Hello Stephen,

In answer to your first question, the 'slow down' can be attributed to the 
additional requirements of XP over Windows Millennium. Microsoft states: 
"128 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported; 
may limit performance and some features)." Experience has shown that 
anything less than 256 MB seriously impacts on system performance. It's most 
noticeable when attempting to run any program that requires a lot of memory, 
or running two or more programs at the same time. That would be in addition 
to any programs and processes running in the background.

Based on the needs and 'wants' of your friend, reverting back to Windows 
Millennium seems to be the logical solution. This raises several questions 
for us. We don't know if XP was installed as an upgrade or a clean install. 
If it was installed as an upgrade and the Windows Millennium install was 
saved for the purpose of reverting back to it if needed, XP should be listed 
in Add and Remove Programs. See the links below for more information on this 
procedure.

A quick fix for keeping the XP install would be to increase the memory. The 
problem with doing this is that a system that old is probably limited to 
under 256 MB (192 MB ?). The performance increase would be negligible and 
generally not worth the effort and expense.

Probably the easiest route to take is to use Compaq recovery. This method 
would restore his system back to the state it was in when it left the 
factory. Depending on his system (?), it may be on the computers hard drive 
on a separate partition, or on CD(s). Again, we don't know if XP was a clean 
install or an upgrade.

On the age old debate of Windows 98/SE vs. Windows Millennium... If you 
haven't used them, it boils down to who you listen to and how much faith you 
place in what they say. Having used all three (Millennium from its release 
until XP was released), it is my opinion that most of Millennium's bad 
publicity is the result of user ignorance and error. People tend to "bad 
mouth" things that don't work for them when the real problem is they simply 
don't know how to use it.

Millennium can be thought of as a Windows 98 third edition. Basically, it's 
98SE with a facelift... different look and feel, new features were added, 
the My Pictures folder was revamped, etc., and System Restore was 
introduced, to mention a few. It's still Windows 98 under the covers. I 
experienced no problems with it that didn't occur with 98.

Windows XP Professional System Requirements:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/evaluation/sysreqs.mspx

How to manually remove Windows XP and then restore Windows 95, Windows 98, 
or Windows Millennium Edition:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314052

How to manually start the removal process to remove Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;312569

Sven Swanson, Sr.
The NoSpin Group, Inc.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "SRS" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2006 11:20 AM
Subject: [PCBUILD] ME to XP Pro back to ME


Hello All,
> I am helping a friend out with an older computer(app 6 1/2 yrs old).
> Compaq Pentium III 800 mhz processor, 30 gig hd Bus clock 133 mhz,  160
> mb DIMM,NTFS.  The machine came with Windows ME.  Someone installed
> Windows XP Pro and it has slowed down considerably. He uses it to pay
> some bills online and has very limited use.  He just wants it back like
> it was.  Now come the questions. 1) Is the slow-down because of the
> amount of memory that XP Pro requires? 2)  If so, what is the correct
> procedure to uninstall XP Pro and re-install ME or 3) is 98 second
> Edition better?
>
> thanx,
> stephen r stanfield
>
> "I've been fallin' so long, feels like gravity's gone and I'm just 
> floatin'"
> (used without permission) 

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