Windows Operating systems

[MikeT]

I have Windows ME on my computer, it was loaded by Dell. I am having this little problem with my mouse haning up every once in a while. It's like the computer is thinking about something and then it catches up. Usually only hangs for 2 seconds, then it will do it again about 5 or six times in a row. I don't really know what is happening..... Someone told me to upgrade to XP because ME is loaded with bugs. I have updated my computer with all the updates and it still does it. Someone else told me that Microsoft can scan my hard drive if I am running XP. Is that true? So I have three questions.

1. Any ideas as to why my mouse hangs (I cleaned the ball and also installed a NEW mouse)
2. Is XP that much better than ME?
3. Can Microsoft really scan my hard drive with XP??

 

[crkid]

Mine did something like what you're talking about. For some odd reason, I fixed it by turning down the mouse sensitivity, speed thing in the control panel. That might not be it, but maybe worth looking at.

 

[Jh85]

I have Windows ME on my computer

There's your problem right there :D

If I remember right Me had a lot of problems with USB.... Is the mouse a USB mouse?
Is the mouse the only thing that acts "skippy"? If your computer is having trouble running Me now it will have a very difficult time with XP

I personally have never run ME, but XP is stable, as was 2000. I like it *shrugs*

3. Who knows what m$ can really do.... :debil:

Is Windows XP really more reliable?
Yes. By building on the proven Windows 2000 operating system, Windows XP delivers a reliable foundation you can count on to keep your computer up and running when you need it most. In recent independent laboratory tests, Windows XP outperformed Windows 98 Second Edition and went the entire duration of the test without a single application or operating system failure. Not only is Windows XP more reliable, it also provides tools to help you more easily recover from system problems.

Does product activation require you to provide Microsoft with personal information?

No. Microsoft places a high value on the protection of customers’ private information. User privacy was a paramount design goal in building the Product Activation technology. Microsoft Product Activation is completely anonymous, and no personally identifiable information is collected. Activation is different from product registration. If you wish, you may voluntarily register your product by providing your name and contact information. You would register your product if you wanted to receive future communications about product updates, service releases, and other special offers. Any information provided to Microsoft remains secure and private and is used only for the purposes specified by you. In addition, product activation uses a "hardware hash," which is a non- unique number generated from your computer's hardware configuration. This number is based on the various computer components in your system and cannot be used to determine the make or model of the computer, nor can it be backward- calculated to determine the raw computer information.

Taken directly from the M$ site

 

[clutchcover]

Me stands for memory eater. Get 98, 2000, or xp. Anything but me.

 

[Chili]

I've got 3 machines in this house One using XP, one using 2000 Professional and one using win 98. No machine using Win ME and for a very good reason it was the worst OS I have tried. XP has run very well for me but I am still partial to 2000 professional, on my server pc it seems much more trouble free than any OS I've ever used although not as user friendly as XP. Just my .02, best of luck!

 

[Okiewan]

Upgrade to XP. End of story.

 

[MoO_coW]

I like it alot more than 98...and if you know the right people/sites its a cost free upgrade :D

 

[Hucker]

Windows 2000 Pro.

 

[Jaybird]

We have a computer call in show every week locally and all of the computer guru's on there say that XP is by far the OS, bar none.
They hear your story each week on the ME thing.

 

[marcusgunby]

I have xp and its the best o/s i have used out of
3.11
95
98SE
ME
NT4
2000

 

[smb_racing]

what are the specs on your system? Believe it or not, we had XP running on a P233MMX with 64 megs of ram :scream:
I know that yours must be above that, and I just upgraded to XP with my new system, seems very stable and is really user friendly, but it takes up some space for install, like 1.4 gigs worth.

 

[Birken Vogt]

I have an athlon 500, I am having a few pesky problems with 98se, will the machine have enough power to run XP or do I need to spring for a new processor and/or motherboard?

 

[smb_racing]

the 233 and 64 megs of ram is bare minimum for XP, so the 500 should run it fine as long as you have over 64 megs of ram. However it won't be as fast. If run more than one program at once (chat client and internet explorer) then you'll notice it lags heavily, if it were my money I'd invest in at least a 900 athlon and a good board, 256 megs of ram appears to be a magic number for XP as well :think:
(this is what has worked with the systems I've tested, outside of our controlled conditions and network your results may vary :) )

 

[MikeT]

My system is a P3 800Mhz with 128 megs of RAM, 20GB HD with about 10GB of stuff on it. I'm fairly sure that should do it. I notice this "hanging" with the mouse, but it really is the whole system pausing momentarily.

 

[marcusgunby]

It should work fine but upgrade to 256meg as XP seems to need ram more than processor speed.

 

[smb_racing]

even with my 1200 athlon the system lags a bit as I only have 160 megs of ram, eventually another 128 megs will clear this up (and a 32 meg vid card so I will have better graphics on motocross madness 2 :) )

 

[MoO_coW]

I have a T-brid 1.4 with 512 ram. The thing flys with XP and i havent ran into any problems.

 

[marcusgunby]

I had major pc problems as i tend to push my pc past its limits more than my Cr-it wouldnt boot or anything-popped in the XP disk, pressed repair and its all up and running again in just over a hour.I dont like Bill or MS but i have to admit XP is good.

 

[MrLuckey]

I have ME at home and it is horrible - running XP on a laptop and I love it. I have found a handful of programs that XP won't run though. They all run on 2000. These programs are very specific to what I do for a living and 99.6% of you wouldn't ever use them. Haven't heard of any 'mainstream' compatibility issues with XP. One other thing is that XP is NOT a gaming platform, its bad. XP boots faster than any OS I've seen and has some awesome features. All that being said - I love XP.

 

[MikeT]

Originally posted by TTRGuy
One other thing is that XP is NOT a gaming platform, its bad.

Wait a second...... What games won't it play?? I like to play Grand Prix3, a Formula1 racing game. I'll also get some more games in the future, will I not be able to play them if I get XP?

 

[Milquetoast]

A Dell I bought last fall with ME has been by far the most reliable machine I've ever had. It hasn't crashed once yet, where every other computer I've had crashed all the time (all using windows, 95 or 98). If it ain't broke, I'm not going to touch it. :)

 

[MoO_coW]

But XP has a compatibility tab if you right click, this lets you run any program in any older windows version starting at 95. Works great

 

[MrLuckey]

I didn't say it won't play ANY games and I don't have a comprehensive list of games that it won't play. Age of Empires II, Unreal Tournament and Return to Wolfenstein all suck on XP though. I have heard from some hard core gamers about others but don't remember details. Do some searching on the net.

I have tried ALL the compatibilty settings and it hasn't worked on a single program for me yet. Doesn't work great!

 

[MoO_coW]

I know about 6 people running xp that havent had a problem with age of empires 2 or return to castle wolfenstein. I dont know about unreal tournament though. We all run XP pro if that makes a difference. I know I can run all of my old games like command and concour red alert that dont work in XP under the 95 compatability and they work fine. There is a small refresh fix you can get because XP keeps the refresh rates down quite low for gaming. I would get the refresh rate fix and some XP tweak programs and see if that improves it. I love mine though and havent had any compatability problems with any hardware or software. Maybe I just got lucky though :p

 

[bclapham]

I have found a handful of programs that XP won't run though.

and that is where it all goes wrong.....i spent a whole day on the phone to dell to stop a crash problem and it turned out to be a adobe program incompatible with XP.

while we are on the subject of computers, does anyone know how to turn of the plastic mouse pad type thing on a dell laptop.....my computer looks daft with 3 layers of duct tape over it!