Should I Upgrade to W2000 from WinME? (1 Viewer)

[Dan Hine]

Hello all,
I just recently purchased a laptop that is working great but came with Windows ME. It says right on the laptop "compatible with Windows 2000 Professional" so I know that the computer itself would be fine. Part of me really wants to switch to 2000pro but I thought I'd look for advice first.
I'm somewhat afraid that if some of the software I have isn't compatible with it that I won't be able to switch back. Am I completely wrong about that? I'm looking at mostly using it for Flash, Autocad, watching dvd's while on the road, and the occasional game (Diablo II and such). Should I be ok upgrading or stick with ME? Any help whatsoever would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Dan Hine

 

[Bill Catherall]

Hey Dan,
I'm greatly contemplating upgrading from Win98 SE to WinXP Home version. The price for the upgrade is right ($99) and it allows you to do a clean install, I think you may just need either the Win9x disc or the license number. You also won't have any software incompatablities. WinXP will run all software that could run on Win9x, has the stability and security of Win2K, and has the hardware compatability of Win98. The interface is really cartoony though. You can check out a good thorough review of it at http://www.pcworld.com

[Edited last by Bill Catherall on October 12, 2001 at 08:21 PM]

 

[Dan Hine]

Bill,
I'm actually running XP pro on my computer at work. I love it so far! It's been running solid for a little over a week now. It has been a lifesaver for me as well b/c anytime I have an issue it basically tells me EXACTLY what that issue is. And even that is rare. More of then than not if something was going on I get something like this "there was an issue, but I fixed it for you already. Have a nice day." But XP pro has been a bust as far as game support goes (thus far).
Oh, and about the "cartoony" look. You can change that. I don't remember off hand how. I'm pretty sure there is an option that you click called "return to classic look" or something to that effect.
Anyhow, I guess my main question was, if 2000 isn't doing it for me, is it simple to go back to ME? For instance, if you don't like XP all you have to do is go to add/remove programs and remove XP and you'll revert to your previous OS (if you upgraded anyway). Thanks Bill!
Dan Hine

 

[Steve Kramzer]

Going back to ME from 2k or XP wouldn't be easy, you would have to reformat the hdd and re-install ME. I would recommend 2k over XP for a couple reasons. First, is the fact that if you change anything major on your computer you won't be allowed to run xp till you call microsoft and have them varify that you own the original disk. Second, if you are doing any type of burning, considering microsoft's recent deal with roxio, if you want to use any 3rd party burning software other than something made by roxio, you will most likely encounter some sort of conflict. (I would be pissed at this bc I use nero which is 1000x better than any crappy roxio product like ez cd creator). Finally, 2k is on its second service pack and granted it still has bugs, but not nearly as many compatibility problems as a newly released XP add to this the fact that there won't be xp drivers out for the majority of hardware for awhile. I've only used xp briefly as my friend just got it on his new computer so I guess I don't have extensive use with it, but I'm still wondering if all the crap that they were planning in the pre-releases is still there such as their own firewall software, etc..which still bothers me given all ms's past problems with bundling software to take over markets. I have run 2k for over a year on 2 different computers and would definetly recommend it over ME. With all the service packs and with compatible drivers finally availabel, I havent had any problems playing dvds or with any recent games.

 

[Chris]

Going back from 2k to ME is only one line:
Format C:
Of course, if you converted to NTFS, as 2k recommends, then it's this:
FDISK (wipe partitions)
FDISK (build partitions)
Format
then install
I personally seriously prefer 2K to ME, but it isn't for everyone. Just know what you are getting in to.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

quote: Going back from 2k to ME is only one line:
Format C:[/quote]
Actually that will give you a blank hard drive Chris

I would recommend a dual-boot. It's very easy to do with W2K but it will depend on how your hard drive is currently configured.
If the whole disk is one big partition then you'll need to resize it with something like Partition Magic. Then you'd create a new partition and install W2K to that.
It is *possible* to dual-boot 9x/Me and W2K on the same FAT32 partition, but it's not recommended.
If you don't want to dual-boot, it would be better to wipe the drive and install W2K from scratch. Uprading an OS is never the best way to install and it may not work with Me anwyay. Make sure youre W2K CD is the full install version to do this. Getting Me back will mean wiping the drive and resintalling from scratch. You will need your original Me CD plus any drivers for your hardware.
------------------
"We shall never surrender"
Winston Churchill.
[Edited last by Rob Gillespie on October 13, 2001 at 06:56 AM]

 

[Dan Hine]

Thanks Guys,
Still haven't decided what I'm going to do yet. But I don't like the idea of wiping my HD and starting from scratch. I'm computer literate but not sure if that's something I want to tackle.
Steve,
As I stated earlier, going back to whatever OS you had prior to an upgrade to XP is simple. In fact I've done it once already. Simply go into add/remove programs and remove Windows XP. And when I upgraded my work computer to XP everything was compatible except for the cheesy Dazzle unit. Also, I have downloaded a demo version of Nero to use on XP and it has worked just fine. So good news there too.
Oh boy, I ask for help and somehow sound like a know-it-all. I REALLY don't want to come across that way. I'm the newbie here and I admit it. But I have had some hands on experience with XP so I thought I would share it.
Anyhow, if anyone around the Charlotte area thinks I should switch to W2K and would want a few bucks, let me know!

Dan Hine

 

[Carlo_M]

You've got a couple of options if you're going to wipe your hard drive.
1. Make a dual boot. Start with a small, say 4GB partition and make it FAT32. Install ME on there. Run the Win2K installer after that and have it partition the 2nd part of the drive. It will recognize that you have ME on there. Make the other partition NTFS and put 2K on there. Then you'll have a dual boot and you'll have a choice at startup which OS to load.
I went from ME to 2K and love it. There are some games that aren't supported on 2K, but much less so than with NT. And the stability is heads and shoulders above ME.
2. Wait for XP. I know, I hate MS as much as anyone, but by most indications XP really is the first combination of the compatibility of ME (read: runs most any game) and the stability of 2K. All with their Luna (read: OS X ripoff) interface! And if you don't like that, you can go to Classic GUI.
I think eventually I'll move to XP Pro, but not for a little bit.