Question : Tips for Upgrading Win98FE to Win98SE?  MS Apps Replaced?  DM Entries to Delete?

Hello,
I have Windows 98 First Edition, v4.10.1998.  It works fine and I have no problems or complaints with it.  Because I bought some new hardware which requires new drivers, I am going to be upgrading to Windows 98 SE using a Windows 98 SE "Upgrade" CD.  I do NOT want to do a fresh install.  I have too many non-MS apps and I have forgotten how install some of them (many were patched after installation).  I do not want to upgrade to XP because of these apps I have.  They would be too expensive to upgrade for XP.  I have done some searches in http://groups.google.com and I have the following concerns:

I.  I am concerned the 98SE upgrade will overwrite some of my built-in 98FE apps.  Will the SE Upgrade CD overwrite them?  Here are some of the built-in Win98FE apps I have:
  1.  Windows Media Player 6.4.  I understand SE comes with 6.1.
  2.  Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1.  SE comes with 5.01.
  3.  DirectX 8.1.  SE comes with 6.1
  4.  Windows Installer 1.20.1827.0 (Copyright 2000).  SE probably comes with 1.0.

I still have the IE 5.5 SP1 install files (thankfully).  I just downloaded the DX 8.1 install file, but I don't know if I can still update WMP 6.1 to 6.4 on the MS update site.  I prefer to use 6.4 because the latest WMP is just so much bloatware.  Will the SE Upgrade overwrite these built-in apps with its own older apps?  Can I still upgrade WMP 6.1 to 6.4?  I have done a lot of Win98FE upgrades over the years.  In general, is the SE Upgrade going to overwrite newer files with older files?

II.  DEVICE MANAGER
Am I supposed to delete all the entries in my Device Manager in Safe Mode just before the upgrade?  If I don't delete the DM entries, will I see duplicate entries in Safe Mode after the upgrade?

I am going to use an MS-DOS bootdisk to minimize the TSR's.  I copied all the Win98SE CAB files and folders to my drive under the "W98Flat" folder to accelerate the installation.  Because of this, I won't need an MS-DOS CD-ROM driver loaded.  The 98SE Setup.EXE will be run from MS-DOS.  If anyone reading this has gone through the Win98FE to Win98SE upgrade before, please let me know what your experience was.  Any additional hints/tips will be appreciated.  I will wait awhile longer before upgrading.

Thanks In Advance,
Mercury351

Answer : Tips for Upgrading Win98FE to Win98SE?  MS Apps Replaced?  DM Entries to Delete?

Bootup with a startup floppy disk, if you don't have it, create one (you need a clean formatted floppy):

Add/Remove Programs > Startup Disk > click Create Disk and follow the prompts.

Put the floppy in the drive, bootup select with CD-ROM support.

Put the CD in the drive and run setup from the CD drive (usually E:). No fears. Your software and configuration will remain identical, unless there is a catastrophic issue with your rig or previous Windows insallation.

My personal opinion on other points:

- Windows Media Player: At least go to WMP 7.1: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/

- Internet Explorer: IE6SP1 is a MUST. Use Windows Update.

- DirectX: again, I believe 9.0b is the best: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=141D5F9E-07C1-462A-BAEF-5EAB5C851CF5&displaylang=en

- Windows Installer shouldn't be a problem.

- Don't touch Device Manager before the upgrade.

Zee