What Windows Platform is Best

[carol67044]

I have recently managed to mess up my computer and will have to re-install everything. Can anyone tell me what is the best Windows operating system to handle the digital imaging programs? Currently running 98; tried ME and was not happy, IT tech at work recommends 2000. Your suggestions and comments are much appreciated.

 

[dgrogers]

Windows 2000 is great, and so is XP. I'd recommend WinXP home edition for you. 2000 and XP pro have many settings you could accidentaly change (which is bad, unless you know what you're doing). XP home is designed for most users that don't need or want complex settings, and if you'd never need these settings, there's no point in paying for them. XP also has a few cool features for photographs and CDRW's too. Make sure your hardware is compaitible with the Windows version you upgrade to.

I have recently managed to mess up my computer and will have to
re-install everything. Can anyone tell me what is the best Windows
operating system to handle the digital imaging programs? Currently
running 98; tried ME and was not happy, IT tech at work recommends
2000. Your suggestions and comments are much appreciated.

 

[murphy]

I have recently managed to mess up my computer and will have to
re-install everything. Can anyone tell me what is the best Windows
operating system to handle the digital imaging programs? Currently
running 98; tried ME and was not happy, IT tech at work recommends
2000. Your suggestions and comments are much appreciated.

Ok ! Finaly something I do know about

Stick with Windows 98 (Preferably second edition)

Install it, Get all the updates, install personal programs, get all the updates.

Windows98 is the ONLY (and I stress only) version of windows that is completely compatible with every piece of software and hardware you will find. (perhaps a disclaimer is needed here but I wont waste my time)

Good luck
Murph

 

[Mike Fried]

It makes sense that an IT department would recommend 2K. IT deparments take time to migrate their support to the most current operating system. When I was working at my college helpdesk, we didn't support 2K. I would NOT recommend you upgrade from ME or 98 to 2K. XP is much easier for the novice to use. 2K's goal was to be the knowledge worker OS. XP which is the version after 2K offers more of the amenities that home users expect. It comes with software that lets you do more with your pictures and videos.

However, there is, as always, a caveat. XP is still relatively new. No service packs have been released yet. Most IT departments will not support a new version of Windows before it has at least one service pack. Also, there may not be as much legacy hardware support in XP. So be careful to make sure that your computer has current enough hardware to get the most out of XP, or your "eXPerience" might not be worth it.

But there are millions of people who are already using XP, and a special group of them, which Microsoft designates "Most Valued Professionals" tend to give good to great answers questions posted on the Microsoft community newsgroups. You can also search the newsgroups with Google, or search related to Microsoft stuff in general at Google ( http://www.google.com/microsoft.html ) If you are having lots of trouble, or want to asses the situation, just post to the appropriate newsgroup. You can find the Microsoft newsgroups here:
http://communities2.microsoft.com/home/msnewsgroups.aspx

Here's a ZD Net article suggesting that everyone should upgrade to XP: http://www.zdnet.com/products/stories/reviews/0,4161,2810235,00.html

Anyway, I hope that I have given you a well rounded answer as to why I like XP, but in the end, it is your choice. I hope that whatever OS you do choose suits your needs, and I wish you the best of luck with your computer.

One final important point: you probably need more memory. Without a doubt, the amount of memory (not to be confused with hard drive space) is the difference between a responsive computer, and a frozen computer. No matter which OS you run, if you have 256+MB of RAM today, it will be a lot happier than if you have 128MB or less. I'd even go so far as to say that 512MB of RAM is a bare minimum for doing photography work. But that's just me. You may not even need to upgrade your OS, if this is your real problem. I have two computers. One is 3 years old with 256MB of RAM. The other is 1 year old with 512MB RAM. Both are running XP Pro, and both run well, although I don't run more than 2 or 3 intensive programs at once, so I tend not to have performance problems.

Your Mileage May Vary.
-Mike

I have recently managed to mess up my computer and will have to
re-install everything. Can anyone tell me what is the best Windows
operating system to handle the digital imaging programs? Currently
running 98; tried ME and was not happy, IT tech at work recommends
2000. Your suggestions and comments are much appreciated.

 

[David M.]

