win 98

If you want to reinstall Win98 you need a Windows 98 installation CD...PERIOD.

If you want to go to XP oyu need to make sure you have enough memory and hard drive space otherwise it will run like crap. Being that it had Win98 on it previously I would guess that it might not be up to running XP.

To format the hard drive and start from scratch, a "full" version(not an "upgrade" version) Windows 98SE CD and a Windows 98 startup disk are needed. Then it's a matter of knowing how to format the hard drive and hoping that nothing goes wrong.

If the Device Manager is showing hardware with an exclamation mark next to it, there is a problem with the drivers and they need to be reinstalled(preferably with any updated drivers). Since he can't get on the Internet, downloading them is out of the question.

Since he no longer has any of the CD's that came with his computer, it tells me that he hasn't been very good at maintaining or taking care of his computer.

Trying to upgrade to Windows XP isn't a miracle cure and isn't going to solve the problem. Then there's the question as to whether that computer is compatible for the upgrade.

I imagine you can buy windows 98 cheap somewhere, look around online.

yeah he is not good with maintaining it, thats why I suggested to him to restore his computer. Thanks to all..

no prob

If he's not going to maintain it, it'll just be a matter of time before problems rear their ugly heads again.