# Upgrading from WIn95 to WinXX -- worth it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 27, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-from-win95-to-winxx-worth-it/157872 "2003-02-27T14:07:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FranticMad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c68b51/32.png) [@FranticMad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FranticMad)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-from-win95-to-winxx-worth-it/157872/1 "2003-02-27T14:07:54Z")
Aside from having no USB support, I’m happily running Windows95. I hear horror stories about people with Win98, ME, and XP. Is there a solid benefit to upgrading? Is upgrading to ask for problems that waste hours of my time to solve? Your thoughts please. (running on a 400 MHz machine) ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-from-win95-to-winxx-worth-it/157872/2 "2003-02-27T14:12:59Z")
If you’re happy with your current set up there’s no real reason to upgrade. I’m still using 98 and until I upgrade to a faster processor (which needs a new motherboard) I’m staying with it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-from-win95-to-winxx-worth-it/157872/3 "2003-02-27T14:15:32Z")
I found Win98 pretty good (the ‘Second Edition’), better multitasking than Win95 and a fair bit more stable. WinME has given me nothing but trouble and I hate it HATE IT!. I’m _delighted_ with WinXP; very stable and feature-rich. I don’t think there’s a direct upgrade path from win95 to XP though; you’d have to wipe and do a fresh install. If Win95 does everything you want and doesn’t do anything you don’t like, why change it? I’m curious; does your machine have USB ports built in? ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-from-win95-to-winxx-worth-it/157872/4 "2003-02-27T14:18:48Z")
I could’ve written **Mangetout’s** post word-for-word, including his point that if you’re not having any problems with Win95, don’t bother. I stayed with Win98SE for over five years and only upgraded to WinXP when I got a new computer last month. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-from-win95-to-winxx-worth-it/157872/5 "2003-02-27T14:58:08Z")
- - - Win95 OSR2 has USB support. -And I _paid_ for an OEM Win98SE disc in 2000 and am still running it. Win98SE might add some niceness to your old PC without slowing it down much, if there’s something that 98 can do that 95 won’t–but if you buy a new computer off-the-shelf, you’ll get a new OS for “free” basically–so it’s not worth it for you to pay to upgrade the OS just for _that_ PC. …_BUT_… - Some hardware coming out now (videocards and motherboards, that I have seen) has features not supported in Win98 at all, and (of a bigger concern) _much software out now is not supported in Win95 at all_. I will very probably upgrade to XP within a few months. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-from-win95-to-winxx-worth-it/157872/6 "2003-02-27T16:26:49Z")
Even though Win95 OSR2 _theoretically_ had USB support, if you actually want to add a USB device, I’d say it’s OS upgrading time. I’ve encountered several people who actually tried to make use of the Win95 USB capability, and had nothing but heartache with it. So, if Win95 is doing everything you want it to do, there’s no reason to switch, unless and until you buy a new PC. But if you want to add any new software or hardware, there’s a good chance you’re going to run into some agonies with Win95.