Windows ME Reviews = Bad =\

[Comp625]

This was taken from ZDNet if you haven't read it already.

[*]http://www.zdnet.com/special/stories/main/0,11415,2615110,00.html

 

[RSI]

Hey Comp625, thanks for the link, I enjoyed that article - and completely agree with it.

-RSI

 

[Mem]

linked

 

[optoman]

really linked:
To the site

 

[JimMc]

Linkified Windows ME Review

 

[Mday]

lol, 3 links in a row...

i don't really like winme. it creeps me out. but i do have it installed on my other computer in the living room, dual booting with w2k pro.

 

[prontospyder]

Yeah...that story creeped me out about WinME...

But is there any way to disable those performance degrading utilities for ME?

 

[LiekOMG]

I'm running winME right now. Haven't had any problems with it so far (at least nothing major). I will say, that i lost an average of 5-10 fps in q3a just by running winME. I was getting 87fps in 98, and now getting about 80. I did a bit of tweaking to get it back up to 90, but i had to turn a thing or two down. Not that big of a deal.

The article complains about winME being a performance hog over 98. But if you think about it, 98 was as much of a performance hog over 95. But you don't see many of us using 95, do you?

So far my own real complaint is the horrid media player. Its not bad for music, but when it comes to video, i just can't stand it.

However, my net access seems a lot more stable under ME, and a tad faster too.

 

[FooF]

I am running WinME and i have to say i like it.. my performance is exactly the same as win98 in every game.. using a tnt2 ultra and celeron 366@550 on a BM6 motherboard. the hardware installation is easier in WINme and it overall seems smarter with drivers. Other than that its exactly the same as 98 aside from a couple of graphics.. not sure how others have lost performance. my brother and 2 friends have installed it with the same results, quicker boot times, the exact same framerate on timedemos for every game..

 

[Warrenton]

Easy to disable all those system protection crap things. So you can regain that 30 percent he complained about.

The horrid media player is easy to get rid of. Unassociate it in its options. Then go to C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player and run mplayer2.exe. That starts up good old MP6.4. Go its option and associate it with your media files. Then edit the shortcuts in the start menu, etc, to point to the mplayer2.exe instead. VIOLA!!! WMP7 is history so to speak.

Then go download this new IE5.5 Advanced Security beta. Its faster, and has eliminated a memory leak. It is more responsive.

Go get real drivers for your hardware. Most Win9x drivers work just fine. Install the new VIA 4.25 4-in1 if needed.

You can delete C:\Windows\OPTIONS to free up 153MB of space. That is just a copy of all the install files so it doesn't ask for your windows CD. Just delete it once it is setup all the way.


As soon as I find it again, I had an .inf file that you put in the install directory or referenced when you ran the setup. It would prevent WMP7 and the Windows Movie Maker from installing.

 

[LiekOMG]

Oh yeah, i forgot to mention. My boot time was reduced dramatically when using WinME. About 45 seconds with 98, down to about 10-15 with winME.

Btw, where can you find that EI5.5 advanced security beta? Thanks

 

[Warrenton]

www.download.com has it. If you can't get it that way, I have the full download here.

 

[LiekOMG]

Does disabling PChealth in winME help performance any? I heard it takes up quite a bit of memory. what exactly does PChealth DO? (no help topics were associated with it, so i couldn't find out from windows itself)

 

[Killfile]

I would like to give WinME a fair trial, but I'm going to have to wait until it has driver support for my video card. And my sound card. And my modem. And my motherboard chipset ...

 

[LiekOMG]

Any driver that works for 98 will work for ME. Its basically the same thing. At least it works fine for me. My sound card (MX300), video card (v5), DSL modem, and motherboard (a7v) all work perfectly on ME.

 

[duragezic]

That's what I heard. It is like 98 was to 95, so every driver should work but I don't know if that is the case.

 

[Deeko]

I have me dual booting with W2K. It works great when I use it. I use W2K more because it is faster and more stable. I get 3.2MKeys/sec in W2k, and 2.9 in ME. But that's the same that I got in 98, so I don't think it's any slower. And I do find that the internet is faster that it was. I think part of the way Me handles the internet was stolen from W2K, which is why it is better. Some of my stuff doesn't work in 2K, including my overclocking utility for my V5, so I use Me sometimes.

 

[Warrenton]

To disable system restore:


On "Desktop":
Right Click "My Computer"
Click "Properties"

In "System Properties" window:
Choose "Performance" tab
Click "File System"

In "File System Properties" window:
Choose "Troubleshooting" tab
Check "Disable System Restore"
Click "Apply" then "Ok"

In "System Properties" window:
Click "Ok"

System Restore is now disabled.

------------------
To disable PCHealth:


On "Taskbar":
Click "Start"
Click "Run"
In "Run" window
Type "msconfig" in open field
Click "Ok"

In "System Configuration Utility" window:
Choose "Startup" tab
Uncheck "PCHealth"
Uncheck "SchedulingAgent"
Click "Ok"

PCHealth is now disabled.
------------

My apologies to those of you who could have used a easier explanation, shorter. But I am writing this stuff for "newbies" who want to know how to do it and can't understand "system properties --> performace --> file system --> troubleshooting --> disable system restore"

 

[KarsinTheHutt]

Windows ME = Windows 98 Third Edition.

Windows 2000 blows ME out of the water. There's no reason to get ME except if it comes with a new system.

 

[LiekOMG]

2K is very very nice, we all agree on that. But my computer is 50/50 gaming/work, so 2k isn't a very viable choice there, especially since there are limited drivers out there for it. WinME in the next best thing

 

[Warrenton]

Windows Me is just like any other OS, you have to get under the hood and tweak some stuff to get it to work its best. Win2k is the same way. So was 98se, we have just gotten so used to doing it to 98se that we forgot what it was like when 98 first came out. WinMe is the same way, what was learned about 98se was applied by MS to WinMe already, and some new things for us to tweak were added. So now we just need to dig in and tweak WinMe, just as we did win98 when it first came out.

I have already shown a good 5 tweaks I have learned. It is obvious that the person who wrote the article did a base install and left it that way and bitches about it. But guess what, he would have bitched about 98 when it came out too. Its just that so many utilities and drivers for win98 tweak settings for us, that we don't have to dig in and do it ourselves anymore. It will only be a matter of time before there is a registry patch for WinMe that applies a dozen or so tweaks for us.

 

[divide]

it's about time someone wrote and told the truth about this piece of crap. I installed WINMe on my 2 yr old comp. It's a pentiumII 450 w/320 MB RAM. Ever since then, it's become extremely slow. I'd like to emphasize that I'm a computer tech and have worked with comps all my life, and this OS is the worst I've seen. If anything, I recommend installing ME on a clean system, but not as an upgrade. When I first installed it, it was so slow, I wound up having to call Tech Support, but they weren't much help. In the end, Win2000 Pro is the way to go. I say skip WinME, especially on an upgrade.

 

[LiekOMG]

Upgrading from 98 is the WORST thing you can do. My friend tried it, and half of his programs stopped working. Do a fresh install, and everything will be fine. And i completly agree with you Warrenton. Everyone complained about 98 when it first came out. But now all of us are using it. ME won't be any different. Every new OS that comes out will natrually run a bit slower, and take up more RAM. But thats why computers evolve too. Otherwise we should just all go back to DOS and live with 386's for the rest of our lives.

 

[squirrel dog]

Thats how I feel.I have 98se,the only advantage to winme for me would be a faster boot time,which is a non issue to me.

 

[Syborg1211]

i have a friend which just uninstalled win98, didn't format, and installed ME. He is running just perfectly.