Windows XP: Win XP, is it worth the change over?
Win XP, is it worth the change over?
by drill sgt - 2/25/05 8:32 AMPresently I have Win ME and is ok. I'm tempted to go to XP but have been hearing some 'REAL HORROR' stories about it and especially with SP2...Is there a REAL advantage to do the switch or not and just hang onto what I've already got til I'm forced to.? Any views R appreciated.
Win XP, is it worth the change over?
by jcrobso - 2/25/05 9:09 AM In reply to: Win XP, is it worth the change over? by drill sgtWhat kind of pc do you have?? The hardware requirements
for XP are higher than for ME. To run XP 256mb memory is kinda the min. with 512mb the sweetspot. It depends on what you are using you PC for. ME is 8 bit DOS based, XP is a 32bit kernal OS for the most part much better stability. Even thought it needs more memory it handles it much beter.
Most of the problems with SP2 had to do PCs that were not updated or had spyware and virus on them before the update, and certain applacations wouldn't work with it. So far I have updated 12 PCs to SP2 without problems. The only one I did have problem with was for a friend
who it turns out had upgeded to XP from ME. So if you go to XP do a clean install. John
To me it's worth it.
by bhodges00 - 2/26/05 12:36 AM In reply to: Win XP, is it worth the change over? by jcrobsoI think it's lots better than ME. XP is more stable than ME. Just make sure you have a firewall turn on before you connect to the internet and also have a good antivirus. I use AVG and Kerio for my antivirus and firewall. I never had any problems with SP2.
Is the upgrade to Windows XP SP2 worth it?
by TechFan - 2/26/05 1:17 AM In reply to: To me it's worth it. by bhodges00I'm definitely a big fan of Windows XP. I was reluctant to upgrade from Win 98 way back when, but was really happy when I did.
I've been toying with the idea of upgrading to SP2, but I've heard a few horror stories about installed applications not working. Like in this article:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10168_7-5543542-1.html
All your software worked just fine with the upgrade?
My software works great
by bhodges00 - 2/26/05 1:26 AM In reply to: Is the upgrade to Windows XP SP2 worth it? by TechFanYes everythings works for me. Also by now the programs that where broken when SP2 was out six months ago should already have a patch to work with SP2. What I did was make a slipstream and then reformat my hard drive and then reinstall it. It's been working great since.
Is the upgrade to Windows XP SP2 worth it?
by TechFan - 2/26/05 1:38 AM In reply to: My software works great by bhodges00Cool, thanks. I figured the software issue had been resolved with the SP2 upgrade. But it's good to hear from someone that's been through the upgrade process successfully.
SP2 & then SP2
by cesareDH - 4/28/06 5:03 AM In reply to: Is the upgrade to Windows XP SP2 worth it? by TechFanThere is the standard SP2 (95MB), then there is the FULL SP2 which is 267MB. With the standard SP2, I had a couple issues, but since I installed the FULL SP2, my issues have been corrected.
Just to add
by MarkFlax
- 2/26/05 3:48 AM
In reply to: Win XP, is it worth the change over? by drill sgt
to what has already been said, XP really is worth it. It is a much more stable platform than previous Win xx's. It doesn't fall over so much and if it does, it has the power and strength to get itself back up again. There are more features in XP, but it is "not so different" that you feel like you've been transported to an alien planet.
You don't say how old your ME computer is, and there may be compatability problems, but Microsoft have a site that helps you to determine if hardware and/or software is compatible with XP at this site.
If you do have an old machine, then you may expect "some" compatibility problems, and if that's the case you want to consider upgrading to a new computer.
Then you could use both computers networked together.
But many people have upgraded their existing computers to XP without any problems. If you purchase an "off the shelf" XP upgrade, it should come with Service Pack 2 installed, and on a clean machine which is running well without any viruses and driver/hardware problems, upgrading to XP with SP2 works very well.
SP2 has new security features which go some way to addressing the security flaws in Internet Explorer and Windows in general, and which helps you to decide what additional protection you need; eg, if your anti-virus program definitions are out of date, the Security Center will warn you. It also has a much more effective Windows FIrewall which is turned on by default, but if you have your own firewall which is better, then it can be turned off.
Good luck. Personally I would "go for it". In fact I did, and I haven't looked back since.
Mark
If I listened
by glb613 - 2/26/05 4:21 AM In reply to: Win XP, is it worth the change over? by drill sgtto all of the naysayers out there, I'd never upgrade or buy anything new. I've owned computers using every operating system since Windows 95. XP is the most stable and easiest one to use. But I didn't upgrade an old computer. When I "upgrade", I buy new. I find it works better and in many ways is a better bargain.
That's
by Themisive - 4/28/06 11:01 AM In reply to: If I listened by glb613Exactly what I do, also, I NEVER buy a brand new O/S - that is, I wait until it has been on the market for at least 6 months, that way any bugs that show up are hopefully "ironed out" - do you remember the ruckus caused by Windows 98?
In that case I waited until MS were forced to release Windows 98SE!
The same happened with XP, I did not begin to use it until after SP1 had been issued (just over 6 months after initial release), so my CD incorporates SP1.
IF I decide to get Vista - and I may well do so - again I will wait at least 6 months after it's release.
On the SP2 horror stories
by crash314 - 4/28/06 12:18 PM In reply to: Win XP, is it worth the change over? by drill sgtThese usually come about when a person has contracted some spy/malware and doesn't clean it up before attempting to install SP2. Some of those programs can make a real mess of things, and you end up having to format.
If you buy a copy of XP now, it's almost certain to come with SP2 integrated in already. So provided the install/upgrade goes well, you should be fine.
It should be noted that some programs that will work on WinME will NOT work on XP. Most DOS games for example, will NOT work. This is actually a good thing, because it comes from XP's enforcing a policy of no program but the operating system being able to access hardware directly. This is a big part of why MBR viruses have gone by the wayside. That, and you can achieve far greater carnage with much easier programming languages like VBScript. How's that for progress? A real bang for your buck sort of situation. The amount of skill required to cause mass disruption has actually gone down as a result of all this easy to use crap.
Anyway... You might find some programs won't work, so if you use a lot of legacy (read: DOS) apps, you might want to hold off. Otherwise, I'd say anything you can do to get off of a DOS based operating system is a good idea. Especially since WinME has been EOLd (End of Life) so there won't be any further security updates for it. XP is still under active support for the next couple of years.
sp2
by dogteams1 - 4/28/06 4:04 PM In reply to: Win XP, is it worth the change over? by drill sgtI've been running xp along time no problems with,
service pack 2 .
Most of the user's hear someone say they got problems,
with new patch,then others blame every problem,
they have on the patchs, or microsoft.Which really i'm just a beta tester,which i think anyone that use's
computer software plus buys it is also a beta tester.
I do answer alot of questions over at (Smart-computing)
and the most asked about problems is with (Norton).
For a novice i would never recomend thier product.
If it was'nt for thier programers years ago gates,
would have never had scan-disk or Defrag.
He took thier programmers plus thier Dfrag,and scandisk.In so many words mirosoft stole from Norton.
Also all the user's today say they have really bad,
support.
Mark
Vista
by cmmer31 - 4/28/06 10:12 PM In reply to: Win XP, is it worth the change over? by drill sgtI belive Microsoft is coming out with a new computer this Fall called Vista.
cg
Nope...
by John.Wilkinson - 4/28/06 10:24 PM
In reply to: Vista by cmmer31
First, Vista isn't a computer, it's an operating system, the successor to Windows XP. Also, it was supposed to be released this Fall, but has been delayed again...it won't be available to the consumer until early next year. 
John
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