Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: Scootter on June 20, 2002, 08:05:01 AM
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I could use some advice, I am going to upgrade my O.S. from Win. 98 2nd edition to ..... well thats the advice I need.
This will be for my game box that is also used for Internet stuff (E-mail and surfing)
Any advice on Windows based OS upgrades would be most helpful.
Pros and Cons. on M.E. ect.
Thanks in advance for your time.
Scott
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There are lots of moans about XP, but I have it on my gaming rig and it's great. Much better at memory management etc.
I would go for XP, although it does struggle with some "older" games. Tomb Raider springs to mind but who plays that anyway.
THE ONLY THING. Refresh rates. Check that issue. OpenGL games default to 60Mhz which is useless. I use Powerstrip to overcome this but there are other fixes.
This is only my opinion. I think 98 was probably the worst OS of all. I still use 95 on my work machine and played games for years on it (inc AH) with hardly a crash or bother. You just have to nurse it a bit more carefuly. I know nothing of ME. I went from 95 to XP. My son has 98. It drives me mad:
Someones going to post saying XP is crap for games though:D
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depends on your hardware set and your needs
I keep 98 (dual boot 98 or XP) on my box for my Saitek X45. As soon as drivers are available which give rotor control, I'm switch totally over to XP as it is the better OS
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Between the more modern MS OS's, I would go with w2k over XP in a heartbeat.
Basically, the 2 are very similar, but (and a big but IMHO), W2K software license is like the 98 software license which basically means you can run it for life, if you chose to.
XP software licenses (including coporate versions) expire 2 years after installation/registration. This means you are forced to dole over more money to MS just to keep the same OS alive you have been running for 2 years, or you have to buy a full version of the current OS, should MS chose not to build anymore XP.
After 7/31/2002, MS will no longer offer software upgrades to any of thier products (yes, you will get patches and updates). In other words, you will only be able to purchase full versions of any MS product except for W2K. It is excluded from this for the time being.
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Had ME on a machine & thought it was total piece of garbage, to many problems. XP pro now on a new machine...never had a glitch.
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Windows 2000 Professional here.
Have a XP Pro machine at work, its running really well too....but the fairly constant stream of updates are annoying...at least I have a T1 at work to get them all. Home is dialup :(
My vote, Win2k
Stable, known and very much hassle free
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Running WinXP Pro here, Corporate edition. No need to register, and it's a stable gaming platform. Although like Eagler mentioned, if you used Saitek equipment, you'll have to do some extra work to be able to use it in XP until Saitek gets on the ball.
I went from Win98SE to WinXP Pro and have not regretted it....yet! :D
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What sort of issues with Saitek exactly?
I posted a similar thread which I now suppose should have been put here instead of in techinical support but too late now :)
I'm trying to decide with to go with XP or 200 (pro in both cases) and I"m using a X36 saitek stick for AH.
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Hehe banana,...in 2 years you will.
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Windows 2000 Professional. It's a no brainer if you have multiple PCs or upgrade a lot.
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in 2 years u will...
hmm well, i didn't register or activate this copy of XP.. so how will the 2yr thing affect me?
SKurj
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Skurk,..If it is the corporate version, the time started when the license was acquired and is embedded in the installation key. Basically, if the company that purchased the license lets you go or goes under, then at expiration time you will have to purchase a new copy of XP, or whatever they are shipping.
You can read the license agreement from MS to find all this out, by the way.
If it is the hacked copy, then you better not be using MS Upgrade site, as they already have a patch to render those hacked copies invalid and will be releasing it in the next service pack for XP.
Oh, forgot to add, if you have a BETA copy of XP, which did not require any registration, it will also be updated to require registration in the new service packs.
Those pesky demons at MS are not missing a trick when it comes to makin ya fork over yer money. Too bad they are not as attentive when it comes to security and quality of product.
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I use Win2k as well. If this is a workstation and used for business this is the OS of choice. It offers everything XP Pro does that's worth having and is more mature at this point. The only thing is that some older games and hardware may not work with XP. Take a look at http://www.ntcompatible.com (this goes for XP as well) to find out about software and hardware compatibility before you do anything.
