XP or 98se on an older system?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ]v[etaphreak
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]v[etaphreak

I'm putting a PC together for an older friend who's not overly computer
literate. They just want to be able to access the net and use some basic
Office apps until they figure out what this whole technomalogical woo-hah is
about. Anyhow I'm putting together a pretty basic system using old bits and
pieces I've got left and it's going to end up with basic specs of an 866Mhz
PII with between 256-384Mb RAM.

Big question is Windows XP or 98SE? I know it meets the basic spec
requirements of XP, but I don't want it crippled by a lack of resources to
drive it. Baring in mind that it won't be running cutting edge software and
that ease of use will be more important than raw power, what does everyone
recommend?
 
I'm putting a PC together for an older friend who's not overly computer
literate. They just want to be able to access the net and use some basic
Office apps until they figure out what this whole technomalogical woo-hah is
about. Anyhow I'm putting together a pretty basic system using old bits and
pieces I've got left and it's going to end up with basic specs of an 866Mhz
PII with between 256-384Mb RAM.

Big question is Windows XP or 98SE? I know it meets the basic spec
requirements of XP, but I don't want it crippled by a lack of resources to
drive it. Baring in mind that it won't be running cutting edge software and
that ease of use will be more important than raw power, what does everyone
recommend?
Click to expand...

I would go with 98se...it should fly with that setup, most of his
friends or relatives will know/understand win98, which will make it
easier to help and teach him.

Make sure it has the latest win98 updates, a good FREE firewall and
Antivirus program.

Free Online scanners.
---------------------------
Norton:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/

Under Virus definitions, click on...
Free Online Virus and Security Check

Trend:
http://www.trendmicro.com/en/home/global/enterprise.htm

BitDefender:
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/licence.php

Panda ActiveScan:
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm
=========================================================

Free AntiVirus Programs:
---------------------------
AntiVir - (My Favourite)
http://www.free-av.com/

AVG
http://www.grisoft.com

BitDefender
http://www.bitdefender.com
=========================================================

Free FireWalls Programs:
---------------------------
Sygate Personal Firewall - (My Favourite)
http://smb.sygate.com/

ZoneAlarm Personal Firewall:
http://www.zonealarm.com/

Kerio Personal Firewall:
http://www.kerio.com/us/kpf_home.html
=========================================================

Free SpyWare Scanner Programs:
---------------------------
Lavasoft Ad-aware:
http://www.lsfileserv.com/index.html

Spybot - Search & Destroy:
http://www.safer-networking.org/
=========================================================

RedBack
 
]v[etaphreak said:
I'm putting a PC together for an older friend who's not overly computer
literate. They just want to be able to access the net and use some basic
Office apps until they figure out what this whole technomalogical woo-hah is
about. Anyhow I'm putting together a pretty basic system using old bits and
pieces I've got left and it's going to end up with basic specs of an 866Mhz
PII with between 256-384Mb RAM.

Big question is Windows XP or 98SE? I know it meets the basic spec
requirements of XP, but I don't want it crippled by a lack of resources to
drive it. Baring in mind that it won't be running cutting edge software and
that ease of use will be more important than raw power, what does everyone
recommend?
Click to expand...
98 is like a child's OS compared to XP. XP will run fine with those specs
and the remote assistance will come in handy as well as the lack of crashes.
Turn off the b.s. and go for it.
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/windowsxp_tips.htm
 
]v[etaphreak said:
I'm putting a PC together for an older friend who's not overly computer
literate. They just want to be able to access the net and use some basic
Office apps until they figure out what this whole technomalogical woo-hah is
about. Anyhow I'm putting together a pretty basic system using old bits and
pieces I've got left and it's going to end up with basic specs of an 866Mhz
PII with between 256-384Mb RAM.

Big question is Windows XP or 98SE? I know it meets the basic spec
requirements of XP, but I don't want it crippled by a lack of resources to
drive it. Baring in mind that it won't be running cutting edge software and
that ease of use will be more important than raw power, what does everyone
recommend?
Click to expand...

That machine should run XP ok. Although Win98 and XP are totally
different operating systems...from the user's point of view however
there is not a very big difference.

Although Win98 will run faster on that machine...it does not seem like
the user is going to care about speed. The advantage of XP is that it is a
more
stable OS and the user may very well prefer the stability
 
]v[etaphreak said:
I'm putting a PC together for an older friend who's not overly computer
literate. They just want to be able to access the net and use some basic
Office apps until they figure out what this whole technomalogical woo-hah is
about. Anyhow I'm putting together a pretty basic system using old bits and
pieces I've got left and it's going to end up with basic specs of an 866Mhz
PII with between 256-384Mb RAM.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming it's a P-III at that speed?
Big question is Windows XP or 98SE? I know it meets the basic spec
requirements of XP, but I don't want it crippled by a lack of resources to
drive it. Baring in mind that it won't be running cutting edge software and
that ease of use will be more important than raw power, what does everyone
recommend?
Click to expand...

I'd go with XP - especially if you can put 384Mb of RAM in there. As
someone else mentioned the stability of XP should more than make up for
the extra speed of 98se.
 
