the idea of getting this big computer desk out of the living space and going with a wireless laptop) I get the feeling that my computer is really too out of date and behind the times to go to a lot of trouble/expense. I wonder if I can even find a printer that IS compatible.
XP is much more stable than ME and has many new features you will like, so I would recommend it if your machine is up to spec. Whereas ME will work OK with, say, 64 MB of memory, I wouldn’t put XP on a machine with less than 256 MB, but preferably more. Also, it requires much more hard drive space than ME. So if the machine has a decent processor and has enough memory and disk space, you’ll be much happer with XP.
The upgrade should be quite smooth, but as always you should backup first.
The processor is also a very important part of the equation. Personally I would not put XP on a machine slower than 1Ghz. I am guessing that since your PC was made so long ago it probably would not be a good match for Windows XP. Nor do I reccomend installing XP as an “upgrade”. It could easily turn into a real can of worms with software compatibility issues. The best way to install Windows XP (or any other OS for that matter) is to do a clean install.
The issue is probably drivers. If it is an HP printer I would be very surprised if they did not have appropriate drivers for WinMe. Another issue could be the USB ports on your PC. Not all new USB devices are backwards compatible to older (slower) USB standards. As was said it would be helpful to know what make and model printer you have.
Thanks for the good advice, it’s really helpful. To give some particulars-
The old printer was an HP 930C.
The new printer is a Dell Photo All In One Printer 922. It is a USB conection.
My computer is a Dell Dimension 4100 series, Pentium III processor at 733 MHZ(I found the invoice I must confess here, other wise I would not know that). I can also tell from this invoice I only have 128MB instead of the 256MB recommended for XP. Looks like it would not be a smart idea to try to put XP on this machine.( I really am amazed that I managed to lay my hands on the invoice , you have no idea how rare it is for me to actually find a piece of paper that I need- I hate paperwork)
I’ll just see if I can find a cheapo printer that will work with this computer until I can get a newer one I guess.
, you have no idea how rare it is for me to actually find a piece of paper that I need- I hate paperwork)