[biggins]

my comp either crashed, got hacked, or got a virus and i had to reinstall windows ME. i have done all of the updates and everything but it still sketches me out. I am not looking for pirated software just someone that maybe bought a comp then switched over to linux or something like that. I cant run half of my crap (my photo printer, iTunes...) on this windows ME stuff and from what i understand it is notoriously unstable. Can anyone help me out?

i was running windows XP before (xp pro) but i cant get the discs again.

 

[Pau11y]

my comp either crashed, got hacked, or got a virus and i had to reinstall windows ME. i have done all of the updates and everything but it still sketches me out. I am not looking for pirated software just someone that maybe bought a comp then switched over to linux or something like that. I cant run half of my crap (my photo printer, iTunes...) on this windows ME stuff and from what i understand it is notoriously unstable. Can anyone help me out?

i was running windows XP before (xp pro) but i cant get the discs again.

If you can't find XP, I can help you tweak your ME so it doesn't choke and puke every 3 months. Key thing is turning off the crappy stupid system restore built into ME. Let me know if you do as I can help you tweak the XP as well. All my machines (I consider all the systems I admin at work mine ) are tweaked to run bare minimum and as fast as it'll go - tweaks from my gaming background. They look and feel like Win98, but w/ the stability of NT. SP2 and the beta of MS spyware catcher are a good combo, along w/ a good anti-virus that updates everyday.

 

[biggins]

this stuff is goving me so many problems its crazy and its only been loaded for 3 days now. i have to have 2000 or newer to run my printer and iTunes. that ms spyware beta, thats the one on their website right now, correct?

 

[Pau11y]

this stuff is goving me so many problems its crazy and its only been loaded for 3 days now. i have to have 2000 or newer to run my printer and iTunes. that ms spyware beta, thats the one on their website right now, correct?

Correct. I've installed that on a couple of test machines here at work and I like how it tells you everything that's going on. At first it's a little bothersome as it wants to let you know about EVERYTHING. But once you get thru the first couple of days, it's mellows out... It also updates like windows updates. I can totally see them charging money for the full version, at least at the enterprise level.

 

[biggins]

i was running a paoched version of XP pro, very illegal but damn xp is expensive. If i get the xp upgrade from best buy which includes service pack 2 will it be as stable as getting the complete XP? also will i lose stuff that i have saved in the last couple of days?

 

[Pau11y]

To turn off System Restore on ME, right click on My Computer, down to properties. Next, (if I recall right), goto the advanced tab, and then file system, put a check mark at the bottom most option which says turn off system restore.

If the advance tab isn't there, tell me the choices. It's been like 2 years since I last touched a ME machine.

 

[Pau11y]

i was running a paoched version of XP pro, very illegal but damn xp is expensive. If i get the xp upgrade from best buy which includes service pack 2 will it be as stable as getting the complete XP? also will i lose stuff that i have saved in the last couple of days?

What kind of stuff are you saving? Do you have a burner or a second HDD in your system?

Edit: go online and get yourself a copy of OEM XP, w/o the SP2. It's cheaper than the SP2 loaded one. Then, if you have high speed and a burner, I can show you how to slipstream SP2 into your copy of XP so when you install, you'll have SP2 ready to go on initial install. If you just do a bare XP install w/o SP2, SP2 the install is best done w/ the 270+mb IT Pro version you can pull down from MS download site. It's also best to do the SP2 install BEFORE any other apps are installed on your system, meaning right after the XP install, as I've seen many fried systems from Windows Update's online SP2 upgrade install.

 

[biggins]

i have a burner just n eed to reinstall the software. crazy thing is that xp deactivated some of the software for the burner because it said it was gonna make it unstable. gimme a sec i'll try your suggesation.

 

[SkaredShtles]

You can just download the install disks:

Windows XP

HTH.

-S.S.-

 

[biggins]

when i right click on my computer i and go to properties it brings up the following options: general, device manager, hardware profiles, performance.

 

[biggins]

You can just download the install disks:

Windows XP

HTH.

-S.S.-

thats all i need to do to have windows xp?

 

[biggins]

which ones do i use? there are several options there.

 

[Pau11y]

There's another trick to the DOS version of MS OS (Win95/98/SE/ME), hard setting the Virtual/Swap memory size.
Rt clk on My Comp, down to Properties again. Goto Performance (sorry, Advanced is for Win2K/XP), then to Virtual Memory. Dot "let me spec" and set the min to 1mb and max as 3x your ram count (so if you have 256mb, set your max to 768mb). For XP, set min to your ram amount and max to 3x your ram count.

 

[Pau11y]

You can just download the install disks:

Windows XP

HTH.

-S.S.-

SS, this looks like it's for Linux, and not Windows XP.

 

[biggins]

so i have 124mb when i set that i went to press ok and it said my computer may not start back up or perform correctly. are we sure this is what i want to do?

 

[Pau11y]

when i right click on my computer i and go to properties it brings up the following options: general, device manager, hardware profiles, performance.

I'm sorry, it's Performance. Advanced is for Win2K/XP. Then, File System, and it's the last option which says something to the effect of turning off the system restore.

 

[biggins]

is ME the same as windows 2000?

 

[Pau11y]

so i have 124mb when i set that i went to press ok and it said my computer may not start back up or perform correctly. are we sure this is what i want to do?

YES you do, but calc it from 128 mb. The 4 missing mb of ram is used by your onboard video processor/output.

 

[Pau11y]

is ME the same as windows 2000?

Nope, WinME is DOS based whereas Win2k/XP is NT based. DOS uses FAT16 or 32 file system and NT uses NTFS. File handling is also slightly different in permissions and whatnot.

