XP is so close to perfect.
Written: Jan 21 '02 (Updated Feb 26 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Pretty. Task Manager. Stability.
Cons: Conflicts.
The Bottom Line: Conflicts and enigmatic errors plague this beautiful OS and make it unmanageable.
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| search66's Full Review: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (N09-00048) For ... |
"Before Windows 95, I was a DOS based user. Since then, I have "upgraded" and experimented with every Windows release. The anticipated release of XP, sure looked upgraded, but will it really match peoples expectations?"
Before Upgrading
Prior to upgrading to Windows XP, I was running Windows ME (Millennium Edition). ME was nothing more than a "suped" up version of 98 with a few extra bells and whistles. While my personal experience with ME was good, it was head-and-shoulders more stable than 98. From my experiences, 98 was the worst operating system to date.
My hardware included the following:
-Hard Drives- Maxtor 20GB 7200 RPM (booting OS only) and a Maxtor 40 GB 5600 RPM (installed software).
-CPU- Intel Celeron 933 mHz
-Memory- Crucial 133 mHz RAM (256 MB)
-Motherboard- Intel D815EGEW (integrated sound and 100/10 LAN Ethernet)
-Peripherals- Elsa GEforce 2 (32MB RAM), Linksys Fireport, HP Deskjet 930c, Canoscan scanner, Yamaha 8x4x32 CD-R, NEC 17" flatscreen.
The Upgrade
Installing XP went like a dream, but ended up like a nightmare. The process was simplistic, and effective. There were only two minor software conflicts (EZCD Creator and Canoscan). The upgrade was visual, and held your hand from start to finish. Bright cheerful colors, and friendly messages prompted you during the hour long upgrade process.
After upgrading, there were countless problems. My Internet connection was blown (I have 350kbs cable modem), numerous software conflicts, and my hardware was detected completely wrong. Not to mention my CD-R was missing altogether. Aside from the warm tinglies of pretty colors, my angst was building.
Being the professional paranoid that I am, I backed up my system prior to upgrading. I booted to DOS and formatted and FDISK'ed my HDD's. With nothing inhabiting my upgrade, I now tried a clean install. Booting to the XP disk, was similar to installing NT 4. Since this was the upgrade version, I simply had to insert a previous copy of Windows when prompted to verify I previously had Windows installed.
Going through the same process took another hour, and I finally reached the coveted XP desktop. This time, all seemed well with little to no problems or conflicts. I installed my software as usual, and there were no conflicts. EZCD Creator required a downloadable patch as well as my Canoscan scanner. Finally, up and running I delved into the features and options within XP. Digging in, I wanted to see what made XP tick.
New Features
Depending on your technical level, XP might seem similar to previous home versions of Windows. But under the hood, advanced users might see similarities to business models. From installing, to options; XP is basically a candy-coated version of NT 4. NT 4 is still the basis most businesses use as their operating system. Those familiar with the "blue screen", will now notice the blue screen is still there... yet prettified. Microsoft has taken (or tried) the stability of the NT 4 engine and threw a layer of rounded edges, bright colors and flashing lights to try to appeal to the home user. A valiant attempt, and this is the real reason I choose to upgrade. I wanted the stability of NT 4, but with the user-friendliness of ME.
There were another few key features that tempted me in the upgrade, so I will only mention a few.
-Task Manager- A great feature from NT was to CTRL-ALT-DEL. This would bring up the "Task Manager". The "Task Manager" shows you all of the active processes, programs and other vital performance issues up in one nice tab-lined box. Say you are running a program, and it crashes. You can bring up the "Task Manager", select the crashed application and "End It". So, instead of rebooting to correct the problem, you can nix it and keep on truckin'. This feature is a staple in my work life, and was excited to see it incorporated on a home level
-Multimedia- Ok, so I fell for the bells-and-whistles. XP touts some nice features, that come pre-installed so you don't have to use third-party apps. Burning CD's now is even easier than before. Copy and paste files to your CD-R drive, and finalize the CD. Similar to the process of Direct CD from Roxio; it basically can act as a portable HD. The "Auto Recognition" feature, automatically detects media (CD, CD-R, CD-RW, JAX, ZIP, floppy, flash card, etc.) and can "remember" what you want it to do once inserted. This saves some time, by opening a program automatically once the media is inserted. I've also been impressed with the Windows Media Player. It has tons of features, and has integrated itself with the Internet beautifully. You can also connect portable MP3 players up to Windows and use the player to copy files directly to it. Overall, the multimedia presence is the best to date on any system.
