posted on October 26, 2001 12:46:12 AM new
I bought a new computer from Gateway
for my son in Phoenix .It will be shipped
next week after the new XP home upgrade is
installed. I know it just went retail today
But can anyone give me a review on it...
Do you like ..? Do we need it...?
Thanks
.
[ edited by HopelessSinner on Oct 26, 2001 12:47 AM ]
posted on October 26, 2001 01:45:52 AM new
I've heard that in many aspects it's a whole new ball game. You need stacks of RAM to make it work well.
Despite what Microsoft say you need at least 256meg, 512 for comfort.
The only thing that hasn't improved is that it comes with the old Microsoft repair and tool kit!
posted on October 26, 2001 03:52:58 AM new
If we were starting over with a brand new machine, all new software, and all new hardware, it would probably be ok.
We use a few "older" programs, and have older hardware that XP won't support. There are also many issues with the Verification and Registration that could be potential problems. We are staying far away from it at this point.
posted on October 26, 2001 04:12:32 AM new
I don't know about XP, but I bought a new gateway last Nov. and it came with Windows ME. I have had nothing but problems with it. Software that came with it doesn't work properly. Gateway's answer is to bring it in and they'll get around to looking at it in 7 to 10 days. They also asked me if I might want to upgrade to XP (at my expense). I am limping along for now, starting in the "safe mode" several times a week. If I do anything I will take it to someone local and see if I can get Win 98 installed. I am going to be very leery of anything new they try to sell me from now on.
posted on October 26, 2001 05:37:56 AM new
I don't have Windows XP yet (have Windows 2000), but have Office XP - and it is awesome! Front Page is absolutely one of the greatest program I have used. I haven't had the first bit of problems with it, or 2000; so if Office XP is an indication of how Windows XP is, I can't wait to get it!
[ edited by nanandme on Oct 26, 2001 05:38 AM ]
posted on October 26, 2001 06:43:28 AM new
I'm going to wait 'til I see how XP does before even thinking about getting it. Let others work out the bugs.
A friend of mine also got a new computer earlier this year that came with Windows ME. She has had one problem after another with it & is at the point that she hardly uses her computer at all...
posted on October 26, 2001 06:58:26 AM new
December3, have you used MSCONFIG to shut off unneeded programs and utilities that are starting up when you boot the computer?
There are always tons of things that are loading that you can do without. Many of them will cause trouble and conflicts.
Go to Start/Run, and type MSCONFIG. Look in the Startup Tab, and take a look at all the items that have a checkmark in front of them. All of those are loading when you start your system.
Remove the checkmark from those things you don't need starting automatically. You will free up resources, and also remove the source of lock ups and conflicts. If you're unsure of what you can stop, write down all the items and post them here.
posted on October 26, 2001 08:39:13 AM new
On the same line, I am in the market for a new computer but also want windows 98 installed as the operating system.
Has anyone done that? Will windows 98 handle the larger hard drive space. I have too many programs I have purchased, and love, to start over.
posted on October 26, 2001 08:50:09 AM new
Windows 98 has no problems with large hard drives. Our new system has 2 - 30gig drives on it. We had a local company put this system together for us, since we had some hardward that was still usable.
A good friend of ours just got a new system last week from the same local shop. She bought her own copy of Windows 98 from Best Buy, and they used it instead of ME. She needed to be able to run an old DOS billing program, and can't use Win 2k or XP for that. We've seen ME in action, and there is no way we would use it or recommend it.
For me, I use Publisher 97 and Works 4.5, and have an older HP 4P scanner. As it was, I had to buy a new SCSI card for my scanner to work on this new system, because it has no ISA slots.
posted on October 26, 2001 09:13:17 AM new
Several months ago, I bought a Dell and wanted Windows 98 as the operating system. My DSL installation software specifically stated it would not work with Windows Me or 2000.
The system came with a 30 or 40 gig hard drive and when it arrived, I put in my old 30 gig drive. Never had a single problem.
I too run old programs, WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS being one of them and never had any problems.
posted on October 26, 2001 10:13:32 AM new
I've been using XP for about 2 weeks now. It came on my new Sony Vaio system. I love it. Everything seems to be laid out on it much better. The biggest difference to me, over windows ME, is the convenience. Everything's easy to get to. The salesman I bought it from gave me this description of XP, it combines the convenience of Windows 98 and the stability of Windows 2000.
