Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Smooth, Steady and Solid -- Well Worth the Price!
I recently upgraded to Windows XP from Windows 98 Second Edition, and I have been THOROUGHLY impressed! With Windows 98 I experienced frequent blue screens and crashes. With Windows XP all of those problems are now history. Also, many of the drivers I needed to load AFTER loading Windows 98 are now already included. My video card drivers were loaded, my CD burner functions were all present, and my scanner worked flawlessly without installing any additional software.The biggest hurdle with this product is successful installation. If you have older components you may have significant problems getting them to function with the new OS. Some older apps are also likely to have difficulty. My hardware and my software are all fairly current, so I had no trouble. I have upgraded my newer computer at home with Windows XP, but the older computer at my church study has Windows 98, and will have it for some time. I am reluctant to upgrade because of the installation problems inevitable with the older components. This product is definitely worth the price, but some persons may need to upgrade components BEFORE upgrading their OS. If you have a newer or brand new computer and are seeking the smoothest, steadiest and most solid OS, I HIGHLY recommend Windows XP.
Rating:  - If you need to, then do it...
I upgraded a four year old Dell (PIII 500 MHz) that had been running Windows 98 SE. It had been limping along after a virus attack damaged some system files. I had reinstalled system files from W98 and never got things running @ 100%. I upgraded to XP with a clean installation and the computer is now running well -- it boots faster and has been stable. The installation was smooth and without a hitch -- but requires much thought and preparation. The web sites for the manufacturer of each item of hardware (video card, audio card, modem, scanner, printer, expansion cards, expansion drives...) should be checked to confirm compatability and driver availability for XP. Download and collect the necessary drivers. My scanner, audio card and video card were not compatable and had to be replaced for optimum stability and performance. I added a CD burner and removed the zip drive for better backup capability. So..... after about three weeks of preparation and making a two page checklist of the sequence of activities for backing up, unistalling and installing .... the installation went smoothly. I am happy with the result and all of the productivity apps are working perfectly, although a few of my old programs (Myst, Riven) dont run on XP. Bottom line, if your computer is running well, then you probably do not need/want to upgrade. If you have a reason to upgrade, then you should go ahead and do it -- If you prepare then you will be pleased with the result....
Rating: - The best Windows version up-to-date
I don't know why these other people say they hate XP, because I haven't had a problem with it since I installed it!As for Product Activation, other software vendors do similar things such as Registration, activation REQUIRED over the phone w/ programs such as AutoCAD, etc., so I don't see any problem activating Windows as a legal copy. Bill Gates was smart to implement this into Windows for anti-piracy schemes, and I also found the process very easy to do over the Internet, so I applaud Gates for this. He or any one else shouldn't have to deal with piracy. The only problem that I had with it is that it didn't detect my AMR Modem, but after pointing it to Windows 2000 drivers I had, it worked just fine. It wasn't listed on the HCL, so that would be one reason. Software has been great and even faster on this platform! And if you notice a program that has problems with XP, you can set a compatibility mode in 95, 98/Me, NT, or 2000 for the OS, and it should work. Very useful tool! I highly recommend this OS, especially if you come from the crash-prone 98/Me architecture, for this is based on the very-reliable NT/2000 architecture, and it's definitely worth the upgrade! Try it for yourself!
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