-Firewall- Even though I use a third-party software (ZoneAlarm) for my Internet firewall; it was a nice feature to see in an operating system environment. Basic users can use this to protect themselves against minor threats.
Aside from various technical "improvements", the overall appearance of XP is wonderful. Very similar to Linux Red Hat, the desktop features bright colors, smooth menus and rounded buttons. Windows was given a serious overhaul. Menus fade in and fade out and are totally customizable to your liking. The Internet (as mentioned) is just an active feature within XP as would be "Notepad". The menu options are targeted for ease of use, and Internet connectivity. Multimedia is enhanced on the web, and Internet Explorer has some neat-o effects. XP also takes the modeling of applications and melds them within the operating system. Drop down boxes, menus and text all take the appearance of XP and really gives the applications a nice clean look.
My overall impression with the look and feel of XP is second to none, and judged on that alone is second to no other operating system. But looks and functionality can only take you so far...
Performance and Stability
XP boosts of applications starting and running faster, and a lower boot time. Initially, I agreed with the claim, but after time I felt otherwise. Windows would boot significantly faster than previous versions, and you were at your desktop in no time. However, in actuality, many applications that are resident in memory (TSR's) took even longer to finalize. I noticed I would be at my desktop, but "hidden" processes would continue to load long after Windows booted.
Applications, were not noticeably faster by any means; but I did notice a better caching method. The memory use within XP is better, and used less of my swap file than previous versions; thus giving my HDD a break. Once in an application, I rarely had a program crash. And if it did crash a window would pop-up giving you an option to send this error to Microsoft. Still, the operating system ran my applications fairly well with no major gripes.
Putting the stability to the test, I opened a ton of applications. One nice feature of XP is the "duping" of task bar management. For example: If you had five IE windows open, it would show as one on your taskbar with the number "5" next to it. Click on it, and a menu would unfold allowing you to choose the one you want. XP handled the load fine with minimal caching. With about a dozen applications running, I noticed little choking and the only thing affected by the load was the print time. When printing a document, it took longer to spool/cache.
Problems. Problems. Problems.
As much as I love XP it frustrates me to no end on various platforms. The look and feel of XP is beautiful, it's very stable and the functionality is perfect. I came across my first problem shortly after reinstalling the OS.
The management of burning CD's is a breeze with XP, however I use various third-party applications as well. I use EZCD Creator Platinum for audio CD's and I use Nero, Disk Juggler, CDRWIN and Clone CD for my duplication needs. Conflicts between burning utilities were popping up around each corner. Since most CD-R utilities don't like others interfering, they load program specific hidden DLL's (nuts and bolts) upon the start-up of XP. I have corrected most, but I still get an error on each boot for EZCD Creator. It tells me that the program is in use by my current user. I simply hit "OK", and I'm good to go... but still is an annoyance.
The biggest problem I have is the actual connectivity to the Internet. At first all seemed well, and better than ever before. I was flying off the handle with speeds unmatched from other operating systems. I've had XP running for about a month now, and in the last week it has gone haywire. Many times my connection will simply vanish. I'll come back to my PC only to find that my connection is nowhere to be found. I get a "DNS" error when opening my browser even though my Internet is up and running. The problem is not limited to software, because no other Internet using programs can access the Internet. Sometimes I can click on the "detect network connection" and it will magically come back. Other times I have to go to control panel, under network connections and use the enigmatic "Repair" menu option. After about five minutes it might fix or... or it might not. This "fixing" simply tries to "renew my IP address". Again, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. If neither of the two works, I reboot. If that doesn't work; I will unplug my modem, wait a few minutes and reconnect the power. Usually, one of these options works but becomes a huge headache. It's not like it happens on a weekly or even a daily basis. This happens literally dozens of times a day.
