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Tech: Windows XP
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: Dave Bryant Date: 23 Oct 03 - 10:09 AM I use XP at work, but I still prefer to keep 98SE at home. In fact I've just set it up on a brand new system which I've built for Linda's son and does it shift on a 2.4meg processor with 256meg and a fast hard drive. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: vectis Date: 23 Oct 03 - 09:09 AM I upgraded my computer and loaded it with XP. I tried every which way to get my Soundblaster Platinum card to run rendering my computer useless for music. I formatted the hard drive again and put 98SE on. Bliss. I know XP is a better system because I use it at work and it's stable and virtually unbustable but it is obviously not for me. Bring back Acorn and RISC OS!!! |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: Willie-O Date: 23 Oct 03 - 09:03 AM Oh, and the other thing I did, previous to finding the worm, was reinstall XP on top of itself. Not exactly a recommended procedure, but it did solve the browsing problems I was having with IE 6--some kind of corruption of ActiveX controls. You can't just uninstall IE6 and reinstall it, it is integral to XP. Reinstalling XP was pretty uneventful actually and got the job done. W-O |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: Willie-O Date: 23 Oct 03 - 08:58 AM OK, I'm warming up to XP now. I found that by watching the Processes list in the Task Manager, I could see in real time exactly what program or file was stealing all my CPU power and making my system choke (and frequently go poof and reboot itself while I was doing something). Turned out to be something called dllhost.exe -- a quick Google search revealed that I had a variant of the Blaster worm, aka Welchia. I could temporarily solve the problem just by ending that process, then going through the steps to remove the offending files and fix the registry...(btw dllhost.exe is a legitimate Windows file, don't delete all of them, but this worm puts it in the wrong place and uses it for evil purposes--if it's in c:\windows\system32\wins accompanied by svchost.exe, then the worm put it there--it should only be in the system folder itself. ) It's not blazingly fast, i still need that memory upgrade, but it's way better--hasn't crashed or choked once since I gave it the gears. W-O |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: GUEST,sorefingersXPd Date: 05 Oct 03 - 12:17 PM Lots of great advice and it all sounds right to me after my last three days. Making sure you remove your personal files off the C drive is a good idea, I forgot about some of them --- oooppzzz --- the owners complained a lot. Oh well. Some I did back up to a network drive, my documents, my downloads, my whatever. I was given a WinME machine to upgrade to XP. Noway! Not only would the XP hardware wizard take hours to get its list, the C drive lost 4 gigs of space. We counted about 2 but could not find the rest. Insert a Bootdotcom floppy and format. With some help got the XP to run like 98 so it looks familiar. It is different, reminds me of early versions of KDE for Unix and Linux. Course I know the MS people will deny that one. But if I added the 'eyes' and the dragon as background then I bet any KDE user would be fooled into thinking this yet another 'brand' Linux OS. A bonus for me was installing my first Netscape V 7, here in XP, and great happiness in finding that Netscape includes in this version the option to switch the appearance back to V 4.8. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: Mark Clark Date: 05 Oct 03 - 01:40 AM Jerry, One of the most common causes of problems with XP is leaving Win 98 in place and installing XP over Win 98 as an upgdrade. For a variety of reasons, there can be confusion over driver versions and sometimes critical files are missed. All the technical advice sites advise against it and, as I recall, Microsoft also advises against installing XP over Win 98. With Windows XP, all application programs should be installed from scratch using the original CD. If you use tools that are downloaded from the Net, get new download files from the distribution site. You'll want to be certain you have the latest version of these tools and sometimes the download or install procedure checks your OS and gives you an install tailored to the one you're using. Take all the files you've created or stored on your computer and copy them to a CD maintaining their original directory structure. Verify that you can read all the files you've saved. Now check your ROM BIOS to be sure your CD drive is in the boot list. (This ensures that you can boot directly from a CD.) Then reformat your hard drive (this erases everything) and, using your XP CDs, install your new OS. Use the NT file system (NTFS), not the file allocation table (FAT). Once you have XP up and running, you can start installing applications. The final step is to copy your files from the CD you made to the proper subdirectory on your new installed OS. If you aren't comfortable with any of the steps above, take your computer to a shop specializing in support for home users. They can do the whole job for under $100 and perhaps save you a lot of time and heartburn. You may want to spend some time browsing available tips on the Net. Dell may have a message board where you can read what others have done and learn about any problems they may have had. Good sites for information include:
