I want to restore my computer to the way it was the day I bought it. I have done it before about a year ago but can not for the life of me remember how I did it. I do remember it being very easy though. Also, should I use Windows 98 or ME? I’ve been running ME but often hear that 98 is better for some reason.
Your computer most likely came with a CD that automatically reinstalls the operating system and the applications that came pre-loaded on the computer. Many Compaqs and other name brand computers have this feature.
You’ll have to find this CD. You’ll probably have to boot from it. Try to dig up any documentation that came with it to find out the exact process.
As far as 98 vs. Me goes, most people, myself included, prefer 98. It seems a bit more stable and not prone to quite as many wacky, what-the-hell-did-that? errors as me.
If you’re looking for the most stable, and IMHO, best, Microsoft OS, I’d recommend Windows 2000. It’s not as new as XP, so they’ve had more time to work out the bugs. Installation is as easy as 98 and it’s thirteen times more stable than 98, according to Microsoft’s own research. The interface is also very similar to 98.
Now that you mention it, I do remember a CD that I had to use…and yes, I do have a Compaq. Maybe I’ll stick with 98 a while and see how it holds up. I’ve been using ME and the only trouble I consistantly have is only when I play Yahoo Pool.
Its better to get a computer maintenance program & use it. A full featured one like System Suite 2000, I used that with w98 & Me. Should be cheap at ebay.com these days as its kinda old.
98 was a very well thought out and tested upgrade from 95. ME is a different story.
When 2000 came out, it was originally supposed to be what XP is today, a “merging” of the 9.x line and NT (which really isn’t a merging at all, they are just killing off the 9.x line). At the time when 2000 came out, a lot of 9.x software didn’t run very well under NT, especially games. Part way into the development of 2000, microsoft realized it would never work as a replacement of both operating systems, and they shifted gears rather dramatically and started pushing 2000 towards their exiting NT users, which left them with nothing for their 9.x users. So, they hastily threw together ME, which is basically 98 with a lot of features of 2000 thrown into it.
I personally haven’t had any trouble with ME, but a lot of people have reported it as being significantly less stable than 98. Given its throwtogether history, this doesn’t surprise me much.
Assigning any number to the relative stability of the operating systems is arbitrary and just plain silly. The basic difference between NT (NT 4.0, win2000, winXP) and 9.x operating systems (95, 98, ME) is that NT has a hardware abstraction layer which isolates the software from the hardware and makes it harder for bad software to crash the system. Any number that you come up with reflects the proportion of “bad” software you were testing. The number thirteen is obviously microsoft advertising hype and is designed to reduce a complex issue to a simple comparison that someone with little technical knowledge can understand. Depending on what software you are running, 2000 (and XP) could be 100 times more stable than 98, or it could be no more stable than 98.
Old software written for windows 98 may not run well at all under NT. For that reason I wouldn’t suggest 2000 or XP as a general purpose upgrade from 98 (despite microsoft’s advertising hype to the contrary). If all you do is run internet applications and things like office, then 2000 or XP will work a lot better than 98 for you. I never have any trouble with yahoo pool on XP, for example, and that’s a very typical type of application that could easily bring down 98 or ME to its knees if it goes sour. On the other hand, I have to dual boot my computer at home with 98 and XP because so much software I have will not work under XP.
If you use the Compaq restore disk do you have an option for OS to install ? I thought that it will install the OS that came with the original machine. My opinion is that 98 is better than ME but XP is better than 98. No problems here running older software that I had in WIN 98.