However, I would never recommend installing a new version of windows over an old one. This causes many problems. The only way to get windows to work properly IMHO is to do an FDISK and do a fresh install. Of course, this requires a full version of XP, which you probably don’t want to buy.
So, next time you are buying hardware, get a bundled version of XP for $100. But, until then, and unless your current system starts giving you massive problems, I would just continue on without it.
Another vote for XP here. It is really a lot better than 98 and I have no experience with ME. I turn on all the so called “eye candy” and use Windows Blinds. I like it a lot and you can customize the look of the GUI.
Astro gave some very good advice in that XP likes to phone home a lot and it is a good idea to keep track of programs that want to access the Internet. Use Zone Alarm to keep track of that stuff.
Joking. I have bought windows XP from amazon. I should be ok as I have a cd of ME so I can do a clean install. I do not use antivirus software, so no trouble there. All my games are modern (Sim City 4, Unreal II, UT, Splinter Cell, B&W etc…), my computer well and truly excedes the minimum spec.
Will windows connect to a standard number to ‘activate’ or will I have to set up my ISP again?
I guess I’ll have to download XP drivers for all my ‘bits’. And I suspect my TV card won’t work, which I don’t mind as it is a pile of crap.
I’m running a Pentium 4, 1.3 ghz, 256 MB Ram. I used to run Win ME. It had it’s problems… very BIG problems… Like the restore utility wouldn’t restore. Dial-up networking failed. Had to reboot constantly. I decided to do a clean wipe of the HD and install XP from scratch. It was so incredibly easy, my pc runs better than ever, and I run user profiles so my kids can play their games (all of which work great) without them screwing up my settings.
I almost lost my temper with it though - I had the newest nvidia drivers ready, I installed them, they said it is recommended that I uninstall the old drivers. This is a fresh start so I thought what the hell - do everything right. I uninstall the old ones, am asked to reboot. The computer reboots, and put the old drivers right back! Without asking me. I decided to just install the new ones over the old ones. which worked the second time I did it.
Oh, and windows forgot to tell me to take the cd out while it reboots halfway through the setup.
I liked the musical last part of setup. is that music by enigma?
It does? Well, I guess you don’t really have to take it out. Just don’t press a key to boot from CD when the computer restarts and it will move on to the next bootable device.
I love Windows 2000. I’m not a big fan of XP. I’ve just had too many problems with it. The people moving from Win9x/Me to XP are thrilled with how stable and wonderful it is. The people moving from 2000 to XP are already used to stability and aren’t nearly as impressed, especially when things start acting up in ways they never did in 2000.
Example: a couple weeks ago at work, I had to dial out to an external ISP to test the functionality of our new VPN router. The only computers at our business that have modems are the laptops with XP Pro. So I tried to create a new dialup connection. Unfortunately, the radio button that enabled a person to do this was greyed out! My modem had the correct driver installed and was fully functional.
I checked the Lack-of-Knowledge Base and tried the first three recommended solutions to what was apparently a known bug. Nothing. The last option was a recovery reinstallation, which takes as long as a regular installation! After it finally finished, the dialup option was STILL greyed out! So I installed SP1a. Now, I’m used to Windows 2000 service packs. They install in a couple of minutes. Not XP. Oh no. A FULL HOUR ON A 1.6 GHz MACHINE! Yes, it took longer to install the service pack than it did to install the OS in the first place!
neutron star, I don’t know about Lobsang’s computer, but mine will automatically boot from CD if a bootable CD is in the drive. Guess your BIOS works differently from mine.
As for the modem problem, that sounds like a major pain to deal with. Sorry that soured you so much on XP, because it really isn’t as bad as past Windows (95, ME).
brianjedi, I actually almost mentioned that in my post because I could have sworn I used computers that booted CDs without intervention, but I couldn’t be sure, and everything I’ve used recently required a key to be pressed, so I left it out.
Also, I’m not saying that XP is worse than 9x/Me. Not by a longshot. But I’ll take 2000 over XP any day of the week.