- Mark |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: JohnInKansas Date: 04 Oct 03 - 05:25 PM Jerry - You might find it interesting to poke around a bit at Windows XP How To Center. The more you known about what you're getting into, the more likely you are to get a system setup that will work for you. One of the first links on the above page is a "how to install and setup" that should give you some feel for how you want to do it. You can "install as an upgrade" by leaving your existing Win98 system in place and letting the XP installation program just change "what it thinks you need." (If you bought an "upgrade" version of XP, you may need to do it this way.) The other option is to uninstall Win98 first, and then "start from scratch" with the XP installation. This generally gives a "cleaner" installation, and was recommended by Micke$oft when XP was fairly new. I don't know if they still think that way, since I haven't needed to look at "upgrade tech" for quite a while. John |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 04 Oct 03 - 04:41 PM Thanks for all of the imput. I have a Dell Dimesnion 2400 and I checked with Dell and they told me that it would support XP Jes' fine.My Cannon printer is only 3 months old, so I have to believe I'll have no troubles with it, but I'll check it anyway, along with my Hewlett Packard scanner, which is about a year old. I'd be happy to deep six my scanner, or anything Hewlett Packard makes... I've had nothing but headaches with both their scanners and printers. I'm moving slowly on this. I am pre-neanderthal when it comes to computers. I bought a Microsoft XP, but have not yet installed it. What do you mean, Mark, that I shouldn't use XP as an upgrade? Do you mean that I should uninstall Windows 98 2nd edition before installing XP? Sounds like leaping off a tall building to me. Will I lose my Mircosoft Word folders and my scanner folders? My oldest son is a computer specialist and tries his hardest to explain all them terms to me. Kinda like explaining quantum physics to your dog. After all, I'm just a folk singer.. Thanks for all the help. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: GUEST Date: 04 Oct 03 - 12:42 PM With XP on a new PC it seems pretty stable except for my two scanners. I installed negative scanner and it worked. Later I installed the flat bed and the PC would no longer recognise the neg scanner. Finally reinstalled the neg scanner and the same thing happened to the flat bed. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: Louie Roy Date: 04 Oct 03 - 10:50 AM I've purchased a new XP about two years and XP itself is excellent,but don't and I warn you don't buy one made by HP because they take most of the window programs off and add all of their garbage and you can't even back up your files unless you subscribe to a backup company they have a contract with and another thing it doesn't come with a back up and it takes an act of congress to get one and it is 8 disc long and all of their garbage is on it.Louie Roy |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: Willie-O Date: 04 Oct 03 - 09:33 AM I made the mistake of buying a new system last year with only 128 meg memory, and XP Home as the OS. It runs but performance is pathetic. My PII 233 mhz laptop with Windows 98 SE runs much faster than this 1.6 gig dog. I know, I know, memory upgrade will make a big difference--it's DDR memory which is kind of pricey, so I keep putting it off. It was a custom-built system, perhaps I should have known better but the shop that built it didn't bother to point out that it would run for shit as configured. One of the problems is that, on the XP system only, IE6 simply will not open secure sites--I've been all through the settings a million times and there is nothing disabled that would matter. Netscape 7.0 will go where IE won't, but if I have them both open the whole system virtually freezes up, the response time gets so slow. Blah. And if you have _specific_ software you want to run, check compatibility. For example, the free 8-track version of ProTools runs only on 98SE, not on XP. That's a big disincentive right there. One more thing. WARNING relating to System Restore. Last week my anti-virus program found a copy of Bugbear virus nestled in EVERY SINGLE restore point (they are stored in a hidden folder System Volume Information), and it couldn't clean them out due to the folder's protected and compressed status. Apparently they were just waiting for me to run System Restore. System Restore (which was also in ME, an otherwise pathetic OS) only works if you have restore points which were saved when you didn't have a problem. It's a good and useful thing but not a cureall. (I solved the problem by turning off System Restore, which deletes all the restore points) So XP has its advantages--built in firewall, and built-in networking software which is easily set up for DSL or cable high-speed connection--but it needs a good platform. