Rating: 
Summary: Where's all the NT features?
Review: I'm sorry that I bought this item and can't wait to get rid of it. I was hoping this would be something like Windows 2000 but without the bugs. Instead I got a Windows 98 with prettier desktop backgrounds and more games. Let me explain myself, I'm a network administrator and a computer technician and I cannot stand how this operating system will not let me do some of the simplest system setup/maintenance tasks that I took for granted on any NT system. It took me 10 minutes to share a printer on a workgroup with an annoying wizard that didn't want to do it; when it finally worked it shared it out under a different name??! I still haven't figured out how to set file/folder permissions nor how to get rid of the fading effects for windows and popups and personalized start-menu options. The control panel is a joke compared to win2k. Needles to say I'm going to return this and go back to using win2k. And no XP does not run anything faster on my computer (P4 1800Mhz, 512RAM, 128 VRAM) all it does is take maybe 10 seconds less to start up... big deal. You could probably get it to run as fast as win2k if you figure out a way to disable some of the graphic effects and other silly features (but I couldn't find it). 2 stars for good looks
Hope you find this useful. ~MKG
A+, Network+, I-Net+, Server+, MCSA (Win2k)
Rating: 
Summary: So Many Flaws
Review: I was expecting microsoft to come with a better operating system than this. But this is a huge disappointment. First of all, not all devices are working properly. Looks like the operating system has the device drivers but none are optimized. Second, I have already reinstalled this operating system three times, reason: the system files went corrupt and there was no way to restore those. I don't even understand why the system files go corrupt when they are only readable. Third, everytime I try to run a program created in Java, the system crashes saying that "The system has recovered from a serious error". I don't understand why this operating system doesn't run java programs well. Coincidence? Maybe not?
Also there are patches to fix vulnerabilities in different programs that download almost every week or so. If you go to control panel->add remove programs, you will see the list of patches that has been installed in your computer. I don't understand why microsoft did not fix those before the operating system came out in the market.
Other than that, the graphics of XP is good (not as good as Mac OS) and it has some cool features that other versions of windows don't have.
In general it is an average operating systems which could have been better if microsoft had given a little more thought to the satisfaction of the general public rather than trying to extract money from them.
Rating: 
Summary: XP Pro running on a celeron
Review: yeah, you heard right. My buddy installed 256mb worth of memory on my existing celeron board. He also clocked the processor so instead of running at only 100mhz it now runs at about 500mhz. But believe it or not, XP pro is running flawlessly on a celeron, i guess it's not supposed to, but it does. I had to install a new burning software and my scanner that worked with win 98 doesn't work with XP, but that's no big thing. Honestly, i'm amazed at how much better XP is than 98, it doesn't crash nearly as much (98 was crashing no less than 3 times a week, XP has crashed twice in about 3 months). Plus it looks much better, i got sick of that blocky windows look, i only upgraded to an imac, but have decided to build a new pc with a 2gig AMD cpu and smack XP back on it. Finally bill gates and crew have come through, guess throwing all that money at them over the years was really worthwhile.
Rating: 
Summary: Windows XP is a worthy upgrade
Review: For most users Windows XP is a must upgrade. I have worked with it since the day it came out and have seen it at its best and worst. I feel that most people on here who are sounding off complainging that they can't get it to function right, aren't computer literate. I've installed XP on old machines, new machines AMD and Intel based. All installs completed quickly with hardware having core functionality. Steps to consider before you upgrade
1) If your upgrading from 95, 98, ME, this is a must have. XP is more secure, faster and stable then any of the previuously mentioned OS. However, since XP is a completely new operationing system, some software will not work. Be sure to check with the vendor of the software. Hardware wise, XP has default drivers for most hardware unless very old or new since its release. For the hardware newer than XP, the vendor will have an XP driver for it. Chances are if XP doesn't have a driver for the hardware in question, it was considered Obsolete years ago. From my expirence, I only had one piece of hardware fail in XP, an old 4X SCSI burner.
2) If you have Windows 2000, and you are happy with it, then XP may not be nessicary. 2000 still being based on NT architechture, still doesn't have the best compalitily with hardware and software (though much better than NT4.0). The differeces in reliabilty and speed are not worth the upgrade price. In some ways 2000 is still more stable when dealing with software failures.
