XP???? Why is it so bad?

[CSFM]

I have installed XP on several machines in my office here. I am just about to start rolling them back to Win2000 as I have had nothing but troubles since I first installed XP.

Below is a small list of errors that I have experienced on XP that I have never seen on a Win2000 install:

1/. I can no longer access encripted sites on the internet (This means I can not do internet banking, access web based email or even EBay...

2/. Network printers captured in a Comand Prompt (net use) are lost everyday, I have to re-enter the net use command into the command promt. This only happends on the XP machines in the office.

3/. Start up has slowed down now to, at best a sloooooooow crawl.

4/. Shutdown.... lets not talk about that.

5/. Programs take minutes sometimes to open...

6/. Desktop background pictures are not displayed properly.

7/. The Computer is now hanging after every request to do anything...

I have installed XP on a few machines in the office here.... I am the most prolific user of the computers here in the office, I use programs like Photoshop, Corel Draw, Frontpage, Visio, Outlook Express, IE6, Office XP and some data base programs. These programs are not over intensive for the machine I am using. It is an AMD XP1800+ with 512MB DDR Ram, a 64MB video Card, onboard sound, Realtek network card and thats about it... I have a 40GIG HDD in it which is always kept defragmented.

I have a Win2000 install at home which is getting onto 2 years old now, Although I may need to re-install the OS in that machine soon, it is still out performing the new machine I have in the office here... andthey have the same CPU in them.

Has anyone had these problems before or maybe another horror story to share about Windows XP?

 

[Spyro]

Do you have all of the latest upgrades installed on those PCs? Windows XP runs *almost* rock solid on my laptop. What kind of machines did you install it on?

 

[Lord Evermore]

There are always problems, and usually solutions. Did you install all the Windows Updates? If so, you want to read this thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=34&threadid=1030293

You can also download the "bootvis" utility from Microsoft, which can significantly speed up boot times.

You need to set the network printer map to load every time the system boots. This can be done simply by making a text file containing the command line, naming it <something>.cmd and putting it in the startup folder. The /persistent option for the command line also should make it be remembered at each boot.

Go to the security options in IE and reduce the security level to medium and you should be able to use secured sites. If not, post more information about them.

During use XP tracks the loading of applications and optimizes the file placement later when the system is idle. This means that apps should eventually load faster than during the initial installation. It also prefetches application data so that it can be loaded faster.

XP is a system hog, even on a fast machine. Disable all the visual styles and shadows and fades and special start menu, and performance does increase. You can also look at several sites for tweaking XP, as there is a lot of stuff that can be disabled or modified for performance that simply isn't needed for most users; there are also some bugs or quirks that can be gotten around. I assume that all the machines you're discussing are similarly configured as the one you mentioned.

For your uses, there really isn't any need to use XP over 2k, especially if you shut off all the garbage visual stuff. XP does have better application and game support, but for an office where only certain business apps are ever in use this doesn't matter.

 

[CSFM]

There are always problems, and usually solutions. Did you install all the Windows Updates? If so, you want to read this thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=34&threadid=1030293

That is another thing I never added into my opening thread... I can not download any updates from the Windows site... the machine wont access the update site correctly either. I have installed all updates from CD though as I am a MS certified partner and they send me update CD's every month.

You can also download the "bootvis" utility from Microsoft, which can significantly speed up boot times.

Boot times have slowly degraded the longer I keep XP loaded...

You need to set the network printer map to load every time the system boots. This can be done simply by making a text file containing the command line, naming it <something>.cmd and putting it in the startup folder. The /persistent option for the command line also should make it be remembered at each boot.

I have the persistent option loaded, the printer goes missing intermittently, weather I turn the PC off or not....

Go to the security options in IE and reduce the security level to medium and you should be able to use secured sites. If not, post more information about them.

This was the first thing I did... made no difference to the way it access' secure sites.

During use XP tracks the loading of applications and optimizes the file placement later when the system is idle. This means that apps should eventually load faster than during the initial installation. It also prefetches application data so that it can be loaded faster.

lol... load faster... this is all good in theory, unfortunately XP is getting noticeably slower by the day...

XP is a system hog, even on a fast machine. Disable all the visual styles and shadows and fades and special start menu, and performance does increase. You can also look at several sites for tweaking XP, as there is a lot of stuff that can be disabled or modified for performance that simply isn't needed for most users; there are also some bugs or quirks that can be gotten around. I assume that all the machines you're discussing are similarly configured as the one you mentioned.

