Updated: July 13, 2020 (August 20, 2001)

Advantages and Barriers to Upgrading

Michael analyzed and wrote about Microsoft's operating systems, including the Windows client OS, as well as compliance and governance. Michael... more

Current Desktop Version	Upgrade Available*	Biggest Advantage	Biggest Barrier	Comment
Windows 95	no	Increased stability and performance	May require new hardware	Requires a clean install
Windows 98	yes	Increased stability and performance	May require new hardwarealthough businesses are still running Win 98 on newer hardware	Windows 98 Second Edition still common in homes and organizations
Windows ME	yes	Increased stability and performance, improved security, and fast user switching	Inertiacustomers recently bought Windows ME and it meets their current requirements	Will primarily affect consumer market
Windows NT 4 (Service Pack 5)	yes¹	Improved application compatibility	May require new hardware
Windows 2000 Professional	yes¹	Improved performance and application compatibility, new features such as the Alternate TCP/IP configuration, Remote

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