Hands down XP is the BEST for imaging......period. Anything better you need a Mac.

I have recently managed to mess up my computer and will have to
re-install everything. Can anyone tell me what is the best Windows
operating system to handle the digital imaging programs? Currently
running 98; tried ME and was not happy, IT tech at work recommends
2000. Your suggestions and comments are much appreciated.

 

[Anders Karlsson]

Well, I've tried most of them (including programming Win 3.0). Specifically for imaging I'm not sure, but I'd go with 2000. Of all my machines (I have an NT box, a 98 box, a 2000 box, a couple of Linux machines and 1 Solaris box), the 2000 is the most stable of all the windowses. XP might be good, but it's a bit too new, not everything is supported yet in terms of software, browsers, plugins etc.

Win 98 is lightweight, so if you have a small machine (few MHz or MB or so), it might be an option. Main problem with Win98 is the crappy filesystem. This is a bit technical, but the filesystem tells how data is stored on disk. Win98 uses something called FAT32. FAT32 is really ancient and unreliable, and if you have a disk-problem, FAT32 is susceptible to having problem to recover. Win NT uses something called NTFS (but can also use something called FAT, which you do NOT want!), which is far more reliable, but is also a bit more resourcehungry.
Win2000 can use both FAT32 and NTFS. I'd recommend Win2000 with NTFS.

So in conclusion:

• If you want the latest and greatest, and do not care if some old software doesn't work, run WinXP.
• If you have an old PC with not so much memory, use Win98. ME is a disaster, don't go with that.
• If you have a resonable PC (500 MHz at least, 256Mb or more, and reasonably fast HD), and want something reliable that runs almost all software and hardware, then go with Win2K (and install on NTFS). Do NOT run Win2K on an old and tired PC, and in particular, do not run NTFS on an old and tired disk. This will be a dog of dogs!

Karlsson

I have recently managed to mess up my computer and will have to
re-install everything. Can anyone tell me what is the best Windows
operating system to handle the digital imaging programs? Currently
running 98; tried ME and was not happy, IT tech at work recommends
2000. Your suggestions and comments are much appreciated.

 

[nw]

I am very happy with XP

I have recently managed to mess up my computer and will have to
re-install everything. Can anyone tell me what is the best Windows
operating system to handle the digital imaging programs? Currently
running 98; tried ME and was not happy, IT tech at work recommends
2000. Your suggestions and comments are much appreciated.

 

[Jason Busch]

carol,

It's stable. Reliable. Better file system, so your pc won't crash every 5 minutes.

XP Pro is a good choice, but it is still new, and manufacturers are still updating drivers. If you buy a new product, hey, you're probably covered, but if you have older equipment (1 year or more ago), then Windows 2000 is for you.

--

Forum:
http://pub103.ezboard.com/bthedigitaldinguscommunity

Websites:
http://e10club.topcities.com/
http://d100lounge.topcities.com/
--

'I do just about everything in my CCDs...'

 

[Kiriakos13437]

I had Win98SE and for 2 months now I run Win XP with NTFS file system, wihout ANY software or hardware compatibility problems. Only software I had to change was Norton SystemWorks to version 2002. All other software including some I used in the old days of Win95B, works like a charm. Do not forget that WinXP have a compatibility conversion wizard that converts software run in Win98 to run in WinXP enviroment.

Besides XP are built on the same platform as NT/2000. I had not any single operating problem either. You'll forget crashing and even if you get one the Restore facility is great staff. XP is a fast OS system too. ME was a catastrophy in this respect. 98 was much better.
Get the XP fast!!! You'll feel relieved.

I have recently managed to mess up my computer and will have to
re-install everything. Can anyone tell me what is the best Windows
operating system to handle the digital imaging programs? Currently
running 98; tried ME and was not happy, IT tech at work recommends
2000. Your suggestions and comments are much appreciated.

 

[widman]

simply Windows 2000.

I'm a computer programmer. From my point of view Win 95, win 98 and Win ME is the same junk. All of them are easily to crash.

Be carefull of WinXP. There are 2 version

• WinXP Home - which is used Win ME core
• WinXP Professional - which is used Windows 2000 core

for WinXP professional, I didn't see a fundamendal different from Windows 2000 except more program and a lot of fancy thing.
Using WinXP Pro windowing masking slow down the performance.

