Win98SE or Win2000Pro

ctsracer · 02-12-2001, 10:10 PM

Got a hold of Windows 2000 Professional and am tempted to install it. Currently I have Win98SE and the machine is very stable. Is there any benefit to Windows 2000? I checked most of my peripherals and they have Win2000 drivers with the exception of possibly the Realtek Network Card. Help me make a decision. I heard its very stable. Is there any benefit in performance , speed, etc....???

Dru 858 · 02-12-2001, 11:38 PM

If you have all the drivers for your hardware, all your favorite apps/games are compatible, and enough RAM (>=128MB), Windows 2000 Professional is a dream to run. I've been running it since it came out and it has only crashed but a few times on me, and that was with my old Tyan Trinity 400 and GeForce 2 GTS card... I now own a CUSL2 and GeForce 2 Pro card and I _never_ get any BSODs or hard lockups, nor have any of my software apps crashed (well, besides IE5.5 of coarse). It is definately fast with >128MB RAM, on par with Windows 98 SE if you ask me. I've never messed with Me so I can't speak on that. My suggestion: make sure all your hardware will work, make sure all your sofware will work, make sure you have more than 128MB RAM, and you'll love it.

P.S. I especially love NTFS5, FAT32 was crapping out on my 40GB drive... started corrupting my precious MP3s.

Dru

[Edited by Dru 858 on 02-12-2001 at 11:41 PM]

cookoolou · 02-13-2001, 12:57 AM

you could dual boot to check it out first
http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/stories/main/0,5594,2430684,00.html

Entreat · 02-13-2001, 03:35 AM

Win 2K all the way.

Michael

koolstone · 02-13-2001, 03:50 AM

If you want stability above anything else and speed (slightly less than Win98SE), Win2k is the way to go. Don't forget to install DirectX 8.0a to get the best out of Win2k in games, too. Say goodbye to BSOD's...

watsonk · 02-13-2001, 07:59 AM

Don't expect full support of games in w2k. Most game developers don't even support their software on w2k. Also there is limited or no support for sound acceleration such as EAX and other stuff like that. Many drivers such as creative, nvidia and turtle beach provide cut down versions of drivers. At the end of the day w2k is designed utilising many features from NT4, including protected OS mode, that stops especially games from directly accessing hardware. It's upto you be if it works why change it, you'll see limited operating benefits, in my opinion. Dual boot if you want to try it.

eddie_abx · 02-13-2001, 08:22 AM

I have both W98SE and W2K Pro in a Dual boot system ,and nothing beats having both.I use W98SE for games and W2K for everything else.IMHO W2K Is an extremely stable system and if something ever goes wrong the chances of crashing is 1 out of 20 times compared to W98SE.In W98SE most of the time when something goes wrong your system will crash ,but in W2K 95% of the time all you have to do is close the program or the OS will close it for you and everything else that's running or open will not be affected at all.

giga · 02-13-2001, 10:27 AM

Since I've tryed Win2000Pro, my life has change ... no more blue screen ... why did they wait so long for a stable system.

Lost of performances are negligent with a good processor and at least 128Mb.

Seems the best solution is a dual system Win98se and Win2K.
Don't forget to first install Win98se then Win2k ....

Long life Win2k

Frank_abx · 02-13-2001, 03:09 PM

http://www.ntcompatible.com
good luck

swannema · 02-13-2001, 07:45 PM

Is there anything in particular you have to be carefull of, then you install Win98SE and Win2K in a dual boot system, besides having all the driver ready, e.g. 815Inf drivers, ATA 100 drivers ....

watsonk · 02-14-2001, 05:26 AM

Really easy.

First partition you HD to whatever sizes you need creating a C: and D: allowing at least 1.5GB for w2k.

Install Win98 / ME onto the C: in the usual way and then insert the w2k cd. This will install some files then reboot and give you the option to install on the D:.

Hey there you go in simple terms of how to dual boot your machine. I've done it loads of times and works everytime no problems.

**SubZero** · 02-14-2001, 06:11 AM

watsonk, as long as you install DX8 and keep all of your other drivers up-to-date there is really no big problem with programs accessing your hardware (as far is gaming is concerned). W2K fully supports DX8 and while it's true that certain specific features like EAX don't work well (or not all) games generally run very smoothly on W2K. It did for me and I have very few games that don't run on W2k. Improved memory management will decrease instability in games.