]v[etaphreak said:
Big question is Windows XP or 98SE? I know it meets the basic spec
requirements of XP, but I don't want it crippled by a lack of resources to
drive it. Baring in mind that it won't be running cutting edge software and
that ease of use will be more important than raw power, what does everyone
recommend?
Click to expand...

I'm not 'everyone'; but I'd go with 98SE . Do all the WinUp
patches before it leaves your door; and install the "holy trinity"
of a firewall/AV/spyware-stopper as well . I like the freeware combo
of ZoneAlarm (firewall); Avast (AV); and Spybot DE... but there are
others probably just as good.

Do yourself a favor -- (actually good for any OS) and copy the
install disc(s) to the hardrive and run setup from there.
 
ms have withdrawn support for win98 (or will in the near future).
Think about xp. They don't have to understand every aspect of the os
to be able to use it.


R. Asby Dragon said:
]v[etaphreak said:
Big question is Windows XP or 98SE? I know it meets the basic spec
requirements of XP, but I don't want it crippled by a lack of resources to
drive it. Baring in mind that it won't be running cutting edge software and
that ease of use will be more important than raw power, what does everyone
recommend?
Click to expand...

I'm not 'everyone'; but I'd go with 98SE . Do all the WinUp
patches before it leaves your door; and install the "holy trinity"
of a firewall/AV/spyware-stopper as well . I like the freeware combo
of ZoneAlarm (firewall); Avast (AV); and Spybot DE... but there are
others probably just as good.

Do yourself a favor -- (actually good for any OS) and copy the
install disc(s) to the hardrive and run setup from there.
Click to expand...
 
meant for op


Paper Weight said:
ms have withdrawn support for win98 (or will in the near future).
Think about xp. They don't have to understand every aspect of the os
to be able to use it.


R. Asby Dragon said:
]v[etaphreak said:
Big question is Windows XP or 98SE? I know it meets the basic spec
requirements of XP, but I don't want it crippled by a lack of resources to
drive it. Baring in mind that it won't be running cutting edge software and
that ease of use will be more important than raw power, what
Click to expand...
does
everyone
recommend?
Click to expand...

I'm not 'everyone'; but I'd go with 98SE . Do all the WinUp
patches before it leaves your door; and install the "holy trinity"
of a firewall/AV/spyware-stopper as well . I like the freeware combo
of ZoneAlarm (firewall); Avast (AV); and Spybot DE... but there are
others probably just as good.

Do yourself a favor -- (actually good for any OS) and copy the
install disc(s) to the hardrive and run setup from there.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
]v[etaphreak said:
Big question is Windows XP or 98SE? I know it meets the basic spec
requirements of XP, but I don't want it crippled by a lack of resources to
drive it. Baring in mind that it won't be running cutting edge software and
that ease of use will be more important than raw power, what does everyone
recommend?
Click to expand...

I'm not 'everyone'; but I'd go with 98SE . Do all the WinUp
patches before it leaves your door; and install the "holy trinity"
of a firewall/AV/spyware-stopper as well . I like the freeware combo
of ZoneAlarm (firewall); Avast (AV); and Spybot DE... but there are
others probably just as good.

Do yourself a favor -- (actually good for any OS) and copy the
install disc(s) to the hardrive and run setup from there.
Click to expand...

a good idea is to burn an image of the sistem partition in case they
screw it on a bootable CD before giving them the machine ...

-- Regards, SPAJKY ®
& visit my site @ http://www.spajky.vze.com
"Tualatin OC-ed / BX-Slot1 / inaudible setup!"
E-mail AntiSpam: remove ##
 
]v[etaphreak said:
I'm putting a PC together for an older friend who's not overly computer
literate. They just want to be able to access the net and use some basic
Office apps until they figure out what this whole technomalogical woo-hah is
about. Anyhow I'm putting together a pretty basic system using old bits and
pieces I've got left and it's going to end up with basic specs of an 866Mhz
PII with between 256-384Mb RAM.

Big question is Windows XP or 98SE? I know it meets the basic spec
requirements of XP, but I don't want it crippled by a lack of resources to
drive it. Baring in mind that it won't be running cutting edge software and
that ease of use will be more important than raw power, what does everyone
recommend?
Click to expand...
well in my opinion you should put on linux then you wouldnt have to
worry alot about resources hehehe
 
]v[etaphreak said:
I'm putting a PC together for an older friend who's not overly computer
literate. They just want to be able to access the net and use some
basic Office apps until they figure out what this whole technomalogical
woo-hah is about. Anyhow I'm putting together a pretty basic system
using old bits and pieces I've got left and it's going to end up with
basic specs of an 866Mhz PII with between 256-384Mb RAM.

Big question is Windows XP or 98SE? I know it meets the basic spec
requirements of XP, but I don't want it crippled by a lack of resources
to drive it. Baring in mind that it won't be running cutting edge
software and that ease of use will be more important than raw power,
what does everyone recommend?
Click to expand...
well in my opinion you should put on linux then you wouldnt have to
worry alot about resources hehehe
Click to expand...

