Customer Reviews

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade - Old Version

5 star:		(162)
4 star:		(93)
3 star:		(37)
2 star:		(31)
1 star:		(108)

 

 

I installed Windows XP Upgrade on my home computer to replace my current ME operating system, but have now uninstalled it. My advice is, if your current operating system is basically satisfactory, don't make the move to Windows XP unless you've made sure your older programs and hardware are compatible with XP and there is some feature you feel you really, really must have.

In the words of the XP instruction manual, "The Windows XP Setup program will automatically check the hardware and software already installed on your computer for potential conflicts." "Potential conflicts" is a nice way of saying that certain programs and hardware items may not work well or at all with XP, because it wants digital signatures, updated drivers or more.

In my case, during the installation process, XP informed me that "Setup has detected that some hardware or programs on your computer might not function correctly after the upgrade is completed. This lack of functionality can have an effect on things you might want to do, such as connecting to the Internet, accessing e-mail, printing, scanning, and playing sounds or music." (Wow, aren't those the things that most people use their computers for?)

After I completed the XP installation (which proved to be a very simple process), I did in fact encounter considerable difficulty with a number of software and hardware items. As examples, XP was extremely cranky about accepting my cable modem and I could not get my printer to work at all, even after I downloaded a new driver from the manufacturer's website. (Solution - buy a new printer?) The XP installation also rendered my Norton Antivirus 2004 software inoperable, a problem which the Norton website recognized but had no solution for. I also faced problems with my CD creation and digital camera software as well the Outlook Express email software.

I want to stress that all of these problems have solutions, but I eventually hit the wall "installation fatigue." It just seemed that, every time I got a problem solved, two more would pop up - so I just gave up and uninstalled XP. I concluded that what I had seen on my computer screen so far in terms of new features simply did not outweigh the problems I was experiencing and the potential cost of new programs and hardware that would be compatible with XP.

My main point here is that there is a lot of hype about the advantages of XP but no one tells buyers that it may cost you 4 or 5 times as much to replace hardware and software that is not compatible with XP, and that you may have to spend hours at problem-solving in order to get your computer functioning. Microsoft has a web link at www.microsoft.com/windows/catalog/ that is supposed to provide information on whether your applications and hardware are "XP-ready." This should be put in at least ½ inch bright orange letters on the box so that purchasers will notice it and check BEFORE they tear open that shrink-wrap and lose the right to return the product for a refund.

I recently upgraded to Windows XP from Windows 98 Second Edition, and I have been THOROUGHLY impressed! With Windows 98 I experienced frequent blue screens and crashes. With Windows XP all of those problems are now history. Also, many of the drivers I needed to load AFTER loading Windows 98 are now already included. My video card drivers were loaded, my CD burner functions were all present, and my scanner worked flawlessly without installing any additional software.

The biggest hurdle with this product is successful installation. If you have older components you may have significant problems getting them to function with the new OS. Some older apps are also likely to have difficulty. My hardware and my software are all fairly current, so I had no trouble.

I have upgraded my newer computer at home with Windows XP, but the older computer at my church study has Windows 98, and will have it for some time. I am reluctant to upgrade because of the installation problems inevitable with the older components.

This product is definitely worth the price, but some persons may need to upgrade components BEFORE upgrading their OS.

If you have a newer or brand new computer and are seeking the smoothest, steadiest and most solid OS, I HIGHLY recommend Windows XP.

Now that XP is up and running, I'm ecstatic. It's a nice OS.

HOWEVER: It took 2-1/2 days and two LONG phone sessions with supportive, knowledgeable tech reps from Microsoft to get to that point. I expected to simply replace my old OS (Win ME) with the new one, and skip on down the road. Didn't happen. So here's what I learned: A clean install from a bare machine, including reinstalling all your drivers and software can be the right answer, even if it seems an awful prospect. I should've bought the full version of the product and started clean in the first place. It would've saved more than a day's time and a ton of frustration.

Maybe that's how it is for you too. Do consider the full version and a clean install.

The software itself is good enough to earn it five stars. I've used the OS in stores since computers are now shipping pre-loaded with WinXP. The OS is so much easier to use for the new user to computers; the start button is green for "Go," the close buttons on windows are red. The entire operating system is like this. If you have used Windows for years, it will take a few days to get completely used to the new layout of the start menu, control panel, etc., but it's not a problem. Media Player XP is great, including DVD support. If you use it to rip your CDs onto WMA files, they will be placed in your My Music folder, with cover art as the icons for albums! Windows Messenger finally brings Microsoft's IM service up to par with AIM, if not above.

But... there's the activation scheme. When you install the OS, you have to get an activation code by calling Microsoft or going on their website. Not too much of a problem. But there is a problem: whenever you change your hardware more than a couple times, the software thinks that you're installing it onto a whole new computer, and it doesn't work. This is completely unfair; assume you get a video card for a gift, buy a sound card, and install a CDRW drive, all within a few months. Microsoft may not even let you keep XP working! Without this problem, XP would be great. Buy it if you aren't planning on changing hardware very much, but otherwise, unfortunately, you may need to miss out on the great new OS.

