Windows 2000 or Windows 2000/ME Dual Boot?

[Xavier]

Just got my copy of winME (freebie) from m$ and now I have a dilemma...

to install ME or not to install ME...

I've heard mixed responses as to ME and to be honest am quite happy with most of the aspects of win2K... but i'm finding that performance under windows 2000 is not equal to that of 98 with kit like my geforce 2 (i'm not the only person to say this, anand/hardocp and toms hardware have all commented to similar effect...)

Therefore..

Do I keep my NTFS Win2k Configuration

or...

do I reformat my master HDD (40Gb deskstar) and give ME a 6gb fat32 partition and convert the rest to NTFS and reinstall win2k there...


has anyone got any major reason to avoid ME as an OS?

U know what to do, answers on a postcard.......

oh, sod that... stick something below...

 

[bodhi]

I have personally avoided both ME and 2k lik the plague. ME has dodgy DOS support to say the least (not handy when you want to play Privateer 2 DOS version), and 2k not only feels like NT4 Lite Edition, but seems to randomly crash more often than 98 ever did.

However in your situation I would advise putting ME/98 on just for games performance/compatibility sake. However what you need to ask yourself is, can you be bothered to go through all the hassle of a reformat and reinstall just for an extra 10fps in q3.....

The choice is yours.

Bodhi

 

[old.sjp]

tis ok Bodhi, ia not gona slag u off (but its worth the agro for 10fps )



heres what ive found Xavier (iam a win98, win2k, win2k/win98 user ) .....


Win2K is -

1) very stable (did you really have alot of crashes Bodhi, if so how long ago ?)

2) GREAT for Open GL apps Q3 is quite a bit quicker on it (arround 10pfs on my system).

3) consistanly give me better pings online.

4) stinky for DX games and lets not mention dos .



Win98 is -

1) quick on almost every game.

2) all DX games work on it.

3) not stable (understatement i no )


as far as iam aware, ME has problems shutting down on sum Via chip sets ???, and tehre are a few vid card problems i think (maybe geforece ?????) its really a service pack for win98 so its pretty hard for MS to arse it up.



Personally, i would split my disk into 2 partions the main one is fat32, and ONLY contains win98 and my games, the other is NTFS with all my real apps (and q3) on it.

is it worth the agro ? it depends, do you really need win2k ?

if you do any developement work on you PC or you need stability then the answer is yes, if not ....


if you do go down the dual boot road (i did and i am very happy with the final result ), you will need to install 98/ME first then install Win2k AFTER win 98 is set up. this will really make life easier .....


anyway good luck in what ever you decide to do

 

[old.Mikey]

My Win 2000 rig has been great, I personally would stick with one o/s. In my case 2000.



Mikey out!!

 

[old.Diablo]

I have win2k/winme dual booting and I haven't used winME for about 2 months, because win2k is so stable and fast that I haven't needed to.
I know that there are some performance issues for the geforce cards in win2k tho, so I'd install winme if you want to get the best outta your geforce.

only my 2 cents

 

[old.MeddlE]

I installed win2k back in January, dual booting with win98, and I haven't booted win98 since. It may be a little bit slower, but it doesn't make anything unplayable (that I play) and the networking/internet side of things is far superior to win9x.

Just my opinion tho.

 

[Embattle]

There is a simple way at looking if you really need WIN ME, if WIN 98 runs well then its not worth getting since you could end up causing problems. If on the other hand you've got problems with WIN98 then WINME might help cure those problems.

W2K is the way to go, DX8 will help boost the standard DX7 that comes with W2K Pro and you'll see an improvement in D3D games.

I wouldn't bother dual booting, either pick one or the other since its often less hassle.

 

[old.Monyet]

i got win2k + winme dual boot

been using win2k since beta rc3 and i've had it crash on me about.......erm.....mebbe once since december

had winme since august and it's damn stable -zero problems, hardly ever locks up, all my hardware works, recovers well from crashed apps and well....is 1000000x better than win98 for me

both win2k and winme can run for ages without rebooting - unlike win98 which just goes mega shite after a day of standing up

tbh win98 and 98se were just plain shite win95b was much better....

 

[old.SUp3rFM]

W2k owns. Stable, not like any other M$ products. Bodhi, if your w2k is crashing, than there's something wrong with you, so.. fuck off and die of AIDS e/or mange

oh... UT runs great on w2k, what could you ask for more?

 

[old.sjp]

hey, no picking in Bodhi, he's got a reasonable footer now

iam using the latest version of DX 8.0 on Win2K and have seen NO, NONE, ZERO, ZILCH ! speed improvement using it

 

[old.SUp3rFM]

Which version? RC1 aka 219? I've downloaded, gonna install it today. The previous build 146 just expired. Now i get a crappy window warning me of that

 

[old.sjp]

yep 2.19 and like i said no speed increase at all .

anyone else have more luck with Dx8 and win2k ?

 

[Embattle]

Have heard that the fastest version was build 146(think it was that version), but this one still seems fine.

 

[bids]

I have RC1 DX8 on my W2K system,and I had a small increase with this over 146 in 3DMark (a couple of hundred).

 

[old.SUp3rFM]

Emb, ain't your dx8 build 146 expired? I had to search for RC1 because of that crappy window warning me that "bla bla bla beta has expired bla bla"

 

[old.sjp]

sod rcX !

if you are using Win2K and a geforce(2) get the new beta drivers from nivid (6.47) my 3DMark score when up by over 1000 and isent far from 98 now (within a few hunderd)!

 

[bodhi]

*sigh*

SuperFM you appear to have issues. I was trying to help someone out, and you turn round and be a cock. Win 2k on my machine is about as stable as an Italian in a traffic jam. GP2 took it down every time without fail, UT comes up with some horrible visual artefacts on it. As a result I formatted and went back to NT4. The result? Computer still solid as a rock after 2 weeks in continuous operation. No reboots, no nothing. Everything which made 2k turn up its toes and die, motors on happily under NiceTry 4. Granted theres no D3D support, but as I dont actually use D3D, Im quite happy of this fact

Anyway Im going to go back to bed and finish dying of the flu.


Bodhi

 

[old.SUp3rFM]

bodhi, u must write down to the m$ dudes and explain your issues. You're probably one in a ... nevermind. I think it's because of the flu that u can't tell a joke from a flame... so.. fuck off and die of flue e/or mange

 

[old.sjp]

me not slaging any one off

making a wild guess , do u have a geforce and a k7 bodhi ?

if you do, win2k IS about as stable as a XXXX UNLESS u

disable the acpi stuff and make sure you DONT HAVE FASTWRITES enabled, if you do BANG everytime u use it.

i HAD the same probs with gp3, but i did the above and now it NEVER crashes. combined with the new 6.47 drivers Win2k is overall FASTER than my 98 setup (which ill keep for compatabilities sake).

also remeber in open gl win2k PISSES all over 98, exampe frame rates for demo001 in q3 on my dual boot -

HQ 800x -
Win98 94 fps
Win2K 99 fps

Simple tweeks @ 940x -
Win98 134 fps
Win2K 201 fps

the tweaked one uses 16 bit colour but has plenty of eye candy on, and you have to addmit there is a BIG difference and the win2k one is rock stable what ever iam doing.

and before i get slagged off, i no some of u dont want a steady 125fps when u play online but I DO, so live with it

 

[bodhi]

Nope. P3 500 and either Rage 128 or TNT2u (was unstable with both).

As far as Im aware the openGL support was even faster under NT4, which leads to some obscene Q3 frame rates for the card I have.