is XP SP2 RC2 advisable for the average FCKGW user?

[perfb]

just wondering what the consensus is on SP2 RC2 re the 'average' user,
is there a lot of issues/crashes/fubar going on? Or, is RC2 at least
as reliable as the original XP?

I have a few FCKGw unlicensed XP boxes and would like to try RC2
mainly for virus protection as it seems these days the virus
writers are winning the game and the average Windows user has exactly a
0.000% chance of remaining uninfected, and a 100.000% chance of
having an unusable XP box, within a week of doing surfing/email.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2predl.mspx

I certainly would advise Linux for the average user starting out these
days. Suse/Mandrake look a whole lot better than XP to me.

If a solid SP2 doesnt come out soon, Linux might really finally
eat M$'s lunch, and we would all be better off for it.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

I'm running Windows XP with SP2 RC2 and the system is running
beautifully! However, I would suggest that you visit one of the
newsgroups dedicated to SP2 beta and repost your question.
And no, Linux is not even a close competitor to Windows XP.
Many folks who have tried using Linux are not impressed and
return Windows XP rather quickly.

Welcome to Windows XP SP2 Technical Preview Newsgroups
http://communities.microsoft.com/newsgroups/default.asp?icp=xpsp2&slcid=us

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

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

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


| just wondering what the consensus is on SP2 RC2 re the 'average' user,
| is there a lot of issues/crashes/fubar going on? Or, is RC2 at least
| as reliable as the original XP?
|
| I have a few FCKGw unlicensed XP boxes and would like to try RC2
| mainly for virus protection as it seems these days the virus
| writers are winning the game and the average Windows user has exactly a
| 0.000% chance of remaining uninfected, and a 100.000% chance of
| having an unusable XP box, within a week of doing surfing/email.
|
| http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2predl.mspx
|
| I certainly would advise Linux for the average user starting out these
| days. Suse/Mandrake look a whole lot better than XP to me.
|
| If a solid SP2 doesnt come out soon, Linux might really finally
| eat M$'s lunch, and we would all be better off for it.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

That should be "return to Windows XP rather quickly".

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

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

 

[Mike]

I have had this new computer for six months with XP and not one single
virus. I must be doing something wrong!

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Have you run a virus scan??

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Have you run a virus scan??

 

[Mike Brannigan [MSFT]]

just wondering what the consensus is on SP2 RC2 re the 'average' user,
is there a lot of issues/crashes/fubar going on? Or, is RC2 at least
as reliable as the original XP?

I have a few FCKGw unlicensed XP boxes and would like to try RC2
mainly for virus protection as it seems these days the virus
writers are winning the game and the average Windows user has exactly a
0.000% chance of remaining uninfected, and a 100.000% chance of
having an unusable XP box, within a week of doing surfing/email.

Windows XP SP2 works perfectly well with legally licensed copies of Windows
XP.
I suggest you go out an buy a copy of Windows XP for each of your PCs.
Replace your pirated copies of Windows XP with the new legally purchased
retail one and then apply the SP to your designated test machines (until we
release the product).

The short answer is no SP2 does not work well on your stolen/pirated
software - it will not apply at all.


--

Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups

 

[Wesley Vogel]

You will have to see if you can steal Linux somewhere then.

 

[Tom]

I'm running Windows XP with SP2 RC2 and the system is running
beautifully! However, I would suggest that you visit one of the
newsgroups dedicated to SP2 beta and repost your question.

Have you been checking every line item in the Sytem and Application reports
in the Event Viewer? Have you been running chkdsk once a day to see that
report. Have you tried turning off certain services that (you probably
don't, or you just don't because MS tells you not to) you don't need on a
single PC setup? I bet you haven't.

I know my system is better than yours from hardware setup, and I have the
latest updates. There still are problems, though they are slight, and a far
cry better than the SP1 beta when that was running. I have already given 5
reports of bugs to date, though none are serious, just annoying.

And no, Linux is not even a close competitor to Windows XP.
Many folks who have tried using Linux are not impressed and
return Windows XP rather quickly.

Well, you either only listen to Linux haters, or your proclivity to only use
products from MS, or that is recommended by MS tells a lot. Firstly, Linux
is much more stable, and faster, it just never has caught on witrh software
wrtiers since its inception, hence not much software is written for it. That
is why I use Windows. If Linux (Mandrake is awesome!) had a lot of software
written for it, I would use it primarily, as it does work really well. And
all newer hardware is made to run with Linux too, with all the latest
drivers and support, so that is no problem.

The problem with Linux haters, is that they don't know how to use it, or do
not have the true PC savvy to not be held by the hand, and command line
setups are too far complex for the average Windows user, but it is a better
setup system. Most advanced MVPs here probably have it still and I know two
that are good with it and like it. Ever wonder why the best servers in the
world and in company systems are *nix based??

 

[Mike]

Unix installations are customized for whatever purpose is required, and are
not required to be user friendly.. Win XP/9x operating systems are expected
to do a multitude of tasks.. not unlike comparing a Caterpillar 789b to a
Chevy S10.. each has its place..

