Thank you to all that responded with experiences using Windows 2000. As a
result, I have now resolved most of my issues with Win2K. Here is what
happened so that others may be aware of possible pitfalls.

1. The problem with Microsoft Access 2000 not opening or saving files. This
will happen if you start the program form a command prompt, or with some
program launchers (toolbars, etc). I still don't know why this happens, but
the solution is to use the Start/Programs menu, the Office Shortcut Bar, or
the Win2K Toolbars.

2. Slow response using Windows Explorer, or unzipping files. As I suspected,
this ended up being a hardware related problem. Only one disk partition was
affected for some reason, but it was on an IDE drive. Checking my CMOS
settings, I found that Ultra DMA was NOT enabled. The drive and
on-motherboard controller both were UltraIDE 66 capable. I am not sure which
part fixed it, but I installed an UltraIDE cable (the 80 wire one) and set
the CMOS to Ultra DMA. Now there is no slowdown in Windows Explorer, and the
unzip that took 1 minute 25 seconds before, now is completed in under 7
seconds!

For some reason, NT was not as impacted by this Ultra DMA problem. For
reference, the unzip under NT took 15 seconds. I suspect that Win2K drivers
recognize the UltraIDE capability and try to use it - this could easily
result in read errors and repeat reads of the same sectors. This is only my
speculation, but the slow responses seem to substantiate it.

3. PowerPoint files in Win2K are 3 times larger than under NT. This is still
a problem on my system. Unfortunately, I have not had anyone else give me
feedback as to this happening on other systems.

In conclusion, I am now migrating more of my system to Win2K, and boot to it
most of the time. It allows me to share my modem connection with my wife's
and daughter's computer, and it fixes a pet peeve of mine - NT, Win95, and
Win98 do not properly remember the Windows Explorer window size. The first
window is remembered, but additional windows were not. Win2K fixed that!
Incidentally, if you run Office Shortcut Bar and dock it at the top or left
(not bottom or right), then the Windows Explorer window size works properly!

Peter Shkabara
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