Unfortunately most W2k drivers are still underdeveloped so it might take a little while to get a 100% rock solid system. We'll just have to be a little patient.

lynx · 02-14-2001, 07:21 AM

I had WinME and went over to Win2k.
I wished i did it earlier!!!!

defrag · 02-14-2001, 08:59 AM

I dunno what your talking about with Win2k not supporting 3dAudio, All my EAX games work just fine with EAX as well. Half-Life and NFS5 for example. So I havent run into a problem with EAX not working on 2000.

-defrag

win2k for lyfe

ctsracer · 02-15-2001, 11:09 AM

Thanks for all the info. I have currently installed Win2000Pro on another borrowed 3GB drive (to preserve Win98SE installation on my 40GB) and only ran into modem driver problems. The few games I have seem to work fine. I haven't quite yet determined if there is any real benefit. I understand that Win2000 is very stable but I haven't experienced BSOD's unless I tried to do something real stupid. Unfortunately there seems to be some contradictory replies regarding peoples experiences. What I'm afraid of is that I'll run into some game, application or hardware just after I'll swith and be screwed. Is it really that risky? My printer (Z52), scanner (Acer 620U), CD-RW (HP) and network card work fine along with the games. What applications & games have people tried that haven't worked. I would like to try them on my system. I do not want to dual boot and keep switching between the two. Again, thanks for all your replies.

02-12-2001, 10:10 PM	#1
ctsracer Registered User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Metuchen, NJ Posts: 49	Got a hold of Windows 2000 Professional and am tempted to install it. Currently I have Win98SE and the machine is very stable. Is there any benefit to Windows 2000? I checked most of my peripherals and they have Win2000 drivers with the exception of possibly the Realtek Network Card. Help me make a decision. I heard its very stable. Is there any benefit in performance , speed, etc....???
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02-12-2001, 11:38 PM	#2
Dru 858 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: San Diego, CA USA Posts: 24	Win2kPro!!! If you have all the drivers for your hardware, all your favorite apps/games are compatible, and enough RAM (>=128MB), Windows 2000 Professional is a dream to run. I've been running it since it came out and it has only crashed but a few times on me, and that was with my old Tyan Trinity 400 and GeForce 2 GTS card... I now own a CUSL2 and GeForce 2 Pro card and I _never_ get any BSODs or hard lockups, nor have any of my software apps crashed (well, besides IE5.5 of coarse). It is definately fast with >128MB RAM, on par with Windows 98 SE if you ask me. I've never messed with Me so I can't speak on that. My suggestion: make sure all your hardware will work, make sure all your sofware will work, make sure you have more than 128MB RAM, and you'll love it. P.S. I especially love NTFS5, FAT32 was crapping out on my 40GB drive... started corrupting my precious MP3s. Dru [Edited by Dru 858 on 02-12-2001 at 11:41 PM]
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02-13-2001, 12:57 AM	#3
cookoolou Registered User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Lynn,Ma. Posts: 212	you could dual boot to check it out first http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/stories/main/0,5594,2430684,00.html
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02-13-2001, 03:35 AM	#4
Entreat Registered User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Union City California Posts: 57	Win 2K all the way. Michael
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02-13-2001, 03:50 AM	#5
koolstone Registered User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Covina, CA Posts: 139	If you want stability above anything else and speed (slightly less than Win98SE), Win2k is the way to go. Don't forget to install DirectX 8.0a to get the best out of Win2k in games, too. Say goodbye to BSOD's...
(Offline)

02-13-2001, 07:59 AM	#6
watsonk Registered User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: UK Posts: 4	Don't expect full support of games in w2k. Most game developers don't even support their software on w2k. Also there is limited or no support for sound acceleration such as EAX and other stuff like that. Many drivers such as creative, nvidia and turtle beach provide cut down versions of drivers. At the end of the day w2k is designed utilising many features from NT4, including protected OS mode, that stops especially games from directly accessing hardware. It's upto you be if it works why change it, you'll see limited operating benefits, in my opinion. Dual boot if you want to try it.
(Offline)

02-13-2001, 08:22 AM	#7
eddie_abx Registered User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Seattle WA Posts: 271	I have both W98SE and W2K Pro in a Dual boot system ,and nothing beats having both.I use W98SE for games and W2K for everything else.IMHO W2K Is an extremely stable system and if something ever goes wrong the chances of crashing is 1 out of 20 times compared to W98SE.In W98SE most of the time when something goes wrong your system will crash ,but in W2K 95% of the time all you have to do is close the program or the OS will close it for you and everything else that's running or open will not be affected at all. __________________ Eddie S.
(Offline)