My overall first impressions of XP (I "road-tested" it today at an IT conference in town) are: it's better to wait before you upgrade, and XP takes up more system resources than ever. The memory occupied by the two of the processes that Windows runs on 2000: Explorer.exe and Svchost.exe amounts to approx. 12 MB. Same two processes in XP take up almost 30 MB. If you don't believe me, press Ctrl+Alt-Del, and select the tab named processes. What this translates into, in layman's terms is: Windows XP is considerably heavier on the machine on which it's running. Don't even consider running it on computers with less than 256 MB, even if Microsoft says that you can run it with 128 MB alone. You'll suffer the consequences of slowness if you do.

Having spoken about memory, I have to say XP solves some issues that home users have been confronting for a while, such as multiple user login management. Some of the add-ons are nice, but nothing you can't work around with a few downloads: Remote desktop = terminal services, just bundled within the OS, for example; integrated DVD-playing and CD-R burning.

Theymoved around stuff, and applied some of the intelligence they've gained over the past few years (remove icons from the desktop, as most people actually don't use them, for example); and they're being extra-careful not to turn ON too many features you might not want (or afford) to have on your machine, all of which are very nice things. It seems that Microsoft was able to pull off the Operating System that all users have been expecting for the longest time.

Now, should you upgrade right away? I recommend that you hold on, much more if you don't even meet the minimum system requirements proposed by Microsoft (plus the tip mentioned above). Every time a new version of Windows has been released, over the course of a few months several patches have been issued to correct issues detected with it, and XP is no exception to this: the day of its release 20 MB worth of patches were ready to be downloaded from the company's web site. Most likely, over the course of the next few years, we'll all end up switching over to XP in time, but if you don't mind, wait a few months before taking the plunge. That's my best piece of advice.

Last-minute tip: watch for a new "feature" that Microsoft bundled with the new OS. It's called Windows Activation(...) In two plates, it's aimed at giving Microsoft a buzz when/if a copy of the Operating System becomes installed in more than one machine, in fact, even if it's only installed in one machine, it warns them about the attempt to install the software in any other machine other than the native one where it was first installed.

Additional notes: I am writing this over three months after the original review. I've taken the plunge and upgraded my wife's laptop (an HP, in case you're wondering) and there's only one thing I have to say: it's Microsoft's most stable OS so far! In the couple of months it's been running, it hasn't crashed a single time. It doesn't run all day long (like my desktop on Windows 2000 Professional does), but it has not given even the slightest problem. One final tip, though: before upgrading, double-triple check with your hardware provider to see if they have a checklist of steps to follow in order to ensure transparency in the process. I did have to uninstall some software HP knew ahead of time that wouldn't work with XP, and later reinstall the XP-compatible versions, but it was worth every single minute of the 120 minute+ step-by-step process. Good luck, and happy XP'ing!!

If you only buy one piece of software for your computer, make it Windows XP. As other people have said, please make sure that your computer meets the at least the minimum requirements (if not more) than recommended. Also, IT IS IMPERATIVE TO NOTE - THAT A "CLEAN INSTALL" on an empty partition or clean hard drive is the ONLY WAY TO GO. Trust me, I've tried both ways. With the "clean" install, the software runs twice as well.

You can do a "clean" install (from scratch) with this software without Windows 98 being on your PC as long as you have the Windows 98 software that came with your computer. During the installation, Win XP will ask you for your Windows 98 CD to verify upgrade eligibility.

I've used this software for over a week, with no crashes, no blue screens of death -- amazing (I used to get 3 to 5 crashes a day with Windows 98).

By the way, my computer is a home built system with a 500 mhtz AMD processor, 400 megs Ram, Asus P5A motherboard with a Western Digital 100 Gig UDMA 100 hard drive, and 16 meg video card.

I had to overcome a couple of hurdles (my driver for the controller card for my for my EIDE hard drive had to be upgraded) and I also had to upgrade to Norton Anivirus 2002. Norton 2001 will not work.

Otherwise, the best upgrade I've done to this computer so far!

Remember -- CLEAN INSTALL -- don't do an "UNGRADE"!

I upgraded a four year old Dell (PIII 500 MHz) that had been running Windows 98 SE. It had been limping along after a virus attack damaged some system files. I had reinstalled system files from W98 and never got things running @ 100%. I upgraded to XP with a clean installation and the computer is now running well -- it boots faster and has been stable. The installation was smooth and without a hitch -- but requires much thought and preparation. The web sites for the manufacturer of each item of hardware (video card, audio card, modem, scanner, printer, expansion cards, expansion drives...) should be checked to confirm compatability and driver availability for XP. Download and collect the necessary drivers. My scanner, audio card and video card were not compatable and had to be replaced for optimum stability and performance. I added a CD burner and removed the zip drive for better backup capability. So..... after about three weeks of preparation and making a two page checklist of the sequence of activities for backing up, unistalling and installing .... the installation went smoothly. I am happy with the result and all of the productivity apps are working perfectly, although a few of my old programs (Myst, Riven) dont run on XP. Bottom line, if your computer is running well, then you probably do not need/want to upgrade. If you have a reason to upgrade, then you should go ahead and do it -- If you prepare then you will be pleased with the result....

