[wannabe1]

With an older machine like yours, it will likely need a PATA drive. There are many to choose from at NewEgg, while Best Buy may not have as good a selection as it's an older technology. Both Seagate and Western Digital make good drives so it boils down to size and price. At NewEgg, drives marked as "Retail" include new cables and documentation...those marked as "OEM" or "Bare" are for the drive only.

As some Windows 98 machines have trouble recognizing drives larger than 137 GB, it may be a good idea to look at drives smaller than 137 GB unless you know for sure your machine will make full use of the larger capacity drives.

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We bought this machine in 2004, and I update the windows program thru my IT person at work who is out or commision for six weeks. I know that we do not have the newest version though.

[hcook]

We bought this machine in 2004, and I update the windows program thru my IT person at work who is out or commision for six weeks. I know that we do not have the newest version though.

[wannabe1]

The file mentioned in the topic title is usually a file associated with Windows 2000 and newer. The HP/Compaq website lists operating systems from Windows 2000 to Windows 7...not much help. If you bought the machine in 2004, I'm betting it's XP of some flavor.

Are the disks you have from your IT guy or are they the ones that originally came with the machine? If they came with your machine, using them will put the machine back to the way it was the day your bought it.