Windows 2000 Vs XP
Windows 2000 Vs XP
Pretty soon im goin to change my system from ME to 2000 or XP. Can anyone give any advice on which one to choose and if it would have an effect on BG 2?
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HighLordDave
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Microsoft is de-supporting Windows 2000 sometime in the near future (later this year or early 2004). That means they'll stop releasing patches and critical updates, and soon they'll take down the links for the updates they do have.
If you're looking to migrate to another OS, then I'd go with XP Professional.
If you're looking to migrate to another OS, then I'd go with XP Professional.
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Kaitsuburi
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A smart move! I am one of those who believe Win ME is the worst OS Microsoft has put out so far.
The core of the Win 9x and Win ME is fundamentally different from the core used in Win 2k/XP. The latter utilize the core from Win NT which is much more reliable/stable/secure.
Now, about your choice. I would recommend Win XP. I have both installed in a multi boot arrangement; both play BGII well, so no problem there. Some say that the WinXP is Win2k with a lot of "eyecandy" and I tend to agree with that. However, there are still several important differences to be taken into consideration when making your choice:
1) better driver and peripheral support in XP;
2) a bug with SCSI drive support in XP;
3) online activation for XP limiting your use of the OS to 1-2 computers (CPUs);
4) much faster boot time with Win XP;
5) slightly larger system resource load with Win XP;
6) larger prospect for support for Win XP (as HighLordDave pointed out);
7) slightly faster program load times with Win XP over time since the latter keeps track of which programs are used more often (no such thing in Win 2k);
8) "compatibility mode" in Win XP allowing you to run programs emulating an older OS;
9) generally improved gaming support in Win XP (both games run BGII well though)
These are the ones I can think of right now, in random order. 1,4,6,7,8,9 above are plusses for Win XP while 2,3,5 are minuses. I know a lot of hardcore users who cling to Win 2k because of better SCSI support, but given the similar price of the two OS-es, I'd say go with Win XP. Upgrading to Win XP from Win 2k is not worth it, but in all other cases, it's a good move.
-kaitsuburi
The core of the Win 9x and Win ME is fundamentally different from the core used in Win 2k/XP. The latter utilize the core from Win NT which is much more reliable/stable/secure.
Now, about your choice. I would recommend Win XP. I have both installed in a multi boot arrangement; both play BGII well, so no problem there. Some say that the WinXP is Win2k with a lot of "eyecandy" and I tend to agree with that. However, there are still several important differences to be taken into consideration when making your choice:
1) better driver and peripheral support in XP;
2) a bug with SCSI drive support in XP;
3) online activation for XP limiting your use of the OS to 1-2 computers (CPUs);
4) much faster boot time with Win XP;
5) slightly larger system resource load with Win XP;
6) larger prospect for support for Win XP (as HighLordDave pointed out);
7) slightly faster program load times with Win XP over time since the latter keeps track of which programs are used more often (no such thing in Win 2k);
8) "compatibility mode" in Win XP allowing you to run programs emulating an older OS;
9) generally improved gaming support in Win XP (both games run BGII well though)
These are the ones I can think of right now, in random order. 1,4,6,7,8,9 above are plusses for Win XP while 2,3,5 are minuses. I know a lot of hardcore users who cling to Win 2k because of better SCSI support, but given the similar price of the two OS-es, I'd say go with Win XP. Upgrading to Win XP from Win 2k is not worth it, but in all other cases, it's a good move.
-kaitsuburi
~~ aim low, deliver.
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fable
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FWIW, I still think that Windows 98 as a gaming platform is as solid a Windows OS as you'll find. The OS itself consumes less of the available RAM than later product iterations, and the drivers are extremely stable. Sure, it's old, but whenever I boot up XP and try to load a game, I have to ask myself: are you feeling lucky today, punk? 
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Kaitsuburi
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I totally agree with Fable. For gaming compatibility, Win98SE is unbeatable. Compatibility mode in Win XP hasn't impressed me too much.
Besides gaming, however, the stability offered by Win XP is indispensable IMHO. In my experience, Win ME is even less stable than Win98SE so it is wise to upgrade to Win XP.
