Does anyone know how difficult it is to install Windows 98 SE on a Windows ME machine?  I have a copy of Windows 98 that I could install on our server which is currently running Windows ME but I dont know what kind of problems I could run into.

I cannot agree more!

How difficult it will be depends upon what other software you have on your machine and its state of compatibility with the new operating system.  DBA will run better on XP or 2000 but other software might run quirky or not at all.
 
I found a pretty elementary guide for upgrading from ME to XP here:
 
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;324770
 
Its a Power Point presentation so I don't know if it will do you any good.
 
One thing you have to consider, depending on the age and condition of your machine and your future needs, is that it may make more sense to buy a new machine with XP pre-installed.  That would allow you to test it while your old system is still running.  If you have a problem during the upgrade, which is a real possibility, you have nothing to run on.
 
If you do the upgrade, do it on a weekend and backup all your data!  I would back up the whole hard drive so I could just go back to square one if needed.

Actually you should find that it will work better.
 
If you are up to 7 users though, you should seriously consider looking at a server based setup.

Thanks for all of the help.  I will load this operating system later today so keep an eye peeled for further posts should I (probably) get stuck

OK, Lorne, I concede, from that perspective you have a point.  Although Windows 2000 Pro acting as a "server" is not a bad compromise provided a regular backup of some sort is scheduled.  Certainly a BIG step up from a WIN ME "Server".

Ok You all knew I would be back.  I have installed Win2000.  when the machine boots it does not start the pervasive engine.  If I launch DBA the engine starts but I get a W3DBSMGR.EXE unable to locate DLL  MSVCP60.dll.  and then a btrieve error 3012.  The good news is all my DBA files and directories are on the drive intact.  Now I need to figure out how to get DBA back up and running.

Thanks Lynn, I noticed that from another computer when I tried to access the server it said I needed a network password.  I dont remember setting one when I installed win2000.  Do you know if this is normal and what to do about it?

I do not know who all will see this message but it is intended to thank all of you who helped me through some difficult tasks.  I did upgrade the machine we use as a server from Win Me to Win 2000 Pro.  The upgrade went fine even though Microsoft officially does not support this particullar upgrade path.  We don't use other programs on this PC so the incompatability issues were of no importance.  Now our system is up and running fine and for the last several days our system speed issues have disappeared and all is well!!!!!!!  Thanks to all who responded to my issues.  By the way of our seven workstations, one I upgraded to Win 2000, 2 are running Win 95, one is Win Me, and three are Win 98SE and we are not experiencing any problems.  ( I probably should eventually bring all of the workstations to a common operating system but if it ain't broke don't fix it they say.)

I am glad that this all worked for you.  I do, however, strongly advise that you upgrade the 95 machines.   MS has not supported this operating system for almost three years now.  The range of operating systems that you are running will get you sooner or later.   Life is much easier if you plan upgrades like that, rather than be forced into them by incompatibility issues.
 
Jeanette Zimmerman
Lowery & Company Inc