The system I'm running it on is a P4, 1.5 GHZ, 256K RAM and it has a 60 gig harddrive. I've had no software conflicts at all. The only problem I've had was with my Canon 620U scanner, couldn't get it to work right. But Canon only provided a driver that was really for Windows2000 and not made specifically for XP. But my digital camera and printer both work fine. They're about 2-3 years old. XP hasn't hung up or crashed once.
I'd definitely recommend upgrading to XP.
posted on October 26, 2001 10:16:12 AM new
The you-have-to-call-Microsoft-and-ask-permission-to-make-signifigant-system-changes-to-your-own-system deal is very unnappealing to me.
May I ask what kind of internet connection do you have with your XP.
Mine is still in the box. The reason that I ask is that I just called my internet provider to find out if there was a more current Internet software available and they advised me not to install the dial up connection.
I'm just using a regular tcp/ip connection with a 56k modem. My provider is concentric. I had no problems setting up or connecting. Just used the connection wizard. Didn't have to install any additional software.
posted on October 26, 2001 10:41:47 AM new
Who's your ISP Helen? Don't they give you any software needed to use their service?
Try checking out their web page for info on XP. There are some issues (from what I've read) with configuring XP with some ISP's, but from what I read there were always work-arounds. If tech support with your ISP is anything like ours is with Road Runner, you will find better info on their site.
posted on October 26, 2001 01:42:22 PM new
Meya, Thanks, but I've gotten rid of anything I didn't need. I used to leave my old computer on all the time, but this one works better if I turn it off when I'm away. If I leave it on overnight I wake up with a blue screen and a "windows protection error" message. Just another of it's quirks.
I use RR for my ISP because Win ME didn't want to work with Compuserve which I had used for years. I had to reinstall CS every couple of days and it was a pain.
posted on October 26, 2001 02:19:22 PM new
December, it sounds like it could be a heat issue. Is the fan running on the power supply? You could try removing the cover and running it that way for a few days. If the troubles lessen, you can suspect heat/cooling issues.
posted on October 26, 2001 06:22:11 PM new
Meya, I'll try that this weekend. The gateway tech's say it's ME and have blamed everything from Outlook Express to the Virus Program.
posted on October 26, 2001 06:57:43 PM new
If you feel you need more memory, we just bought 256 MB to add to our current 96. The 256mb of extra RAM (name brand Kingston) was $39.00 at Office Depot. That's not counting the $10.00 rebate.
We will be installing XP this weekend. Will keep you posted!
posted on October 27, 2001 01:07:03 PM new
Microsoft wants total control of the software you are ALLOWED to have on your system:
I was forwarded this article:
Note: this piece was written in May 2001, and is based upon pre-release data. AFAIK, - nothing has
happened since to change the overall drift of what I said, however.
Whose computer is it - anyway??
*******************************
I have been reading first, Practical Electronics, and then EPE,together with ETI, for quite a long time
now. In fact, I started reading Practical Electronics (at school!) in its second year of publication - but this
is the first time I've ever written to you. The reason I am finally writing is connected with the various
letters you published lately concerning different programming languages and platforms for amateur
electronics use. I'm sorry that this first letter is rather a long one - do cut as necessary!
I have been using Microsoft products since the early days of the Amateur Computer Club (ACC), and
since 1993 I have been a consultant to a retailer that sells Microsoft products - amongst many others. Over
the years I have heard many complaints about Microsoft and their business practices - up until now I have
largely discounted them as often arising more from bank-balance jealousy than from any other cause (one
of my other hats is that of psychologist). Anyone who has had the interesting experience of trying to buy
replacement parts for a SUN workstation (over ú150 for a ú8 video lead? I was tempted to make remarks
about 'where the sun doesn't shine') will be aware that the companies making the loudest noises about
Microsoft are really beating their own drums. The Linux camp, as well, has its baggage to deal with –
recently Linus Torvalds managed to completely misunderstand a famous remark of Newton's concerning
"standing on the shoulders of giants" -- actually an attack on a pet hate of his, a man of very little height...
Newton is not an ideal stand-in for 'moral hero'.
