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XP Upgrade

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by jtack

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I'm an IT Helpdesk Manager at a large company who has to upgrade our desktops to Windows XP Prof and Office 2003. We are currently using Windows 2000 Prof and Office 2000 Prof. I want to do a clean build because because there is too much rubbish on the existing desktops, but our Network Manager wants to do an XP upgrade. I need to put together a report to justify a clean build. Have you any case studies or info to help me in my cause?

6 replies

by queen1

While Xp pro is faster, w2k pro is way more stable. Xp will need more attention, while it's does have some better networking features, w2k is more industial strength.That's just my two cents. Be careful what you wish for you just may get it !!

by rcom

try running the update compatibility test to see if the systems are ready for an upgrade. If your lucky it will show that something is not compatible and you'll have the leverage to make your point.

by p.j.hutchison

it depends, it may take more man hours to have to upgrade the machines, then discover some apps are incompatible. Or you might get machines that won`t upgrade and refuse to reboot, so waste more time rebuilding them.
XP is as good as Win 2000 or better even although it tends to use more memory and CPU than 2000. Just make sure the machines are capable of taking XP, w/o slowing them down.

by pierrejamme

Unless you can commit to 550&>Mhz and +/>512MB of RAM, stick to W2k.
XP pro is great if you give it the hardware.

I had several two year old Dell Dimension 550MHz with w98Se. They needed to be booted sevral times a day as they would lock up at the drop of a hat. FORMATTED hard drive and upgraded several of them to XP Pro w/512MB and they could stay up all week if you wanted to leave them on.

by thechas

I see that the other peers who posted answers decided to answer a different question.

In my experience, managers want facts not opinions.

Your best option, is to get permission to take 2 systems that you choose because you believe they have a lot of "junk" on them.
They should be as close in CPU speed and RAM as possible.

Benchmark them with a couple of applications, or the benchmark test of your choice.

Take one and perform an in-place upgrade.
Keep track of how long the change takes, and any problems that arise.

Take the second system and perform a clean installation of XP.
Again, keep track of the time required and any problems that arise.

Now, run the benchmarks again and compare the 2 systems.

Put the data together and factor the productivity value of any performance increase.

Of course, if there is no measurable performance difference, you have proved to your self that the in-place upgrade is viable.

As a side note, I recommend that you check with ALL printer and scanner manufactures for XP drivers.
If they do not offer XP drivers for your hardware, assume that some features will not work properly, and you may need to replace printers and scanners.

Chas

by thechas

So,

How did things go?

If your upgrade is now complete, please rate the answers and close the question.

Thanks,

Chas

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