Win 98 --------> Win XP Professional: Is It Worth It? (1 Viewer)

[Chuck C]

I have a chance to snag up a complete windows XP professional disc for a mere $12 at our school's bookstore. My roommate already upgraded his computer and says it's great. I've heard good things about XP from others as well.

-What should I do to prepare for the upgrade?
-What can I expect?
-Will All my programs run?
-Are there any major bugs with the software?


thanks for the help!

 

[Andre F]

I would upgrade in about one second flat. For me WinXP simply doesn't crash (programs crash but the OS doesn't). Anyway, just make sure you do a fresh install and things should go smooth. I do a lot of HTML and PHP development on my XP box but anything else is usually (VB, COM, C++, JAVA, etc) is done on a W2K machine so I can't comment the stability in a development environment.

Are there any major bugs with the software?

I think some security flaws, but otherwise I've liked it a lot! I have it running on my home computer and my wife's and we both love it! I even talked my father-in-law into upgrading soon.

Hope that helps...

 

[Chris Bardon]

-What should I do to prepare for the upgrade?

Backups, but that's about all. A clean install is definitely called for here. Otherwise, I made the move about two months ago now, and I think I've rebooted my computer once since then. A nice solid OS, especially if you're doing any sort of development. Plus, all my games etc. run-haven't run into a single compatability problem yet, so things are looking good.

As for impressions of XP itself, it's great once you get it set up the way you like it. I really don't like the new look they came up with, so my machine looks pretty much identical to my 98 setup (old style menus etc.) Other than the cosmetic though, the OS is much smarter than 98 ever was, and in a good way (for example being able to disable ALL autoplay functions).

 

[Carl Johnson]

Doesn't it take fairly new PC to succesfully install XP? I'm the farthest thing from an expert here but I would have assumed that a machine that a win98 wouldn't have enough ram to handle XP. If that's not the case then I'll be looking into an upgrade too, rebooting ME several times a day is annoying.

 

[John_Berger]

I have a chance to snag up a complete windows XP professional disc for a mere $12 at our school's bookstore.

I was about to rail XP, but for that cost you really can't argue with it.
Just remember that Windows XP is Windows 2000 for Soccer Moms. Oh, yes, it's so pretty with the pretty colors and the pretty curves and the pretty graphics with their pretty shadows, and it's just oh so pretty, isn't it? But it's still a Windows 2000 core.
All things being equal, I would have said to get Windows 2000 instead, since it's more mature. But that $12 price tag is enough that even *I* would say that you might as well go for it.
And am I the only person on the face of this earth who has NOT had problems with Windows ME?!!

 

[MikeAlletto]

I was going to post go to 2k instead, but for $12 even I would do it.

 

[KyleS]

Hey if you dont want the XP Pro for $12 I'll take it off of your hands... Seriously as long as it has a valid certificate.

I think you would be crazy not to as long as your computer is somewhat new and can handle the OS.

KyleS

 

[Chuck C]

Wow, thanks for the great replies everyone....

FYI my computer is a P3-733MHz/128MB RAM, 20 gig HD. The buddy I mentioned in my first post installed it on his Celeron 466MHz laptop, and when I fooled around with it, everything went smooth. Do you guys think I'm good to go?

 

[Andre F]

Just remember that Windows XP is Windows 2000 for Soccer Moms.

I disagree totally. Just because it looks nice doesn't mean it's for Soccer Moms. I'd have rather have an intutive UI any day of the week. BTW, my W2K machine crashes at least a week without any real heavy lifting. Different machines and all that is apples vs oranges but I've had very good success with WinXP. Believe me when I say I'm no huge fan of MS, but I think they got this one right.

Chuck, the only suggestion might be to do an upgrade of RAM to 256MB. You don't need it but it helps, plus ram is easy to install and very cheap!

 

[brentl]

"And am I the only person on the face of this earth who has NOT had problems with Windows ME?!!" Yep, I think so
Make sure you download service pack 1 from MS. XP has a big bug that can delete a random file.
or pick up a quick fix at GRC.com
Brent

 

[Chris Bardon]

Just remember that Windows XP is Windows 2000 for Soccer Moms

Not really-I'd say it's more the OS that win2000 wanted to be. It's got all of the features of 2000, but with the compatability and gaming performance of 98/Me. Basically, the best of both worlds. Plus, like I said, you can can the cheesy new interface and make it look just like 2000.

