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Thread ID: 9277	2001-05-17 10:03:00	Windows ME, 2000 or 98????	Guest (0)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
12755	2001-05-17 10:03:00	Hi guys, I'm in the process of deciding on a new computer but I'm slightly confused about which operating system to go for. I seem to have heard an awful lot of complaints re Windows ME. The price of ME is the same as '98 so I'm unsure which to go for. Also, where does Windows 2000 come into the equation? I'd really appreciate some expert advice about which I should choose and what the pros/cons of each will be. Thanks in advance. :)	Guest (0)
12756	2001-05-17 20:59:00	For copyright reasons most new computers come pre-installed with software from the vendor. Therefore the choice will probably be made for you, ie between Win98-SE or WinME. Win2000 has advanced features and is for business and professional users. WinME has relatively few enhancements on Win98-SE, but includes a Win Media player 7, & system restore - a feature which allows you to roll your system back in time if the O/S starts playing up. The benefit of later O/S's is that they have the latest drivers and software which is important, so in that respect WinME would be somewhat future proofing yourself for later upgrades - The latest O/S for the home WinXP, is based on the stable design of Win2000 & arrives in stores October 25. :-)	Guest (0)
12757	2001-05-19 17:24:00	There are pros and cons with both os's. Win98SE is reasonably stable, there is a lot of support available from Microsoft for any problems that do arise, it is well supported by 3rd party manufacturers (ie. printer drivers etc), and takes up less room on your hard drive. Windows ME is still in its first release and the bugs are still being discovered. It is not well supported by 3rd party manufactures yet (though Win98 drivers seem to work ok in most cases, older devices which only run on Win95 drivers generally won't work). WinME is geared more towards the internet and multimedia than Win98 was (just watch the graphics show when you play a music CD), and it will obviously be supported by Microsoft for a lot longer then Win98. WinME does have a few annoying features. Try installing your modem drivers when WinME thinks its ones are better. It has a lot of device drivers in its library but does not always provide full support for devices. TNT2 cards are a classic example. If the manufacturers driver disk is not used then many of the cards functions are not available. The roll back feature can also be annoying. When it detects a problem with a device or program being installed, it is supposed to restore the software setup to what it was prior to the attempted install. However, as well as uninstalling the offending software, it can also uninstall associated software. Which one you choose is a personal preference. Both are still readily available and cost about the same (Win98 costs the computer assembler about $5 more to buy).	Guest (0)
12758	2001-05-19 22:48:00	Thanks Mike C and K1W1 for your great advice. It sounds as if Windows 98 is the more stable O/S, but that Windows ME would be my better choice in terms of future support/longevity etc. Does that sound about right? My only other question is... do you think I should really be delaying my purchase until Windows XP is released later in the year?? Is there going to be any particular advantage in doing this? Financially I don't really want to buy an entire package now and find that I really need to pay to upgrade to the better O/S anyway. Sorry for the amateur questions! Thanks so much once again. :)	Guest (0)
12759	2001-05-20 07:49:00	Mike C, thanks again for your advice, it's fantastic and I really appreciate it. I'm sorry to have yet another beginner-computer question and I promise I'll try to make this the last one I ask of you.... I'm trying to decide between a Pentium III or Athlon processor. I had originally got the impression that the Pentium was the better of the two, but I have just now seen an interesting article which seemed to portray quite the opposite. The reason why I'm asking is that I have found that I am able to get a 1.2Ghz (266MHz front side bus) Athlon processor for the same price as a 1Ghz Pentium III (133MHz front side bus), which I must say looks like a pretty good deal to me. Not that I actually know what a front side bus is or does, still I guess that more is better in this case! Infact will only cost me another $100 (NZ) to upgrade the 1.2Ghz Athlon to a 1.33Ghz which is what I'm considering doing. The Athlon seems to be the much more economical way to go as far as I can see, but will I be compromising the performance of the entire system by going for this processor as opposed to the Pentium?? What are your experienced thoughts on this? Thanks *so much* in advance Mike, I know it must be a bit painful to be asked such amateur questions! ;)	Guest (0)
12760	2001-05-21 05:56:00	Hi 'Confused Buyer', Search (at the top of the page) PressF1 for 'Athlon' and you'll find ALOT of posts on the pros/cons of Athlon/Intel processors! HTH :)	Guest (0)
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