new windows version

[thumbs2_ca]

The newest operating system by windows is going to be harder than ever to use on more than one computer without buying a copy for each computer.
How will that one-copy-per-PC rule be enforced?
Through a controversial new feature called activation. After you install Windows XP, you have 30 days to contact Microsoft via the Internet or telephone to allow the company to create and store a profile of your hardware configuration and link that profile to the serial number of your copy of Windows. If you decline to do so, Windows XP will stop functioning, except to nag you to activate — even though you paid $100 for it and installed it properly. After activation, if you try to install your Windows XP disk on another PC, you'll be asked to activate again, only this time Microsoft will refuse to allow you to do so because its records will show that your copy of Windows has already been locked to another machine. The copy of Windows on the second computer will stop functioning.

 

[Orlanth]

That is a good way for Micosoft to make alot more money. Since you'll need to buy a copy of Windows XP for every PC you want to install on. But, I can see another good reason for Microsoft doing this. To stop pirating.
One thing I would like to know: If you have to reinstall Windows XP on the one PC, well it let you activate it? (You install on one PC, then have to reinstall on that PC)
Or, if you upgrade your computer, well Microsoft accept it and let you activate it?
Or, if you're PC is old and crapy and want a new, faster one, but it comes with Windows ME, andnot XP. And you want to put XP on the new one, well Microsoft let you? (The old PC has XP uninstalled and a new OS on it, or even throwen to the dump)

 

[thumbs2_ca]

good question snugglebunny. I am not sure how you would handle a reformat situation.
Apparantly this is the most stable system they have come out with yet and rarely crashes but they are trying to stop the pirates.
I still run 98 because I like it the best that I have tried but I am kind of anxious to see what the new version has to offer.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

Go for W2K Pro (Win 2000) instead, it has the NT kernal, it supports 2 processors instead of just one like WXP, and is all most people need anyway.

STG

 

[Aussie Worm]

The problem with the activation code is that it is generated partly from using codes from your hardware. So if you upgrade your computer enough you will have to contact Microsoft. Small upgrades like changing one or two items should be ok.

 

[YoungGun69]

From what I have heard about Windows XP here is what I knwo so far regarding up grades.

You can change up to 4 items per year on your PC before you need to reactivate XP.

Phone Activation is the best method I have been told because if you have to format your PC and Reinstall XP and no hardware has been changed you should be able to use the same number you got over the phone.

i recomend not even touching XP at all right now. I have been testing XP as part of my job and it is the most butt ugly recouse hungry OS ever made. Stay with Win98 or 2000 and you will be better off.

 

[Orlanth]

Stable OS? We are talking about Windows here. I would go with LINUX, but all 40 of my games only work with Windows. Any how, I doubt Windows XP will be that good. I mean look at the Windows before XP, which is ME, it sucked, it was unstable, it didn't like a god damn thing. 98SE is by far the best Windows to date.
On a PC, it had major problems, I think a virus destroyed the motherboard and so on. Any ways, I tried 2000, ME and 98 on it to get the PC to work just for a little longer untill this person's new PC gets in. ME crashed off the start, so did 2000, but 98SE worked, and still is working. ME is ment to be better then 98SE? It isn't. Windows 2000, the most stable Windows OS, it crashed as soon as you log on!!

So, I doubt XP will be any better.

 

[YoungGun69]

The first Version of any OS suck big floppy donkey dick.
Stay with win98 SE or windows 2000 for now.

 

[Orlanth]

The first Version of any OS suck big floppy donkey dick.
Stay with win98 SE or windows 2000 for now.

Oh, I plan to stay with 98SE.

 

[Orlanth]

ny ways, I am in Australia, and I don't think I can ring Microsoft, unless there here in Australia. So, via use of the web is the way for me.

 

[Aussie Worm]

Windows XP is based on the NT/2000 Kernel. From all reports its faster and better from previous versions. DOS, Windows 3.x/9x programs should work under XP, including games.

System requirements:

Pentium II -300 (celerons at these speeds are not recommended)
128mb ram
1.5 gigs of HD space.

 

[Orlanth]

Yes, but is XP any good?

Consedering Microsoft's history with their "So called stable OS" I doubt Windows XP to be any good.

 

[Guest]

ny ways, I am in Australia, and I don't think I can ring Microsoft, unless there here in Australia. So, via use of the web is the way for me.

Isn't there an australian micrsoft office. im sure you will have to call that or they will setup a toll free number.

 

[Guest]

Yes, but is XP any good?