That isn't really a BAD idea, especially with a "newbie" that hasn't
already been aquainted with Windows. The main problem here is whether the
OP is familiar enough with linux to teach it. I have found that people new
to computers catch on to linux much quicker than the average user who has
been using Windows and has to "unlearn" first.


Ed
 
]v[etaphreak said:
I'm putting a PC together for an older friend who's not overly computer
literate. They just want to be able to access the net and use some basic
Office apps until they figure out what this whole technomalogical woo-hah is
about. Anyhow I'm putting together a pretty basic system using old bits and
pieces I've got left and it's going to end up with basic specs of an 866Mhz
PII with between 256-384Mb RAM.
Click to expand...
Big question is Windows XP or 98SE? I know it meets the basic spec
requirements of XP, but I don't want it crippled by a lack of resources to
drive it. Baring in mind that it won't be running cutting edge software and
that ease of use will be more important than raw power, what does everyone
recommend?
Click to expand...

I'd go with Win98SE. It's faster and leaner and is perfectly stable
when the user doesn't put a lot of extra junk on the machine. Also,
it's less vulnerable to worms and other attacks. It doesn't confuse
computer newbies with automatic updates or other messages that could
lead to user complacency when confronted with an official looking
trojan (like MyDoom). Just put Mozilla Firebird on it and tell the
user to close the window or say "no" to everything.

Also, Win98 is literally dirt cheap. You can scrounge up copies
with the original shrink wrap from a local computer store for free
since they'll never sell it.

For those and other various reasons, I still use Win98 even on my
newest P4 system. For typical home computer use, there's only one
thing WinXP can do better than Win98--recognize new hardware without
having to download the drivers. WinXP's basic library of drivers
is more extensive than Win98's, unsurprisingly. However, your
computer novice user isn't going to be adding hardware on his own
anyway.

Oh--I suggest trying out OpenOffice for the basic Office apps.
Besides being really really dirt cheap, it won't run Visual Basic
scripts. Voila, yet another unwanted vulnerability removed...

Isaac Kuo
 
Isaac said:
]v[etaphreak said:
I'm putting a PC together for an older friend who's not overly computer
literate. They just want to be able to access the net and use some basic
Office apps until they figure out what this whole technomalogical woo-hah is
about. Anyhow I'm putting together a pretty basic system using old bits and
pieces I've got left and it's going to end up with basic specs of an 866Mhz
PII with between 256-384Mb RAM.

Big question is Windows XP or 98SE? I know it meets the basic spec
requirements of XP, but I don't want it crippled by a lack of resources to
drive it. Baring in mind that it won't be running cutting edge software and
that ease of use will be more important than raw power, what does everyone
recommend?
Click to expand...


I'd go with Win98SE. It's faster and leaner and is perfectly stable
when the user doesn't put a lot of extra junk on the machine.
Click to expand...

... yeah, like software or device drivers.
 
BarryNL said:
Isaac Kuo wrote:
Click to expand...
.. yeah, like software or device drivers.
Click to expand...

Like what software? I don't have any problems with my Win98
systems crashing.

In every instance I've ever seen of unstable Win98 systems,
either there was a hardware problem or the machine was stuffed
with all sorts of unneeded crap the user never used anymore
(if ever).

Isaac Kuo
 
Isaac said:
Like what software? I don't have any problems with my Win98
systems crashing.

In every instance I've ever seen of unstable Win98 systems,
either there was a hardware problem or the machine was stuffed
with all sorts of unneeded crap the user never used anymore
(if ever).
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's the main problem with Win98 - you have to reinstall the
whole sodding thing every 6 months to keep it running properly. Try XP -
at least you can stuff it full of 'unneeded crap' and it still works.
 
]v[etaphreak said:
Big question is Windows XP or 98SE? I know it meets the basic spec
requirements of XP, but I don't want it crippled by a lack of resources to
drive it. Baring in mind that it won't be running cutting edge software and
that ease of use will be more important than raw power, what does everyone
recommend?
Click to expand...

Windows 2000 Professional: Stable like XP, fast like 98SE.

Jon
 
Jon Danniken said:
]v[etaphreak said:
Big question is Windows XP or 98SE?
Click to expand...

Windows 2000 Professional: Stable like XP, fast like 98SE.
Click to expand...

That's like answering a "Yes or No" question "Maybe".

While I agree with your statement (based on feedback from friends that
run Win2k at home), I personally run 98SE, because that's what I own
and I don't yet see the need to "upgrade" to anything newer.

Jeff
 
BarryNL said:
Isaac Kuo wrote:
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's the main problem with Win98 - you have to reinstall the
whole sodding thing every 6 months to keep it running properly.
Click to expand...

Umm...the only times I've had to reinstall Win98 was when there
was a boot drive failure. That'll take down any OS.
Try XP - at least you can stuff it full of 'unneeded crap'
and it still works.
Click to expand...

Good lord, why would I spend $100+ on an unwanted "upgrade" so
I could bog down my computer with a bunch of unneeded crap
(spyware, adware, Real Player, codec spaghetti, etc) that I
never want to install on my machine in the first place?

No thanks!

Isaac Kuo
 
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