Anyway, last week my colleagues went to the Microsoft launch of the new XP Office product. They came
back very angry. Apparently, they were not the only ones to be angered: many people (we are talking
mostly of dealers, here) had walked out. And I have, after much discussion and pondering, arrived at a
decision; if the information I have been given so far is in fact accurate and true, I am not going to
continue to promote (or buy, or sell, and eventually even use) Microsoft products in the future. The
reasons for this are very relevant to hobby and small-scale industrial electronics, and are as follows:
There are two new product ranges coming shortly from Microsoft, the first - which has to all intents and
purposes already been launched - is XP Office. Coming soon will be Windows XP the operating system.
XP Office promises various interesting innovations, and will no doubt deliver some 30 to 70 percent of
them. However there is also a "Gotcha": XP office will not be supplied to businesses in functional form.
It will be supplied in installable form, but to activate the product it will be necessary to register with
Microsoft and get an activation key. As I have described it so far, this is an irritating but not altogether
surprising innovation clearly designed to limit the activities of software pirates, at all levels. However - it
doesn't end there. The activation key is tagged to the specific hardware set-up of the machine - if more
than three elements of the hardware set-up of the computer are changed the key will expire. It will then
be necessary to contact Microsoft again to get a new activation key.
Now it is evident that for a typical 'office' user of Microsoft XP Office all this will have little effect - such
users typically are not allowed to touch the insides of their computer anyway. But I have been known to
make ten changes in my machine in a day - or more when I am messing around with some add-on and
rebuilding and changing and reconfiguring and... well, use your imagination. I expect XP Office will not
work well for me. And that's not all folks -- there's more!!
Coming real soon now is Windows XP. Windows XP is (as I understand it) the final amalgamation of the
old Windows NT stream with Windows 95. Windows 95 was in my view a much underrated product: it
was a brilliant expedient that managed backward and forward compatibility and, remarkably, it worked
well enough. Windows NT however has always been a much more stable product, as we would expect
from the designer of Digital VMS (hint - HAL?). So the convergence of NT and 95 into one product
should be welcomed -- no?
Well, perhaps not. According to the information I have, Windows XP will REQUIRE all executable
software to have a digital signature before the operating system will run it. Yes, I did say "require". What
is wrong with that? Obviously, virus packages, Trojans, worms and so on won't be digitally signed (if
they were the author could be traced!) so the system will be protected against them -- since they will not
be executed. So far, so good. And plainly, if you are a developer of mass-market software, all that is
needed is to validate the product and get a digital signature. This is quite expensive, but amortized
against sales of hundreds of thousands of units will lead to only a small cost increase.
But what if you are a small-scale manufacturer writing customised software for, say -- machine tool
fabrication? Or, specialised accounts packages? Garment manufacturer quality control? Production
control of a small electronics fab? In that case, it is likely that no two of the packages you sell will ever
be the same, and so you will have to enter into the expense of getting a validated digital signature for
every single package you sell. And what if you are (shock horror!) a hobbyist? Progressively, with each
new version of Windows, operating system security has been improved but at the same time making it
harder and harder to actually use the machine for anything that is outside the narrow definition conceived
by the package designers. Whose computer is it -- anyway? Well the answer is -- it is MY computer, not
Microsoft's computer, and I will do with it what I like. Languages such as QBASIC are insecure because
they can do anything on, and to, the machine. Languages such as Visual Basic are much more 'secure',
because all hardware access is restricted by the operating system kernel. But then you need to write/get a
DLL to be able to talk to the hardware of the machine. Any security provisions are there to protect me and
my data and my machine, and if they don't do that they are useless to me. These new provisions seem to
have a lot more to do with protecting Microsoft.
And there's still more! Not only are there changes to the office software and to the operating system, but
there are also going to be changes to the whole development language structure that Microsoft has used to
date. The ".net" initiative will replace all Microsoft development languages with new versions,
significantly changing Visual Basic, Visual C++ (which now becomes 'C#') and replacing Visual Basic for
Applications altogether, while dropping Java -- Sun seem to have shot themselves in the foot with their
recent court victory over Microsoft regarding Java.
