Should I install xp or 98se on my older pc?

[Finigan]

I have a pentium 2, 6Gigabyte hd, with 250 MB Ram, and a 333mhz processor.

I have two CD's, 98se and XP sp2, which would the experts recommend I should
use.

I want to use it for a small office pc for mainly attaching it to a scanner
and for basic storage, it is not going to be used as a main work horse
computer, just as a standbye computer, for storage and for doing scanning.

 

[Chuck]

Win2k or Win ME are the latest I'd recommend. Win98SE should be ok if you
remember that this may lock you into earlier versions of applications and
hardware. Some apps are happier with win2k others with ME or 98SE.

 

[Colin M. McGroarty]

I'd recommend using XP simply due to the fact that it is a more secure OS.
You'll obviously be taking quite a performance hit though. Win 98 will give
you a bit more zip, but I certainly would never consider dropping a 98 box
into a production environment.

Kind Regards,

--
Colin M. McGroarty, MCSE, MCP+I, NT-CIP
2004 Microsoft MVP, Windows Server - General
www.McGroarty.org


I have a pentium 2, 6Gigabyte hd, with 250 MB Ram, and a 333mhz processor.

I have two CD's, 98se and XP sp2, which would the experts recommend I should
use.

I want to use it for a small office pc for mainly attaching it to a scanner
and for basic storage, it is not going to be used as a main work horse
computer, just as a standbye computer, for storage and for doing scanning.

 

[Bill James]

It's going to be terribly slow with XP, if the hardware will even support it. While you are not going to have much storage space with a 6 GB drive anyhow, you will have about 1 GB less with XP. Win98 is a problem in the making because of patch support, but for the limited use you describe it is probably a better choice IMO, but keep the AV program updated and consider a software firewall for it.

--

Bill James
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User

Windows VBScript Utilities » www.billsway.com/vbspage/
Windows Tweaks & Tips » www.billsway.com/notes_public/

 

[Finigan]

I'd recommend using XP simply due to the fact that it is a more secure OS.
You'll obviously be taking quite a performance hit though. Win 98 will
give
you a bit more zip, but I certainly would never consider dropping a 98 box
into a production environment.

Kind Regards,

gosh you make me feel OLD as the hills!! You talk like 98se is only to be
found in the Smithsonian Museum, or the Museum of Antiquity!!

Ok well I need the computer for baisic letter writting, storage, backup, and
more importantly I dont want it to keep crashing in the way that 98se seemed
allways to do. I just wondered if XP would run along smoothly as long as
their are not too many applications on it.

 

[Colin M. McGroarty]

XP will without a doubt be a great deal more stable than 98. Regardless of
which OS you choose, just make sure to apply all the Windows Updates after
the install.

Kind Regards,

--
Colin M. McGroarty, MCSE, MCP+I, NT-CIP
2004 Microsoft MVP, Windows Server - General
www.McGroarty.org

I'd recommend using XP simply due to the fact that it is a more secure OS.
You'll obviously be taking quite a performance hit though. Win 98 will
give
you a bit more zip, but I certainly would never consider dropping a 98 box
into a production environment.

Kind Regards,

gosh you make me feel OLD as the hills!! You talk like 98se is only to be
found in the Smithsonian Museum, or the Museum of Antiquity!!

Ok well I need the computer for baisic letter writting, storage, backup, and
more importantly I dont want it to keep crashing in the way that 98se seemed
allways to do. I just wondered if XP would run along smoothly as long as
their are not too many applications on it.

 

[Leythos]

I have a pentium 2, 6Gigabyte hd, with 250 MB Ram, and a 333mhz processor.

I have two CD's, 98se and XP sp2, which would the experts recommend I should
use.

I want to use it for a small office pc for mainly attaching it to a scanner
and for basic storage, it is not going to be used as a main work horse
computer, just as a standbye computer, for storage and for doing scanning.

Although it will be slow, XP with all the pretty options disabled and
configured with minimal fluff would be your best choice. XP is more
likely to run a stable platform and to work with your scanner and other
items. You should check to make sure that the scanner vendor has proper
XP drivers.

 

[Bill Sharpe]

I've put XP on a computer with less horsepower than Finigan's(172 mb
RAM -- actually had 64 mb ram, but got a free 128mb chip when I bought
XP). It works fine, but I don't run more than one program at a time.
There won't be much storage space there. And I don't use it very often.

Bill

It's going to be terribly slow with XP, if the hardware will even
support it. While you are not going to have much storage space with a 6
GB drive anyhow, you will have about 1 GB less with XP. Win98 is a
problem in the making because of patch support, but for the limited use
you describe it is probably a better choice IMO, but keep the AV program
updated and consider a software firewall for it.

--

Bill James
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User

Windows VBScript Utilities » www.billsway.com/vbspage/
Windows Tweaks & Tips » www.billsway.com/notes_public/

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Win2k or Win ME are the latest I'd recommend. Win98SE should be
ok if
you remember that this may lock you into earlier versions of
applications and hardware. Some apps are happier with win2k
others
with ME or 98SE.

Windows Me is essentially nothing but the last release of the
Windows 9X line. If you thought of it as Windows 98 Third Edition
(which Microsoft could have called it if they wanted to) you
wouldn't be far wrong.

So because its architecture is nearly the same as 98's or 98SE's,
there are very few, if any applications that care whether they
are running on any of the three. It's possible that there be be
some programs that will run on Me, but not 98, but I don't know
of any, and if any exist, they are *very* few.

Windows 2000, is an NT-based operating system, with a very
different architecture. What runs on it may not run on 98/Me, and
vice versa (although even there, *most* apps will run on either
platform).

So for Finigan's purpose, either of the two operating systems he
has--98 or XP--should do just fine.

 

[Steve Shattuck]

I have a pentium 2, 6Gigabyte hd, with 250 MB Ram, and a 333mhz processor.

I have two CD's, 98se and XP sp2, which would the experts recommend I
should use.

I want to use it for a small office pc for mainly attaching it to a
scanner and for basic storage, it is not going to be used as a main work
horse computer, just as a standbye computer, for storage and for doing
scanning.

The starting point here is not which OS, but is there an XP driver for your
scanner. A lot of scanner manufacturers did not go back and update their
drivers for older scanners. If there is, and your scanner's support site
doesn't have any gotchas about using XP, then your computer is marginal but
adequate for the tasks you've described. The problem with Windows 98 is
that for intensive graphics work, the GDI resource limitation frequently
crashes Windows. This is not a problem with XP.

 

[Michael Stevens]

I have a pentium 2, 6Gigabyte hd, with 250 MB Ram, and a 333mhz
processor.
I have two CD's, 98se and XP sp2, which would the experts recommend I
should use.

I want to use it for a small office pc for mainly attaching it to a
scanner and for basic storage, it is not going to be used as a main
work horse computer, just as a standbye computer, for storage and for
doing scanning.

With the hard drive space and processor speed, go with Windows 2000.
--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://michaelstevenstech.com
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