upgrade from Windows 98?

I'm considering upgrading from Windows 98 to Windows XP (home edition,
probably) on my three-year old Dell Inspiron 5000 laptop.



Reasons have to do with being able to run some useful software and hardware
that I mostly already have on my newer Dell desktop that runs XP home
edition, especially related to file transfer between the two but also many
other functions that are not supported by 98. (I have a WiFi LAN but for
some reason I can't seem to get the two computers to see each other's hard
drive or any files already classified as shared.)



I expect to keep this laptop for several more years, and am definitely not
interested in replacing it anytime in the next few months or even a year.
So it's either upgrade the OS or live with 98 for quite a while longer



The cost of the upgrade software, about $86, is ok with me but I'm worried
about problems I might have installing it, what this might do to the Office
2000 Professional and much other software now on the laptop, etc. I often
have trouble installing stuff, although I usually get it done in the end,
and don't want to screw up the computer or let myself in for several weeks
of headaches.



Any advice would be appreciated.