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9x users' opinion of Windows NT 4.0?


Andrew T.

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no Windows needs IE at all

Yes.

FAT is obsolete

No. It still stores our files fine.

having separate access rights for users and root are essential

They have no place at all on a home computer. They belong on business computers where there is an administration/support team, and users.

My sentiments exactly! NT 4.0 was targeted FOR business users AND makes a LOUSY OS for the consumers/home users. 9X OSes were tailor made for consumers and home users. So you can't please everyone with a "one size fits all" OS!

And some more things about NT4: LACK of TRUE Plug and Play code [notice I used the word "TRUE"] and NO Add New Hardware Wizard to help ease the installation of hardware. If you want to setup hardware under NT4, you'll have to do it the old fashion way, install the drivers and run the setup program to configure system resources like IRQs, I/O address, etc. I'd prefer the Add New Hardware Wizard and Plug & Play anyday to simplify things.

And setting up different types of hardware under NT 4.0 is also gonna make some people's blood pressure rise!

If you want to setup a video card under NT4, use Display control panel app

To setup sound cards, joysticks, or other multimedia stuff use the MultiMedia control panel app

For setting up modems, use the Modem control panel app

For setting up SCSI or IDE hardware use SCSI Devices app

man, do we have to go all over the place to setup different kinds of hardware under NT4? :realmad:

Also, setting up and installing the actual NT4 OS itself is more challenging than installing 9xME OSes. First time I had to setup NT4, I was forced to create three NT4 setup disks and have to boot with the NT4 setup disks to continue setup.

AND when it comes to multitasking, 9x OSes rule since 9x OSes use less system resources than NT4 and I can switch between programs easily and quickly with ANY 9x OS.

As said, NT 4.0 is very similar to Windows 95, so it's good in my book. It has lacking DirectX support, I hear, though.

Oh NT4 has some DirectX support. Only DX 3.0a included in NT4 SP3-SP6.

When Windows NT 4.0 was first released, it was unstable and almost unusable. It took Microsoft at least THREE service packs to fix most of the major problems with NT4 and make it right. MS released NT4 SP3 NINE MONTHS after NT4 was released.

At least many of the weaknesses of NT4 were fixed in NT5 (Win2000).

-End of Story-

Edited by erpdude8
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you needed to create three floppy disks? you must of just used the i386 files, you have to have the whole disk for nt4 unlike 9x there is dx5 for nt4 kind of. Id forgoton about all the stuff in weird places it gives me an idea though.

i quite like nt4 but i do prefer 98se, though i think nt4 is a nicer setup because it is much faster

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  • 3 weeks later...

To go back to the original question. My answer is to forget NT4, reasons

Sets up a 2GB partition which is to small for home use but fine in an business environment where everything is fixed. I know it can be stretched to 4GB

but its still not large enough for today's applications. To patch it is a nightmare even using the service packs and Qchain. It was still very buggy even when it was made obsolete by MS.

If you like playing with the OS try Win98SE and use this forum to update it as MS won't support it.

If you can get it go for Win 2000 SP4 its at least stable and is easily patched (well up to Jan 08 anyway when it to is to be made obsolete) if you want to share the system.

Otherwise its XP as MS will support it for 2 -3 years more.

Its down to what you want to do with your computer and the age of the applications you want to use.

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If you can get it go for Win 2000 SP4 its at least stable and is easily patched (well up to Jan 08 anyway when it to is to be made obsolete) if you want to share the system.

Otherwise its XP as MS will support it for 2 -3 years more.

Sorry, but you've put incorrect information in another thread: according to this table Windows 2000 will be support till 2010: http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/sea...Filter=FilterNO

Windows XP even much longer: http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/sea...Filter=FilterNO

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I read Nathan Lineback's latest feature yesterday: Sick Windows Tricks 2. You can install NT4 on a FAT32 partition, though you'll need a Windows 2000 install CD. Read how.

Interesting! :thumbup

I never thought that the clever filesystem driver from here:

http://ashedel.chat.ru/fat32/

Could work on the System drive.

FYI, there is no need whatsoever of installing Windows 2000, you just need the NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM from win2K or XP/2003, since the referenced page affirms that you can later delete the Wn2K install directory.

The problem might still be the FAT16 to FAT32 conversion, since not everyone has a partition manager app that can do that, and I am not sure about freeware tools that can do it, best bet is probably using method #3 here:

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~jeacocke/fat16to.htm

(since cvt.exe is a DOS app, it may run from a DOS bootdisk :unsure:)

It seems like the ME version, strangely enough ;) definitely works from DOS:

http://www.mdgx.com/secrets.htm

http://www.md4pc.com/questions/36.htm

or this proggie here:

http://www.unusualresearch.com/cvtfat32/cvtfat32.htm

jaclaz

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