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Windows 98 tiptoes out via preinstalled PCs

June 18, 1998
Web posted at: 10:45 a.m. EDT

by Brian McWilliams

(IDG) -- The official launch of Windows 98 isn't until a week from Thursday. But the first wave of PCs with Windows 98 preinstalled is now hitting some retail stores and mail-order PC vendors.

Retailers including Best Buy, CompUSA, and Computer City say they have a limited supply of machines with Microsoft's new operating system. Meanwhile, Dell, Gateway, and Micron are among the direct PC vendors that can configure a new machine with Win 98.

Shipments of the OS will crest on June 25, when retailers will begin filling orders for the Windows 98 upgrade CD-ROM. That's also the date when Microsoft tech support will officially begin taking calls and offering Win 98-specific information at its Web site.

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To prepare for the launch, Microsoft says it has added tech support staff and will post a couple of hundred Windows 98-specific how-to articles on its Support Online Web site.

But group marketing manager Scott Langmack says that Microsoft expects Win 98 to be a smooth upgrade for most users.

Besides fixing many of the bugs in Windows 95, Microsoft has built new self-help tools into the Windows 98 product. The new System Information utility, for example, otherwise known as msinfo32.exe, provides detailed information about your PC's resources, components, and software. It's also the launch pad for ten new system utilities including the Registry Checker, the System File Checker, and the System Configuration Utility. The latter helps solve system problems by controlling the loading of device drivers and software.

Before dialing Microsoft tech support or searching the Web, newbies and experienced users alike may want to try the Windows 98 TroubleShooters. They're available from a link on the front page of the Win 98 help menu, and address issues with networking, display, start-up and shutdown, and hardware conflicts.

According to Langmack, Win 98's troubleshooters are better than those that debuted in Windows 95. He says, "The troubleshooting wizards are 'See-Spot-run' simple. Just answer basic questions and then they will provide ... the most probable solution to the problem."