XP Pro or 2000 Pro on an old machine?

[John Carlyle-Clarke]

I have a friend with an old Dell Latitude notebook (P2 300, 128MB)
which currently runs NT 4.0.

To cope with some required hardware, it really needs to move beyond
NT4.

W2K is a possiblity.. how much "lighter" is it really compared to XP
though? Also, when running 2K on a old system, they seem to take an
age to boot up, and I wonder if XP's fast booting would actually make
it better on a old machine?

Would XP be usable on this machine? How about if I could put another
128MB of RAM in?

I suppose 98SE would another option, but I always hated 9x.

Any comments welcome! I know getting a new machine would be the ideal
choice, but I don't think that's possible right now.

OTOH, does anyone know if there are any 802.11g PC-Cards which have
NT4 drivers?

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

The "old Dell Latitude notebook (P2 300, 128MB)" barely meets
the minimum hardware requirements to run Windows XP Pro.
Installing Windows 2000 would be the best choice. Booting up
should be fine if Dell offers Windows 2000 hardware drivers
designed for the specific Dell laptop you are installing Windows 2000 on.
Installing additional RAM will enhance performance immensely.

Windows XP Upgrade Advisor
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307726

System Requirements for Windows XP Operating Systems
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=314865

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| I have a friend with an old Dell Latitude notebook (P2 300, 128MB)
| which currently runs NT 4.0.
|
| To cope with some required hardware, it really needs to move beyond
| NT4.
|
| W2K is a possiblity.. how much "lighter" is it really compared to XP
| though? Also, when running 2K on a old system, they seem to take an
| age to boot up, and I wonder if XP's fast booting would actually make
| it better on a old machine?
|
| Would XP be usable on this machine? How about if I could put another
| 128MB of RAM in?
|
| I suppose 98SE would another option, but I always hated 9x.
|
| Any comments welcome! I know getting a new machine would be the ideal
| choice, but I don't think that's possible right now.
|
| OTOH, does anyone know if there are any 802.11g PC-Cards which have
| NT4 drivers?

 

[John Carlyle-Clarke]

Thanks for that useful advice Carey.

Booting up should be fine if Dell offers Windows 2000 hardware
drivers designed for the specific Dell laptop you are installing
Windows 2000 on.

Why do you say this, out of interest? Can you explain?

 

[Test Man]

The drivers for laptops tend to be proprietary and may not be available on
the Windows 2000 CD. If you go to the Dell site and search for your model
of laptop in the Support area, it will provide you with all the Windows 2000
hardware drivers that you will need. Not using these drivers may cause
Windows 2000 (or indeed any Windows) to use generic drivers, which may
impede performance, especially on boot-up.

 

[Venger]

I have a friend with an old Dell Latitude notebook (P2 300, 128MB)
which currently runs NT 4.0.

To cope with some required hardware, it really needs to move beyond
NT4.

W2K is a possiblity.. how much "lighter" is it really compared to XP
though? Also, when running 2K on a old system, they seem to take an
age to boot up, and I wonder if XP's fast booting would actually make
it better on a old machine?

Would XP be usable on this machine? How about if I could put another
128MB of RAM in?

Put another 128MB in it ANYWAYS...

I suppose 98SE would another option, but I always hated 9x.

Not an option.

Any comments welcome!

I really don't like the new lettuce Wendy's is using on their chicken
sandwiches - it's not iceberg, it's some kind of leafier substance with a
heavy, almost celery like stalk. Blech.

You said any.

I know getting a new machine would be the ideal
choice, but I don't think that's possible right now.

OTOH, does anyone know if there are any 802.11g PC-Cards which have
NT4 drivers?

Uh, no... heck, the user will likely be thrilled that the laptop has real
power saving features and can use it's USB port finally...

Load 2K, with 256MB it'll be okay...

Venger

 

[Michael Stevens]

I have a friend with an old Dell Latitude notebook (P2 300, 128MB)
which currently runs NT 4.0.

To cope with some required hardware, it really needs to move beyond
NT4.

W2K is a possiblity.. how much "lighter" is it really compared to XP
though? Also, when running 2K on a old system, they seem to take an
age to boot up, and I wonder if XP's fast booting would actually make
it better on a old machine?

Would XP be usable on this machine? How about if I could put another
128MB of RAM in?

I suppose 98SE would another option, but I always hated 9x.

Any comments welcome! I know getting a new machine would be the ideal
choice, but I don't think that's possible right now.

OTOH, does anyone know if there are any 802.11g PC-Cards which have
NT4 drivers?

Add the extra and go with 2000. Much smaller footprint than XP and an old
laptop with NT4 would most likely have inadequate hard drive space.
--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

 

[Alex Nichol]

I have a friend with an old Dell Latitude notebook (P2 300, 128MB)
which currently runs NT 4.0.

To cope with some required hardware, it really needs to move beyond
NT4.

W2K is a possiblity.. how much "lighter" is it really compared to XP
though? Also, when running 2K on a old system, they seem to take an
age to boot up, and I wonder if XP's fast booting would actually make
it better on a old machine?

Would XP be usable on this machine? How about if I could put another
128MB of RAM in?

That is not enough RAM for XP. You would need a further 128MB. And a
300 MHz CPU is really scraping the barrel - you would not get good
performance