Win XP

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Been assembling a desktop PC - really just to use for storing AV files - as part of my AV setup. Only needs to work with an HD TV as monitor. Have a suitable sound card with phono outputs which will do - but needed a graphics card with HDMI since the motherboard has only VGA. And I have an GF 310 lying around, which has HDMI, DVI and VGA.

Two HDs. An SSD with Win7 as the main, and a 2G SATA which already was partitioned with XP.

Not sure if I'll ever actually need XP, but since it's there, why not?

Win 7 worked on the TV with no special driver for the graphics card.

XP did too - except no suitable resoluting for HD TV. So oval circles.

Downloaded the drivers and software for the GeoForce 310 from their site for XP. Installed it.

On booting, screen goes blank after a couple of minutes. XP still loading by the HD LED. Left it ages, but still blank.

Took a monitor to it, and that worked - but oddly only on DVI.

Loaded the GF software, and couldn't find a way of setting it for HDMI only. Tried the clone setting for two monitors, and on came the TV. But on a re-boot, with the DVI monitor unplugged, back to the blank screen.

I'm sure there's a simple way round this. ;-)

[whisky-dave]

Yeah Get a Mac ;-)

Aren't some file sizes too large for XP to handle, or rathe rthe FAT file ssystem. The newish mkv file format that are above 3.5GB, as I remmebr a friends laptop not being able to play them..

[Brian Gaff]

Find out what the other sockets needs to see for it to think it has two monitors and wire a plug like that? Brian

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Not really worried about that because I'll use Win7 for its main use. But there are one or two interesting progs on the XP partition it could be nice to have.

[leenowell]

How about running Ubuntu instead (free) and run Kodi on it to view your AV files. Doesn't have the vulnerabilities of XP and Win7 and as a TV Kodi gives a nice interface. You can download and burn onto a CD and boot from there to give it a try to see if you like it without installing anything

XP went end of support in 2014 I believe and Win7 is only on extended support until beg 2020.

[Jethro_uk]

Linux ?

[Robin]

So use NTFS

[whisky-dave]

I didn't think you could while running XP

[jrwalliker]

Why not? Windows NT (along with NTFS) is a lot older than XP.

John

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Would that be to replace the XP partition? Would it run all those XP progs it might be nice to keep?

Or are you just evangelizing again? ;-)

[Richard]

Which progs?

[David]

Run under W7 in XP compatibility mode?

Cheers

Dave R

[T i m]

I think it sounds like a 'good idea', till you (where you = 'yer average PC / Admin user') try to make it do something on something that isn't specifically 'Linux friendly' ... and you have a life and family etc, then you can be in a world of hurt and frustration.

My Mrs's PC triple boots XP, W7 and a Linux and she can happily use the old analogue PC card as a capture device to watch her Topfield STB via the composite video interface in either Windows but *I've* yet to be able to make that work in Linux.

I think I got as far as the card being supported but never got as far as telling it what input to use. I didn't because it was a 'wild goose chase' and I never have the time nor interest to chase that up for *no reason*. 'No reason' because the Mrs is perfectly happy with Windows <shrug>.

The only real time I've been able to make 'good use' of Linux is on the odd laptop that is able to run something like Mint and ICBA to install a later Windows on it. If it's worthy, a later Windows will always be more productive for all of us (and there is always something that is 'Windows only' that we really don't want to have to go without or struggle to cover with Linux (often poorly if at all).

That said, where Linux is running behind the scenes, like on my RPi OMV file server or my Toshiba TV, then it can be reliable and offer a good (background) service. ;-)

I do have three family / friends who aren't really PC literate and who have very simple / basic needs who actually run Linux as their primary OS, (or run it on a secondary PC) but they are in the minority.

However, if you happen to know a Linux geek who would come round and set it all up for you (they love all that and are generally single so it doesn't matter how long it takes them <g>) ... and leave you with it all working 100%, you could be good to go (as long as they are also available to fix it if / when it goes wrong, like if you update it and it screws with the video settings). ;-(

Cheers, T i m

[Dave Plowman (News)]

There's a bought (and rather expensive at the time) video editor and associated capture card which is fine for my simple needs and was going to cost a fortune to update to a later OS. Not that I've used it for ages.

Problem now solved. Found the original installation CD and that's sorted it. Must have been something different about the downloaded software - although the graphics etc look the same.

[Chris Green]

In my life I've found just as many things that aren't "Windows friendly" as I've found aren't "Linux friendly" - there's both!

As a result the best solution (for me) is to run Linux and have a Windows virtual machine running 'in Linux' when I need it for things like my scanner software and Adobe's acroread and the occasional (now getting rarer) instance where OpenOffice doesn't cope with a native Office file.

[harry]

I have had weird problems with XP too. Graphics wouldn't work properly with many newer devices.

[voyager1space]

Lubuntu is wonderful for old PCs if you want to give Linux a go. You can dual boot it with Windows.

[Tim Watts]

ExFAT...

[whisky-dave]

That's what I use on the TV when using a USB stick. Not sure which PC OS that workd with.

[Mark]

XP supports NTFS.

(But I wouldn't use XP -- it's too old and insecure).