So what to do? I have no doubt that Microsoft applications will continue to dominate the office and home
application market for the foreseeable future, largely because they are in fact better than any of the
alternatives in many respects. But I have decided to move to UNIX-style operating systems -- perhaps
Linux, perhaps Free BSD. They are now a viable and useable alternative. I don't have to pay retail prices
for my Microsoft software, but if I did I would have stopped upgrading with Word 6 and Excel 5 - none of
the 'improvements' since then have had anything to offer me. The level of the KDE and Gnome interfaces
now is competitive with NT4, Word 6 and Excel 5. Although I have been messing about with Linux since
1993, it is still going to be a wrench, but I will get back full control over my computing machinery. Back
in 1979, when I built my first computer (a Nascom-2) from a bag of parts, the whole point was to have
ones own computer under one's own control - unlike the IBM 360 I used by day. I want to get my
computer back!
Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxx.
All copyright in names acknowledged... and you'd better check my facts here!
posted on October 28, 2001 08:17:35 AM new
XP News
Problems are beginning to surface...just discovered that my Hewlett Packard printer is not working...a possible driver problem.
From Washington Post
Microsoft's Windows XP has been on sale for a day, but a few compatability issues have already cropped up.
First, Verizon is warning DSL customers that installing Windows XP will cause their connection to stop working. Verizon's software, which opens and close connections using a standard called "Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet, "doesn't run under XP, but Verizon plans to update it. In the meantime since Windows XP supports this protocol already, users can set up XP for Verizon's DSL on their own.
Second, some Hewlett Packard peripherals don't work with XP at all ---about 8 percent of the company"s roughly 400 add on devices. A list on HP's Web site lists what works with XP and what doesn't.
Third, the new DVD of Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" may not play in either Windows XP or Windows 2000. The DVD's developer, InterActual, said in a posting on it's site that Microsoft and Disney "eexpect to provide a resolution for consumers shortly."
So....I checked my printer on the HP site and it should work but it does not. I found that I will have to remove the old driver and install a new driver.
I should have known to wait until the kinks were straightened out!
It may take me a few weeks to get this piece of Sony machinery in operating condition.
posted on October 28, 2001 10:14:47 AM new
Helen.. I have Verizon and things are working fine. Easy for me to say, hubby set it all up and the only problem I have is he saved my favorites to his file, and he said, "all you have to do is copy and paste the links to your file". Blech.
Plus I really hate having to re-learn how to log in and off, and all those petty little details that they've changed.
One good thing out of all this is, since hubby knows I'm frustrated by the little things, he wants to buy me a flat screen monitor! Yes! The prices have finally come down, and since our computer is in the middle of the kitchen, space is at a premium, so today (hooray) we are getting our flat monitor.
posted on October 28, 2001 12:19:09 PM new
Ohandrea: Are you talking about Internet Explorer favorites? If so, there is an easy way to retrieve the favorites - use the import/export wizard (under "file" in the IE menu).
posted on October 28, 2001 02:05:48 PM new
ohandrea
I'm beginning to wish that I had my old 35MB computer back but I can't reveal that to my husband. He doesn't know a thing about computers but money is of significant interest to him. LoL I guess that I'll get used to it .
I've been installing a printer all day. Right now, I can't find WS-FTP. Surely Sony wouldn't produce a computer without FTP.
Maybe in a couple of weeks I'll have it figured out.
Good luck with your flat screen!!!
Helen
Hi there, Irene!
I looked there but no FTP...HaHaHa. If I use Auction Watch's service, then I don't have to worry about FTP. Right? I am so dumb, it's just pitiful.
posted on October 28, 2001 02:06:24 PM new
Irene... Thanks. My biggest problem is I have at least 400 links saved under favorites. What I have learned is that I really don't need at least 95% of them. Also, if you export a folder, it doesn't come over as a folder, but as the individual url's, and you have to recreate a folder and put them back in, if that makes sense.
Oh well, forces you to clean house. Kind of like having company!
posted on October 28, 2001 02:18:07 PM new
Helen! From one idiot to another (jeesh!), we got our ws-ftp from www.ipswitch.com. When GTE switched to Verizon our old ftp site wouldnt work, so we downloaded the Ipswitch version. It works great!
That probably is of no help LOL because I have no clue what I'm talking about! Actually, it is a true story. Good luck!