I have recently managed to mess up my computer and will have to
re-install everything. Can anyone tell me what is the best Windows
operating system to handle the digital imaging programs? Currently
running 98; tried ME and was not happy, IT tech at work recommends
2000. Your suggestions and comments are much appreciated.

 

[Mike Fried]

Be carefull of WinXP. There are 2 version

• WinXP Home - which is used Win ME core
• WinXP Professional - which is used Windows 2000 core

This is simply wrong. The difference between WinXP Home and Professional are that XP Pro supports features like multiple monitors, remote desktop, etc. For Microsoft's page describing the difference, go here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/whichxp.asp
-Mike

 

[Karl H. Timmerman M.A.J.D.]

carol, I use and recommend WIN2K SP2. Just upgraded my fathers system to it. 2K is rock stable and supports anything worth having. I run a dual Athlon 1600+ system with 1.5 gig on the MB and 3 100gig drives.

I have also purchased a copy of XP and also have a pirated copy, (without all the BS regisitration stuff). My objections are as follows: no support for old devices, (device drivers may not be available ... I have an old Relisys scanner). I have no desire to have MS Techsupport know what I have on my system, (I'm a lawyer and have an obligation to keep client files secret) ... XP tries to call home more often than ET. The copy protection is just flat out intrusive: I swap out puter parts more often than most folks and I have no desire to be sitting on hold on a Saturday evening waiting for permission to reactivate my computer. I have a tendancy not to trust MS's promise that they will keep my system information secret.

Bottom line. If you don't swap parts on your puter, if you have no philosophical problem with MS's copy protection, if you don't mind helping MS debug XP by reporting problems ... buy XP ... otherwise ... get WIN2K SP2.
Warmest Regards
Karl

 

[dgrogers]

I have also purchased a copy of XP and also have a pirated copy,
(without all the BS regisitration stuff). My objections are as
follows: no support for old devices, (device drivers may not be
available ... I have an old Relisys scanner).

That is the fault of the hardware manufacturer (Relisys), not MS.

I have no desire to
have MS Techsupport know what I have on my system, (I'm a lawyer
and have an obligation to keep client files secret) ... XP tries to
call home more often than ET.

The call an 800 number once or when major hardware changes have been made, that is not often. There is no way they can keep track of everything every user has from the sheer number users. They do not read any software.

The copy protection is just flat out
intrusive: I swap out puter parts more often than most folks and I
have no desire to be sitting on hold on a Saturday evening waiting
for permission to reactivate my computer. I have a tendancy not to
trust MS's promise that they will keep my system information secret.

As a lawyer, you know you could successfully sue them if that was not the case, and they don't keep you waiting on hold.

Bottom line. If you don't swap parts on your puter, if you have
no philosophical problem with MS's copy protection,

As a lawyer, you have no philosophical problem from having an illegal, pirated copy of a program in your possession? As somebody who collects pirated software, I can see why you're complaining about copy protection, but it's people like you who make it a necessity.

 

[bob d]

I have recently managed to mess up my computer and will have to
re-install everything. Can anyone tell me what is the best Windows
operating system to handle the digital imaging programs? Currently
running 98; tried ME and was not happy, IT tech at work recommends
2000. Your suggestions and comments are much appreciated.

This is a great oporitunity for you to upgrade to XP, the most stable operating system. Installing it over Windows 98 was challenging, but you won't have to deal with that because you are starting out fresh.

XP automatically recognizes flash memory readers... no need to install any drivers!!!!

 

[Karl H. Timmerman M.A.J.D.]

dgrogers, thank you for sharing your insights with me: I do truely appreciate them.

I have also purchased a copy of XP and also have a pirated copy,
(without all the BS regisitration stuff). My objections are as
follows: no support for old devices, (device drivers may not be
available ... I have an old Relisys scanner).

That is the fault of the hardware manufacturer (Relisys), not MS.

Really? So, I guess, 5 years ago, Relisys needed to anticipate what MS was going to do? Gee, could the point be that I was trying to convey that XP does not have device drivers for older equipment?

