Have W2K pro currently, should I install XP pro ???

xcaddict

Junior Member
Aug 7, 2002
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I have Win 2000 pro installed on my machine and have a disk with XP pro, should I install it. The W2K works OK, though it freezes randomly in any program on occasions (about one in every 5 hrs use). I now have a digital video camera and hear that the Microsoft Video program is good but only works on XP.

If I install XP, can I just put it on without deleting?uninstalling W2K and will it pick up the current desktop and settings I have currently.

If I did install XP would all my current programs still work or do I have to reinstall them, eg: photoshop 7, office, ACD (photo program), nortons systemworks, etc.

All advice appreciated as I just do not know what to do on this issue.
 

sykopath79

Senior member
Nov 2, 2000
458
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You should not have any problems upgrading to XP, and if you're wanting to use Windows Movie Maker then you have to get XP (or else downgrade to the hell-spawned WinME). There is certainly MUCH better video editing software out there than Windows Movie Maker, though. Personally, I tend to prefer XP Pro over Win2k on any PC with at least a 1 GHz CPU and 512+ MB RAM.

You can perform an upgrade installation to XP, which leaves your user profiles, application installs, and such intact, but it can sometimes run a bit slower than a clean install, and occasionally you'll run into a program that doesn't like you after the upgrade (seen more often with Win9x-to-XP upgrades but it could happen with Win2k also).

I always prefer a clean OS install over an upgrade. It is more work, since you have to reinstall your applications and get everything looking & feeling "just so" all over again, but it has its benefits in performance and stability.

All the programs you mentioned should work just fine in XP. XP has a lot of the functionality of ACDsee built in so you may or may not want to keep ACD. If you do opt for an upgrade rather than a clean install, I would recommend uninstalling Norton SystemWorks beforehand & then reinstalling it after the upgrade.

If your system freezes a lot, you may also want to be sure that you don't have a hardware problem. Run a program such as MemTest86 or PC-Check to diagnose your CPU/Motherboard/RAM/Hard disks, as hardware problems can cause system crashes/lockups also, and changing OSes will not fix that kind of an issue.