I have a lower powered machine running XP better than this machine. Mainly because all that machine does is emailing and light database work... Maybe some internet use too.

For your uses, there really isn't any need to use XP over 2k, especially if you shut off all the garbage visual stuff. XP does have better application and game support, but for an office where only certain business apps are ever in use this doesn't matter.

This is my point... why did Microsoft bring out XP... make us spend loads on the software, for something that we already had... Win2000.... I will be un-installing Win XP from all the machines in this office and returning the OS to Microsoft for a full refund... I am upset with the time waster this whole exercise has been

 

[stash]

This is my point... why did Microsoft bring out XP... make us spend loads on the software, for something that we already had... Win2000.... I will be un-installing Win XP from all the machines in this office and returning the OS to Microsoft for a full refund... I am upset with the time waster this whole exercise has been

Microsoft didn't make you do anything. If your machines were running fine with Windows 2000, then why did you install XP? If you had bothered to do a little research, you would have been able to compare the two OSs and see that if you are running 2000 and liking it, there probably isn't anything in XP that you would desparately need to upgrade to XP for.

Did you upgrade these machines or start clean? Do you have all the latest drivers for the hardware? Have you installed critical updates and service packs?

Regardless, whether you decide to stay with XP or go back to 2000 is your choice. Just don't blame your choices on Microsoft.

 

[CSFM]

Microsoft didn't make you do anything. If your machines were running fine with Windows 2000, then why did you install XP? If you had bothered to do a little research, you would have been able to compare the two OSs and see that if you are running 2000 and liking it, there probably isn't anything in XP that you would desparately need to upgrade to XP for.

Did you upgrade these machines or start clean? Do you have all the latest drivers for the hardware? Have you installed critical updates and service packs?

Regardless, whether you decide to stay with XP or go back to 2000 is your choice. Just don't blame your choices on Microsoft.

OK... Microsoft wrote us a letter explaining the advantages of XP over all other prevous Operating systems they had released in the past... including Win2000....

If you read my post correctly you would have noticed that I have installed all the updates and all hardware is updated also...

I am not blaming Microsoft for my choice... but I didn't see them offering me a 5 user licence to Win2000 in my new partner pack did I!! So I don't have much choice but to install XP and prey.

You have totally missed my point... my point is this: Why would a company release any type of upgrade or new version of their operating system if in fact it was no better...???
Microsoft are not well know for their choice giving to consumers though... so don't get me started on that!

You sound like you either work for MS or own quite a few shares in the Monopoly. Maybe you should be a little more helpfull and a little less critical

 

[stash]

You have totally missed my point... my point is this: Why would a company release any type of upgrade or new version of their operating system if in fact it was no better...???

Well, Im sorry that it isn't working out for you, but for the majority of people XP is as good, and in some respects better (more stable) than Windows 2000. The only thing I can think of that might cause many of your problems is if you installed patch 811493 (dscussed in this sticky).

You sound like you either work for MS or own quite a few shares in the Monopoly. Maybe you should be a little more helpfull and a little less critical

Actually, neither. And talk about the pot calling the kettle black. You have a bad experience and turn around and blame Microsoft for releasing a subpar OS. I strongly suspect that you upgraded the machines rather than doing a clean install. Upgrades almost always turn out badly. Now if you said Microsoft should work on the upgrade process, you might have something. But for now, I think the best thing you can do is to install fresh, and see how it turns out.

 

[Spyro]

Originally posted by: CSFM
Microsoft didn't make you do anything. If your machines were running fine with Windows 2000, then why did you install XP? If you had bothered to do a little research, you would have been able to compare the two OSs and see that if you are running 2000 and liking it, there probably isn't anything in XP that you would desparately need to upgrade to XP for.

Did you upgrade these machines or start clean? Do you have all the latest drivers for the hardware? Have you installed critical updates and service packs?

Regardless, whether you decide to stay with XP or go back to 2000 is your choice. Just don't blame your choices on Microsoft.

OK... Microsoft wrote us a letter explaining the advantages of XP over all other prevous Operating systems they had released in the past... including Win2000....

If you read my post correctly you would have noticed that I have installed all the updates and all hardware is updated also...

I am not blaming Microsoft for my choice... but I didn't see them offering me a 5 user licence to Win2000 in my new partner pack did I!! So I don't have much choice but to install XP and prey.

