Windows Me, do you need to upgrade?
Sep 24 '00 (Updated Oct 17 '00)
For most users I would have to say the answer is no. For me the new features made it worth my time to upgrade but for the average user there is almost no difference between Windows 98 and Windows Me.
The first thing that made me decide to upgrade was that Windows Me is designed better for being run for long periods and is less prone to crashing. If you do not keep your computer on all the time this will make almost no difference for you. When Windows 98 is left on for long periods of time small errors occur which over time compound and become larger errors which after a while makes the system become unstable. From what I understand Windows Me is able to correct these errors before they become a problem, so far I have not had any problems with Windows Me.
The second thing that made me decide to upgrade was the improved internet sharing. I have two computers and wanted to be able to have them both connected to the internet with the one connection that I have. I had tried with Windows 98 SE, but it would not work right on my systems. It was very easy to setup network sharing with Windows Me. After getting it setup on my main computer the other computer automatically setup for the internet sharing and I have not had any problems with it since. For the family that has more that one computer and wants to be able to share one internet connection between these computers Windows Me and a home network is a great way to easily share a single connection at the same time.
For the most part Windows Me is the same as Windows 98. The features that I mentioned are the only things that I can think of that really make it worth the money to upgrade. If you are an average user you do not need to upgrade. If you do not like Windows 98 at all you will not like Windows Me. If you want the internet sharing or a system that runs more stable when run for long periods it is worth your time to take a closer look at Windows Me.
There is one thing that I would like to add about upgrading to Win Me. I have heard of several people having problems upgrading from a previous version of Windows to Me. I did have one computer crash after having Win Me running on it for several weeks and I had to wipe the hard drive and do a clean install on that system. I was lucky that I did not lose anything other than a few setting that I had on that computer. I always recommend that you make a complete system backup before you upgrade just to be on the safe side. If you can I would recommend that when upgrading to WinMe that you do a clean install, one that you wipe the harddrive clean and reinstall everything on the computer. Doing this you will get the most out of WinMe. All you have to have to be able to do a clean install with an upgrade version is the installation disk for the older version to prove that you qualify for the upgrade. If you are not able to do a clean install and do an upgrade instead I would recommend making a complete set of backup disk most people do not have problems with the upgrade, but it is always a good idea to be prepared for anything.
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Epinions.com ID:
book75
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Member: William Bookless
Location: St. Louis, MO
Reviews written: 68
Trusted by: 2 members
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