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: ard mhacha Date: 04 Oct 03 - 04:56 AM I use Windows 98 on my old PC and have had a few problems with it. The new PC I bought a few months ago included XP, I find it works a treat, anyone who changes over will find it works much better than 98. Ard Mhacha. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: John MacKenzie Date: 04 Oct 03 - 04:11 AM My System restore has ceased working on XP, and I can't find any way to reload it. Giok |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: Bev and Jerry Date: 03 Oct 03 - 11:16 PM We would never attempt to install XP on an older machine. The entire structure of the files is different from earlier versions of Windows. We bought a new machine with XP about a year and a half ago. The good news is that it's way easier to use, the restore function has saved our collective ass several times, and it virtually never crashes. Also, upgrades are automatically downloaded to our machine. The bad news is that most of the software and hardware you now own will not work with XP. We had to buy a $150 upgrade to make our Wordpefect office suite work. Our printer worked pretty well but no where near as well as with Windows 95. Our two year old scanner produced horrible results due the Microsoft driver that comes with XP. HP no longer supported the scanner so we had to buy a new one. Gave the old one to a friend with Windows 95 and she's in heaven. Software that depends mainly on information contained on a CD that you put in to run it generally will work but that's about all. Bev and Jerry |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: mack/misophist Date: 03 Oct 03 - 11:07 PM linux rulz |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 03 Oct 03 - 10:52 PM Stick to DOS 3.1
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: Padre Date: 03 Oct 03 - 08:32 PM Jerry, I have been using Windows XP (Home Edition) for more than a year, and find it miles better than Win 98. It came with the computer (Dell Dimension 4550) so I can't comment on any problems related to updating from Win 95 on the same computer. Tom+ |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: Skipper Jack Date: 03 Oct 03 - 07:26 PM I bought Windows XP(Home Edition) and tried to download it on to my computer which currently ran Windows98. For some reason I couldn't make head nor tail of it and immediately removed it. I took my computer to the computer store and they completely buggered it up. I bought a new computer with Windows XP and I have since had no problems. In fact I found it far easier to operate than Windows98. But I think that older computers are not equipped to take Windows XP. You should ensure that your printer and scanner are compatable with the new Windows, and you have to update the drivers. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: Mark Clark Date: 03 Oct 03 - 07:09 PM Jerry, Dick is exactly right. Do not install XP as an upgrade! First contact your computer's manufacturer (or check their Web site) and verify that your computer (specific model) is certified by them as supporting XP. If they say yes, do as Dick surrests and get a complete (verified) backup of your system's hard disk, then wipe it clean and perform a new XP install. Be sure your system's BIOS is up to date. You may have to update your ROM BIOS and, if you do, you'll want to get the update from your system's manufacturer and apply it before you trash Win98. You'll want more than 256 MB RAM. I'd suggest 512 MB RAM at a minimum. You'll want a hard disk of at least 20 GB. I'm not sure you can buy one that small anymore so if yours is smaller, I'd suggest replacing it with a larger one. You'll really want a processor speed of at least 1.0 GHz. If you use sound and graphic, make sure your sound and graphics cards support what XP is capable of doing. XP isn't hard to use and I think you'll have much less trouble with it than you do Win98. Good luck with your new OS. - Mark |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: annamill Date: 03 Oct 03 - 07:04 PM I love Xp. No problems so far and good experiences. I was hit a couple of time by the viruses going round and all I had to do was run my Norton and then restore my computer back to the days before I was hit by the virus. Amazing! If you install something and it messes you up, just restore to before the installation. Another thing I enjoy is sharing my computer and screen