I have 3 XP pro computers and 1 Win98se running in a home network.  Have had
no problems with installs or compatability with the exception of EZCD
Creator which I had to upgrade, and my 5 year old scanner (which had no
driver update), but which I simply attached to my Win98se system.
One computer, the latest one I built, has a clean install, and the other 2
are both upgrades from Win98se.  They all run effortlessly, are quicker,
with no downtime...XP is soooo stable!  No resource problems, no rebooting
even after heavy program installations, and the comfort of knowing you can
perform a system restore , or driver rollbacks  at any time.  You also have
the option of running individual programs in Win98, or Win95 compatability
modes, if necessary!
Networking was a breeze too, and from past experience, that can be a
nightmare with some systems.
I download and test a lot of 'freeware' programs, and have not run into
anything yet that was not compatable. 99% of my applications that I ran in
Win98 are fine, or require a simple update (more and more updates are
becoming available). NT and 2000 versions sometimes work also.
I subscribe to a number of newsgroups and follow the threads from those
experiencing problems with their Xp installations...most often the so-called
'bugs' they are experiencing are resolved with driver and software updates,
and just being aware that this is a new OS that they must learn about from
the ground up.
There are certain problems that are very common, especially with GeForce Vid
Cards, Creative drivers, Zone Alarm Firewall and Networking, Norton System
Works, and Roxio EZCD and DirectCd, but most of them have fixes or
workarounds.
The best advice is to run the Compatability tool (very large, but you can
download it from the Microsoft site, or find a friend who will let you
borrow their XP cd to run it) to see if you need to do any upgrading, and do
that first.  Then if you are still timid about doing a clean install, do an
upgrade to Xp, try it out, and if you don't LOVE it, you can uninstall it
and go back to your previous operating system.
Personally, I would never go back, and the only reason I'm keeping one
Win98se machine, is because I use it still to test applications and test
things for others that are still running that OS.
Whatever you decide, Good Luck! and if you have more questions, I'd be happy
to answer if I can.
Marg Belliveau...

----- Original Message -----
From: "garry bassett" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2002 10:27 AM
Subject: Re: [PCBUILD] XP vs 2000


> HI STAN,
>    i upgraded to win xp pro and had nothing but hassle with it,it would
not
> recognise my geforce 2mx card and when i ran it with another card half the
> software programs had problems with it.
> it was an absolute nightmare so i went back to win ME,XP is the biggest
> waste of cash going.
> HOPE THIS HELPS....
>
>
>
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