Windows XP

[michaelcrick]

I have Windows 98SE which version of Windows XP should I buy?

[j2buttonsw]

Home Ed.

[mac309]

I agree with J2B about getting XP home edition, if you just want to replace you're current OS get the upgrade version. This will be the cheaper option as it uses files from you're existing OS. If you are going to install from a formated HDD then get the full version.

[rja211077]

unless you need to network...in which case Home Ed doesn't support networking as far as i know.

[j2buttonsw]

I agree with j2buttonsw, the home edition is the best for you: it has all the practical functionality (NT stability, NTFS file system, improved GUI etc etc), you can directly upgrade from Windows 98SE (keeping all your settings) and, best of all, it is the cheapest. I think rja211077 does the Home version some injustice with regard to networking: you can easily set up a home "workgroup" but you cannot join it to a corporate "domain". In practical terms this means you can have a home "workgroup" network with shared internet and file/printer access but one cannot create a computer account on a Domain Controller of a Windows NT/2000/2003 "Domain" (which is bad for Domain Administrators).

[flirty41]

So you're agreeing with yourself j2b?! That's good to know! Does this mean you're 2 different people? :-)

[j2buttonsw]

You'll be glad to know there is only one of me with my clumsy attempt at irony.

[frop]

None! Why oh why would people want to run XP? As a general rule 98 is quite adequate and the subsequent windows systems are huge, unwieldy and resource hogs. Your computer is almost guaranteed to fall over more often than it used to (and lets face it, that was still quite a lot with win 98).

[j2buttonsw]

Agreed, a clean install of Windows 98SE is fine and I've had a machine running it for more than 3 years with minimal maintenance. I must be very lucky. However, once they start going wrong Windows 98SE is something I have found hard to fix or patch up: I usually do a clean install because it ends up being easier and quicker. InitiallyI wasn't a fan of XP but since the first service pack, I think it is a pretty stable system. frop (and others) will, no doubt, disagree and recommend you stick with what you know and I see his (her) point. But if you are keen to upgrade then do it to XP Home Edition since the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. I have found XP to be much more stable then Windows 98SE. frop also makes a very good point about being more resource hungry: it is a big installation (approaching 1 GB) and although the minimum RAM requirement is 64 MB, I would double (or even better, quadruple) that. Like all new relationships, you will have your initial doubts (and perhaps regrets) and pet peeves which soon disappear when you discover their inner beauty. Me, I can't let go of Windows 2000...