Microsoft’s help is better than usual believe it or not. And I have had some friendly emails within two days of reporting a problem. All have been fixed, and I have yet to report this problem yet. For those who have these problems, before reporting problems to Microsoft make sure you do the following:
-Update XP- If you go to the "update" page you can download all of the fixes and driver updates off of their website. Many security holes were patched, and other software directed problems targeted. The major updates include CD-R problems and Ethernet card connectivity issues.
-Update software- I know it's a pain, but go to the homepage of your software developers and see if they have any XP related updates. Most will, and in the long run it's best to do it now than later after a Microsoft rep will tell you the same thing.
Well, these are my two biggest problems and I anticipate that there will be a fix. Casual users might become even more distained than I am. Not bragging an ounce, but Microsoft has given me a living. MCSE certified and on my way for my MCSD I am very familiar with their products. I'm afraid those who are casually involved might become so frustrated to cause self-inflicted mental illness...
Big Brother
So what's the biggest problem with XP aside from the quirky issues? Security. Microsoft is watching you no matter what you do. In order to have a fully functional operating system, you must "activate" it. This includes registering online, and activating your product. While, I agree with this part to eliminate pirating; it doesn't end here.
I use Zone Alarm for my personal Internet firewall. Without exaggerating, the first few days of uptime I had about a dozen "alarms" pop up. XP was trying to connect to the Internet for no obvious reason. Unknown DLL's and programs were trying to access the Internet with no just cause. Just sitting there idle, it would try to connect. Of course I didn't allow it, and blocked it because I don't want MicroMacro knowing what I do on my PC. I think possibly this might be a cause of many problems I had because I blocked these attempts.
There is really nothing that you do that XP doesn't try to connect to the Internet. It is almost scary at times, and the firewall that comes included I would highly recommending staying away. Sure, it might keep out "bad guys", but allows them to do whatever they want and whenever they want to do so. I'm not one of these paranoid freaks, but privacy is privacy.
Jump into XP or not?
I want to recommend XP to everyone, but really can't. I believe if you are planning on doing a fresh install on a clean hard drive; this might be a great time to experiment. Casual users might want to think twice about upgrading. If you have the patience to overcome obligatory conflicts, you may find the operating system worth it. For those who don't want to deal with the issues, and currently have no problems stick with what you have.
Needless to say; there is a group of individuals like myself who have to have the newest software and operating system. You will get this, find the problems and work through it. I'm overall pleased with XP and love the additions, look and feel of the new Windows offering. If I can smooth out my Internet connectivity issue, XP would be a near flawless OS.
My final recommendation is not to upgrade, but do a full install. Avoid trying to upgrade any Windows OS. I have found that upgrading from one OS to another is simply a waste of time and incredibly frustrating. Backup vital data, and format your drives. Start off clean, and start completely over.
XP would easily have achieved a perfect score if it caused little or no conflicts. However, the reality is that there will be problems, and you will have to correct them. Since these issues are not just skin deep I cannot recommend this to the average consumer. While Microsoft makes a valiant attempt to capturize the stability of NT and the appeal of Red Hat it falls short of the mark to make it a flawless operating system. Install at your own risk.
---UPDATE---
The problem I discussed about my Internet dropping, has now been solved. After hours of discussion with Microsoft, I got totally no-where. I then choose to target my cable provider Adelphia for my angst. Come to find out that my cable company was "upgrading" their servers, thus nuking my DHCP. Since the upgrade, everything has been perfect. XP has been solid, with zero downtime. I recommend the operating system even more now that my error has been corrected.
-66
Recommended:
Yes
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Location: Maryland
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