You have totally missed my point... my point is this: Why would a company release any type of upgrade or new version of their operating system if in fact it was no better...???
Microsoft are not well know for their choice giving to consumers though... so don't get me started on that!

You sound like you either work for MS or own quite a few shares in the Monopoly. Maybe you should be a little more helpfull and a little less critical

Please, do yourself a favor and use the quote button instead of using bold text. You see gives your replies the feel of SHOUTING, which isn't very nice.

BTW, Stash was being ehlpful. If you would look at his post he asked if you had upgraded or clean installed. Its usually far easier to clean install then it is to "upgrade" a MS operating system. And if you really don't like XP then why don't you talk to MS about it. Filling the forums with complaints and chewing on those whom are trying to give you a hand isn't going to get you very far.

As much as I hate to say it, you sound like a raving anti-MS troll. I'm assuming that this isn't the image that you're intending to create, right?

 

[Kappo]

I have had well over 200 installs and have had great success with XP Pro. Dunno what happened with yours, but most of the people I know have had the same "luck" I have had.

Now I just gotta figure out the 2k issue I am having

 

[drag]

Microsoft upgrade = slow death. Better to do a clean install and install the new OS as the "upgrade". Every since the first win 3.11 to 95 upgrade these things have had nothing but trouble. Never did MS even bother trying to get it right, or stand behind it's products and explain some of the things that might be a problem. Nope its allways upgrade upgrade upgrade.

And to answer your question "why would microsoft recommend you to upgrade?". Because they can, selling you windows 2000, then selling you windows XP and then selling you the tech time on the phone to fix the problems you face after upgrading to the next OS, is a much better way to make a buck then being honest and telling you that there is realy no reason to upgrade from windows 2000.

Because otherwise, there is realy no reason to upgrade to XP from 2000, but they still need to make sales to substain there percieved "growth".

I pitty people who depend on Microsoft completely for all your computing needs. Sometimes it's like having a pinata full of money on a string. THey wack ya around for a bit and more money falls out, they don't hit you to hard to break you though. After all I am sure they are going to have all sorts of good reasons for you to upgrade your servers from 2000 to 2003.

 

[Idoxash]

Always do clean installs or you asking for probs to the day you do clean installs. Also I must be one of the only few ppl that has no probs with windows 98 and XP at all but then maybe that's cause I use hardware that works with it and do clean installs and keep my system in shape every week.

--IDD

 

[dawks]

Sounds like user errors more then anything else..

Why on earth would Microsoft Release XP if encrypted websites didnt work on it.. ?

Startup with Windows XP is significantly faster with XP then any previous version of Win32.. Case and point, my other computer (Celeron 700 with 256megs ram and a 5400rpm harddrive) can boot to a usable state in less then 20 seconds.

Shutdown has also been optimized and should be a small amount faster then 2000.

If programs were coded correctly for win32, they should start up just as quickly in XP as they do in 2000, if not faster.

6/. Desktop background pictures are not displayed properly. Odd, since the only thing that has changed in that area is XP has the options to disable the color behind Icon text.

All of these problems seem to have one thing in common.. They can become issues when doing UPGRADES, and not fresh installs. especially the program start up speed, windows startup/shutdown speed, and random system hangings.

 

Originally posted by: DaZ
Sounds like user errors more then anything else..

Why on earth would Microsoft Release XP if encrypted websites didnt work on it.. ?

Startup with Windows XP is significantly faster with XP then any previous version of Win32.. Case and point, my other computer (Celeron 700 with 256megs ram and a 5400rpm harddrive) can boot to a usable state in less then 20 seconds.

Shutdown has also been optimized and should be a small amount faster then 2000.

If programs were coded correctly for win32, they should start up just as quickly in XP as they do in 2000, if not faster.

I always thought win2k was not made to be a fast bootup OS...it was made to be rock solid, with shutdowns and reboots only occuring whenever you had to update or change something critical.

 

[dawks]

Originally posted by: FallenHero

Originally posted by: DaZ
Sounds like user errors more then anything else..

Why on earth would Microsoft Release XP if encrypted websites didnt work on it.. ?

Startup with Windows XP is significantly faster with XP then any previous version of Win32.. Case and point, my other computer (Celeron 700 with 256megs ram and a 5400rpm harddrive) can boot to a usable state in less then 20 seconds.

Shutdown has also been optimized and should be a small amount faster then 2000.

If programs were coded correctly for win32, they should start up just as quickly in XP as they do in 2000, if not faster.