Rating:
Summary: buyer beware
Review: Everything i have tried to install in my new computer (new DVD drive, new ATI video card, spiderman video game) says that XP is incompatible and need vendor drivers. Have downloaded drivers only to be told again that they are incompatible. System has crashed innumerable times, had to mail away for recovery discs etc. All my friends have had similiar experiance. I suspect there is a another MS scandle brewing involving "who gets to be MS compatible" so they can keep their monopoly on home computing products. Meanwhile, the consumer is once again disenfranchised. Don't fall for it- use win98 until they get this garbage fixed.
Rating:
Summary: Better Than Win 98 But Still A Few "Gotchas"
Review: The good news is XP is much more stable than 95/98. But since it's built on NT code, it's much more demanding on the system, and hardware compatibilitiy (CD and hard drives) may be an issue for upgraders. You can only install XP on one machine since you have 7 days after install for your computer to phone home to MS and validate the installation. If after that you need to change hard drives, you need to contact MS or the new installation will look like another machine. If you're not upgrading peripherals, you'll find MS has included many of its own drivers for legacy devices, but they may not provide the full functionality of the manufacturer's driver. Though some manufacturers have upgraded legacy drivers for XP, many haven't and the DOS/Win 95/98 drivers will likely blow up under XP. The home edition can't join a MS NT network as a client, but you CAN set up your own home LAN (wired or wireless) with XP, 95/98 machines and even Apples using an AirPort hub or appropriate router. You can share printers with other Win computers or set up your old 98 machine as a file server. Windows Media Player agressively tries to take over ALL your music and video file management, streaming media presentation, and CD creation and playing. You can fix this with property sheets for Media Player and the other applications you may prefer for these tasks, but it's almost comical to see another agressive program like REAL player duke it out with Media Player over which program plays your CDs. That's unfortunate cause neither Media Player or REAL Player is as nice as iTunes or iPhoto, and neither is as easy as Roxio Toast W/Jam for making CDs. As usual, MS already is ofering multi-megabyte patches to fix secruity and stability issues with XP, Outlook and IE 6.X. If you don't have a broadband connection, plan on overnight downloads -- this is an issue because XP automatically looks for upgrades and tells you they're ready to install. If you dont' inspect them first and just click "Yes" you may be in for a long long wait if you're on a dial up connection. Given all this, I can sympathize with those who say XP means "Extra Problems". It's what 98 should have been and wasn't, and since I'm a dual platform user, I'll fearlessly state that XP home edition still has a way to go to be the equal of Apple OS 10.2 for UI, stability, and flexibility. If you're stuck in the Windows world, it's worth the upgrade, but if you're thinking of a new computer too, consider an iMAC, iBook or Power Mac before deciding. Apple's Unix based OS 10 is absolutely bullet proof and at the prices Apples are selling for now, they're a bargain hands down.
Rating:
Summary: Think Before you Buy
Review: XP Home Ed is an OK operating system but verify the compatibility with your machine first. Installation of this software drove my old HP PC into instability and there was no BIOS upgrade available to fix it. If you are seriously considering XP, step up to XP Professional.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the upgrade
Review: Definitely worth the step up from Win9x/Me/NT
and with recent discounts it costs less than the
2000 update. A bit sluggish with 128MB of RAM, so plow the
savings into more memory to really see a
performance improvement. Activate it once
you're happy with all the devices you want
to add. The 30-day period also seems to
get rolled back with Service pack 1 update. Lots of patches to download from Microsoft
so be prepared to spend a bit of time getting
all the fixes and rebooting.
Rating:
Summary: Smoothest Microsoft OS yet...
Review: I've been running XP for one year and I've never had one problem with this operating system. I play games, websurf and do personal finance, etc on my home PC and XP handles everything without a glitch. XP is a must have for any home computer.
Rating:
Summary: I like It
Review: This is a cool upgrade. I upgraded from Windows 98 to Windows XP. It took only an hour and a half and I was using the product (with installation time). It is really easy to use and I recommend buying this product. However, the only thing I do not like is that I expected product updates (like Word 2002) and it never delivered. I was also expecting new clip art but I never got it. I would suggest that they put that into version 2003 or later versions. But for [the price], it comes with a lot of new features. I really enjoy using it so I am not worried about the product updates at this time. I will think about those later. I'll just tell you that it is a great product again and I recommend every computer gets it!
|
