OT Building new computer (DIY)

[notbob]

I was being sarcastic about having never run Windows in 10 yrs. I have 2 XP boxes. One is hardly ever used at all (netbook), the other used soley for Netflix, they and M$ having made NF streaming unavailable to Linux as of yet. I still hafta reboot about every other day to get it to straighten up and fly right.

Agreed. Despite my Netflix/XP box having the rare freaky-deaky day, it's surprisingly robust, not succumbing to any really bad mojo or exploits, despite still being really crapped up with bloatware. OTOH, I don't use it for anything BUT Netflix. That means no browsing the mean streets or darker side of the web or reading email, etc. I would certainly hope Win7 is a step up. BTW, I notice how all you offended Windows users have managed to completely jump from the W98/XP era to Win7 as if Vista never existed. How does that work? ;)

nb

[George]

One of my notebooks came with XP and was "vista ready". So I had a pretty good idea how it performed. Maybe a year ago I installed Win7 on it and it ran better than XP did on the same exact hardware.

[Jim Elbrecht]

So you bailed before XP? Should've stuck around for that one. [Win

7 is too different for this old brain to make the adjustment easily-- but it might even be better than XP if I can learn how to do what I want with it] If you haven't run windows in 10 years, how can you have an opinion on it?

That would be like me saying that Lamborghinis ride like shit. I've never been in one, but I can tell by looking at them.

I run my desktop 24/7 and probably reboot every couple or 3 weeks for some reason or other. Did it with XP for years, and now Win 7 for a couple months. Seems pretty reliable to me-

Jim

[Jim Elbrecht]

That isn't the OS-- maybe you should call the Geek squad.

-snip-

It is easy-- I went from WFWG 3.11 to XP, to Win 7. Maybe Win 12 will look good to me-

Jim

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, So you are not doing much. No serious stuffs such as numbert crunching using spread sheet or graphics work, HTNL programming, etc. AMD is not a goo chice for floating point ops.

[notbob]

ummm.... yeah, it is. When you gotta reboot the box cuz rebooting the program don't cut it, it's the OS. Besides, I AM the geek squad. ;)

nb

[gfretwell]

I have most of my machines on XP Pro SP3 and they are very stable but the couple W/98SE machines I am running are pretty stable too, once you get all the patches on. That is the problem with Microsoft. Just about the time they get the bugs out, they come out with a new release. That is why I stay at least one version off the bleeding edge. Let the pioneers take the arrows.

[gfretwell]

If I didn't still have a bunch of drives from other companies running, I might agree. I still have a Fijitsu 1.6g that lived in my car for 8 years, cranking up in 140 degree ambients most of the summer and at least 100 most of the rest of the year. It still works. I have some old Maxtors and a couple IBM/Hitachis that are a decade old. I have to look around for a working W/D, just to hook up so data lifeguard tools will run. Fortunately it only has to report, it doesn't have to actually work.

[gfretwell]

I made this clock with a 14, 7, 5 & 3 inch platter. Each smaller one holds more data than the larger one before it.

[gfretwell]

My MP3 players run DOS and the one in the tiki bar is running in the W/98 DOS box, just because I want the network capability.

There is an application for XP that lets you run real DOS but it is a little clunky.

I also run W/98 on my server for the scanner, fax, printer and weather station. It runs on an old Thinkpad, just because it only takes a few watts to go. That may get replaced by a WYSE thin client but it will still be W/98 or XP.

[gfretwell]

Did you put the SP3 upgrade on and have you let MS do the updates? It really will help.

[notbob]

I upgraded to SP3, but no other updates other than Silverlight. Actually hadda downgrade a step on FF and SL. It's stable enough, now. If I could find the original install disc, I'd do a wipe and start over, but my alzheimer mom lost it and it's her computer. One day, I may dig out a virgin copy of XP I have and install it.

I'm sure Windows has improved since win2k, but I still read about it imposing control over the user. This new secure boot (UEFI) crap in Win8 is jes more of the same game. Screw that. My linux box does EXACTLY what I WANT it to, no more, no less. It's mine. Hands off, M$! Hell, Apple is even worse.

nb

[clare]

Emphasize the "percieved"

[clare]

You don't work on many computers then. Average lifespan appears to be just around the 3 1/2 years for "consumer" drives. Yes, some last 5 or six, but enough fail at less than one to even out the average. Laptop drives in particular. I've got one here on a Toshiba, 1 1/2 months out of warranty - junk.

[clare]

I remember when a 20mb drive was cheap at $500. My then Brother-In Law bought a PC, and by the time he had upgraded to DSDD floppies, then an add-on hard drive, and an EGA monochrome video card and monitor, it had cost him more than his new Ford Ranchwagon, loaded with 460, posi, and AC

[clare]

I've amassed a colection od about 100 HDD magnets from all manufacturers - and definitely more WD Cavs than Seagate Baracudas.

[clare]

Different horses for different courses, and all in the eye of the beholder. Your experience differs from many.

[clare]

Because even though it craps out once in a while, it is simple, the apps are reasonable and plentiful, and the support base, generally, is much broader and "closer to the ground"

[clare]

The problem is figuring out what the "unrecognized device" really is. After that has been figured out, getting the driver is only "slightly" painful.

[clare]

I still can, as long as I stay with the OS supplied with the machine. Upgrades, or downgrades from Vista to XP, can be a BITCH.(particularly if the model in question was never shipped with XP)