I've been using ME for many years now and guess have gotten used to it's instability. Recently I'm having trouble with winmgmt.exe causing boot up failure, can't seem to stop WMI working, anyway this trouble caused ne to question whether it's time for me to upgrade to XP.

Sure XP must be more stable than ME ... what isn't, but what are the other major benefits ? My main concern is whether it is actually more or less SECURE than ME. I hear so much news about XP security issues even after SP2, so I'm asking this question.

My machine is notebook with Pent III 700Mh, RAM 128+256=384, so XP should be ok resources wise. I can get a copy of XP SP2 for about US100 ... so not so expensive.
Any and all advice much appreciated.

ok i ran xp on an 800mhz 512 ram for years.
but with all the security apps used now its was starting to be not much good for doing things like graphics at the same time. but short of that it would work on there but i say up ram to 512.
as for more stable 1000% more i still have m.e as a duel boot as i used xp upgrade cd and only had recovery disks. so i know m.e well
used to hang out at computing.net,s m.e forum.
wrote : M.E won,t start
xp with out security apps like av as trojin scanners is no more secure that m.e with out them. maybe less so since m.e-98 are not targeted much now.

i used to think it was grate if i ran m.e for 10 hours stright with out reboting!!! i have run xp 10 days with out rebooting.

if your only doing websurfing and home work etc you can run xp on that no problem.

but arm your self security wise!!!!

G'day WawaDave,

Yeah you have highlighted my main concerns, being do I need to run EXTRA security soft if I use XP and how much extra resources will it drain.
I don't play games but often have at least 2 things on the go at once, so that even ME sometimes hits the resources wall. Naturally I've culled most of the SU programs from ms out but then use Sygate Firewall and AVG or Avast AV programs. So that when using Excel, Iexplorer and perhaps a P2P d/l program the pc starts to strain a little. It's been my view also that most hackers would be targetting XP so that as time goes by my old ME becomes safer by default.

Can't go above 384 RAM in this old NEC Notebook ... at least so I'm told by Buffalo (chip maker) ... actually NEC said couldn't go above 256, but 384 works w/o trouble.

Stability would be nice but could I tweak XP to be efficient and just how much extra security would I need ?
What are XP's major benefits for a relatively simple user like myself ?

same security you used for m.e
i would get spywareblaster and adware and spybot search& destroy. winpatrol i ran seti and F@H on my old box up till june besides doing every thing else. so you should be able to run xp.
xp is not the resource hog m.e is. but it does start off useing more. where as m.e keeps hogging till it crashes.
i,m serprised that you cannot use 2 512 sticks in that. but i have never used a notebook.

F@H is not a security app!!!!!!!!!!!!!!F@H and seti use your unsed cpu cycles to fight cancer and desises in F@H,s case and find et in seti,s case. so your coputer works flat out all the time but they back off as you run things. ran seti in m.e for 2800 hours!!!

all programs use ram the more you run the more you use.
xp is very stable.
but it gets clunky once all ram is used up. but even than is still better then m.e!

G'day again wawadave,

Oops did I show my ignorance about F@H, etc.

Sorry to bring up the same question again.
I'm curious about XP being a resource hog when starting : did you mean at eat boot or when first installed before you tweak it ?
Presumably at each boot ... if so does it then taper off to less of a hog than ME ?
I'm asking about the CPU resources which I monitor via the simple ms Resource Meter, not RAM ... which I use BySoft FreeRAM to assist there.

have a good one
Patosan

ok xp uses a bit more ram when it first starts comparded to m.e.
xp has a bigger foot print.
google it.
to see in xp how much of what that is being used click ctrl,alt,delete

m.e just keeps useing more annd more resources.

Thanks Wawadave, you've been great.

Since my main concerns are maintaining system resource and security would Win 2000 perhaps be even better than XP ?
Does 2000 use less resources and or have smaller footprint ?

Also on the RAM side I read somewhere that 3rd party memory maintanance programs aren't needed for 98SE, ME, or those after. Basically windows does a good enough job itself. I have been using BySoft "FreeRAM" to assist there but perhaps it's merely a system resource drain, though tiny, without any true benefit. What are your views ?

Have a good one
Patrick

i don,t use any memory program in xp they died with 98-m.e

win2k will run useing the same as xp it uses same kernal. and has less features.
but it did run very well on same machine 98 did so it may i,m not a w2k person .

I did an ME to XP upgrade once... My what fun! Must add new BIOS flash first! Learned this the hard way. New BIOS may also allow for more RAM! Did on my box. I would never try to run XP on anything less than 512. ANY real time security you add to this configuration (PIII) other than a low pro anti virus will bog you down too much. Your little PIII may get hot under the strain and toast your motherboard too.

Lots of fairly cheep laptops now... I love my Elitegroup ECS G553. 700 clams + memory upgrade.

G'day darkMater,

What type/make/model was your old BIOS ?
What vintage was the pc it was in ?
Is BIOS cheap ?

I checked my BIOS using Aida32 and it simply says by Phoenix (vintage 2000).
Naturally if I wa to run XP I'd tweak the functions down to reduce resource drain, as I already do in win ME, only keep 4 of the supplied SU list checked. Do you think that a trimmed down XP would still run my Pent III too hot ?

Wawadave seems to feel that XP is much lighter on system resouces than ME so wouldn't this imply less strain on my system ?

Have a good one
Patrick

Old BIOS was a phoenix. In my X wifes 'puter (HP). Nothing like crashing your X's 'puter for a crash couse in system recovery! All her family photos had been scanned into the drive with no backup! Ran the XP upgrade disk and all went well till the re-boot. Then BLUE SCREEN! Went into the BIOS and read the version on the BIOS main page (or during boot if boot splash is disabled). Then had to find the motherboard version. More FUN! HP website had a XP BIOS I could download for free! Almost passed out holding my breath as the BIOS flashed and came back.

Could have won an Oscar for my performance when the X called to ask "how it was going?" "Oh, a little trouble, but I expected that." Shaking so badly I could hardly hold the phone!

Popped the upgrade disk in again and had a much better experience! Still a problem with some of the old drivers... 'Puter would not shut down! Just re-booted. Found a couple new drivers and we were off to the races. X and I are still on good terms! But could have been much worse.

Spoze if you keep the functions down on your XP upgrade it wouldn't get too hot. Have to see if the fan sounz like a harrier fixin' to take off once your done. I should think you'll be fine.

Prepare to learn! I learned more about computers that day (3 days!) than ever before!

Cheers, & good luck!

Hey Patosan, is that the original hard drive in that notebook? 5 years + is a good run for any hard drive; especially in a notebook.

Could be, a new hard drive and fresh install of ME from the restore disk could be all you need for a few more years of computer fun.

Try running a scan disk without fixing errors and view the report... Then fix the errors and run scan disk again. Are there still errors? If so, a hard drive could be your cheapest fix.

Cheers!

m.e windows suport ends this year.