I have no desire to
have MS Techsupport know what I have on my system, (I'm a lawyer
and have an obligation to keep client files secret) ... XP tries to
call home more often than ET.

The call an 800 number once or when major hardware changes have
been made, that is not often. There is no way they can keep track
of everything every user has from the sheer number users. They do
not read any software.

Hmmm ... good point. Guess I forgot ... when I laid my money down to buy their product ... I assumed the obligation of keeping them informed of what I have ... so what I PAID for keeps working.

The copy protection is just flat out
intrusive: I swap out puter parts more often than most folks and I
have no desire to be sitting on hold on a Saturday evening waiting
for permission to reactivate my computer. I have a tendancy not to
trust MS's promise that they will keep my system information secret.

As a lawyer, you know you could successfully sue them if that was
not the case, and they don't keep you waiting on hold.

ROFLMAO: yeah ..right!! The Justice Department of the United States sued MS for being a monoply and is still in Court!! Do you honestly believe I, (or you) could sue MS and get into Court before our children's children were called for a docket call?

Bottom line. If you don't swap parts on your puter, if you have
no philosophical problem with MS's copy protection,

As a lawyer, you have no philosophical problem from having an
illegal, pirated copy of a program in your possession?

No I don't. Since I purchased a fully licensed copy.

As somebody
who collects pirated software, I can see why you're complaining
about copy protection, but it's people like you who make it a
necessity.

hmmm ... "people like me who make it a necessity?" Well ... hmmm ... I find your comment somewhat offensive. Aside from the fact that I own MS stock, (do you?) ... and aside from the fact that I endorse the hell out of WIN2k ... what makes you think I have a library of pirated software?. (which I don't).

I have this overwhelming desire to wish you well ... that you complete your GED, or graduate from HighSchool ... whichever comes first ... but I won't ... instead ... I would rather ask, that you respect my opinion as being different from yours ... and agree to disagree
Warmest Regards
Karl
Karl H. Timmerman M.A.J.D.
http://www.karltimmerman.com

 

[Karl H. Timmerman M.A.J.D.]

bob d, I mean no ill will or disrespect. XP has some really neat features I have played with them. XP is buggy and has some problems ... which will be fixed. WIN 2K has 90% of the features ...and does not call home. I am curious: are you OK with having to pay MS a yearly fee, (whatever it may be) for accessing your computer and having MS verify what you have on your computer, ( to make sure you are not "pirating" software?). Again ... I mean no disrespect: just curious.
Warmest Regards
Karl
Karl H. Timmerman M.A.J.D.
http://www.karltimmerman.com

 

[widman]

Be carefull of WinXP. There are 2 version

• WinXP Home - which is used Win ME core
• WinXP Professional - which is used Windows 2000 core

This is simply wrong. The difference between WinXP Home and
Professional are that XP Pro supports features like multiple
monitors, remote desktop, etc. For Microsoft's page describing the
difference, go here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/whichxp.asp
-Mike

I'm correct.

I said WinXP home evolution from Win ME/98 core and WinXP Professional from Windows 2000 Professional.

if you look at that web page point
1. Terminal Service - only NT/2000 line support this feature
2. Large Network - Domain - NT/2000 support workgroup and domain
while 95 support only workgroup
3 File Encryption
this statement is NTFS 5.0 (NTFS= NT File System)
4 More robust
5

• Multiple Processor

In microsoft OS product only Win NT line support multiple processor
For Win 2000 Pro and XP Pro microsoft just limit to 2.

• Multiply language (unicode)

Win 95/98/ME is only supporting Ansi code
Win NT/2000 is native in Unicode and supporting Ansi through
function thunking. You can check all windows API for NT line will
ended with W(ide) and for 95 line will ended with A(nsi)

You must install both of them and you will know it.

 

[widman]

Be carefull of WinXP. There are 2 version

• WinXP Home - which is used Win ME core
• WinXP Professional - which is used Windows 2000 core

This is simply wrong. The difference between WinXP Home and
Professional are that XP Pro supports features like multiple
monitors, remote desktop, etc. For Microsoft's page describing the
difference, go here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/whichxp.asp
-Mike

please click on "More about Windows XP Professional features" on that web site.