Consedering Microsoft's history with their "So called stable OS" I doubt Windows XP to be any good.

Right now it's no good.
Sucks up system resources like Oprah inhaling a baked ham.

And the dam look of it makes me want to puke.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

Stable OS? We are talking about Windows here. I would go with LINUX, but all 40 of my games only work with Windows. Any how, I doubt Windows XP will be that good. I mean look at the Windows before XP, which is ME, it sucked, it was unstable, it didn't like a god damn thing. 98SE is by far the best Windows to date.

Both ME and 98 are old DOS based Windoze versions. Win-NT, Win2K, WinXP are all based on the new fully rewritten NT kernel (new compared to the old DOS based kernel).

On a PC, it had major problems, I think a virus destroyed the motherboard and so on. Any ways, I tried 2000, ME and 98 on it to get the PC to work just for a little longer untill this person's new PC gets in. ME crashed off the start, so did 2000, but 98SE worked, and still is working. ME is ment to be better then 98SE? It isn't. Windows 2000, the most stable Windows OS, it crashed as soon as you log on!!

Please do *not* take this as a flame, but I think this PC had more/different problems than you realized:

There are very few ways any software, including the OS can have any effect on the motherboard itself, and only then if it somehow was able to muck with the setup CMOS settings or the BIOS ROM, and only the latter if it was upgradable BIOS (which the later PCs usually are). If the PC was running an NT version of Windoze then this is *highly* unlikely. I can think of no way that installing an OS, regardless of what it is, would restore anything along these lines.

It is more likely that by installing 98 you finally wiped out some logical error on the hard drive, or restored/replaced some corrupted part of the OS. I dare say that if you installed Win2K now the machine would probably work just fine.

I write software, including system level software (rarely - but sometimes), and some NT based version of Windoze is mandatory for productive software development - its been that way for some time.

Why? Because Win-NT is orders of magnitude more stable than the DOS based versions. When debugging software, the debugger is often mucking around at low levels in the OS, sometimes directly even low levels of hardware depending on what you are doing. Debugging will crash a machine and/or make it unstable faster than anything else.

Before NT I was crashing my computer several times daily while testing and debugging software, sometimes every hour or so. Nothing is more exasperating than setting up a system and debugging into a code module for 20 minutes only to have all your work go away and having to start over again.

After NT I crash my computer about once a month, if that, and only then if I was really mucking around somewhere in some deep internals or some really aberrant code. About once a year I have to reinstall the OS, but I think that is mostly because I thrash my machines more than the typical user.

S/W devo work requires a lot of HP - I have a 1 gHz dual processor, dual monitor machine with 30 GB of hard disk and 384 MB of RAM. I am a bit low on RAM - I do mostly Java devo work, and Java is a memory/CPU cycle hog. Ideally I should have more than 512 MB of RAM.

I recently had to reinstall my OS, but that was due to a hardware problem causing a corruption on the hard disk - rather rare nowadays.

STG

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

I should have added that before Win 2K, NT was rather hard to install and maintain, and it didn't have very much driver support for things like USB, some sound and monitor cards, and laptops. After Win2K the OS is pretty much plug and play, better than anything before it. Setting up a network, security and so on can still be intimidating for some, but IMO Win2K is the best Windoze version out there. It is too bad that XP went to this new system of purchase validation.

Linux can be a lot more stable and less hardware resource demanding, but it can also be a lot more intimidating to install and maintain. Linux also has some hardware support problems, especially for newer hardware - and some software can be hard to come by. It is getting better in these regards, and Java based products will help with software suites, but if you are not comfortable maintaining a Windoze machine, switching to Linux probably isn't going to help. Of course some Linux guru is going to disagree, but then they are a guru. YMMV

STG

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

Or, if you're PC is old and crapy and want a new, faster one, but it comes with Windows ME, andnot XP. And you want to put XP on the new one, well Microsoft let you? (The old PC has XP uninstalled and a new OS on it, or even throwen to the dump)

I can't answer your XP activation questions as I am avoiding it due to these issues. My suggestion is that if you get a new machine you specify Win 2000 Pro as the OS when you order it. If you supplier won't do that then find a different supplier - most good suppliers will happily accomodate this kind of order for quite some time now.

I recommend at least 256MB of RAM nowadays for NT - memory is very cheap right now, and for a given machine, NT will run faster the more memory it has. Especially if you have memory hog programs. I know of some people with desktop machines sporting several GB of RAM.

STG