Windows ME pros/cons

[revnent]

About a month ago I went to a Microsoft seminar for my company and they told us about the new options included in Windows ME and other new Microsoft products... Everyone received Windows ME for attending the seminar and I'm in the process of building a good gaming computer so I was wondering if anyone who is using the new OS could tell me any problems I might run into or how much better it is than '98 perhaps... I appreciate the help, thanks!

[BloodRed]

I've got it on my gaming system at home. Overall the OS is a little faster and more stable than Win98, but as far as gaming is concerned I haven't noticed much speed increase. The good news is I haven't noticed any slowdowns either I haven't had any trouble playing any games on WinME.

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-BR

[mkbean]

Works about the same as win98 but boots a hell of a lot faster about 15-20 sec.

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mkbean

[XS_Damage]

I have had no problems and the new features are great EXCEPT, my external zip drive refuses to work.

[andrewrlinks]

Originally posted by revnent:
About a month ago I went to a Microsoft seminar for my company and they told us about the new options included in Windows ME and other new Microsoft products... Everyone received Windows ME for attending the seminar and I'm in the process of building a good gaming computer so I was wondering if anyone who is using the new OS could tell me any problems I might run into or how much better it is than '98 perhaps... I appreciate the help, thanks!

I have been using it for about 2 weeks and find it to be very fast at booting but...sometimes I get shutdown errors...(I did format reload clean on my system)and have noticed that it recovers well from errors and runs better in multimedia than 98SE....It is better at higher resolutions
than 98SE or 95 either.....so gaming is better with the newer hardware....it is worth it...I just wish I new what the lockups are

[mpitts]

I pretty much share the opinions of the others here:

No increased performance
Faster Bootup
Win2K interface tweaks

That is about it. I prefer Win2K over WinME, but that is just my opinion.

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"Everyone knows the best bands are affiliated with Satan."

[kb244]

I've made up a list of my own as well as what many reviews had said.

Pro:

* Fast Boot
* Somewhat better Plug&Play
* Better Stability? (still skeptical of this one)
* Small Visual Tweaks to make it look better
* System Recovery (um good for Compt Novices)
* Can easily go back to 98 if you need to downgrade (taken that you didnt install alot After you upgraded to ME)

Cons:

* Removal of "Reboot to RealMode Dos"
* Removal of "RealMode" Dos
* Removal of Dos Prompt Icon in WinME
* No Performance increase over Win98
* The AutoUpdater randomly wants to talk to M$ at times when you need your bandwidth
* 80% of the "New" Features are freebies that can be downloaded for Win98
* Many Users complain that the new Media player crashes alot


also here is a list you might be interested in for those who are trying to decide (list taken from Radeonic Site) :

Windows 95 or earlier users...... YES it's worth the upgrade
Windows 98/98SE users with a stable system .....No, don't bother, wait for Whistler
Windows 98/98SE users with unstable systems.......Yes upgrade, stability is better (slightly)
Gamers looking for better performance....No, the gains are negligable
Buying a system from new.....Yes, specify ME for your system
Audio/Video buffs............No, rely on the packages you have currently
Webmasters and content creators............No, there are no gains to be had
Business users.............No, use Windows 2000
Computer novices..........Yes, the help/protection features are worthwhile
Money to burn .........Why not!

Hope that helps some of ya'll.

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-Karl Blessing
aka kb244{fastHACK}

[BlackWraith]

I can get to the DOS prompt no problem, it's in accessories. well i've been using Me little over a month+ now, and i've been able to crash it. . . . .once. so all in all, pretty stable.

[winky]

I have found that Win Me is a great OS that boots faster, doesn't crash near as much, but it seems like an expensive upgrade which microsoft should offer for free to 98 owners that had to deal with their cappy OS's.

[gaffo]

free? when hell freezes over.

[kb244]

BlackWraith I'm guessing you upgraded FROM Win98, which kept the Dos Prompt link, also I know that dos "Still" Exist, just Microsoft is trying hide it, one of the things they did that cant be fixed by doing a "command.com" or something at the run prompt, is they removed boot to dos. also they removed all the real mode files (which are important if you are going to do anything in dos, other than shell commands) I Guess thats what makes it boot faster, but microsoft really wants us "Weened" away from dos.

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-Karl Blessing
aka kb244{fastHACK}

[ms3356]

I just installed and then uninstalled Windows ME. I found that the software for my logitech marble track ball FX is incompatible, Lost the funtions of 2 buttons and could not remap them. My Microsoft Natural plus keyboard lost all of the internet and button control funtions. It also would not let me set up my sidewinder strategic commander. It did seem to boot faster but if Microsoft can't make the os compatible with their own equipment, I have to take that as a bad sign. I also heard that the lead programer for the os resigned today, that also does not inspire confidence. Maybe with some time to work out the compatability issues it may be a good system but I think they rushed it just a bit.

[Maverick]

I'll tell you about Windows ME tomorrow.

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I followed the twelve steps... they led to the bar.

[This message has been edited by Maverick (edited September 15, 2000).]

[Tank]

Originally posted by kb244:
BlackWraith I'm guessing you upgraded FROM Win98, which kept the Dos Prompt link, also I know that dos "Still" Exist, just Microsoft is trying hide it, one of the things they did that cant be fixed by doing a "command.com" or something at the run prompt, is they removed boot to dos. also they removed all the real mode files (which are important if you are going to do anything in dos, other than shell commands) I Guess thats what makes it boot faster, but microsoft really wants us "Weened" away from dos.

Actually I installed Win Me on a new hard drive and it did in fact load the MS-DOS prompt. In fact, I've loaded ME on about a dozen systems and they all have the prompt. It's been relocated to the Accessories folder.

One thing I will mention that I've found to be a pain in @$$ is the fact that if you right-click on the floppy icon and select Format, the option to copy system files is gone. So if you want to make a bootable floppy, you're forced to create a "Startup Disk" under Add/Remove Programs. That's about the only thing I don't like. Otherwise it's been rock solid on my i815e chipset motherboard. I've not experienced one single crash. Bootups and shutdowns are lightning fast! I think MS did a decent job on this one.

-Tank

[This message has been edited by Tank (edited September 15, 2000).]

[Tank]

Originally posted by ms3356:
I just installed and then uninstalled Windows ME. I found that the software for my logitech marble track ball FX is incompatible, Lost the funtions of 2 buttons and could not remap them. My Microsoft Natural plus keyboard lost all of the internet and button control funtions. It also would not let me set up my sidewinder strategic commander. It did seem to boot faster but if Microsoft can't make the os compatible with their own equipment, I have to take that as a bad sign. I also heard that the lead programer for the os resigned today, that also does not inspire confidence. Maybe with some time to work out the compatability issues it may be a good system but I think they rushed it just a bit.

I have a Logitech Marble, not the FX. I downloaded the new v9.0 driver from Logitech's website and it works flawlessly on my systems. It's a unified driver and works on all Win9.x/NT/2000 systems. I'd give it a try.

-Tank