I rated Windows XP 1 STAR only because 0 STARS was not an option. While Windows XP may be a great system when it is factory installed on a new computer, it is a disasterous system for computer users whose current system's use a lot of installed peripherals and non-Microsoft software. Don't even consider upgrading to XP unless you are prepared to spend countless hours, and one hell of a lot of money, upgrading and reconfiguring both your existing hardware and software.

Windows XP's documentation states that some existing software and hardware might not be compatible with this new operating system. That is a gross understatement. I am currenting using a six-month-old Dell system with 1.2 Gig. Pentium 4, 512k Ram and factory installed DVD Drive, CDR, and 56k modem. I also have a relatively new HP Scanner, and a Lexmark Z32 printer. The DVD, the CDR, the modem, the scanner, and the printer all are incompatible with XP. While the DVD and the CDR both would read conventional CD's, the DVD drive would not read DVD's, and the CDR would not write to new CD's. I was able to find a free upgrade for the DVD drive, but had to purchase new software for the CDR. Similarly I was able to find a software fix for the printer, but will have to replace my scanner. While my modem will dial out and allow me to connect to the internet, I am unable to access/manupliate any of the modem's settings so eventually I will have to replace it.

AS for software, forget about any anti-virus software you own such as McAfee or Norton Anti-virus. Only anti-virus programs written expressly for XP will run on this system, and unlike previous Windows upgrades, McAfee Anti-virus software does not come bundled with Windows XP Plus. Also trouble shooting programs / maintenance like Norton System Works are gonners.

I've had Windows XP for about one month now and so far it has cost me close to 50 hours of my time and nearly ($...) just to bring my system back to the functionalily it had before I installed it.

Why I didn't just uninstall XP and go back my old Windows ME? Unlike previous Microsoft upgrades that archived your old operating system, uninstall is not an option with XP. Once you've upgraded to XP you are stuck with it unless you chose to format your hard drive and start all over from scratch.

Now that Microsoft will no longer offer technical support on Windows 95 & 98, you almost have to buy the upgrade, but it is worth it. With Windows 98, I was always having program conflicts and sending it into the store to get repaired. The XP is much more stable and will prevent programs from running if they are in a conflict (meaning you won't crash), but I also can have more windows and activities going at once than before. The appearance is greatly changed to brigher icons and everything 'fits' in my window browser. The layout was simply rearranged colorfully and that's fine, but I don't need little "doggie icons sniffing" when I am 'searching' for a file! XP is also not faster than 98, even though it claims to be.

I did have to reinstall or upgrade drivers for the following: Gator, Microsoft Outlook 2000, a fairly new HP printer, my digital camera software and my 2 year old scanner. My Adaptec CD burner program was not compatable and I refused to buy the upgrade, so I just uninstalled it. Windows XP comes with a CD burner program already.

I would suggest upgading all your programs and drivers that XP suggests before you install it. Once it's all installed, you'll enjoy it more than Windows 98.

I have a Compaq Presario laptop with Windows ME. I wanted to upgrade it, so I decided to buy the Windows XP Upgrade. I have another computer that came with XP built in, and I like that system a lot.

Well, before I pulled out my credit card at CompUSA, I asked the manager if there are any problems upgrading from Windows ME to Windows XP. I was very specific. "No problem!" he told me, "It works great!"

NONSENSE!

Here is a list of hardware problems I had after loading Windows XP onto the laptop:
1. My touch pad stopped working.
2. My PCI bus started getting errors.
3. My wireless network card (D-Link GW-630) stopped working.

And these are just the things I noticed in the first day of using it!

I spent over six hours on the telephone with various technical service reps, uninstalling and re-installing the software, being put on hold, reinstalling drivers, restarting the computer over and over and over and over again. Six extremely frustrating hours!

Finally, the tech support people told me to uninstall the software. They said I should return the software to CompUSA.

Now for the fun part. CompUSA refused to take it back!!! After an hour arguing with the very same manager who told me everything should work great, all I got was an offer to do an exchange for the same product. Then the manager said my system must not be compatible. Well, I showed him the "System Requirements" on the box, and then I showed him what's in my laptop. According to the box, my laptop is perfectly compatible.

Then the manager told me that he would not recommend upgrading from ME to XP. Well, it says right on the box that the upgrade is designed for systems with Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium Edition. Not only that, but I reminded him that I specifically said I was upgrading from Windows ME!!!

I even gave the manager my Microsoft Case Number so he could see for himself the problems I had and all the tech support people who tried to fix it for me.

In the end, I am stuck with software that does not work.

Learn from my trials. Do not buy this software if you have Windows ME. Only buy it if you can get a written agreement from your seller that they will take the software back after it messes up your system.