WinXP is stable, but Win2k is even more stable. It's already had 2 service packs (have someone download the approx 150 mb network install of service pack 2 and burn it to a CD), which have by this time resolved all major issues. Windows XP is still full of bugs and is about as secure as a padlock made out of plastic.
(To be fair, Win2k is not that secure without SP2 and putting a login password for the administrator account either.)
Windows XP is a rental OS. You guys are just renting it from Microsoft. Mark my words, the minute you go to download an upgrade or replace ANY piece of hardware in that system once you've had it installed 2 years it will deactivate or require purchasing an "upgrade."
As soon as Windows 2000 is obsolete, I'm switching to Linux.
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Originally posted by Soulyss
What sort of issues with Saitek exactly?
I posted a similar thread which I now suppose should have been put here instead of in techinical support but too late now :)
I'm trying to decide with to go with XP or 200 (pro in both cases) and I"m using a X36 saitek stick for AH.
rotors
As far as I know you can't program the rotors under xp or 2000. As I use them for trim, I'm waiting on saitek to come out with drivers instead of using the hazard scripts.
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Yep bloom,..you and I are on the same page for sure. Funny thing, is you have to do is read the license.
I think a lot of people do not beleive they are going to have to fork over more money to MS 2 years after they have XP. A lot of people I talk to simply do not beleive it. I cannot call it apathy as it is spelled out in the license.
Like you bloom,..once 2K dies,..Linux is finding a home with me on my desktop. I figure I have purchased my last MS OS.
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Skuzzy, do you think Microsoft will ever manage to write a secure piece of software?
http://sec.greymagic.com/adv/
Look at all the unpatched MAJOR faults with IE. I found this the other day (because of a problem with Opera, which was patched in 2 days).
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My last install was WinME: it crashed regularly (btw Win ME is basically Win 98 made to look more like 2K). In Feb a crash killed my on-board IDE controller: I rebuilt with Win2K and it's been smooth so far. I use Win2k also at work and it has been rock solid.
As previously mentioned you need to fix the refresh - rate problem (but that;s true for XP as well).
I have an X36 : while the Saitek drivers are still limited to button programming there some 3rd party drivers available that give you the full range of options (though it takes some effort). Check out the Saitek Help pages and forum at SimHQ.
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eeek.. mebbe i'll have to find w2k then +(
SKurj
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Guess I'll be sticking with my win 98 SE
If you build a good system its stable.
It does what I need it to do.
And perhaps they'll get linux to the point where anyone can manage it like windows soon.
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I'm going to put win 2k on my game box, and use linux on my workstation for now.
I just got mandrake 8.2 installed on my latop, and it works great. the newer versions of kde and the nvidia drivers have come a long way.
I still have a lot of learning to do tho.
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I so not think it is possible bloom. I have looked through a lot of the OS in assembly and it wreaks of an application mentality.
One on hand it is hard to blame MS for the lousy code. There just are not that many good systems level programmers around, so they end up with system programmer wannabes instead.
On the other hand, the MS mentality pretty much ensures it will never get better. Why should it? When you are the only game (perception) in town, why bother with the details?
We have had to live with this garbage so long we have become used to it and MS knows it.
Oh,..and those of you thinking about going to W2K might want to speed up that process. W2K, in its current incarnation (i.e. not requiring subscription) may not be around much longer. The reason MS has not converted W2K to subscription based has to do with the server market. They are desparatly trying to get a bigger portion of that market and know a subscription based OS would die. So they are working on another approach which will allow the server market to continue, but users will have to go subscription based. This is in rumor stage right now, but it would not surprise me to see it happen.
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WOW! Thanks for the advice
Think I will stay with 89se for now It's running fine no real problems so "if it ain't broke ..."
Thanks again
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Eagler, could you email me either how you set up the rotors on the saitek for trim or send me your AH profile so I can take a look? Soon as I got my saitek out of the box I took one look at the rotors and thought they'd be great for trimming, but I couldn't really figure out a good intuitive way get it to work?
if you could send it to kdalger@hotmail.com , I'd appreciate it, thanks. :D
sorry for the mini-hijack :)
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I have Win98 with all the updates and patches, and have no problems at all. Runs rock solid. It was free too. :D
Thorns
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As soon as Windows 2000 is obsolete, I'm switching to Linux.
I agree with bloom25 100% on this. My only concerns are how well Linux will run MS software and other software designed for Windows.
