WinXP: NTFS or FAT32 installation?
I grabbed a copy of WinXP Pro, after having read the positive statements form other XP users on SF. I read over and over 'It's been able to handle every game and program I throw at it.' So, I installed XP with an NTFS format, hoping to get the most out of it. Now, I experience lots of game incompatibilities, for example:
Thief 2 refuses to run cutscenes, won't even start if XP compatibility is active;
American McGee's Alice plays sound with LOTS of static, or no sound at all;
Giants: Citizen Kabuto plays all sound with an EAX setting making it sound like it's in a metal warehouse. It's pretty, but the game is outdoors, so this doesn't sound right;
Black and White occasionally vanishes without explanation, no errors, no complaints, just no longer running, and it's diagnostic tool from EA detects nearly nothing in the system due to an NT format;
XP complains that several hardware driver upgrades, written for XP, do not have an XP digital signature and therefore are not XP compatible and definately should not be installed at risk of corrupting the system.
I've only been running XP for a week. I'm not even halfway to restoring my backed up files and programs from my old system and already I wonder if I should stop and reformat my drive again. It's frustrating since I coughed up the $300 in the hopes of never having to erase another hardrive. (MY 19 gig runnning Win98SE had to be reformatted about twice a year without fail.)
Do these problems sound like an OS problem? Did I do the wrong type of installation? XP users, which installation do you prefer, especially those of you who play many games?
Or perhaps my XP settings need some fine tuning? Or maybe it's a hardware incompatibility?
I was guessing it's the OS since the only error message I actually get to read complains about an NT system. (Funny, since the OS requirements for that game say win98/2000/ME.)
Let me know what you all think.
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