 

[perfb]

"many users return Windows XP rather quickly".

heheh, quite the freudian slip!

many users are, in fact, returning XP rather quickly,
when they see how vulnerable it is out of the box,
and how quick to become inoperable once online and sucking
up virii and adware like a black hole.

 

[johnf]

If you are so anti-XP & don't use it as your main OS, why are you playing
with it at all??
Afraid your post is slightly contradictory.

 

[perfb]

yes, quite so, the SP2 RC2 does not work on FCKGW,
which I discovered after downloading all 260Mb of it,
even though M$ has publically announced that SP2 will
eventually work on FCKGW variants.

So, evidently they are still getting around to it.

Windows XP SP2 works perfectly well with legally licensed copies of Windows
XP.
I suggest you go out an buy a copy of Windows XP for each of your PCs.

hahahahahahahaha!!!!
snort!
and have to do some idiot activation ritual on each one?
fat chance, bubba.
I'd rather stick with FCKGW, which is blissfully free of such stupidity.

Replace your pirated copies of Windows XP with the new legally purchased
retail one and then apply the SP to your designated test machines (until we
release the product).

The short answer is no SP2 does not work well on your stolen/pirated
software - it will not apply at all.

but M$ has publically promised it will.
eventually.
evidently they are changing their minds all the time though ...

 

[Mike Brannigan [MSFT]]

yes, quite so, the SP2 RC2 does not work on FCKGW,
which I discovered after downloading all 260Mb of it,
even though M$ has publically announced that SP2 will
eventually work on FCKGW variants.

So, evidently they are still getting around to it.

We did not publicaly announce that the SP2 will work on yor stolen/pirated
software.
It will not - please stop using stolen/pirated software.

From
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/chats/trans/security/sec1211.mspx
Host: Mike_Nash (Microsoft)
Q: Christian_Hougardy_MVP : Mike, we are slowly coming to our monthly
question about patching illegal versions. Did you change your mind about it,
or do we have to ask again ?
A: This is a hard question Cristian. We have not changed our mind here.
People with illegal copies cannot get updates from WU

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/chats/trans/security/sec0504.mspx
Host: Mike Nash (Microsoft)
Q: Thanks Mike. But how is Microsoft getting the message out to those end
users? It does not seem like they are getting it
A: It's a fair point Jim. I can't quote numbers, but a few things worthy of
note. The number of people using WU is up a lot. We need it to be higher but
the numbers are better. Overall, firewalls are being used more. The result
is more customers having a good experience in worm events like Sasser. That
said, getting people to install SP2 will be a very important opportunity for
customers to be safer. We are going to be working hard to get as many people
as possible to move to SP2. There have also been quite a few questions about
SP2 on pirated machines. We will require a customer to have a legitimate
copy of XP in order to install SP2.

hahahahahahahaha!!!!
snort!
and have to do some idiot activation ritual on each one?
fat chance, bubba.

A whole one click of a mouse to activate - not exactly a ritual ?

I'd rather stick with FCKGW, which is blissfully free of such stupidity.

And also unable to be patched to protect you and everyone from various
issues.

but M$ has publically promised it will.
eventually.
evidently they are changing their minds all the time though ...

No we did not, see the quotes above.
SP2 is for legitimate users of Windows XP only.


--

Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

You are wrong! If you run a known pirated version of Windows XP,
neither SP1 or SP2 can be installed. You are not entitled to any support
(update or otherwise) since you do not have a legitimate license.

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

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

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


| yes, quite so, the SP2 RC2 does not work on FCKGW,
| which I discovered after downloading all 260Mb of it,
| even though M$ has publically announced that SP2 will
| eventually work on FCKGW variants.
|
| So, evidently they are still getting around to it.
|
| > > just wondering what the consensus is on SP2 RC2 re the 'average' user,
| > > is there a lot of issues/crashes/fubar going on? Or, is RC2 at least
| > > as reliable as the original XP?
| > >
| > > I have a few FCKGw unlicensed XP boxes and would like to try RC2
| > > mainly for virus protection as it seems these days the virus
| > > writers are winning the game and the average Windows user has exactly a
| > > 0.000% chance of remaining uninfected, and a 100.000% chance of
| > > having an unusable XP box, within a week of doing surfing/email.
| > >
| >
| > Windows XP SP2 works perfectly well with legally licensed copies of Windows
| > XP.
| > I suggest you go out an buy a copy of Windows XP for each of your PCs.
|
| hahahahahahahaha!!!!
| snort!
| and have to do some idiot activation ritual on each one?
| fat chance, bubba.
| I'd rather stick with FCKGW, which is blissfully free of such stupidity.
|
|
| > Replace your pirated copies of Windows XP with the new legally purchased
| > retail one and then apply the SP to your designated test machines (until we
| > release the product).
| >
| > The short answer is no SP2 does not work well on your stolen/pirated
| > software - it will not apply at all.
|
| but M$ has publically promised it will.
| eventually.
| evidently they are changing their minds all the time though ...
|
| >
| > >
| > > If a solid SP2 doesnt come out soon, Linux might really finally
| > > eat M$'s lunch, and we would all be better off for it.

