Registered: Dec 1999
Location: "Children are a gift from God, they are a reward"
Posts: 1049

Need some advice. Finally getting new computer. Must run Windows. Am currently running Win 95. Should I go to Win 98 or ME?
I don't need to connect to a corporate enviroment. I just need it for my small business, writing, and game playing. Already am sure of computer specs, don't know anybody personally that knows 98 AND ME, so I'm hoping that somebody here can impart some wisdom (or a reasonable facsimile).
Please don't tell me I need a Mac, or I need to run Linus, Beos, or Fortran.
As an artist/designer I appreciate the Mac, but I can't afford one and my business partners use Windows.
Linux and the rest are simply too much for me. While I grew up in the Mountain View/San Jose area and my dad use to make his own computers in the seventies (he's a programmer and tech writer), I didn't receive his geek left side brain strengths (I am much better at making things out of metal, glass, wood, leather and stone though).
Thanks for any help!
MIchael

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Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 268

Windows 2000. Really, it's much, much more stable than either Win98 or WinME. Unless you have some hardware that's not Windows 2000 compatible or you use a lot of DOS software, Windows 2000 is the way to go.

My computer used to crash twice daily when I was using Windows 98 SE. I installed Windows 2000 in February, and it hasn't crashed yet.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

Tough call. They're pretty similar. I'd say Me (given your two options - 2k if you're open to suggestions), but keep an eye on drivers. At the computer assembly/repair place I work we put Me on. We have had a couple of computers that have had a problem "remembering" the video drivers (our last choice of card has proven most successful - AGP ATI).

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Out of my skull, back in five minutes
Posts: 1435

I'm pretty sure Win-Me is the "new" version of Win-98, and Win-2000 is the "new" version of Win-NT.
NT/2000 is more stable.

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Registered: Dec 1999
Location: "Children are a gift from God, they are a reward"
Posts: 1049

Riddle me this...
Can I play games like Unreal, Half-Life on Win2000?
I thought that consumer software support for 2000 was very limited.
Probably moot, as I do have lots of DOS based software hangin' about.
The "business" stuff I do is mostly word processing, tax stuff, etc. You know, very tiny small business stuff.
Thanks!
Michael

PS going to bed now, or I will be cranky dad in AM!

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"I am a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish."

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

Yorick, you hit the nail on the head.

BobbyMike, multimedia support on 2k is slightly limited. Depending on use, the stability may make up for it.

Of course, that $150 (or so) would make a nice down payment on a mac.

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Modesto, CA USA
Posts: 599

Running ME

BobbyMike:

I'm running Windows Me - recently purchased on a new Dell unit. It's more stable then 98SE but does have some quirks that would be similar within 2000.

If you can tolerate the expense and have the patience go with 2000 however, this generation of software from Windows is not designed for "gamers" and Windows ME is a lot more forgiving in that arena. If games aren't the issue I'd go with 2000 as suggested by Yorick or namja. Be advised that 2000 will not handle any DOS game without major problems.

I've seen it on many systems and it's more stable but it is designed to have an administrator monitoring it on a network hence the reason it's not really compatible with games since they aren't supposed to be used at work.

I can't complain about stability with ME compared to my 98SE edition it's vastly improved and light years ahead of Win95.

Some of the quirks regarding WinME:
Annoying messages when loading older software stating that "This program is not designed to run with this edition of Windows. Problems may occur thus you may want to contact the software vendor for a current edition. Gee, is MS advertising or what.

USB first installs take longer than in Windows98.

Machine startups/reboots are much quicker however even though you get a cursor and can start clicking the Winini file is still loading in the background so it gives you a false sense of loading fast. Don't get me wrong it's quicker but not necessarily better.

Shut Downs are quicker and more stable than 98SE.

If you can't wait for Windows XP then go with ME over 98SE. Your learning curve from 95 to either will not be 30 seconds so enjoy the new machine.

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Moose Man
I may be from the LEFT coast but that's not the correct political view in my mind!

Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 604

I've got Win ME now, and like it a lot better than '98. Seems much more stable. I haven't used Win 2k (I do use NT at work), so I can't offer a comparison there.

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

Most modern games will work on Win2k. Currently I have Red Alert 2, Half-Life, The Sims, SimCity 3000, and so on with Win2k and they all work flawlessly. Win2k is the best Win OS ever, if you can - get it!

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Matt Nichols
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Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Seattle, Washington
Posts: 293

Yeah, Win 2k is the best, but if you want, try win Xp from preview program. RC1 will be release on 28th June. I like win 2K but I like win Xp better!

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Registered: May 2000
Location: Houston, TX, USA
Posts: 194

Get 2k if you can foot out the extra cash and youre sure that all of your hardware will support it, i had it running a few days ago and it was great, except that the win2k drivers that were provided for my HP printer did not work.

I actually like 98SE more than ME, i just got a new Dell Dimension 8100, P4 1.4 GHz, the works, but ME still crashes alot, actually when i reformatted and installed the bare OS without all the Dell crap, it ran alot better, but i still like 98 SE more. But they're really not all that different.

In conclusion, 98SE ran better in my experience, but ME has a few cute features that you might want/need.

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Surfside, FL, USA
Posts: 113

I would say go with 2000 if it wasn't 4 months until the release of XP. Go with 98 for now since it's cheaper and then upgrade to XP.

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Registered: Dec 1999
Location: "Children are a gift from God, they are a reward"
Posts: 1049

Wow,
thanks for the answers. Win2000 sounds like the most stable platform as of now. It sounds tempting, but I'm concerned about all the DOS programs the kids use. Maybe they'll just use this clunker after I put in a new hard drive.
I'll most likely go for ME though, as the systems I've narrowed it down to offer either it or 98. I want a system that will offer great game support and be able to render great graphics. The systems that I see with 2000 installed are more designed for a corporate enviroment.
I'll probably be so pleased with ME vs. 95 that I'll not notice any flaws for a year or two.
Thanks all,
any other things I should know?
Michael

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"I am a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish."

Registered: Mar 2001
Location:
Posts: 347

Windows 98 OS2.

Then you can upgrade to WinXP when it comes out.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

Depends on the speed of your machine.
If it is a bit older, I would go for Win98SE which is very simular to WinME but more roadtested...

You can also consider dual booting between Win2K and win9x

You can keep your win95 for compatibility and buy Win2K and dual boot. Use Win2K in 99% of the time, but if you need win95 you still have the option...
Just make sure you use FAT versus NTFS in win2K otherwise your win95 can't read your disk(s)...

Let me know if you need help..

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Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

quote:

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I want a system that will offer great game support and be able to render great graphics, but I'm concerned about all the DOS programs the kids use.

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Registered: Dec 1999
Location: "Children are a gift from God, they are a reward"
Posts: 1049

Homer please explain your joke. I'm tired and I know it's funny, but I can't make sense of it....(really, I do have a sense of humor!)

Toolkit, thanks for your input. I actually have two computers running 95 now, my home desktop (Compaq 266, an irksome machine), and a notebook (Fujitsu Lifebook 233, a great little computer). I want to network at least two of the machines, leaving the Compaq for the kids and put the (connected) notebook out in the shop/studio so we can use it to upload photos to our website http://home.quixnet.net/~doitbig/Vi...he/Page_1x.html (dick-richardson, if you thought your flowers were cool, check out these feathers!) and be able to use it for other art/business stuff out there.

Do I have to have the same version of windows running on all the machines?

Can I leave 95 on the notebook and still use it to access stuff off the new computer?

I'm sure these are simply answered questions, but in my neck of the woods, I'M considered the computer expert!(scary! People also ask me for advice on dealing with children too, even scarier!)

Thanks!

FYI, 98SE seems to be the front runner right now.

edited annoying bold text I tried to insert

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"I am a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish."

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

quote:

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Homer please explain your joke. I'm tired and I know it's funny, but I can't make sense of it....(really, I do have a sense of humor!)

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We're all naked if you turn us inside out.
-David Byrne

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Out of my skull, back in five minutes
Posts: 1435

quote:

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Originally posted by homer
I'm still amazed at how many people use Win95 still.

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Until this time last year, I was using a 1993 PerformaMac that had never had its OS updated (System 7.1P3 or something). I didn't have access to updates, wasn't interested in hunting for them, and it was intended as a supplement to my work computer anyway. And then I kept having to use Win95 computers when I changed jobs!
I think a lot of people (mainly the "commoners" -- the non-techies) don't want, don't know how, or can't afford to upgrade their OS. (Just like their internet browsers!) Then there's the learning curve ... there are still features of OS 9 I don't know as I haven't had much time to dedicate to it.

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Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

Yorick:

Yea...a lot of consumers still don't fully understand how computers work and why one should upgrade them at least somewhat regularly.

I also do work for a small software company. We'll have people call us saying that they love our software, but complain about how slow it is compared to their old software.

It turns out that their old software is running in DOS circa 1987 and that their 486 with Win95 + our software just really doesn't cut it when it comes to running new windows applications.

When you tell them that they should consider upgrading their hardware at least every three years or so, they can't comprehend why one would need to do that so often...even though these same people are probably buying a new car every other year.

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We're all naked if you turn us inside out.
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