it's all about ME

[Ih8XP]

I own three PCs and a laptop that all use Windows ME. I'm in the planning stage of building a fourth PC that will be used for DSL internet, satellite TV, and gaming . I'll be using WinME on the new system (since I know how to tweak it, it's free, and I can eventually LAN all my PCs together) and my question is this: and I designing a workable setup?

WinME isn't supposed to support Hyperthreading and I'm not too sure that first-generation SATA will benefit me. So I'm thinking of buying a MS-6585-L MSI MS-6585-L from newegg.com for $79 and then installing Audigy 2 and AiW cards in it. I'll try a mild overclock too, but only if I can keep the PC quiet.

There won't be a monitor hooked up to this rig...I'm saving up for a 1024x768 projector and a nice recliner! I haven't figured out a speaker solution yet...PC 5.1 speakers? Home theater speakers? A JVC boom box?

Any help would be, um,...helpful.

 

[spyordie007]

1. For your own sake it's time you think about upgrading to Windows 2000 or XP
2. I would consider it a (medeocre) "workable" setup.
3. How exactly is Win ME free? Are you suggesting that you are going to Pirate it?
a. If you can afford a 1024x768 Data Projector + a nice recliner you certainly can afford the upgrade cost of an OS.
4. The only currently available Microsoft OS that does support Hyperthreading is Windows XP.
5. It should work fine for a theater setup.
6. If you are going to be using that one box for a theater you should consider running the audio into a reciever so you can get the best possible sound.
7. For networking you should seriously consider Windows 2K/XP, especially for that theater machine. The file-sharing capabilities alone are worth your while.
8. Please refer to 3a one more time.

-Spy

 

[Harvey]

If you're happy with ME, go back to Win89 SE. It's much more stable and well behaved, especially if you know how to take care of it.

I know others will tell you to go for XP or 2K. If you go that way, don't bother with XP Home. It's the ME of the XP generation. Believe me, that is NOT a compliment.

My personal reason for staying with 98 SE is that I have a couple of legacy apps that require real DOS to run at any resolution greater than 640 x 480. I also have the OS fairly well tamed.

 

[spyordie007]

Originally posted by: Harvey
...don't bother with XP Home. It's the ME of the XP generation. Believe me, that is NOT a compliment.

Windows XP Home is still a NT based OS and BY FAR better than any 9.x based OS. Yes XP Pro has more features and allows you to do more (it is after all supposed to follow up after 2K Pro.) however XP Home is still an acceptable home solution, especially if you are okay with using another Win 9.x based OS.

-Spy

 

[ProviaFan]

Especially if you are going to be doing Internet Connection Sharing, you should be using Windows XP Pro. Refer to spyordie007's comments on piracy; if you want to be legal, you're going to need to buy an OS anyway (and it certainly looks like you could afford one), and you might as well buy an NT-based one, because Windows ME is so technically inferior. The only reason to keep it is for compatibility reasons, which with your new hardware and software you're not likely to have.

 

[Ih8XP]

Is XP Home or Pro networkable with WinME, or will I have to buy XP five times for five computers?

Thanks for the receiver idea.

 

[spyordie007]

They are networkable however you may want to keep in mind that they tend to be *easier* to network ME with ME or XP with XP than XP with ME. It just takes a little extra work to get started.

Things to keep in mind while setting up the networking:
It's very easy for XP to view files on a ME computer, however not nearly as easy for a ME box to see stuff on an XP box.
If you have a ME box accessing an XP box I would recomend "loging on" with the same username and password that you use on the XP box to avoid "access denied" errors.

-Spy

 

[Ih8XP]

and that's the problem: compatability. I tried Win2K on my one PC and it's Compatability mode was so-so. Would I experience the same hit-or-miss compatability with XP?

 

[spyordie007]

Originally posted by: Ih8XP
and that's the problem: compatability. I tried Win2K on my one PC and it's Compatability mode was so-so. Would I experience the same hit-or-miss compatability with XP?

It depends on what you are refering to, just about any hardware made within the past 2 years will work flawlessly with either XP or 2K. When it comes to legacy applications (software) Win XP tends to be a little better in the compatability arena. FYI Win 2K with SP3 is by far more compatable than it was when Win 2K was first released.

-Spy

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: Ih8XP
Is XP Home or Pro networkable with WinME, or will I have to buy XP five times for five computers?

Thanks for the receiver idea.

They'll work just fine in a network.

Well actually Win9x/ME suck when it comes to any kind of networking, so "work" is relative, but XP won't give you any troubles

 

[Ih8XP]

hrm...all of you are slowly selling me on XP. :Q

From watching the forums, it appears that XP has just as many problems as the older OSes, and if there's a way to crash a PC, I'll find it! Do you think XP SP2 is worth the wait?

 

[spyordie007]

Originally posted by: Ih8XP
hrm...all of you are slowly selling me on XP. :Q

From watching the forums, it appears that XP has just as many problems as the older OSes, and if there's a way to crash a PC, I'll find it! Do you think XP SP2 is worth the wait?

You can upgrade easily to SP2 from SP1, it will be a free upgrade once it is released.

I wouldnt go as far as to say that we are "slowly selling you" on XP, however it is (by far) better "from the ground up" than any of the 9.x based OSs since it is Windows NT.

We arent telling you it's impossible to break Windows XP, far from the truth. XP gives you so much more power and options than the older OSs so (unfortunetly) it gives you more ways to break it.

If you look at many of the threads here the Windows 9.x problems are far more severe (crashes, blue screens, etc.) than the Win XP problems. Proabably 95% of the Windows XP problems you'll see here are just minor configuration issues that could be solved by reverting whatever preferences the user changed (or just deleting their profile) rather than a reinstall of the OS.

-Spy

 

[m2kewl]

Originally posted by: Ih8XP
hrm...all of you are slowly selling me on XP. :Q

not me, what's wrong with win2k sp3?