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re: XP home edition vs. Millenium?
Thursday, February 21, 2002 at 6:39 am
Windows XP Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by J B
(2 messages posted)
Yes, XP is probably a better choice over NT. To elaborate on why...
After Windows3.1 went to market and MS Windows became popular, MS split onto two
tracks. One they focused on home user and the other was business oriented. Home
users got a shot in the arm with Win95. It was a significant improvement over 3.1.
At the same time, the NT kernel was being massaged and was fast becoming an increasingly
robust and stable business platform. These separate tracks continued until the release
of XP. XP marks MS decision to move back to a single product track. It makes sense
- combine the features of both systems that were appealing and ran well and package
them together. The code is already written. To create a "home" version and "professional"
version MS need enable and disable certain functions.
It has been long known that the NT kernel is more stable than the 9x/Me architecture.
Most Win9x/Me users will agree to that. You feel like you have to be very careful
when you are using your system so as to avoid lockups and the Blue Screen of Death.
NT platforms on the other hand are much more stable and can theoretically be kicked
around, thrown in the dirt and it will still run strong.
Me was really just 98SE with an Earl Shieb paint job. "Any operating system, any
desktop scheme, $99.95!" It seemed like it was just an attempt to make some bucks
on the Y2K issues of that time. Many were concerned about their operating system
crashing at 1259, 31 Dec 1999. Bill saw this and used it to market Me. You feel
safer if you get the new operating system.
I just recently upgraded from 98SE to XP. My significant other runs a cookie cutter
system with Me installed. My 98SE system ran better than her Me system. I decided
to upgrade after running into problems getting multiple monitors to work following
some hardware upgrades. Long story short, XP solved all the issues I was having.
Many are hesitating to do the upgrade because of the software/hardware compatibility
issues. Most of those seem to be resolved. Many companies have updated drivers
available on the web. If they are not yet ready, they at least have a schedule so
you can see when they might be ready. I spent time downloading updated XP drivers
for stuff only to have XP load up fine. The only thing that was problematic was
my scanner. Apparently a few people have trouble with scanner installation. Dunno
why.
There is also the issue of file systems. This is a transparent issue to most users
but as we get more and more computer savvy, things like this surface. XP runs on
an NTFS file system. Win 9x run on FAT or FAT32. Go to howstuffworks.com for info
on what these are. Basically these determine how your CPU stores data on the hard
disk. It boils down to how big the chunks of data (packets) are. The NTFS file
system also allows you to set permissions for files and volumes (drives ….C:, D:,
etc) which add to security and functionality. FAT based systems offer no data security.
Ok, we fear change. Don't. It’s hard to bring down an NT based computer and seemingly
just as, if not more so, with XP machines. Driver compatibility is a negligible
issue. Price is reasonable. How often do you buy a new operating system? On that
note – if you do upgrade to XP, buy the upgrade versus the full version. Both are
the same. When you install on a clean drive (strongly recommended to format your
hard drive and wipe all old versions of Windows off before you begin) XP will ask
you to prove you qualify for the upgrade version. Putting your old Windows CD in
the CDROM drive proves that. From there it performs a full install. So get the
upgrade version and save yourself some money.
Hope this helps.
On Thursday, February 21, 2002 at 5:53 am, Mike Smith wrote:
>How much better is XP HOME edition vs. Millennium?
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 |  | re: XP home edition vs. Millenium? (J B: Thu, Feb 21, 2002, 6:39 am) |
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