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Win2K Upgrade to XP Pro -Concerns?

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8 replies

by jjf95

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Recently a certain Comp. Mfg. stopped putting Win2k on a lower end high performance PC. It will be avail. only with XP OEM. Is XP as stable? I have a complete Win2k server enviroment and a mixed 2k-Pro/Win98 client population. Is it worth the extra money for a Win 2k oem?

8 replies

by thechas

I don't have any "hands-on" with W2K.

XP is defenitly more stable than W98, and faster too boot.

From some of the postings, I get the impression that XP is "slightly" less stable than W2K.
However, I believe this is caused by driver and OS bugs.

First, make sure that your printers and other "network" resources are fully supported on XP.
I would define this by the hardware mfg having XP drivers. Many of the "legacy" drivers built into XP have limited functionality. Case in point, some older HP printers can no longer print double sided with the XP driver, others have limited paper size choices.

I recommend that you select a few users to try XP out on before spending extra funds to put W2K on new machines.

I also recall aposting where a member stated that the ELU for Microsoft products allows you to "down-grade" without purchasing an additional license.
So, read your ELU closely, you may be able to install W2K on your XP equipped systems without purchasing additional licenses.

Chas

by hjs

I ran W2K for a long time and to be honest it's hard to beat. Is XP more stable? In a word no. Don't get me wrong it is a great OS but it is not MORE stable. I no longer run W2K on my home machine. I run XP pro. But to answer your question: would I buy an OEM ver. of W2K? No. Run XP pro and you will be fine.

by timwalsh

I have found XP to be noticeably more stable than Win2K.

Realize that XP is essentially Win2K (its built with Win2K technology) with some added features and an updated GUI. The new GUI could cause some consternation on the part of your users because it's different than what they are used to with Win2K/Win98.

If you changed the XP desktop to use the "Classic" GUI, many users wouldn't be able to tell the difference between XP and Win2K.

Bottom line is it isn't worth the hassle/money to find/buy Win2K just because that's waht you already use.

BTW, XP has 2 new features called Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop (both offshoots of Terminal Services Remote Administrator mode in Win2K server) that could make your job as an administrator a bit easier.

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