SO can I upgrade from ME to XP? Is it worth it?

[KDOG]

I'm wondering if I'll be able to get a WindowsXP "upgrade" instead of buying the full install. However, a better question would be is it worth it? Is XP any faster, more stable? What does it have that Me doesn't?

 

[Valnir]

Hrm, not sure if you can upgrade or not. I believe you can but am not certain.

As far as the other stuff:

1) Faster - Yes. My Xp box boots up faster and doesn't have the memory issues 9x does (*aka leaving it on all the time won't cause problems*)
2) Stability - Oh god yes.

Additions:
3) Hardware Detection - Much much better than both Me/2k
4) Driver Rollback - anyone who likes to play with Beta drivers will love this feature
5) Compatibility mode wizard - I was skeptical about this feature, but was amazed by how well it worked for me. Using this I was able to run a few programs (*old games*) Win2k could not

 

[T2T III]

-> Yes, you can upgrade from ME to XP. The specifics: you can upgrade to Win XP Home from 98/SE and ME. You can't from NT 3.51, NT 4.0, Win 95, Win 200 Pro or Win XP Pro. You can uprade to Win XP Pro from 98/SE, ME, NT 4.0, Win 2000 Pro, Win XP Home. You can't from Win 95 and NT 3.51.

Link to upgrade options: XP Upgrades

-> Is it worth it? Yes. You'll be able to play your games under this release along with have much better stability than under ME - ME liked to "lose" memory on my system.

-> Faster? More Stable? Yes. However, I think you'd still be better off with formatting your partition and then installing the product in full rather than upgrading.

-> What does it have that ME doesn't? Stability. More themes, options for more "skins" later on, etc.

Damn, I started to sound like a MS salesperson there for a minute - yuck!

 

[Sugadaddy]

Upgrading from ME? Of course it's worth it.

XP is the stability of Win2K with the gaming performance of win9x...

 

[rudder]

Another question, will those games that dont run on win2k (like need for speed high stakes) run on winXP?

 

[StageLeft]

ME is THE biggest piece of Sh*t I have ever used. Since I'm on a fairly low-end system now I installed it instead of win2k (damn me). I then bought more ram. On my home system which is a p2 392 with 256 megs ram I have to reboot a minimum of once a day - and I only use the computer for 3-5 hours a night surfing the net and sometimes playing AOE2. It is a fvcking ungodly hunk of horse crap. I've been using Win2k otherwise for a couple years now and it kicks everyone's ass.

Anyway get rid of ME. When I get a chance its going.

win2k (like need for speed high stakes) That runs fine on my other win2k box. My motto is: If it doesn't run under win2k it ain't worth playing.

 

[Sugadaddy]

Of course ME sucks. They took an OS that loses memory more than the guy in Memento (win98se), and added a bunch of bloated crap, so it loses memory even faster...

If you don't game, Win2K is fine and probably even more stable than XP since it's been around longer and has 2 service packs. But XP gave me a good boost in 3Dmark compared to 2K, and it's about on par with the scores I got in 98se. And it also looks great...

 

[Murphyrulez]

XP has a 'compatibility mode'. When you install a game, you can right click on the executable and under its properties you can select to run the game in Win98 compatibility mode.
I haven't done it, cause everything has worked for me in XP so far...

Paul

 

[SSP]

Any upgrade from ME is better than nothing. I've been using XP RC1 for couple of months now. I prefer it over win2k or 9X.

The compatability modes work great! I use win 98 compatibility mode when running CS cause I can't run OGL (my drivers dont support OGL "yet"). So I use DX, and t works a lot better than OGL (I dont loose sound if the game is interrupted by icq or any other programs).

Weeeeeee!

 

[CuriousAndy]

make sure you read this::

>>>>When I first got the WinXP CD, I just installed it over WinME that I currently had.

The install was all find and dandy.. It was stable as like rock but everything just felt sluggish.. but I thought it was because XP was Win2K shell based and it was natural.. I ran 3DMark 2001.. the score was 1800.. I was pretty pissed but sucked it up.. with WinME I scored around 2200

Later on, I just decided to do a clean install of WinXP. Format everything on C: and install XP from scratch.. because something didn't feel right..

When I boot up with WinXP from clean harddrive.. everything just felt right.. I thought this was just psychological feel in my head.. I installed all the drivers properly with XP/2000 drivers instead of 95/98/ME drivers..

I ran 3DMark2001... boy was i startled.. the score was 2507 WOW!

I was very pleased!.. the HD was in NTFS format instead of FAT32.. I believe with the WinXP upgrade from ME, it still remained as FAT32..
This brought to my attention: Why does Microsoft does a poor job with upgrade version of Windows? If you just spent money on Upgrade version of Windows, you just have to deal with this crap? you have to pay $100~ more just to get full version? certainly Windows Upgrade and Full version made a significant difference in performance!

what do you think?

~andy<<<<<<<<<<,


the link to the adove text..

 

[yakko]

It is definately worth the upgrade to get away from Mistake Edition.

 

[j0lly]

<< It is definately worth the upgrade to get away from Mistake Edition. >>



haha! lol@Mistake Edition.

 

[KDOG]

Any upgrade from ME is better than nothing.


Of course ME sucks.

Upgrading from ME? Of course it's worth it.


Geez guys don't be so hard on yourselves!!! (snicker, snicker) Sorry couldn't resist....Thanks for the info, I'll have to get a hold of that...

 

[mastertech01]

Just a couple thoughts... in the past you couldn't upgrade an upgrade, so I would assume you can upgrade Win98 to XP, but not WinMe upgrade to XP? Also If I recall correctly Microsoft would not recommend or support an upgrade from WinME to Win2k, so why would XP using the Win2k NT Kernal upgrade WinME? Just doesnt make sense to me. Must be the home version only maybe?

 

[Ameesh]

yes you can upgrade from winME to winxp. i'll vouch for it.


guys im jazzed that you guys are happy with Xp, a lot of hard work went it to it and i think you'll be pleased in the long wrong. w00t!


wheres joohang? he has to see this thread!

 

[Swag1138]

The only thing you CANT upgrade to XP from is Win 95. But Im going to XP from 98 soon as I can, and also soon as I get more ram.

 

[T2T III]

<< Another question, will those games that dont run on win2k (like need for speed high stakes) run on winXP? >>


I've witnessed games that were installed and played without even touching the "compatibility mode" option. NFS: Porsche Unleashed and Superbike 2001. Both of these games stumbled under Windows 2000.

 

[Gweedo552]

Go with XP... If you can't get that, at least get W2KPro... A LOT better than 95/98/ME..
Me=Using 2K, don't plan to change to XP for a while... Don't care for the Authentication

 

[Zwingle]

<< Me=Using 2K, don't plan to change to XP for a while... Don't care for the Authentication >>


I got WinXP Pro Corp Edition....no authentication needed.....ever!

 

[aphex]

very worth it. I love the added stability.

 

[AznMaverick]

<< I got WinXP Pro Corp Edition....no authentication needed.....ever! >>



I know which version you're takling about, that version crashed on me once during installation. I gave a copy to a friend try it crahsed for him every hour, mainly because of driver problems with his radeon.