I am helping a friend re-install everything on his computer (new HDD after a bad crash) and I am going to be putting XP on it. He gave me an AOL 6.0 disk to install (just one from the mail. he has an account) but I just got a 7.0 disk in the mail myself.
I remember hearing 6.0 was the “worst yet” for AOL when it comes to messing up your system. Is 7.0 less worse? Of course I don’t want to put either on the machine, but I have to pick one. It doesn’t matter to my friend, I don’t think, as he said something to me that makes me think he realizes that any computer with AOL and WinME is bound to take a nosedive
Short specs: Dell Precision (i think) 1.6 ghz, 256mb of ram, 2 40gb HDDs, windows XP pro.
I hate to be a geek snob, but have you considered dumping AOL for a local ISP, then Internet Exploder or Netscape?
I know the Win2k machines had some issues with 6, and have heard that those problems were fixed and replaced with new, and equally frustrating problems with 7. But when I consider your set up, I would reccomend 7. Since XP is a fairly new operating system, it would be best to use the most current version of software. There also is the fact that any patches by AOL or Microsoft that come in the near future will address 7 before 6.
XP has issues enough, in itself.
AOL has worse issues, in itself, no matter what the OS.
(You said you just reformatted this machine - So if you add AOL to the clean slate, even an uninstall won’t remove all it’s aftergerms)
I Agree with NurseCarmen - Dump AOL All together & go for a local isp. or broadband. AOLs prices have risen, and he can definately find a better deal, that will give better service.
Your friend would see the difference in connectivity, and be far more pleased in the end. (And small isp connections dont hog up even a tiny fraction of the space that AOL does)
Not to mention - I’ve used 7.0 and it’s worse for errors and
general BS than any other version has been.
Imagine combining Ammonia & Peroxide.
In an incorporeal setting, at least - that’s about what your end result would be like. Asphyxiating your newly cleaned HD with poison.
If you HAD to install AOL on a machine that was windows XP, which version would you run?
I am totally anti-AOL myself but it’s not an option to get rid of it. So back to my OP, which version of AOL should I install?
From what NurseCarmen says, I should run 7. I’ve heard bad things about 6. I haven’t heard anything about 7, though, but just because I don’t listen. So I am asking.
Assumeing it has to be AOL I do think I’d go with 7.0. When I upgraded my comp at the end of last year (includeing XP) I loaded my old 4.0 disc and when I loged onto AOL they gave me tons of warnings that I needed 7.0 to run on XP. They basicly forced me into upgradeing.
I will mention that AOL 7.0 is the only non DOS based program that has given me any trouble with Win XP. Not quite a blue screen of death but at times I’ll get “near” freezes where responce time to aol systems utilitys is in the order or a few minutes. Not sure who gets the blame for that one but it’s a bit annoying, but hey that’s aol for ya.
If you have to go with AOL, do everything in your power to dig up an AOL 5.0 CD and use it instead.
Version 3.0 is too old for anything but email. Not sure about 4, but my girlfriend had 5 and only started having horrible problems when she upgraded to 6. Version 7 was no improvement.
(Now she has switched to IE for browsing and Eudora/ISP for email, much happier)
Actually, close the thread if you would. I’ve finished the job and shipped off the computer, and I was never looking for opinions in the first place, more like “in my experience, AOL x works best with XP”
