XP or 2k?

[askIllustrator]

I have had XP pro installed for about 6-8 months and now that nothing works anymore and everything is slowing down I have to reinstall. I'm going to go ahead and do a system wipe and start over but what I find myself tempted to do is put win2k back on...

That is unless someone here can point out to me a really good reason to keep XP. I would really like to hear from the xperts here (hence why I came to tek-tips). I am a freelance graphic artist and a hardcore gamer if that helps you with your argument. Also, NTFS or FAT32? BEHOLD! As Steve Jobs introduces us the latest in desk-lamp technology!

http://www.apple.com

 

[wolluf]

There are lots of posts on this subject - presumably if you're putting 2k back on you know what its like so you're already in the best position to decide.

 

[linney]

Why don't you set it up as a dual boot then you can have the best and worst of each operating system.


HOW TO: Create a Multiple-Boot System in Windows XP (Q306559)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q306/5/59.asp

Multibooting with Windows 2000 and Windows XP

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/administration/management/mltiboot.asp

 

[askIllustrator]

I cant handle a dual boot, thats too much chaos. Yes I am paticularly fond of 2k Im just worried that their may be a feature or two that wont work for me. Everyone told me you cant play games on 2k yet every game I ever tried worked just fine so go figure. I've got a Radeon 9700 which I bought mainly so I could stay current for a while and I'm sorta worried that some of the features on it ie. DirectX 9 (even though its been delayed) wont be supported. I figure I'll try out Unreal Tourn 2003 and Maya right away and put XP if either of them dont work. BEHOLD! As Steve Jobs introduces us the latest in desk-lamp technology!

http://www.apple.com

 

[LadySlinger]

Jaquan,

I've found that I don't mind XP or 2000. However in a technical support sense, I do prefer 2K. Either will pretty much work with games...I've noticed software-wise that if it works on XP it'll pretty much work on 2K. There may be a few quirks, but those would most likely be minor.

Whatever you choose though, good luck.

LadySlinger

 

[angerdriven]

i tip my hat to winxp and all but, i'm a win2k fan here. probably will be until they retire it. as for the no gaming, total BS. i have had win2k as my main os since Feb2k, i play a LOT of games and do NOT have any problems with them at all.


it's only a 1ghz, 392mb ram, ata100 drives geforce4 vid card and she runs like a champ.

 

[gargouille]

I almost posted to your "challenge" last nite, but decided you'd already made up your mind so I decided against it.

But now that everyone else has had their turn with you, I want to ask you how it is that nothing works and everything's slowing down?
(I won't try to embarrass you by asking who did it.
You surely wouldn't tell me it was XP)

My point is (and I'm a dinker from way back...wonder what'll happen if?) with XP if you mess something up...and keep setpoints current, nothing much changes from when you first installed the OS. If anything it gets better when you get to dinkin'.

I must admit to limited experience with 2K...but I see it as "Windows in a blue suit". Just my perception.

I would challenge you to find an OS with such a deep driver database. Don't mistake me for an MS shill...but I've put XP on systems where ppl had LOTS of trouble with 98 and ME...and they take to it right away.
They even add things afterward and can't believe how little fuss there was to adding another peripheral.

NTFS, in addition to being more secure, is more stable.
It's a journaling filesystem, basically it almost eliminates corruption of files due to power loss etc.
NTFS can use smaller clusters on larger drives.

But go fat32, you can always change your mind if you decide NTFS. Going back, tho, is where you are again.
Reinstalling the OS.

But I can see your mind's made up...

 

[Jesuspower]

XP is great for laptops, not desktops. -God Bless

 

[meastaugh1]

Umm, why?

 

[Jesuspower]

XP does is not much different than windows 2000 running window blinds. I have it installed on a desktop at the office. But installing it on a laptop is worth it b/c for some reason. my thinkpad performs a lot better using xp. It hibernates faster, sleeps extreamly fast and boots real fast. -God Bless

 

[Jiriki]

I would base your decision on the following:
Is this a laptop? (if yes and your laptop is within 2 years old, XP definitely has better driver support, power and wireless features.

Is most of your equip. you connect to now older? (if yes, you may wish to stick to 2K, as many vendors don't support their older models on XP and left driver creation up to MS for XP which usually are lacking in features... i.e. Scanners, printers (particularly HP), camera's, etc)

Are you a progressive user? Do you tend to buy and/or tradeup a lot of your hardware? (if so, go with XP as you will get more features out of your products).

Are you an avid network gamer or high bandwidth user? (if yes, XP's TCP/IP stack is definitely more effecient than 2K's). Standalone gaming and/or dial-up gaming I haven't seen much of an issue unless you have an older Video card and are using MS vid drivers over native OEM drivers.

Since you can turn off most of the new XP "frivolies", the little left over overhead is negligable so I don't feel system resources between the two are a very good deciding factor.