No, you will lose no data files.
(But you should ensurebefore upgrading that
your essential applicatioons will run under XP
or 2000, so you can read those data files.)

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada)

Do you have an application or a need for Windows XP or Windows 2000?
I would not upgrade unless you had a need to upgrade especially if you
are running Windows 98SE.  Make sure your system can handle the high
requirements for Windows XP Professional edition and I would suggest
running the upgrade advisor to make sure your system is compatible
with the requirements.  It may take an investment of several hundred
dollars to allow your system to handle XP.  My suggestion is to
upgrade to 98SE if you only have the first edition of 98 since a great
deal of software and hardware requires 98SE as a minimum.  In
addition, support for 98, 98SE and ME has been extended to June 30,
2006.  Stay away from ME and if you want the backwards compatibility
of 9x in a DOS environment, 98SE is your best choice.  Have a great
day!

If you do a clean install, you will loose everything. If you do an upgrade
(CORRECTLY), you won't loose your existing documents. As a precaution,
however, anything important should be backed up to removable media before
you begin.

As for Windows XP or Windows 2000, make sure your existing hardware and
drivers are up to the task. A computer that is several years old may not be
a good candidate. For XP, Microsoft has an Upgrade Advisor program that can
be used to check out your existing setup BEFORE you do the install. It will
pretty much tell you what in your system, if anything, is lacking in
capability. The Upgrade Advisor is on the XP CD, or it can be downloaded -
but it is a big file (over 40 MB), so if you have dialup, try to borrow the
CD from a friend.

Windows 2000 may have an Upgrade Advisor, but I really don't know. IMO
though, XP is a better choice than 2000.

Good luck.