 

[Pau11y]

After you come back up from the reboot(s), run a defragment on your system.

 

[SkaredShtles]

SS, this looks like it's for Linux, and not Windows XP.

Ummmmm.......... what are you talking about?? :confuse:

Shaddup already..... it'll solve his problem

-S.S.-

 

[Pau11y]

Ummmmm.......... what are you talking about?? :confuse:

Shaddup already..... it'll solve his problem

-S.S.-

The Fedora Project site you pointed Biggin's to...
Fedora Project is the new Redhat Linux site. The ISOs are the 3 or 4 Linux install discs you can pull down to for the Intel based PCs.

Oh.. haha, just read the fine print. True on the solution for the MS headache...

 

[biggins]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1083713449105&skuId=6709083&type=product&cmp=++

i think i mght just go do this.

 

[Pau11y]

NO NO NO... upgrades only install over the top of your existing ME using FAT32. You can convert, but your old ME crap still sits on your upgraded XP system. You want to do a fresh install, trust me. I've seen a lot of 1/2 working XPs from upgrades. Plus, you want Pro not Home. I've worked w/ both and Home is like a castrated Pro.

 

[Ciaran]

Biggins, Check your PM's.

And don't use ME. Worst version of windows EVER (And that's saying a lot!).

 

[Pau11y]

Biggins how old is your machine? I'm thinking if you put XP on, you might need to go online and get a set of XP drivers for your hardware (sound, video, motherboard, modem, NIC). But if you have an older machine, the XP driveset might work. What brand?

 

[binary visions]

NO NO NO... upgrades only install over the top of your existing ME using FAT32. You can convert, but your old ME crap still sits on your upgraded XP system. You want to do a fresh install, trust me. I've seen a lot of 1/2 working XPs from upgrades. Plus, you want Pro not Home. I've worked w/ both and Home is like a castrated Pro.

Uhm, what comes on the CD is the full version of Windows XP. All the "upgrade" means is that you have to prove you had the previous version of the OS.

If you format your disk and install the "upgrade", it'll just tell you to put in your ME cd to verify that you owned it. It'll then install the normal Windows XP operating system.

If you don't format, though, and just do the install, you're right - it gets you into all kinds of problems.

 

[Pau11y]

Uhm, what comes on the CD is the full version of Windows XP. All the "upgrade" means is that you have to prove you had the previous version of the OS.

If you format your disk and install the "upgrade", it'll just tell you to put in your ME cd to verify that you owned it. It'll then install the normal Windows XP operating system.

If you don't format, though, and just do the install, you're right - it gets you into all kinds of problems.

There has GOT to be a hack for that. I mean I got my grubby little hands on a howto for Win2K AS hack that doesn't require the cd key anymore, and unlimited seats (actually just 9999).

 

[binary visions]

There has GOT to be a hack for that. I mean I got my grubby little hands on a howto for Win2K AS hack that doesn't require the cd key anymore, and unlimited seats (actually just 9999).

I'm sure there is.

I'm equally sure that I could download an .iso (or borrow a friend's CD) of WinME or Win2k, burn it, purchase the upgrade (using the burned CD for proof of purchase), and all of a sudden have a "legit" version of Windows (with a legit serial number) for only the upgrade price... Which in turn means that next time, you can purchase the upgrade as well.

Yarrr, matey, a pirate's life for me!

 

[biggins]

im getting very lost here.......my computer is a presario laptop. i had xp pro on it before but it was originally done with ME. when i got hacked/virus whatever the only thing i had was the system restore discs that came with it. i know compaq sucks but i bought the comp from a friend for 250 bucks with external cd burner. when i had xp pro all my dvd, sounds and stuff worked no problem.

 

[Pau11y]

im getting very lost here.......my computer is a presario laptop. i had xp pro on it before but it was originally done with ME. when i got hacked/virus whatever the only thing i had was the system restore discs that came with it. i know compaq sucks but i bought the comp from a friend for 250 bucks with external cd burner. when i had xp pro all my dvd, sounds and stuff worked no problem.

PM me your snail mail addy.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Will XP or win 2000 work on a pentium 1 computer? It's a 1998 w/win 98 now. Its just a travel goof off laptop thats been all cleared and just running anti virus protection. Will it work, or is it too slow?

 

[BikeGeek]

Will XP or win 2000 work on a pentium 1 computer? It's a 1998 w/win 98 now. Its just a travel goof off laptop thats been all cleared and just running anti virus protection. Will it work, or is it too slow?

I think the minimum requirement for xp is 233 MHz, 64Mb RAM, 1.5 Gb harddrive space. I don't know how well it will run, but it should run.

 

[Ciaran]

Will XP or win 2000 work on a pentium 1 computer? It's a 1998 w/win 98 now. Its just a travel goof off laptop thats been all cleared and just running anti virus protection. Will it work, or is it too slow?

I have win 2000 runing on an oooold Pentium 1 laptop... 90mhz with 64 megs of RAM. I installed and then turned off every service or process I don't need running. It runs OK. I wouldn't put XP on it though.

Oh yeah... I am not a software pirate, I am a software privateer . Arrrggh!

 

[blue]

Oh yeah... I am not a software pirate, I am a software privateer . Arrrggh!

I'd be willing to bet that only 5% of the software on my computer is there legally

Biggins, did any of our special "privateer" friends help you out? If not, I have a copy of XP I'm not using, drop me a PM and I can mail it to you.

And running XP on an older machine is generally a very bad idea. My friend tried installing it on his P166 with 32mb of ram...ran like ass...complete and total ass. Stay with barebones 2000.