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General discussion

XP

Nov 20, 2003 6:11AM PST

Tell me... Is XP really worth it to switch over from 98?? And which version(pro or home) work be better?? I would just use it for basic home usage, so I would assume home.

Discussion is locked

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XP. Why switch?
Nov 20, 2003 6:14AM PST

If 98 works for you, why switch?

It's that simple. In fact, I pulled out my laptop and it's 98se. Just updated the Anti-Parasite Suite and some disk cleanup for a trip...

Bob

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Re:XP
Nov 20, 2003 6:50AM PST

It (XP Home) was worth it for me as it is very stable, where with 98se BSODs and reboots were an ongoing thing. I haven't had a systemwide crash since I PROPERLY installed XP in mid-July.
But as Bob says, if you are happy with 98, by all means keep it. XP can be a difficult OS to learn to deal with as it is very different from older Windows.
Study, study, STUDY. Then decide.

Ken

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Re:Re:XP
Nov 20, 2003 9:15AM PST

well I was under the impression from people I've talked to that XP could actually improve the computers performance, compared to 98. Is that true?? I don't think I would have too many issue with XP. I have already read some about it. It's basically just the fact that it's so expensive. Nearly $200CAN everywhere. Unless you want to take a chance on a cheaper one without a manual or anything.

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XP can be more stable, I think I know why you are asking.
Nov 20, 2003 9:25AM PST

It will run slower on that same hardware.

I think this is a follow-on conversation to your travails with 98. Let me give you my workover that I use on my few 98 machines:

1. All parasites are ejected. I've written a post with the five tools I use weekly to eject the pests over at http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6132-0.html?forumID=32&threadID=1313&start=0 Those five scans can help identify and eject the adware/spyware/pests and more.

2. Light reading of Optimizing Windows is applied from http://www.aumha.org/articles.htm The key word here is LIGHT. Don't spend a week to get some 90+% free resources. Just give it a little workover.

3. Dump Office toolbars, Yahoo toolbars, Google toolars and such. They wiegh too much to carry around.

4. Run disk cleanup. It may be covered above, but I do find people who have never run it in years. Run it and for them, it's a brand new machine.

Bob

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Re:XP can be more stable, I think I know why you are asking.
Nov 20, 2003 10:00AM PST

Speaking of cleaning up. I just tried to run ScanDisk, and it cannot continue through the whole thing, becuase it keeps getting interrupted or something. Why?? I try unpluging the internet and pause a couple other programs, but it doesn't finish. Do you know what I can do about this??

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Easy to fix that.
Nov 20, 2003 10:03AM PST

There's a full article (which I'll supply the link to) but I find trying this in SAFE MODE first is an easy out. What gets many is that an item in the QUICKLAUNCH try can thwart a SCANDISK. Ending programs can help, but it's all documented at http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=222469

Do try SAFE MODE first.

Bob

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The dark side of XP. AKA the worms.
Nov 20, 2003 9:28AM PST

XP without all the latest patches will fall victum to numorous Worms. In fact, just connecting to the internet to get the patches can lead to infection.

It's an annoyance I wish we could do without.

And, no, installing an AntiVirus program doesn't stop these worms.

Bob

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Robert, here we go again. Will you please expand
Nov 20, 2003 1:43PM PST

on this "Worms" issue regarding XP. I have never heard of it and you bring it up as if everyone knows about it.

Please, when you bring up something such as yhis seemingly major issue agains XP PLEASE, PLEASE,
EXPLAIN it!

This gentleman posted in CH with something that turned out to be a resource problem that he was having. This writer mentioned that XP would not have a resource problem, and advised him to check in this forum for opinions on the worth of upgrading to XP. Grif provided answers to solving resource issues with 98.

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Title: MS Blaster and varients.
Nov 20, 2003 9:01PM PST

As supplied to 99% of us, XP when installed with any known Antivirus can become infected upon connection to the Internet. Type MS BLASTER or NACHI into http://www.google.com for details which I will not duplicate here.

To fix your new install of XP (why do you need to fix your new car?), many hundreds of megabytes of downloads are required to update XP. Dial-up users would spend a solid week doing this.

This is truly a splotch on this otherwise OK OS.

Bob

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Thanx. I was lucky because I installed the patch immediately
Nov 20, 2003 10:23PM PST

upon reading about it in these forums some time ago. I had no idea that was what you were referring to.

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Re:Is XP is good for me? Part 1.
Nov 20, 2003 10:39AM PST

IMO, if you have a half decent PC with say at least a PIII/733MHz or faster and better still a P4 you will stand to gain by using XP over Win98 or other versions of Windows. Provided your hardware is XP compatible and you install at least 256MB RAM (optimum @ 512MB) then XP should install without a hitch.

If you are installing on a PIII motherboard make sure you ckeck the motherboard manufacturer's website for any BIOS updates as well as chipset drivers.

Better still go to this site to run the XP Readiness Test.

If any H/W or S/W are found to be incompatible it is recommended to uninstall them before proceeding.

Also back up all your files and then do a clean install which is highly recommended.

If you are a first time user of XP and have never used W2K you may not be aware of the need to set up Users and assing permissions for them as either Computer Administrator or Limited Users.

During setup XP starts with an Administrator account and you should set up a different User account for daily use. Leave the Administrator account alone and only use it for fixing XP.

Besides a new User Interface XP is more reliable and stable. Unless you have incompatible H/W BSOD are a rare occurance. XP also works better with NTFS rather than FAT32.

see part 2...

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Re:Re:Is XP is good for me? Part 2.
Nov 20, 2003 10:40AM PST

If you deligently install all Security/Critical Updates and SP1 and activate the Firewall and run a Antivirus S/W in combination with Anti-Spyware programs, plus connect to the Internet via a Router you should be safe from any Virus or Worms.

Like it or not XP is here to stay and all earlier versions of Windows will be obsolete and M$ may stop support them with patches. So why not face the reality and move forward and start enjoying the latest Windows and all it's feature.

Here are some links for you to read up on:
Windows XP Comparison Guide
Windows XP Comparison Guide
Windows Product Activation (WPA)
on Windows XP

Get Ready to Set Up Windows XP Home Edition
Windows XP Installation
How to Improve Performance in Windows XP
File and Settings Transfer Wizard

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David, a little insight to odoyle's post.
Nov 20, 2003 1:36PM PST

See his post in CH where his problem turned out to be resources, and XP was indicated as not having resource problems.

Grif gave him the info on how to control the resources. The XP bit was a digression, more or less.

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(NT) Thanks for the headsup Ray. Noted.
Nov 20, 2003 8:13PM PST
Happy
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David, what is the "worm" issue that
Nov 20, 2003 1:46PM PST

Robert Proffitt is referring to regarding XP?????????

Is this another "subtle" issue like the Administrator bit????

Sure sounds like a hit against XP.

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The hit on WinXP...
Nov 20, 2003 2:53PM PST

Windows Messenger, RPC/DCOM, Workstation - all services that were/are vulnerable to worms. Remember MSBlast? A virus scanner didn't help much because MSBlast caused your PC to reboot on the infection attempt, not the actual infection. The only real fix was to apply the patch and/or disable the service. Universal Plug and Play is a popular entrance for hacking into a WinXP PC.

The Workstation vulnerability is relatively new. Make sure you have the patch because an exploit/worm is expected any day now. They're saying that it may be similar to MSBlast for speed of infection.

Check out http://grc.com/default.htm for utilities to turn off some of these services.

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Small comment. "The Workstation vulnerability is relatively new."
Nov 20, 2003 9:07PM PST

"The Workstation vulnerability is relatively new." I take a small exception to the "new" part. The issue has been there since day one. The publishing of the exploit and hole is "new", not the hole or flaw itself.

Bob

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Re:Small comment.
Nov 21, 2003 4:16AM PST

Bob, anyway around having to leave Workstation running without affecting my network connection? thanks in advance.

Richard

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Re:David, what is the
Nov 20, 2003 8:20PM PST

In addition to Keith's link see htese:

What You Should Know About the Blaster Worm and Its Variants

W32/Blaster Recovery Tips

You were probably aware that over the last few months W2K & XP had been subjected to the Blaster Worm attack that led to many PCs been shut down and lost connecttion to the Internet.

All because many users forgot to keep their PCs regularly updated.
And also as Bob legitly pointed that W2K & XP still have many critical flaws and it's a continuing war against being attacked.

Sad

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My 2 Cents
Nov 20, 2003 12:21PM PST

Last year I went from a basic PC with Win95 to a nice one with XP Home at home, and really loved the improvements -- especially the stability. So, when a colleague at work mentioned upgrading his work PC (they gave us all Win98s) to XP, I became interested and did it. And I'm very glad I did. Again, the improvement in stability alone made it worth it. Not one crash since I did it last April.

I'm careful about what I do when connected, use the firewall, and am very religious about getting the critical updates as they come out, and, so far, I'm very pleased with the results.

Anyway, that's my experience, and it works great for me.