 

[Tom]

Unix installations are customized for whatever purpose is required, and
are
not required to be user friendly.. Win XP/9x operating systems are
expected
to do a multitude of tasks.. not unlike comparing a Caterpillar 789b to a
Chevy S10.. each has its place..

So, what does this have to do with the MS Micro-Bot Carey making blanket
statements about the experiences of other Linux users? Your reply has
nothing to do with my quesiotning/challenging Carey's inexerience with
anything not made by MS. He is lying, and has admittedly never used ant
Linux distro. Don't get me wrong, I prefer Windows, and it is easier to use,
but not as stable,. I mainly use Windows for the reasons specified in my
previous post.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Here is the solution to your problem:

1. Purchase a legitimate "Full Version" of Windows XP.
2. Perform a "Clean Install".
3. Install all the Critical Updates (including SP1).
4. Install a comprehensive Internet Security program
such as Norton Internet Security 2004.
5. When SP2 is released, you can easily install it.
6. You'll have no further significant issues with XP.
7. Your mental health will improve since you did the
right thing by installing a legitimate version of XP.

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

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

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


| yes, quite so, the SP2 RC2 does not work on FCKGW,
| which I discovered after downloading all 260Mb of it,
| even though M$ has publically announced that SP2 will
| eventually work on FCKGW variants.
|
| So, evidently they are still getting around to it.
|
| > > just wondering what the consensus is on SP2 RC2 re the 'average' user,
| > > is there a lot of issues/crashes/fubar going on? Or, is RC2 at least
| > > as reliable as the original XP?
| > >
| > > I have a few FCKGw unlicensed XP boxes and would like to try RC2
| > > mainly for virus protection as it seems these days the virus
| > > writers are winning the game and the average Windows user has exactly a
| > > 0.000% chance of remaining uninfected, and a 100.000% chance of
| > > having an unusable XP box, within a week of doing surfing/email.
| > >
| >
| > Windows XP SP2 works perfectly well with legally licensed copies of Windows
| > XP.
| > I suggest you go out an buy a copy of Windows XP for each of your PCs.
|
| hahahahahahahaha!!!!
| snort!
| and have to do some idiot activation ritual on each one?
| fat chance, bubba.
| I'd rather stick with FCKGW, which is blissfully free of such stupidity.
|
|
| > Replace your pirated copies of Windows XP with the new legally purchased
| > retail one and then apply the SP to your designated test machines (until we
| > release the product).
| >
| > The short answer is no SP2 does not work well on your stolen/pirated
| > software - it will not apply at all.
|
| but M$ has publically promised it will.
| eventually.
| evidently they are changing their minds all the time though ...
|
| >
| > >
| > > If a solid SP2 doesnt come out soon, Linux might really finally
| > > eat M$'s lunch, and we would all be better off for it.

 

[Tom]

Here is the solution to your problem:

1. Purchase a legitimate "Full Version" of Windows XP.

No, DO NOT purchase a "Full (install) Version", purchase the upgrade version
of your choice, then get a version of Win98 (which can be bought LEGALLY) on
the net, or at some PC stores for around $20-$50. You then use this as an
eligible upgrade path to XP during the installation prompt. This is totally
acceptable from Microsoft, since they list this version (as well as others)
as an eligible version to move to XP. You also may save between $40-$80 in
cost, and both versions are transferaable to another PC when you remove them
from the one they were installed originally. The rest of this help is good
help.

The difference between full and upgrade versions of XP (Pro and Home) are
$100.00!

 

[Mike Brannigan [MSFT]]

Tom,

Just one minor point.
The original poster will have to purchase multiple copies of both the
Windows XP product and if they are going down your upgrade route - they will
also need multiple copies of the product used to upgrade compliance check
from . This is because the reason the upgrade is cheaper is that it assume
a "paid for" license for the previous product. This previous license is
subsumed as part of the XP license during the upgrade so it not available to
be used on another machine, which would be necessary as the original poster
did say he had multiple machines running pirated software.

I highly suspect all of this is moot since in looking at the original
posters responses on this thread he has no interest in legitimising himself
or the use of a Windows XP Product with Product Activation.


--

Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups

 

[Mike Brannigan [MSFT]]

hahahahahahahaha!!!!
snort!
and have to do some idiot activation ritual on each one?
fat chance, bubba.
I'd rather stick with FCKGW, which is blissfully free of such stupidity.

If you have 5 or more machines running stolen/pirated/illegitimate software
and your only objection to using Windows XP legitimately is Product
Activation then you may be entitled to use Volume Licensed software which is
available for 5 or more licenses, and does not require over the wire Product
Activation.
see
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/pricingvolume.mspx
and
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/resources/default.mspx

--

Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups