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WIN 2000 and WIN XP compatibility

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by asltech 1 view

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I am currently running a windows network with several win98 and win2000 machines on it. I am looking to purchase 4 new notebook computers, but they come with winXP preloaded on them. Will I have any problems connecting them to my network? Is there anything that I should know about when doing this? Will all users still be able to share files, printers, etc.? Any help is appreciated.

5 replies

by ann777

Depends:

1) Is this WinXP Home Edition or Professional? Home edition will not network on a Domain.

2) Do you have a true server? And What OS is it?
If it is WinNT Server, you may have some printer driver issues with the new XP boxes (but file sharing seems to work fine).
If it is Win2000 Server, you should be fine with WinXP boxes and printers and file, etc.
If your network is WorkGroup or P2P (peer-to-peer) -- then printers will probably be a problem as well.

3) It's also going to depend on whether your shared printers have WinXP compatible drivers and will work with WinXP in a network environment.
Check your printer manufacturer website for WinXP sepecific drivers for whatever make/model of printer you use.

If you have a domain and you are going with XP Pro and your server is 2000, and your printers are XP compatible, you'll be fine.

If otherwise, you'll have some work to do in making everything work together, but you'll also learn a lot in the process.

by ann777

I read your comment... you'll probably be fine for now with XP Home and a workgroup environment. But you do need to check into the printer situation if you are planning these WinXP notebooks to be able to print to that shared printer.

Many "Multifunction" printers (fax, printer, copier, scanner) have problems working properly with WinXP. If a true printer, make sure the manufacturer has drivers available for WinXP for your printers.

I do not know how many users you have in your network, but if you're even debating whether or not the company is growing, you might want to consier paying the extra $'s for XP Pro... even though you may not take full advantage of it yet.

by asltech

We run on a peer-to-peer network, with one server running win2000 Server, which runs several softwares. The new notebooks come with winXP Home on them. We do not use domain.

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