Would it not be possible just to re-name the current Xammp folder to old_Xammp, and then install the new version in the default Xammp folder?
All that you need to do then is to do an sql dump from one folder to the other for each database.
Or would you have to do the sql dumps first?
If you skip from a really old version like I did, you have a vertical learning curve and have to re-write just about all your web sites. I have been at it full time since last October and still have not quite finished.
Its a pity that the newer stuff is not backwards compatible. I just found that my timestamps from the old version do not work in the new one due to incompatibilities. Good job I retained my old tables and databases on a machine running the old version, so that they can be reconstructed. Another month's work to do, though I will update to this month's new version first!
It is not down to Xammp but the updated versions of PHP and MySql.
If it works don't fix it is my motto.