I have just bought a new system. It's an AMD XP 1800. But the system does not come with an O/S. So i will have to install the O/S by myself. I plan to buy a Windows XP home edition. Is it the best choice? Or is it better to have a Windows 2000? Also it will be the first time I have to install an O/S. I am kinda nervous about it. Any advice? Any special things I have to watch out when I am installing it? Is it very difficult to install an O/S? Thank you.
The only worry you will have is the pain in the ass known as installing drivers for your monitor, speakers, etc. By Windows 2000, do you mean Windows ME? Windows 2000 is based on NT, which means it's not cpu game friendly. I currently have W2K, and I love it. Of course, I don't play too many games on it though. It's a great O/S for stability, rarely does it crash. Windows ME is more for "home" use.
Windows XP Home is probably your best bet -- it's the easiest of the Windows to install, and it contains a bunch of drivers, many of them for newer hardware. I don't know if the standard Windows XP CD is bootable, but it likely is. To install the OS, you can just put the CD in and the computer should boot from it (the computer will not see anything on the floppy or hard drive, so it will check the CDROM and see the Windows XP CD). Then it will ask you a few questions that are fairly simple. Format the drive using NTFS, and make it the maximum size, or a smaller size if you want to partition the drive (divide the space into smaller spaces -- instead of 80 gig on C:, you could have 30 gig C: and 50 gig D. After you've done that, the rest of it goes VERY easily. I imagine that Windows XP will have drivers for all of your hardware. If not, you can either download drivers from the hardware manufacturer's website, or use the CDs that came with the hardware itself. This is kindof a spartan guide to installing Windows XP, so if you need more guidance, feel free to ask.
Actually, Windows 2000 makes a GREAT gaming system. Just make sure it's patched up to Service Pack 2 (or 3 since it's out now, but the EULA has lots of bad stuff in it), and you're set. The performance of games is usually about 2% less in Windows 2000 than in ME, but that's an unnoticable quantity. Windows XP is a bit better for gaming, but 2000 and XP are both GREAT for gaming.
Eh, I wouldn't say Win 2000 is great for gaming. I keep Win98 SE around on my computer because some relatively new games that I own, like Live 2001 and Madden 2001, run spotty at best on Windows 2000 - and that's with all of the compatibility updates and service packs installed. Some games will run fine, but not all. Windows ME or XP are better for gaming, but if gaming isn't such a big deal - I'd definately go with Windows 2000. Fast, stable, and no-frills. As for installing an operating system - it's not hard, assuming you have the full version of the software. Time is the only worry - it can take 30-60 minutes, even on a new system, to get the operating system installed.
I didnt know I have to install the driver for the monitor. I thought all i need to do is to plug it to the pc. I am sure I have lost the installation cd for the monitor. I may have to look for the driver on the web...
As long as none of your hardware components are from obscure companies, really old, or extremely new, the operating system (whether it's Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP) should have compatible drivers included on the install CD. After it's installed, you can go to Windows Update via the operating system and download updated drivers - or find the driver CDs/driver websites at your leisure and install those at a later point. It may impact performance a tad until you do so, but it's not really essential except in a few cases - so I'd suggest looking at Microsoft's compatibility lists through their website to see whether you need to find the drivers first or not. Windows 2000: ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/services/whql/hcl/win2000hcl.txt Windows ME: ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/services/whql/hcl/winmehcl.txt Windows XP: ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/services/whql/hcl/winxphclx86.txt All of these are rather large, so don't be surprised if they are a fairly long download.
Thing is, if it won't run on Windows 2000, chances are good that it won't run any better on XP. There's a LOT more in common with windows 2000 and XP than XP and Windows 98. Certainly it's the "merging of the code", but the merge is 95% windows 2000 and 5% 98. There are a few games 2000 doesn't run well that XP will do, but it's not extremely prevalent. Of all the games I have, only 2 or 3 wouldn't work on 2000, and all were made prior to the release of 2K. Only one of those works on XP. (The game is NBA Live 2001). On Windows 2000, I get about 100 fewer 3dMarks than on XP. Performance is almost equal, the only caveat is compatibility.
Vengence covered most of it. I wouldn't get 2000 unless you want to run a workstation off of it. XP is a lot better for the home user, though I hate that activation code thing they have. I'm using Win ME right now, but I'm not recommending it. The safe bet is with XP, or if you're ultra conservative Win 98 SE. If you like using DOS, stick with Win98.
I agree with Invisible Fan. I have win2k running on my desktop and xp home on my laptop. Overall I like 2k better but I cant reccomend it to anyone who is not a computer geek. Xp is more user friendly when your are setting up new hardware and sofware. Additionally I would like to add that XP is a FAR more stable opperating system than win 98, 98 SE or ME. Good luck
The home edition I have installed was bootable...make sure that the CD is the first in line in the boot order..(in BIOS Setup) Try runnin GTA3 on Win2K...I actually installed XP (which I was avoiding) just so I could run GTA...I couldn't get it to run on 2k wereas it runs great on XP...go figger....Same deal with Tony Hawk 3....oh well..what I can't figger out is why don't they work since they were released after 2K.. I actually prefer 2K..but thats more of a personal deal that I have with M$'s activation scheme... On the monitor issue...you don't have to have the original driver for it...tho it helps..if you set it for "Plug and Play Monitor" that will work fine with most newer monitors..
GTA3 was HORRIBLY buggy -- that's probably why it wouldn't work on 2000. I know a lot of people who couldn't get it to run on XP. Tony Hawk, I don't know about. I still believe in Win2K as a very solid gaming platform. XP is better, but not by a huge margin. XP's usability is easier for the average person. If you have no experience with multi-user operating systems, 2000 may befuddle some people. But there's an awful lot in common with XP and 2000. The thing I hate about XP (other than the activation part) is that it tends to do a lot of things behind the scenes that you don't always realize, and things you don't necessarily want. And forget about finding a nice uninstall option for that damned MSN messenger -- go to http://www.tweakxp.com for a string to run in order to remove it.
Once I installed it on XP..and ran the no-cd patch...It works flawlessly...(GTA3) I Love that game..random violence..senseless killing...just the way to blow off steam... For the average person, yes...XP is a godsend..stable, easy to use...but I hate it...If I wanted easy, I wouldn't be runnin 2 flavors of nix on my various machines... If they could get Wine stable so I could run my games, I would never boot up a M$ OS again...
