WindowsME can BITE ME

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sat Nov 30, 2002 10:56 pm

WinME lasted exactly ONE WEEK on my new lappy. That's it.

I don't totally blame WinME though - it's the custom Compaq installation on this lappy. I've installed ME on plenty of systems and never seen this before so I know it's the Compaq crap.

No matter what I did I could not get free system resources above 70% which is rediculous. A clean ME install (and I just did one the other day for a friend) has 90% free.

Believe me I cleaned out the registry startup and still couldn't get it it over 70%. Even worse, I was running low on memory with 128Mb installed!!!!

F' That!

I upgraded it to XP and it's running fine and dandy (with all the XP eye-candy disabled and configured to look and feel like Win2K thank you - I HATE the XP GUI).

Amazingly I've even got 40 - 50Mb free with only 128Mb installed (got another 128Mb stick coming in the mail).

XP did a nice job upgrading from ME. It shrugged off all the Compaq crap I couldn't find, gave me fair warning about 2 items I'd have to re-install and the upgrade when smoothly.

I've done several Win9x to WinXP upgrades now and as long as you have Internet access when you start the installation (so XP can download the latest compatibility info) it always seems to go smoothly.

Oh, and before you ask, the reason I didn't install 2K in this lappy is because I didn't want to do a clean install since I had just finished installing all my apps (2K doesn't upgrade well but XP does), and XP boots a hell of a lot faster than 2K which is nice on a lappy.

Absolut Talent · Post by **Absolut Talent** » Sun Dec 01, 2002 2:50 pm

oh yeah

i found out what a load of steamy crap winME is awhile ago. Been with win2k ever since

winME is less functional. More bloated. And not a improvement over any previous OS

plucky duck · Post by **plucky duck** » Mon Dec 02, 2002 1:29 am

Yup, it sucks so much arse I actually gave it away. How sad it is I was forced to pay for it though

Worthless cd, just like 'em AOL discs

Tomuchtime · Post by **Tomuchtime** » Mon Dec 02, 2002 2:48 am

I never played with M.E. and I wouldnt' fool with it on a bet. I do the same thing with xp as far as changing from "Fisher-Price" back to something more useable on the theme side of things.
I don't know if there is any progress at the 98-lite site for XP but I check once in
a while to see what can be stripped out with out much hassle.
Enjoy the new toy.
Bill
ps what did you do with the old lappy?

Executioner · Post by **Executioner** » Mon Dec 02, 2002 3:38 pm

That is the only OS I don't have a copy of because it's a POS. I usually help my friends with their pc, but if it has ME, I let them know that what ever happens, I'm not responsible.

brdfryr123 · Post by **brdfryr123** » Mon Dec 09, 2002 8:07 pm

What's the matter, you guys don't appreciate Windows Crash-o-matic? I read somewhere that ME was actually Windows 98 third edition. I have installed ME on several machines and each time the performance suffered. (over Win98). Unfortunately, I have to dual boot XP and ME because some of my stuff is not compatible with XP.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Mon Dec 09, 2002 11:06 pm

ps what did you do with the old lappy?

Old lappy's going in the garage as a workstation on my workbench when I get around to running RJ45 out there (is 75 feet away from the house - have to dig a trench).

The battery is going to my cousin who has the same laptop. The rest of it is spare parts for him if he needs it.

Busby · Post by **Busby** » Tue Dec 10, 2002 2:55 pm

Originally posted by brdfryr123
What's the matter, you guys don't appreciate Windows Crash-o-matic? I read somewhere that ME was actually Windows 98 third edition. I have installed ME on several machines and each time the performance suffered. (over Win98). Unfortunately, I have to dual boot XP and ME because some of my stuff is not compatible with XP.

Personally I would say ME is Windows 98 1 1/2 Edition. 2nd Edition is by far better. ME adds updates which can be downloaded, Movie Maker, and a networking wizard. ME was Microsoft trying to leave DOS, but not leave it, and realizing it's either NT or DOS, there is no inbetween.

jadinolf · Post by **jadinolf** » Wed Dec 11, 2002 9:55 pm

I had ME for almost 2 weeks.

I liked the fact that it had drivers for most of my hardware.

Other than that I hated it.

BillyGoat · Post by **BillyGoat** » Thu Dec 12, 2002 3:08 am

the only 2 advantages with ME were quick boot time , and it had the largest driver database in any version of windows (better outa the box hardware support) but alas it was a flaming pile of dog shit..
Instable as hell, tryed to take away command prompt, gaming perf.. was about 85% of 98, it was bloated... and still i have clients who wont get rid of it because they have become dependant on its wizards- like newbs become dependant on aol or msn for I-net access.. Believe it or not XP is the only MS os that ive actaully praised more then cursed XP pro- fisher prie turned off thankyou... havent had to format my comp in the almost 1 and 1/2 yrs xp has been installed, even after thousands of hardware changes..

Tomuchtime · Post by **Tomuchtime** » Fri Dec 13, 2002 5:25 am

Well I'll be.
I had a friend stop in the kitchen the other night and ask if I could help them get thier cable modem installed.Sure enough Comcast was there and gone because of some lame excuse about windows 98 and they needed to install ME. Hell,I'm no expert but I thought wtf lets see what we can do. Heres the kicker - its some old 233mmx /128 6 gigger thing and I thought if I'm lucky it'll crash and they can get something new.Right? Wrong.The install went as flawless as I could imagine and now the damn thing - 233Mhz runs like a champ.
Bastard. well I told them not to get into too much office stuff 'cause sooner or later it'll run out of room ect... FP if your reading this I guess it just goes to show ya never know.Go figure.These people are tickeled and they never needed the upgrade for cable but what the hell....
Bill

Yeah, ME looks like 98 ver.3 I might just keep a copy around for the other boxes in the cornner so I have something to wreck around with.