Should I go back?

[Rockeh]

Hey there! I'm new to MSFN forums and I'm really liking the community and "feel" to this forum already.

Anyway, I wanted to get some feedback before making my final decision.

Before on my old computer* I had Windows 98 running very smoothly and I decided to try Windows XP Home Edition, so I did a clean install on my computer. However, as expected, XP ran very slow on my old system and I went back to Windows 98. Now that I've got a somewhat newly acquired PC that a friend gave to me(barely used), it runs on Windows XP Home Edition. Even with a somewhat faster PC (specs below) XP still feels slow and clogged. However, I really like the features of XP and all the program support. Blahblahblah, let me get to the point.

I really only use the computer for general use like talking on msn, browsing a ton of websites (running my own) and low-end gaming like The Sims. Now that I find XP considerably slow compared to 98, I'm wondering if I should go back. The only thing that is holding me back right now is the program support. I use quite a few programs on my computer like NOD32 (anti-virus), several image editing programs like Fireworks MX 2004 and the general programs. I'm scared that Windows 98 will not support these programs or low-end games.

I'm not worried about the updates for W98 because I see that MSFN has quite a few resources and downloads for that, so that is off my mind. It's only the program support.

So, should I go back to 98 or stay with XP? Opinions in general would be fantastic!

(*)Older PC specs (not important):

500mhz, 128mb ram, 10gb hd, 8mb video card.

OS used: 98SE(1st), Windows ME/2000, XP Home ED.

New PC specs:

AMD 1.6Ghz, 320MB RAM (plan to upgrade soon), 20 GB HD x 1 (main, for OS, installations etc), 140gb HD x 1 (for downloads & backups), NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 video card.

Cheers!

EDIT: Wow, I totally missed hardware support. I just wanted to mention I have software for all my hardware (supports 98) except my Nvidia FX 5200, I'm skeptical if there are drivers for my video card for 98 as I can only find drivers for 2000/XP.

Edited February 22, 2008 by Rockeh

[galahs]

Your system should run fine on 98 and XP.

You just have to tweak XP a touch. Turn off the fancy graphics and effects etc, make it look more like 98.

You can get 98 drivers that support your graphics card

Have you considered dual booting?

That's what I do. That way you can use both OS. You just pick the one you want to enter when you boot up your pc.

[Rockeh]

Your system should run fine on 98 and XP.

You just have to tweak XP a touch. Turn off the fancy graphics and effects etc, make it look more like 98.

You can get 98 drivers that support your graphics card

Have you considered dual booting?

That's what I do. That way you can use both OS. You just pick the one you want to enter when you boot up your pc.

Hi there, thanks for the response.

I have tried dual booting in the past and I've had some problems, so I decided to leave that out of the equation.

Thanks for the tips, I guess I'll try tweaking XP a bit. My only pet peeve with XP is the long loading times and shutting down times. I'll see what I can do or find.

[galahs]

We have been compiling a list of certain programs that we know work with Windows 98 Second Edition.

http://www.msfn.org/board/Versions-Softwar...SE-t105936.html

Fireworks MX 2004 should work, but newer versions may not.

[galahs]

I've got XP running quite nicely on my Pentium 2 333Mhz so I'm sure you can get it going pretty fast on your machine.

Some good tips are here: http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/xptweaks/supertweaks1.htm

The easiest performance boost is a function built into XP to do most of the hard work for you.

Control Panel - Systems - click the Advanced tab > under Performance click the Settings button >

and select Configure for Best Performance

[Rockeh]

We have been compiling a list of certain programs that we know work with Windows 98 Second Edition.

http://www.msfn.org/board/Versions-Softwar...SE-t105936.html

Fireworks MX 2004 should work, but newer versions may not.

Yeah I saw that just a few minutes ago, I'm delighted that most programs I use are supported on Windows 98. Thanks!

[Rockeh]

I've got XP running quite nicely on my Pentium 2 333Mhz so I'm sure you can get it going pretty fast on your machine.

Some good tips are here: http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/xptweaks/supertweaks1.htm

The easiest performance boost is a function built into XP to do most of the hard work for you.

Control Panel - Systems - click the Advanced tab > under Performance click the Settings button >

and select Configure for Best Performance

Awesome, thank you for the link. I'm not really familiar with tweaking Windows but this should help a lot.

[galahs]

Your welcome mate

[Sfor]

Wow, I totally missed hardware support. I just wanted to mention I have software for all my hardware (supports 98) except my Nvidia FX 5200, I'm skeptical if there are drivers for my video card for 98 as I can only find drivers for 2000/XP.

So happens, I'm running Windows 98SE with GeForce FX 5200 graphics card, at the moment. The last ForceWare ment for Windows 98 was 81.98, I think. And, it does support FX 5200 cards.

[RetroOS]

I'm running Windows 98SE as my primary OS and dual booting with XP on my second HDD.

I have a nVidia GeForce FX 5200 video card and have been using the unofficial 82.69 video drivers for the last eight months with no problems.

They are slightly faster than the official 81.98 drivers.

Have a look here: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=97140

[CooledComputer]

i use 98 because i disagree with WGA, and Activation.

that, and its fast.

also, windows 98 is alot less affected by viruses anymore.

[j7n]

If you are bound to an XP version because of a license and therefore cannot use Win2000, nLite is a tool for you. You can greatly decrease memory requirements by selectively installing only features you really need.

[Tarun]

Upgrading to 512MB of RAM will make everything run smoothly.

[Rockeh]

Hey guys, thanks for the great feedback. I decided to stick with Windows XP Home Edition (did a clean install) and I managed to put some major tweaks onto it (BIG thanks to you, galahs). Booting times & shutdown times have decreased dramatically due to several tweaks I found, plus XP is a lot faster for me (again, tweaks). Though I do plan to install 98 on my older system since I'm feeling nostalgic.. ahh the memories with 98!

[RetroOS]

...ahh the memories with 98!

It's like a good cheese - One never wants it to end!

That's why I have both 98SE and XP on my PC - the memories go on.

BTW, A big welcome to MSFN!