Is Windows XP worth it?

Team Member Joined: 09 Jan 2002 Posts: 147 Location: UK

Hi,

I'm finally getting a new computer (Athalon 2000+, 60GB HD and 256Mb RAM - Linux here I come!) and was wondering whether to stick Win 98 on it or buy a copy of Windows XP. I've heard that Windows XP is more stable, which is a feature I'd really like (Windows? Stable????) but it's hard to separate the reality from the marketing blurb.

What are your thoughts ?

Cheers!
Peter.

Team Member Joined: 09 Jan 2002 Posts: 147 Location: UK

Nah, I need to install some version of Windows as that's what my parents and brother like using. Besides, the best development tools are still only available for windows (think PHPEdit).

Peter.

Team Member Joined: 09 Jan 2002 Posts: 147 Location: UK

PHPEdit: a PHP IDE that's free and currently under development. http://phpedit.net

But we should get back on-topic...

4WebHelp Addict Joined: 07 Jan 2002 Posts: 1060

Well, I'm using Windows XP Pro on this system, and haven't had a crash since it has been installed, I did have a trial of Windows XP Home, but it was a bit buggy to be honest, and Pro seems to be a lot more stable, although it has a nasty habit of 25% or so performance deterotiation after about 6 months.

It's been doing me fine though, and is a big improvement over Windows 98, the stabilliity is much much higher, although you may get the odd driver problem, such as I had with my onboard sound not working correctley, but apart from that it's fine.

Since upgrading I've never looked back, the blue screens of death are now a thing of the past Smile

Although it's quite pricey for the full edition, but there are ways round that...........

Posted: Sat May 04, 2002 3:31 pm (21 years, 11 months ago)

Compaired to 98, then yes go for it

Posted: Sat May 04, 2002 4:40 pm (21 years, 11 months ago)

Buy win XP??? You're crazy? Spending € 200 for an OS? Stick w/ Linux, or "arrange" something... enough "Gold" versions of XP are available, but that's not only going off-topic, also off-forum.

4WebHelp Addict Joined: 07 Jan 2002 Posts: 1060

robert wrote:

Buy win XP??? You're crazy? Spending € 200 for an OS? Stick w/ Linux, or "arrange" something... enough "Gold" versions of XP are available, but that's not only going off-topic, also off-forum.

It's helpful to have a corporate edition of Windows XP, but lets not go there............

Posted: Wed May 29, 2002 5:40 pm (21 years, 10 months ago)

I have Windows 98 and XP professional and I find that XP is much faster to boot up and shut down and it also runs faster and is more reliable and easier to install. The only problem at the moment is that there is no XP (or 2000) driver available for my scanner so I must scan using 98.

4WebHelp Addict Joined: 07 Jan 2002 Posts: 1060

Adrian Bell wrote:

I have Windows 98 and XP professional and I find that XP is much faster to boot up and shut down and it also runs faster and is more reliable and easier to install. The only problem at the moment is that there is no XP (or 2000) driver available for my scanner so I must scan using 98.

Use the Windows 98 One then, my Printer only has drivers for 95 & 98, but it works fine using the one supplied on the CD for windows 98.

WebHelper Joined: 08 Jan 2002 Posts: 69 Location: Ireland

Yeah, do as Justin suggested.

XP is a little over-protective about drivers. In essence Microsoft wants to test all drivers that'll be used, and also charges the companies a nice fee for the privelege.

Give the 98 driver a try. Be careful and set up a system check-point before hand so that if it does go wrong, you can roll back easily. That's what's great about XP, it's far more stable and has good restore factilites.

Just drop the Telletubbies interface first, ans save some RAM;)

Garth Farley

Invisible Member Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 0

I have windows xp home version on a new h/p pavillion.If you want to add a cam or other accessories,check out compatability.98 has more compatability options than xp.xp is a bit "buggy" in my opinion.But i think it is faster and i am a computer novice and havent crashed yet.I check for upgrades and hot fixes on a regular basis.This does help.I have found that hardware accessories(webcams etc..)are more of a compatability issue than say... firewalls and other security software.

4WebHelp Addict Joined: 07 Jan 2002 Posts: 1060

stephenwolf wrote:

I have windows xp home version on a new h/p pavillion.If you want to add a cam or other accessories,check out compatability.98 has more compatability options than xp.xp is a bit "buggy" in my opinion.But i think it is faster and i am a computer novice and havent crashed yet.I check for upgrades and hot fixes on a regular basis.This does help.I have found that hardware accessories(webcams etc..)are more of a compatability issue than say... firewalls and other security software.

Home is very buggy, I had it on this system but got fed up with it after a few weeks, Professional is so much more stable, and comes with a few more things that the advanced user / web developer is going to need.