Cleaner Windows

By JOSHUA QUITTNER

Some people have dismissed Windows 98--The new operating system from Microsoft that goes on sale next week--as little more than a bug fix. Don't believe it: if Windows 98 is a mere bug fix, then so was adding a fourth wheel to the automobile. This is an operating system that's finally stable. My computer used to crash more than a three-wheeled car. Since installing Windows 98 two weeks ago, it's run smoothly, perkily and reliably. Best of all, it has yet to freeze, or even shiver.

Although Windows 98 is hardly revolutionary, I recommend it to any PC user. My biggest beef is that Microsoft isn't giving Windows 98 away. Only a monopoly vendor of operating systems could sell a product, Windows 95, that contains a passel of annoying glitches, then charge $89 to fix it under the guise of an "upgrade." There is, I'm told, a more charitable way to look at this: "If you've been using Windows 95 since the beginning, you can consider Windows 98 the reward for your patience," says the sunny Kip Crosby, who co-wrote The Windows 98 Bible (Peachpit Press). Lots of people already agree. When an early version of Windows 98 was sent to testers, "91% kept it on their machine because they felt it was more stable than Windows 95," reports Kim Akers, a Microsoft product manager.

So how can you take your PC from three wheels to four? Installing a new operating system can be a ghastly experience. Some of you will remember upgrading from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95 and watching in horror as your computer froze during the installation. That shouldn't happen with Windows 98. Microsoft has done more homework this time, and has learned that machines are less likely to crash during installation if hardware configuration occurs after booting up the newly installed operating system rather than before. Likewise, your participation--mostly answering yes to a series of prompts--is required for only the first 10 minutes or so of the 40-minute process. Go get some fresh air.

It pays to play it safe, though: before installing Windows 98, back up any sensitive files onto floppies. Elect to make an emergency start-up disk, which is a way to boot your system if all else fails. Also during setup you can save a copy of Windows 95. Do this in case you want to revert to your old operating system--a fallback if, say, your Win 98 disk is corrupted. Note, however, that the backup will consume 50 megabytes of space on your hard drive, which you'll want to reclaim later. (Windows 98 hogs 200 megabytes of space and likes an additional 100 megs for wiggle room.) Delete the old operating system by selecting "Add/Remove Programs" in your Control Panel, and remove the entry "Delete Windows 98 uninstall information."

There are other good reasons to install Windows 98, which Crosby lays out on my website this week, at time.com I was especially looking forward to the operating system's support for the so-called Universal Serial Bus--a thin socket that comes on most newer computers and allows you to plug in a variety of peripherals (scanners, mice, etc.) with fewer hassles. Microsoft lent me a new eyeball-size digital camera to try out the feature. Alas, my computer failed to recognize, let alone run, the USB device. I suppose that will get fixed in Windows 2001.

Visit Josh's website at time.com for more on Windows 98. You can e-mail him at [email protected] and watch him on CNNfn's Digital Jam, 7:30 p.m. E.T. Wednesdays.