XP is a time bomb. People might be over the moon with it now, but I wonder how things will be in January 2004 when those XP licenses reach the terrible twos.
W2000 Pro SP2 here - no problems, but W-ME for games - no problems there either. No hardware issues or difficulties of any kind. All I can say is the guy who put my system together must have known what he was doing :) Oh wait a minute, that was me :D
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I was going to put XP on my system, but now I'm thinking I'll replace my Win 98SE with Win 2000.
I know 2000 had some compatability problems back in the day... are those fixed now? Mostly worried about the compatability of CH Pro Peds USB.
In short, is 2000 the way to go for stable all-around operation? Or should I dual-boot 2k with 98SE?
I really want to make effective use of all of my RAM, and 98 don't cut it anymore.
Thanks for the info here... I'd never heard of the "leased OS" concept before. Why didn't anyone make a big stink about that, the way people did with product activation?
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Nobody has made a big stink as 99.9% of all people do not read the software license that you must agree to during the installation of the OS.
Those that merrily press "I accept" will not have a leg to stand on as all MS has to is say, "Hey, you agreed before installing the OS."
Then there those that choose not to believe it, even though it is spelled out very clearly in the license.
Heck, you see it on this very board, "I have the corporate version and it does not require activation." It was activated, they just did not have to do it and expires with equal tenacity of the non-corporate version.
Thing is, most seem to think they will be able to just buy an upgrade when it expires and MS has made it very clear, as of 7/31/2002, there will be no upgrades of any MS product available, except for W2K. Which simply means, when the license expires, you have to buy a full version of whatever MS is shipping at the time.
Again, this is all public information, but most people just do not believe it. Go figure.
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I just showed my dad this thread. His reply: "I'm not worried. Papa Bill will take care of us - as long as we pay him to."
Great.
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Skwrl, take a look at http://www.ntcompatible.com and look for all the hardware and software on their compatibility lists. Windows 2000 is as mature as it's going to get, and most XP drivers will also work with Windows 2000. (Windows 2000 is known as NT 5.0 and XP is 5.1)
I'd suggest a dual boot setup for now, so you have something to fall back on for gaming, if nothing else. I think you'll find that Windows 2000 is more stable than Windows 98 and generally faster. (Slower to boot up with USB devices attached though.) Once you get used to it, you'll find it more convenient as well. In the future, the next time you upgrade your system, just start over with 2000 only if everything works OK.
The main problems are going to be with older games that were written for DOS. They probably won't work with 2000, but they wouldn't have worked in XP either. There is a very useful setting called "compatiblity mode", which is installed with Service Pack 2, that tries to trick a program into thinking it is running under Windows 98. This sometimes works. Nearly all newer software generally works perfectly with Windows 2000.
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Thanks for the tips everyone.
Didn't see CH Pro Pedals USB on NTcompatible.com. Anyone know from experience that they work?
Edit: in Windows 2000, that is.
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I use Win2K server for my home servers and Win2K Pro for my gaming box and laptops. Stable, reliable, fast for games. Had a squeak of a time getting my Saitek X45 to work. Had to go to Dhauzimmer's driver and HazardScript. Works great now.
Won't do XP as I refuse to support MS' habit of putting out upgrades as new platforms every year. I'll look at it again in another couple years.
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i have xp and i won't be paying any more money to microsoft why? coz if what u guys say is true i'll just get win2k i'd definitely upgrade from 98 though it sux...all versions of 98 suk i did the same like most went straight from 95 to xp and i haven't had any probs. my bro has win2k and win 98 and i gotta say win 95 works alot better than 98 win 2000 on the other hand is great, a nice stable OS very similar to NT. so it's up to u man get xp or win2k can't go wrong with either one 'cept for that license thingy with xp but we'll see in 2 years heh microsoft will go belly up if it's true.
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Hehehehe....which is better...ford or chevy? LOL!
I have had win95, 98, 98SE, ME, and 2000. I have 98SE on my system now and will not go to anything else (windows that is).
ME was a total waste of time. 95 is well....quirky and a royal PITA. 2000 had some problems I'd prefer not to deal with and I absolutely refuse to go to XP.
98SE has been very stable and minimal fuss for me....so I'm stayin with it.