XP will run fine on a 500MHz system with 512MB of Ram. Turn off the eye
candy and indexing services and install antivirus/spyware programs that are
not a resource hog and it will be fine. The people who gripe about older
systems being "glacial" have no idea how to tweak a system. I've run XP in
many systems that are 400Mhz and up. 256MB of Ram is pretty light but if you
are using the system for simple task then XP is good to go. Heck you can run
Windows 2000 on that system. XP will run just as well.

Grab the XP drivers you need from here http://preview.tinyurl.com/2ucc92

If you have a qualifying product like a windows 98 CD then you can purchase
a Windows XP Upgrade version. If you have no qualifying product then you
need a full version.

--

Xandros


"dk_" <nobody@spamless.com> wrote in message
news:13odqv875kpume9@corp.supernews.com...
>I have an old IBM laptop A20m running a Celeron 500MHz with 512 MB RAM,
> running Windows 98SE.
>
> The laptop is a hand-me-down and it is not actually registered to me in
> any
> way. I do have the original IBM disks.
>
> I would like to upgrade to XP.
>
> Here comes the dumb questions...
>
> Do I purchase an upgrade, or a stand alone XP full version? And what about
> which service pack#? And Home Edition or Pro?
>
> Where is the best legitimate place for making the purchase? What should I
> expect to have to pay?
>
> Many thanks.
>
> -Dennis
>
> --
> Dennis Kessler
> http://www.denniskessler.com/acupuncture