 

[dgrogers]

That is the fault of the hardware manufacturer (Relisys), not MS.

Really? So, I guess, 5 years ago, Relisys needed to anticipate
what MS was going to do? Gee, could the point be that I was trying
to convey that XP does not have device drivers for older equipment?

You can still use the OS you were using 5 years ago. Nobody is stopping you.

I have no desire to
have MS Techsupport know what I have on my system, (I'm a lawyer
and have an obligation to keep client files secret) ... XP tries to
call home more often than ET.

They call an 800 number once or when major hardware changes have
been made, that is not often. There is no way they can keep track
of everything every user has from the sheer number users. They do
not read any software.

Hmmm ... good point. Guess I forgot ... when I laid my money down
to buy their product ... I assumed the obligation of keeping them
informed of what I have ... so what I PAID for keeps working.

You said you needed to keep you files seceret. Are you implying MS reads your files? Again, it's the hardware manufacturer's responsibility to make drivers. If they can't make drivers, the hardware wasn't very well designed in the first place. More likely, it's Relysis isn't supporting the product anymore in hopes you'll buy a new Relysis scanner.

The copy protection is just flat out
intrusive: I swap out puter parts more often than most folks and I
have no desire to be sitting on hold on a Saturday evening waiting
for permission to reactivate my computer. I have a tendancy not to
trust MS's promise that they will keep my system information secret.

As a lawyer, you know you could successfully sue them if that was
not the case, and they don't keep you waiting on hold.

ROFLMAO: yeah ..right!! The Justice Department of the United
States sued MS for being a monoply and is still in Court!! Do you
honestly believe I, (or you) could sue MS and get into Court before
our children's children were called for a docket call?

The Justice Department is playing games. If it were a clear cut case, it would be over by now.

Bottom line. If you don't swap parts on your puter, if you have
no philosophical problem with MS's copy protection,

As a lawyer, you have no philosophical problem from having an
illegal, pirated copy of a program in your possession?

No I don't. Since I purchased a fully licensed copy.

So that entitles you to a pirated copy? Even if you're only using one copy, you're still supporting people who pirate software -- which will lead to even more obtrusive copy protection in the future.

As somebody
who collects pirated software, I can see why you're complaining
about copy protection, but it's people like you who make it a
necessity.

Aside from the fact that I own MS stock, (do you?)

No, so what's your point? I do know people who work for Microsoft who also say it's the hardware manufacturers responsibility to keep drivers current.

... and aside from the fact that I
endorse the hell out of WIN2k ... what makes you think I have a
library of pirated software?. (which I don't).
I have this overwhelming desire to wish you well ... that you
complete your GED, or graduate from HighSchool ... whichever comes
first ...

Actually, I have a degree in Network Systems Progamming. I understand software and hardware issues very well. I also understand the need for progress, and it's not Microsofts fault your hardware isn't fully supported by Relysis anymore. If the hardware is decent, the OS doesn't matter (the only hardware that suffers is cheap hardware that relies on your computer to do some or all of the processing to perform its function, such as winmodems). Microsoft has an HCL (hardware compatibility list) you can check before you upgrade. You can also check with your hardware manufacturer to see if your hardware is compatible before you upgrade. If you're caught unaware, it's your fault and you should probably have a professional do your upgrades.

 

[Rinus Borgsteede]

I have Win 98 and WinXP running on a dual boot system. Win98 uses a lot less memory but wants to crash ones in while (a lot). WinXP is a memory hog and needs at least 256 MB of RAM and much more if you use it for picture editing. It uses more memory than any other win version but seems to handle just about any type of hardware but needs many new versions of software. Win 2000 is the most solid platform but do not expect hardware to be automatically compatible. If any hardware is incompatible, you'll have problems installing the software and you may not know why. The safest installation is to use Win98 first and do a clean install of Win 2000 on another partition or harddrive after. This way, you can boot to Win98 for software that will not run in Win 2000 or you could simply use Win 2000 only for Photoshop, booting back to Win98 for general use. If there is any problem with all this, is the fact that you need to be a system expert to setup Win 2000.
Rinus