with another XP user, like my daughter. You have to be careful with this one though. Just turn off the access when you're not using it. It doesn't wipe out any files when restoring, just sets the system back to what is was before the mess. AND it has a firewall! No more popups! I have almost forgotten how frustrating surfing was before the firewall. My rating. A+. Annamill |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: GUEST,dick greenhaus Date: 03 Oct 03 - 06:46 PM Jerry- XP has some advantages: if things go wrong it's easy to restore everything to the way it was at any chosen time in the past And it makes installation of new software much simpler. One warning--FRom what I've seen, don't bother with an upgrade. Save everything you want so save on some backup medium, wipe your hard disk and install XP from scratch. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: mack/misophist Date: 03 Oct 03 - 06:42 PM I keep 98SE on my wife's machine. It's rock stable and she's happy with it. The only thing I have against XP (other than it's a M$ product) is the learning curve, they changed too many things unnecessarily. My cousin's in the computer business and he feels the same way. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: GUEST,Russ Date: 03 Oct 03 - 06:34 PM Jerry, For an old(er) computer, if it ain't broke don't fix it. When you get your next computer, you won't have any choice but XP. Then you can deal with it. It is a fine operating system. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: C-flat Date: 03 Oct 03 - 02:46 PM I moved on to XP from '98 and have found it OK. (I nearly said trouble-free but that would be courting disaster) |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: EBarnacle1 Date: 03 Oct 03 - 01:33 PM My nbew computer came with XP. Most of the problems were mine, not the computer's. I still long for the good ole days of DOS but Windows is easier, even though it takes up a ton of space. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: Max Date: 03 Oct 03 - 01:07 PM You can make XP look and act just like Win98 without much work. It has a feature to just switch the look and feel. I do that any time I have to work with XP. Once that is done, it is all the upgrades without all the (un)intuitive usability changes. And all they're talking about is that the start menu is very different, and a few things are hard to find. Don't worry and go ahead and jump in. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: John MacKenzie Date: 03 Oct 03 - 01:04 PM I like XP very much, you will find that it has a facility to run your existing programmes in the mode for which it was designed. e.g If you can't find an up grade for a non Microsoft programme you can right click select ptoperties, and ask it to run in Win 98 mode. XP Professional is like a better version of NT4. Giok |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: masato sakurai Date: 03 Oct 03 - 01:00 PM Since my familiar Windows98SE PC was out of order and I purchased a new XP last month, I've been struggling with XP because I'm such an unscientific man. I had to buy a voluminous 776-page guide book (which doesn't say it is for dummies). However, I'm beginning to like XP. ~Masato |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: Watson Date: 03 Oct 03 - 12:57 PM Anything woukd be better than Windows 98. I had W98 on my work computer until last week - now got W2000 - so much better. I have XP at home - no problems at all so far. I find it very easy to use and stable. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Windows XP From: GUEST,MMario Date: 03 Oct 03 - 12:44 PM if you have an older machine I wouldn't reccomend upgrading to xp unless you VERIFY PRIOR TO UPGRADE that there are drivers available for all your hardware and that any software you want to run works under XP. |
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Subject: Tech: Windows XP From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 03 Oct 03 - 12:38 PM I am currently using Windows 98, second edition. I've had my share of problems with the software, but they're familiar problems by now, and I'm used to getting around them. A week ago, I bought Windows XP, and before I installed it I bought a "Dummies" book for it. The book really upset me, because it kept going on about how hard it is to use, and just stopped short of recommending that you not use it if you don't have to. That stopped me dead in my tracks. I'm not all that confident about computers to begin with. So, I've asked a couple of people who have XP if they found it hard to use. I've gotten two answers... one, an enthusiastic recommendation, saying it's way easier to use than the earlier Windows, and the other saying they liked it but it didn't work well on their computer.. So, I'm wondering if anyone else has windows XP, and what your experience has been.. Any imput would be appreciated.. Jerry |
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