OVER five million PC users worldwide could face computer crashes if they
upgrade to Windows 98. The Dutch-based electronics company Philips is warning
that the software controlling its CD-ROM recorders is currently incompatible
with Microsoft鈥檚 new operating system.
The news follows New 杏吧原创鈥檚 revelation last week that 鈥減ower
users鈥� of PCs risk lock-out crashes when upgrading from Windows 95 to 98
(This Week, 27 June, p 13).
The driver software for Philips鈥檚 CD-ROM recorder is written by an American
company, Adaptec. To use the recorder with Windows 98, a new version of the
software, Direct CD 2.0A, is needed. The snag is that version 2.0A is not yet
being sold with new recorders.
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鈥淢icrosoft has changed Windows 98 so many times,鈥� complains Hans Driesen of
Philips鈥檚 optical storage division. 鈥淚t is only now that Windows 98 is on sale
that we can assume it鈥檚 in its final form.鈥�
Adaptec recommends that anyone with a Philips CD-ROM recorder should remove
the old version of Direct CD before installing Windows 98. Version 2.0A can be
downloaded free from its website at www.adaptec.com.