Which OS Should I use?

[greatman05]

Hey, guys. I have this computer with this current configuration that I want to change the OS of:

Compaq Deskpro EN
Intel Pentium 3 866mHz (133FSb X 5)
256MB SDRAM Memory (2 X 128 @ 100 Mhz)
NVIDIA Riva TNT2 Graphics Card 16MB @ 142mhZ core, 166 mhZ memory
ONboard SoundMAX Integrated Audio
20GB WEstern Digital HDD @ 5400RPM or 7200RPM
2 Optical Drives (Pioneer DVD-116 40xCD, 16xDVD; HP CD-Writer Plus! 8000 series 8XCD-R, 4XCD-RW, 32XCD)
Windows ME

What would be the pros and cons of upgrading the OS to Windows 2000? Would I get any performance benefits or added stability? Would I be able to run most of today's applications? Thanks in advance!

 

[okopie]

Stability would improve but I would add more RAM Hard Drive is a lil small but this kind of depends on what you do with it. you could even run XP on it I have ran XP on as low as a PIII 600 w/ 512 and it didn't run to bad.

without upgrading RAM your speed would be a lilbit slower than a FRESH install of ME,

 

[SNGX1275]

Run Win2000. Its a far superior design than 98, you'll get added stability, performance might be a tad slower, but not much. 2000 ran on pretty slow (compared to today) systems when it came out just fine. It will also run nearly everything that runs on XP.

Another good thing about 2000 is there are still being drivers made/updated for it.

A con is it will take a lot longer to boot than 98 does, but a pro is you won't have to do it as often

 

[greatman05]

Now, here's 2 other questions I want to ask (PLEASE CONTINUE TO REPLY TO THE FIRST POST):

1.) A.)Should I perform the upgrade from Windows ME to 2000?
B.) If yes, what SP of WIndows 2000 should I use? I think there are 6 of them.
2.) Why was Windows ME a bad OS?

 

[smore9648]

Now, here's 2 other questions I want to ask (PLEASE CONTINUE TO REPLY TO THE FIRST POST):

1.) A.)Should I perform the upgrade from Windows ME to 2000?
B.) If yes, what SP of WIndows 2000 should I use? I think there are 6 of them.
2.) Why was Windows ME a bad OS?

98/ME are obsolete and are no longer supported by MS.

I would upgrade to XP home.


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I am also curious about your signature "Goooooooo Black People"

 

[Didou]

Windows 2000 has 4 service packs last I checked & it's better to do a clean install rather then an upgrade, especially from Windows ME.

 

[LNCPapa]

I would also recommend a clean install of 2000. You'll have better (more up to date) application support and I highly doubt you do any gaming on this machine. Also, as has been previously mentioned, 98/ME has no more support from MS. You'll also have the option of putting in a larger drive (even secondary) and using NTFS which I highly recommend over FAT32. It may be a little slower than FAT32, but well worth the small sacrifice. You can then set per-user permissions on files and resources and have much more granular control over their access. Stability is definitely going to be added by moving to 2000 as well. Fewer reboots and current security patches are another motivating factor.
ME was bad because unless you fit into a specific set of hardware constraints there were terrible stability issues. Those who had the hardware that worked fine with it thought it was every bit as good as 98SE - the rest had migraines till they formatted and put something else on.

 

[greatman05]

Actually, I play light 3D games (C&C Renegade, SimCity 4, etc.). I am basically looking for a OS who's performance doesn't degrade over time too much...I basically want newer app support and all that...

I went on ahead and tried to upgrade. It keeps saying "Please INsert the Windows 2000 Professional CD". I used a backup copy that a friend had. Does W2K SP$ have some type of encyrption or whatever? I read on another site that when you make a backup copy of this os, you have to label the volume label a certain way...