$12 for Xp pro isn't bad though. Not quite as good as my free copy from school, but still good. Actually, probably better if you get original media with it-we just have access to a copies to sign out. Everyone gets their own key, but you have to make your own cd if you want it.

 

[John_Berger]

It's got all of the features of 2000, but with the compatability and gaming performance of 98/Me. Basically, the best of both worlds.

Sorry, but this is more closely synonymous to Windows marketing tripe.
I've been using Windows 2000 for almost a year and my system is mostly a gaming machine. I have run everything from Rainbow Six to Unreal Tournament to Max Payne to NeverWinter Nights to Jedi Outcast to Mechwarrior 4 under Windows 2000 and never had a single problem. Anyone who says that Windows 2000 can't do serious gaming obviously has never used Windows 2000 for serious gaming. I have, and I can tell you from experience that it's been working beautifully. In fact, it's still using the installation of Windows 2000 that I put on when I bought the system. I've never gone for a year without having to reinstall a Windows operating system, so that says something about the capabilities of Windows 2000.
...and for me to say anything positive about a Microsoft product is high praise indeed, being the Sun Microsystems/Solaris bigot that I am.
Regardless, $12 just for the satisfaction of having a legitimate disc and license is an offer that even I wouldn't refuse. Hell, I didn't even get a legitimate disc from the bastards at Hewlett Packard when I bought this system! :rolleyes

 

[John Parris]

Only thing I hate is the lack of DOS for my ancient games... I STILL WANT TO PLAY THEM! :frowning:
Ah well, a small hard drive and a dual OS setup works well for me in that respect... for everything BUT Dos, I'm enjoying XP Pro a lot. A legit copy would be even better... for $12 i see no reason not to at least try it...

 

[Peter McDonald]

I've been thinking of getting XP as well. Would a 400MHz Celeron be fast enough (to run it well)? I have 256MB RAM BTW.

Peter

 

[nolesrule]

I have found that older games run better on XP than on 2000. This on a P3-500, 288MB RAM, 66MHz FSB.

My wife runs XP on a P2-350 with 96 MB RAM. She says it runs fine for her uses.

For fun (and because I was getting C++ runtime errors on IE in Win98), I installed XP on my notebook, which is a P-233 MX, 64 MB RAM. It's real slow, but it runs.

As for the Celeron 400, it really depends on what you would be doing with it, but it should be ok.

 

[KyleS]

I have found that older games run better on XP than on 2000. This on a P3-500, 288MB RAM, 66MHz FSB

Joe the problem is when you have "Older" games that require DOS to run and since XP doesnt have it they wont install. Best bet is to do a dual boot or you can download a DOS shell but they usually dont work as well.

KyleS

 

[RobertR]

The only major problem I had when I went from 98 to XP is that XP HATED my old Matrox card. I bought an inexpensive Gforce card, and things have been extremely stable sunce then (more stable than 98).

 

[Colin Dunn]

I would go for the upgrade, but bump the RAM up from 128MB to at least 256MB. With RAM prices much lower than they were a few years ago, you may even see if you can go to 512MB. XP should run fine on a P3-733 with 256+MB of RAM. Get Service Pack 1 to fix the Remote Assistance exploit (which could be used to delete files from your computer without your permission).

Though it is Win2K-based, XP seems to do a better job of running old DOS/Win9x apps than Windows 2000, due to enhancements made to the application compatibility layer. On my system, it seems to create less "jerky" interference with games than Windows 2000 did. Win9x is still best for playing DOS-based games; WinXP is best for Win32-based games.

I turned off the new-style user interface and went back to the Win2K menu structure, which makes more sense to me (I work a lot with Win2K servers at work).

Also, turn OFF simplified file sharing (which is turned ON by default). You may not wish to share your drive with others. Simplified file sharing also hides the "Security" tab from the properties dialogs for files/folders. You may wish to be able to see NTFSv5 permissions and make changes to them, especially if you are security-conscious...

 

[nolesrule]

True. But I didn't mean games that were THAT old. Since I build my own systems, I'm gonna eventually put together a dedicated DOS system using my older equipment. I still have some legacy hardware laying around. I used to be pretty good at configuring DOS boxes. I'd like to see if I can still pull it off.

 

[Chuck C]

again, thanks for the wonderful feedback everyone...

What's the best way to find out what 'type' of RAM I should buy? In other words, what kinda RAM is compatible with my computer?

Also, would I be able to play SimCity 2000-DOS version w/ XP?