In an ideal situation, dual-boot Win 98SE and Win XP. A lot of people do that for their gaming, including me (I have a bunch of other OSes too in my setup). You can also boot Win ME with Win XP if you don't have Win 98; I would guess ME has very similar gaming support to 98, despite its being less stable.
-kaitsuburi
ps. I feel this thread is increasingly becoming out of place in BGII-SoA since the game runs well under all the OSes in question
Besides gaming, however, the stability offered by Win XP is indispensable IMHO. In my experience, Win ME is even less stable than Win98SE so it is wise to upgrade to Win XP.
In an ideal situation, dual-boot Win 98SE and Win XP. A lot of people do that for their gaming, including me (I have a bunch of other OSes too in my setup). You can also boot Win ME with Win XP if you don't have Win 98; I would guess ME has very similar gaming support to 98, despite its being less stable.
-kaitsuburi
ps. I feel this thread is increasingly becoming out of place in BGII-SoA since the game runs well under all the OSes in question
~~ aim low, deliver.
Originally posted by Kaitsuburi
I totally agree with Fable. For gaming compatibility, Win98SE is unbeatable. Compatibility mode in Win XP hasn't impressed me too much.
Besides gaming, however, the stability offered by Win XP is indispensable IMHO. In my experience, Win ME is even less stable than Win98SE so it is wise to upgrade to Win XP.
In an ideal situation, dual-boot Win 98SE and Win XP. A lot of people do that for their gaming, including me (I have a bunch of other OSes too in my setup). You can also boot Win ME with Win XP if you don't have Win 98; I would guess ME has very similar gaming support to 98, despite its being less stable.
-kaitsuburi
ps. I feel this thread is increasingly becoming out of place in BGII-SoA since the game runs well under all the OSes in question
Thanx for all the advice everyone. Kaitsuburi how do you dual-boot Win 98 SE and Win XP? If you can tell me a will do that as it sounds a good idea. Thanx.
Sorcery and Shadow together as one, the arcane and the dark united. Through our knowledge and skill none can stand against us. We are as one, infallible and invincible. The Shadow Mages. -
Some Heroes stand, some Heroes fall, Others can't 'cause they got hit by a fireball.
Some Heroes stand, some Heroes fall, Others can't 'cause they got hit by a fireball.
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Kaitsuburi
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Win XP makes booting different OS-es really simple. Backup all your data from your boot drive first. Get latest drivers for your hardware in 98SE and XP versions and back them up too. Get a Win 98 SE boot disk from http://www.bootdisk.com (the OEM version should be fine). Then format the whole boot disk drive with Fdisk (which should be on the floppy you created with win98se.exe) and create the partitions you want. There is a good guide to partitioning with Fdisk (it's not that difficult) at http://fdisk.radified.com/ .Originally posted by kemra
how do you dual-boot Win 98 SE and Win XP? If you can tell me a will do that as it sounds a good idea. Thanx.
After you've partitioned, install Win 98SE on the first primary partition by running the setup.exe from the CD. You can install the hardware drivers you got for 98SE, but before you install any non-OS software, pop in the Win XP CD and choose clean install on separate partition (I don't recall the exact options -- maybe check the guides on http://www.bootdisk.com). Follow the instructions, get a cup of coffee or something while you're waiting. Win XP will write the boot.ini for you, so no need to worry. Upon reboot, it should give you an option for about 30 sec which Windows you want to boot (no need for a 3rd party boot manager). That's it, you're done. You need to install drivers, software etc. twice for each OS, but it's not a big deal.
Just make sure you partition in a good way. Have at least 2.5 GB for Win XP, preferably more, even more if you install software in its primary partition. Also, it's useful to format all partitions in FAT32 file system, since Win98SE will not be able to access partitions written in Win XP's NTFS. FAT32 is fine except that it doesn't support files larger than 2GB (a problem if you do video capture, for example). Also, it tends to fragment more than NTFS, but as long as you defragment it shouldn't be a big deal.
Good luck!
-kaitsuburi
~~ aim low, deliver.