Opinions about XP Pro

[attente]

Dear Techies!
I'm new here and would like to know your overall impression about Windows XP Pro, how it performs tasks, how "glitchy" it is, what you like and don't like about it ... anyone's opinion is welcome!

[NooNoo]

With all new OS's there are problems - mostly down to what the user wishes to run.

If you check for compatability of all software and hardware before loading XP there are few problems.

Problems I have encountered are related to ATI's ability to write drivers... that's not XP, just ATI as usual :rolleyes:

The native CD burning I do not like, so I turn it off immediately and load Nero 5.5.8.0 or above.

Roxio Easy CD Creator has problems on XP and patches must be applied.

M$ Java VM is now a bone of contention but is easily fixed.

The only program I am having a problem with is LAME.exe - the latest version hangs, the older version doesn't - go figure!

[DiR[ëctory]]

Perosnally I have not had any problems with XP Pro. More problems with my dag gone Ge Force 2 MMX graphics card :(

[craigmodius]

I like it alot for the NT backbone with the 9x home usefullness. In other words it seems like a rock solid system that you can actually play games on.

I like that terminal services is built in, which is very helpfull on my network. I like the user management, and the networking support is almost spot on.

I like an XP Pro system even more after you install the power tools, the multi desktop switcher, and tweak out the Fischer Price look and other "festive" features, such as the search dog, and I tweak back to the 9x start menu, but that's just me.

I have been checking it out on preinstalled systems, so as far as upgrading goes I can't help you there. The only software I've thrown at XP that it didn't like was PC Anywhere 9.2, which I've been meaning to get the boss to upgrade anyway.

[Radical Dreamer]

XP is great, as long as you dont do an upgrade from another os (ie 98) the only "problem" I have encountered is that the built in Nvidia drivers reboot the system randomly. So make sure that you get the WHQL drivers from them and if using a via chipset the 4-in-1 drivers from ww.viarena.com. Also, if a user is trying a program that wont work, try the compatibily mode before anything else. it works WONDERS!

[Stalemate]

Originally posted by craigmodius
...The only software I've thrown at XP that it didn't like was PC Anywhere 9.2, which I've been meaning to get the boss to upgrade anyway.

That's probably because you need 10.5 for WinXP. ;)

Version 9.2/9.2.1 work on Win2000 SP1 at max, version 10 handles Win2000 SP2 (unsure about SP3 yet). Don't forget the 10.5.1 update if you plan on installing this on a laptop running Win2000, BTW.

Can you tell I've had many hours of pleasure with PCAnywhere these last weeks? :rolleyes:

I'm very impressed with WinXP in general - a big leap for Micro$oft in my book.

[craigmodius]

Originally posted by a d e p t


That's probably because you need 10.5 for WinXP. ;)

Version 9.2/9.2.1 work on Win2000 SP1 at max, version 10 handles Win2000 SP2 (unsure about SP3 yet). Don't forget the 10.5.1 update if you plan on installing this on a laptop running Win2000, BTW.

Can you tell I've had many hours of pleasure with PCAnywhere these last weeks? :rolleyes:

Yeah, I went to install it and XP gave me some big gripe about it disrurbing some other component like the remote management/terminal services, so I figured that was another good reason to upgrade, the other being PC Anywhere 10x's support for DSL.

[The Computer Valet]

Heh. Well, I agree with the warning. PC Anywhere performs very similarly to what you get in Remote Desktop/Terminal Services. So, the compaint is a little valid, I suppose.

[techs]

If you are an average home user you have to balance the incredible intrusiveness and compexity of XP- balloon pop ups, awkward searching, .Net popup nonsense, autoplay decisions, cd burning awkwardness, etc with the stability of the OS. I can't begin to tell you of the support calls I get from people who moved from win95 to win98 to winMe with almost no problem to the constant calls about XP. So basically if you are willing to spend the time adjusting XP and using tweaks to set it up the way you want it then it is definitely worth it. If you are a " I just want it to work like 98/me without the crashes" you might want to wait and see what SP1 is like.

[MorseLady]

I was very interested to read Noo Noo's comments about Roxio Drivers, because when I installed XP Home and later XP Pro Eval on a partition on my ME machine, the updated Roxio and other drivers for my HP External CD Writer messed up XP and I kept getting those blasted pop ups about driver........you know! Actually Roxio is dodgy in ME too. This machine came with XP Home with Nero preinstalled which I find great for burning. The only thing is I cannot use CD RWs made with Adaptec on here and I had to burn my stuff to the more universally readable CD R format on my old machine in order to be able to use my stuff on this machine because trying to instal Adaptec really does annoy XP!

I find small differences, mainly in how my Internet connection was set up and Users works, from my retail clean instal on my other machine and the OEM instal on this one. The retail instal seems just a little easier to live with and that might be because I set it up very carefully(on skill drills etc my highest scores are on installation and configuration) whereas it is prettry obvious that a rather slipshod OEM instal was done on here.

Having used ME for nearly two years the differences I notice in XP are faster loading, stability(no freezes or crashes) and "hunt the application/function" games! What I could go straight to in ME I have had to learn geography all over again for in XP! I hate the new Start Menu and I hate the out of focus icons and some of the flashy graphics but I like the rounded edges.

I do switch to my ME machine every couple of days and cannot wait to get back to XP so I guess in spite of the problems I can live with it and maybe even learn to love it. As the owner of three websites and a Yahoo Group, The stability, speed and built in security do mean a lot for me.

Hope this helps, attente, and good luck with XP.

[attente]

Thanks to everyone who have replied. This surely is important for me to know experienced users' opinions before making a decision. Thanks all again!

[Akuma]

I was a little worried about upgrading to XP. But when I did, I won't go back. I really like it. Haven't had much of a problem @ all except for a video card that XP would not support @ all. This is due to the fact that the manufacturer was out of business when XP was being written so they didn't allow for any of their products. Same thing with a scanner that I have. Other than that, I would have to give it a A. :thumbs: