Which is better XP or windows 98?

[Love&Pain]

I am going to update my cousins computer. It's an e-machine with windows 98. I'm upgrading the ram to 256 MB because she currently has 60 MB. Should I upgrade to XP professional or do you think her current operating system is fine. I heard that XP is prone to virsuses, so what's better? I hope you can help out.

 

[Bowser]

I have XP and have gotten a few viruses and bugs. I have heard that Professional is great. I suggest get Professional.

 

[sledhead]

XP professional is built on a more stable code base. I believe NT platform. NT has alwas been more stable than 98. XP professional will cost more, but is a better platform than 98.

I sure that any possible problems will be addressed by Microsoft and any new problems.

 

[Durelen]

Depends how old the machine is really. If it is older than 2 years then I don’t really recommend it but it’s your dime. If you only have 60 Megs of memory, I’m guessing the system is pretty old.

I have not installed XP on my game rig since I’m going to build a new one soon. That’s all I do with that system though; just play games and maybe edit graphics. You cant take XP and install it on one computer and then on another one later. So when I do build my next game rig I will be installing XP on it.

If you are going to do it then you really need 512 Megs of memory because 256 Megs are really not enough. If you are going to play games on it then you need 1 gig of memory. NT and XP are very demanding on memory so you need lots of it.

 

[sledhead]

Depends how old the machine is really. If it is older than 2 years then I don’t really recommend it but it’s your dime. If you only have 60 Megs of memory, I’m guessing the system is pretty old.

I have not installed XP on my game rig since I’m going to build a new one soon. That’s all I do with that system though; just play games and maybe edit graphics. You cant take XP and install it on one computer and then on another one later. So when I do build my next game rig I will be installing XP on it.

If you are going to do it then you really need 512 Megs of memory because 256 Megs are really not enough. If you are going to play games on it then you need 1 gig of memory. NT and XP are very demanding on memory so you need lots of it.

Good point. XP uses the memory.

 

[Durelen]

Review source
Windows XP Home Edition and Professional are essentially the same 32-bit operating system. Both feature the same kernel and basic capabilities, and unless otherwise noted, everything in this review applies to both versions. The Home Edition, as you might expect, is targeted at home users, or the majority of people who were previously using Windows 98 and Windows Me. Professional is targeted at business users and power users, so it offers business-oriented features and some additional capabilities that would be expected by the more technical people.


And by the way, XP is NT...

 

[jono1]

also i thought it worth pointing out that micro$oft don't support 98 any more, that is, they don't release patches, updates or anything, because it's too old.
if the machine can run it, i recommend xp.

 

[Jet Black]

If you are going to have plenty memory, then XP is the way to go. when I upgraded my computer to 512Mb I had huge memory problems because 98 couldn't cope with the memory (I actaully ran out of memory more with 512Mb than I did with 64Mb)

as for viruses, the issue here is how you catch viruses. I have never had a virus on my machine, and that is trough me making sure things are clean before it even gets on the machine.

 

[::.Emerald.::]

I just wanted to say that yes, I would go with the XP for the reason mentioned earlier that Microsoft does not support it. I have an automatic updater running with my XP so that whenever Microsoft comes out with updates or patches, I will know about it and can install them to keep my system current. The only downside, is there are still a lot of comppanies who have published programs or drivers for hardware which need patches in order to run on XP.. just check with the manufacturer online before you install anything to make sure there are not special instructions.. it takes a little time but could save you a lot of time later.

As for viruses, you only have to worry about them if you are on the net or chat a lot, or act foolishly with emails. (foolishly meaning you open every attachment no matter who sent it to you) No matter what, if you spend a lot of time on the net I suggest getting good anti-virus software with a good firewall if you don't already, and you should be fine no matter what OS you are running.

 

[doofus125]

If you are going to do it then you really need 512 Megs of memory because 256 Megs are really not enough. If you are going to play games on it then you need 1 gig of memory. NT and XP are very demanding on memory so you need lots of it.

I don't recommend upgradeing to XP if you are going to be doing gameing on that system......Also, a system that only has 60mb of ram to begin with probably won't go more than 384mb of ram (3 strips of 128).....As for normal use, word processing, encyclopedias, internet use you can go XP Pro....I just installed XP Pro on a PII 333mhz system with 328mb of ram and it runs a whole lot better than windows 95 did on it, lol.....definetly alot faster and programs are loading faster than they did when I first had 95 on it.......(yes I said windows 95, lol)...The system I installed it on is only used for word processing playing tetris and solitare, and surfing the internet and it runs pretty good and I'm finally able to multi-task without freezing.......

NOTE: Windows XP minimum system requirements are:

PII 300mhz (recommend at least 333mhz, preferabally 450mhz or higher)
128mb ram (recommend at least 256)
2gig of free hard drive space

So if you don't meet at least the minimum/recommended I wouldn't even consider installing it....also, you need to do a full install if you are going from windows 98 to XP because there are to many variables and a clean install of XP is the best way to go anyways and I know someone will argue this, but when you do a clean install do it as a Fat32 drive and not an NTFS being it's an older computer......the NTFS may be to slow for it....

 

[Stryper]

just get home. pro has features that only businesses would need, or normal people that don't really need the features.

 

[doofus125]

just get home. pro has features that only businesses would need, or normal people that don't really need the features.

Actually, Pro does run better, especially on old PC's.......but I have 2 PC's setup here (I keep reinstalling everything to play around).....1 with Home, 1 with pro, they are identical computers, both Celeron 2.2ghz, 768mb ram and there is a noticable difference in the speed between the Home and Pro, the Pro does load faster and it also loads programs faster.....

 

[Knight]

I've had XP Home for almost a year now. No problems or issues.

I just wish it would not disconnect my dial-up connection when we switch user accounts. It's a bit of a pain to re-connect to check both our emails.

 

[doofus125]

With XP Pro I was able to switch users while leaving the other person logged on so I still had an internet connection, but it doesn't work with all ISP's....I just had the "Use Fast User Switching" turned on in the User Control panel.....u might want to give that a try, not sure if it will work with XP Home because I'm finding myself very limited here with the XP Home system that I have (I think someone is getting an upgrade )......

 

[Knight]

thanks I'll check into it.

I looked into the Pro but there are really no features on it that I really need. Plus, the PC is new and came with Home.

 

[linuxChique]

Just install Linux! Not only is it way cooler looking, but it has such better RAM management, that you'll never have to shut down. I only shut down my computer to add or remove hardware, about twice a year. Try that with a windoze box.

Plus... its free now, free software, and free to upgrade.

 

[Knight]

Trouble is that most stuff runs on Wondows only.....

Got a link fot that download?

 

[Deacon]

I run home, but I am a vivid gamer, and a web designer and I should use Pro, but I am kind of broke right now. I recommned XP period. If you want total security I would get XP Pro, if you just want to game then get XP Home. I am new to these forum.

I am upgrading my churches website, and hoping to share with you guys. Thanks.

 

[doofus125]

I had linex, it was horrible because I couldn't do anything because there isn't/wasn't any software support for it yet, let alone drivers......I switched back to windows 2000 pro and am now using XP Pro.....I'll take windows anyday over linex.....

 

[PuppyforChrist]

Well I have XP along with Zone Alarm which is a hacker and virus protector. I love XP because it is very fast and has a lot more features than 98. 98 is what I used to have until my father upgraded our computers to ME, then XP. I highly recomend getting XP.

If you get XP, I also suggest getting a virus/hacker protecter like Zone Alarm or Nortain Anti-Virus. I have both for double protection.