I always thought win2k was not made to be a fast bootup OS...it was made to be rock solid, with shutdowns and reboots only occuring whenever you had to update or change something critical.

Yes, and in the most basic sense, XP is an optimized and tweaked version of Windows 2000. With XP, one of the new 'features' is a faster and more optimized boot time, so when you do have to reboot, you spend less time waiting.

And yes, with the proper hardware and drivers, XP is rock solid. Im enjoying my 105 day uptime right now

 

[rudder]

That is another thing I never added into my opening thread... I can not download any updates from the Windows site... the machine wont access the update site correctly either. I have installed all updates from CD though as I am a MS certified partner and they send me update CD's every month.

make sure your system clock is set correctly.

 

[foxkm]

Sounds like this guy needs to do a clean install. The problems he is having sounds like he has a couple bad installs of Windows XP. Never upgrade to XP as it will suck all the previous install's bugs into XP. Especially from ME (which is a horrid piece of crap).

XP is EVERYTHING 2000 is and is more optimized to perform. It uses the SAME kernel/library framework.
They just added some visual effects, added some multiuser functionality and implemented the dynamic program cache that ME uses to load OS/Apps quickly.

Just reinstall, and make sure you have the latest drivers/ updates installed.

 

[spyordie007]

I'm sorry to hear about the problems you are having, but coming on here and complaining and placing blame on everyone but yourself for problems that YOU are having is not the way to go about soliciting help. This thread is filled with potential reasons for the problems you have been experiencing and possible fixes. Furthermore if you had come here and posted BEFORE you did the upgrade and asked straight forward-logical questions you would have received straight-forward logical responses. You can find horror stories with every OS, once more you can find success stories with every OS.

When I first saw all the marketing for Windows XP I started picking it apart and made an educated decision as to whether I wanted to run it. After that I set it up on a couple of machines to test it and get familiar with it well BEFORE I even considered putting it in my PRODUCTION environment whatsoever (I still run mostly 2K)!

Placing blame doesn?t fix any problems. Just because the car salesman tells you there is a good reason to buy a new car do you do it? Don?t expect anyone to cry because YOU didn?t do your homework.

-Spy

EDIT: Fixed grammer, a few spelling errors and layout

 

[EeyoreX]

You have totally missed my point... my point is this: Why would a company release any type of upgrade or new version of their operating system if in fact it was no better...???
Microsoft are not well know for their choice giving to consumers though... so don't get me started on that!

IMHO for a great number of users Windows XP is significantly better than Windows 2000. In terms of hardware and software compatibility and ease of use for non-office users (ie the kids who want to play games). Just because Windows XP is "no better" for you does not make that sweeping statement even remotely correct, like most sweeping statements, this is an example of misinformation or poorly formed opinion. One person's experience doesn't make XP not a better option.

This is my point... why did Microsoft bring out XP... make us spend loads on the software, for something that we already had... Win2000.... I will be un-installing Win XP from all the machines in this office and returning the OS to Microsoft for a full refund... I am upset with the time waster this whole exercise has been

As was pointed out, MS didn't force you to do anything. You don't seem to like MS products or their policies. Do what thousands and thousands of people and hundreds of companies do. Switch to Linux/Unix. Go to Mac. Coming here and complaining isn't going to fix anything. I also agree that had you asked earlier, you would likely have gotten advice on how to better install Windows XP (ie clean install instead of upgrade) and how to optimize the OS properly.

I'm sorry you have had a bad XP experience. I use both Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Windows XP is a far better choice than 2000 was for my main rig, as I wanted compatability with the most hardware and software, plus I like what most people call the "visual garbage". I find XP exceptionally stable (I have had one BSOD since I installed. And it was my fault. I tried to use a bad driver) it's quick and it looks nice and does everything I need. From Office to content creation to some moderate gaming. Never a hitch or hiccup. Windows 2000 sits on my file server and that's about it. But I had it, I wanted to use it (and, I am Linux dumb/have had terrible luck every time I try to use it).

\Dan

 

[NokiaDude]

From the look of things you just might have bad hardware. You never said which brand HDD you use and maybe they're set in PIO mode? That would definitely make XP slow to a crawl. Check your computer's BIOS to make sure it's not running at the default 500mhz? That's happened to me several times. Maybe it's bad RAM? Bad RAM makes XP try to load data into bad pasrts and that slows down the entire system? There are many reasons XP could be slow. For me XP is awesome with my XP 1700+ and 512mb Kingston HyperX DDR333 RAM! And my 80gb Western Digital SE makes all the difference!

Edit: PLEASE! Do not tell me you "upgraded" from 2000 to XP. This is a major source of all XP slowdowns. Problems from 2000 just pile up or worsen over time!!

 

[NokiaDude]

Originally posted by: CSFM
I have installed XP on several machines in my office here. I am just about to start rolling them back to Win2000 as I have had nothing but troubles since I first installed XP.

Below is a small list of errors that I have experienced on XP that I have never seen on a Win2000 install:

1/. I can no longer access encripted sites on the internet (This means I can not do internet banking, access web based email or even EBay...

2/. Network printers captured in a Comand Prompt (net use) are lost everyday, I have to re-enter the net use command into the command promt. This only happends on the XP machines in the office.

3/. Start up has slowed down now to, at best a sloooooooow crawl.

4/. Shutdown.... lets not talk about that.

5/. Programs take minutes sometimes to open...

6/. Desktop background pictures are not displayed properly.

7/. The Computer is now hanging after every request to do anything...

I have installed XP on a few machines in the office here.... I am the most prolific user of the computers here in the office, I use programs like Photoshop, Corel Draw, Frontpage, Visio, Outlook Express, IE6, Office XP and some data base programs. These programs are not over intensive for the machine I am using. It is an AMD XP1800+ with 512MB DDR Ram, a 64MB video Card, onboard sound, Realtek network card and thats about it... I have a 40GIG HDD in it which is always kept defragmented.

I have a Win2000 install at home which is getting onto 2 years old now, Although I may need to re-install the OS in that machine soon, it is still out performing the new machine I have in the office here... andthey have the same CPU in them.

Has anyone had these problems before or maybe another horror story to share about Windows XP?

This sounds like you have major network problems. Maybe your office uses ip blocking software to prevent users from accessing misc. stuff like this! Come on, Ebay at work? Keep that stuff at home.

 

[dawks]

I find XP exceptionally stable (I have had one BSOD since I installed. And it was my fault. I tried to use a bad driver)

LOL My experience exactly. I've been running XP since about three days after it went gold, and my only BSOD ever was when I did a fresh install, and tried using ATI's drivers for my new card. Ever since then, its been completely rock solid.

And yes, driver support with XP is amazing. MSFT licensed the code for Aureal cards from nVidia and finally made NT drivers for XP.. And they included drivers for my USB CD-RW drive.. which wouldnt work in 2000 either. (Those are my two examples).

Learn from this thread people, UPGRADES ARE BAD. Fresh installs of new OS's all the time!!!

 

[Pauli]

CSFM, you are obviously an anti-Microsoft troll. Virtually everyone who clean installs XP finds it to be the most stable MS OS yet. We are talking about hundreds of thousands if not millions of computer savvy and not-so-savvy people. The fact that you assume that XP cannot access secure websites alludes to your stupidity. What, you think millions of XP users cannot access their online-banking web sites and nobody has complained about it yet, besides you? Your rantings make it seem this way. There is obviously something fundamentally wrong with your systems that you have not identified -- probably a common hardware component or driver (network card?) that is causing you grief.

 

[jvang125]

CSFM, you seem to be the admin for a small to medium office/business there other wise you wouldn't have permission to install a new operating system. no offense but i would think an admin would be a bit more knowledged about this procedure. in a business environment, you shouldnt make a critical decision as that without researching or obtaining advice from others. and by advice, i dont mean from the company trying to sell you their product. of course the company is going to persuade you to purchase their product as much as they can to make their sales.

indeed many people dont approve of MS business tactics and their OSs aren't completely bug-free, if they ever will be, but many people have had great success with XP. XP is suppose to be a bit better than Win2000 but if Win2000 works fine to you in the first place, why switch.

 

[Ichinisan]

Do get Windows Update to work, fix your system's date (as mentioned earlier)...but DON'T FORGET TO CHECK THE YEAR ALSO!

 

[Goosemaster]

Somehting i hope you realize is this:

Although, as you said, you are the most prolithic computer user at your office, you must always accept that you DO NOT KNOW EVERYTHING. Undoubtedly, YOU screwed something up.

what do you do now?

Give us even more info, as much as you can..even ask your admin for help as that is HIS JOB and we will help you.....BUT...Don't bash and completely discredit an entire OS becasue of some bad experiences.