02-13-2001, 10:27 AM	#8
giga Registered User Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 10	That's an OS Since I've tryed Win2000Pro, my life has change ... no more blue screen ... why did they wait so long for a stable system. Lost of performances are negligent with a good processor and at least 128Mb. Seems the best solution is a dual system Win98se and Win2K. Don't forget to first install Win98se then Win2k .... Long life Win2k __________________ CUSL2, Bios rev 1006 Final Celeron II 700 @ 925 core 1,90V Gforce 2 Mx 32Mb Win2k Pro, 256Mb Long life to overclocking ....
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02-13-2001, 03:09 PM	#9
Frank_abx Registered User Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 5	Check hardware compatability first here... http://www.ntcompatible.com good luck
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02-13-2001, 07:45 PM	#10
swannema ???????????????? Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 9,627	Is there anything in particular you have to be carefull of, then you install Win98SE and Win2K in a dual boot system, besides having all the driver ready, e.g. 815Inf drivers, ATA 100 drivers ....
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02-14-2001, 05:26 AM	#11
watsonk Registered User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: UK Posts: 4	Really easy. First partition you HD to whatever sizes you need creating a C: and D: allowing at least 1.5GB for w2k. Install Win98 / ME onto the C: in the usual way and then insert the w2k cd. This will install some files then reboot and give you the option to install on the D:. Hey there you go in simple terms of how to dual boot your machine. I've done it loads of times and works everytime no problems.
(Offline)

02-14-2001, 06:11 AM	#12
SubZero Moderator Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Below sealevel Posts: 9,665	watsonk, as long as you install DX8 and keep all of your other drivers up-to-date there is really no big problem with programs accessing your hardware (as far is gaming is concerned). W2K fully supports DX8 and while it's true that certain specific features like EAX don't work well (or not all) games generally run very smoothly on W2K. It did for me and I have very few games that don't run on W2k. Improved memory management will decrease instability in games. Unfortunately most W2k drivers are still underdeveloped so it might take a little while to get a 100% rock solid system. We'll just have to be a little patient. __________________ Main Rig: Asus P5K \| Intel Core Quad Q6600 \| Corsair XMS 6400-4gig eVGA GeForce 8800 GTX KO ACS3 \| X-Fi ExtremeMusic \| Z-5500D OCZ GameXstream 850W \| ThermalTake Aguila \| Logitech G-15 Logitech MX1000 \| Synology DS-207+ NAS (2x500WD-SATA2-RAID0)
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02-14-2001, 07:21 AM	#13
lynx Registered User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Netherlands Posts: 53	I had WinME and went over to Win2k. I wished i did it earlier!!!! __________________ P4T-E; PIV 1600; 512Mb Dane-Elec RDRAM; Hercules Prophet III Ti200; Adaptec2940U2W; Toshiba DVD Rom; 4x Quantum U2W scsi disks; Soundblaster128; Digital NIC; Adaptec2940U; DDS2 Tape unit; Yamaha2100S Rewriter;
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02-14-2001, 08:59 AM	#14
defrag l33t h4x0r Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 100	I dunno what your talking about with Win2k not supporting 3dAudio, All my EAX games work just fine with EAX as well. Half-Life and NFS5 for example. So I havent run into a problem with EAX not working on 2000. -defrag win2k for lyfe __________________ pIII 700E@1.1ghz 157FSB 256meg Crucial PC133 3,2,2 Win2000 SP2
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02-15-2001, 11:09 AM	#15
ctsracer Registered User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Metuchen, NJ Posts: 49	Thanks for all the info. I have currently installed Win2000Pro on another borrowed 3GB drive (to preserve Win98SE installation on my 40GB) and only ran into modem driver problems. The few games I have seem to work fine. I haven't quite yet determined if there is any real benefit. I understand that Win2000 is very stable but I haven't experienced BSOD's unless I tried to do something real stupid. Unfortunately there seems to be some contradictory replies regarding peoples experiences. What I'm afraid of is that I'll run into some game, application or hardware just after I'll swith and be screwed. Is it really that risky? My printer (Z52), scanner (Acer 620U), CD-RW (HP) and network card work fine along with the games. What applications & games have people tried that haven't worked. I would like to try them on my system. I do not want to dual boot and keep switching between the two. Again, thanks for all your replies.
(Offline)

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