I run XP on my pc (PII, 350 mhz, 192 MB RAM), but that runs a bit too slow after a while, and playing dos games isn't really possible (dosbox doesn't work - black screen, and I don't like using a boot disk). Now I'm thinking of installing an earlier version of windows. I've got 98 and ME, so what I wanna know, is it possible to run dos games in windows ME? What are the positive/negative points of ME relating to 98? i.o.w. is 98 better, or is ME the best choice?

well the general opinion is that ME is bad.

I have good experiences with it though, but you have to unhide the dos command screen.
Else you can not play dosgames with ME.

It's more easy to use 98 though

Win98 is the best of both worlds. ME is too buggy to use as for modern applications and too cumbersome to use for older ones. Go for Win98SE.

Yeah go for 98, heard too many horror stories about ME, 98 would be the best choice.

Win98 (any version) is better then ME.

I can imagine how XP is running slow on that system.

Definitly go for 98, but be sure to take 98SE.

I'm over it. Definitely going for 98SE :D

*** throwing away WinME cd *** :sneaky:

Dad's got a similar computer. 400MHz, but 'bout 96 or 128Mb Ram. Win XP's just plain impossible on there. It installs fine and runs, but it takes ages to do anything. WinME, which was on there before that, had the exact same trouble. Win98SE's made for such comps, though. Not to mention it's stable (compared to other versions of Windows)

roflmao...

When I read the title, I thought this was a joke... :(

LOL

I never tried windows ME, so I really didn't know that it was so bad. My father once bought ME, but we never installed it. Jumped from 98 to XP, like many others I think...

I actually had a system with ME when it first came out. Went back to 98 less than a week later.

Now I use XP, but I really don't like it, actually. The interface is too dumbed-down to be functional for what I'm used to. I'm considering Linux.

Yeah, I hear many peepz about Linux. It's getting more and more attractive... I tried it once, but it missed many drivers, and the max resolution was 640x480. Sound didn't work, and I really didn't know how to handle the interface. But that was 2 years ago...

Most of todays Linux distributions have no problem with hardware recognition.

winME sucks from a fresh install, but with patience you can turn off the stuff that makes it crash (active folders, for a start) and apply patches.
98SE is obviously the better choice.

but i can ASSURE you that after a while all win 9x and ME will run slow. they need to be rebooted after about 1 day. the memory and resources management is crap.
XP shouldnt be like that. are you sure you havent got some bad program leaking memory, or spyware?

anyway my final conclusion is to dual boot.
98se for dos games
winxp for the internet and work etc

98 feels good! :whistle:

EDIT:
And just got my first blue screen!!! :w00t:

etcetc

@xoopx winXP was only installed 2 weeks or so, and from day 1 it already began to run slowly after installing antivirus and antispyware software... I guess it just swaps too much.

I'm thinking of giving linux a try as a second OS.

Any new linux will also run slow on that PC.

It would be best for you to get Win2K.

Have you thought of getting more RAM for the computer? That would solve a lot of the speed issues.

Plus check your startup menu see your not loading too many programs at startup and such, really helps on win98.

More RAM, yes... Mostly when I buy RAM, I put it in my other pc (P3, 875 mhz, 512 MB RAM), and this pc gets the lowest amount of RAM, so that's 3 times 64 MB...

Hmm... Didn't think that so many programs don't support win98...
- Adobe Audition
- Microsoft Office 2003
- Mixmeister 6
- More on the way I think

They just won't install...

What about win2k support?

98 tbh ME blows.

If your considering using Linux, Red Hat 9 is good... new versions such as Fedora use around 3BG, and up to 6GB when everything is installed in the desktop option. Red Hat 9 is generally around 1GB with only the options selected that you need.

Just one thing with Linux, make sure your network card supports it as some are Windows only and you may not realise this. This will prevent you from getting the Internet.

Another option is to install Win98 SE and Linux therefore keeping the drivers installed with the Windows partition. I did this on my old 4 GB computer. You need FAT32 to install Boot Magic... since the computer was old it was FAT32 and just Windows, I installed Partition Magic and Boot Magic on the Windows partition before partitioning the disk then installed Linux.... be sure to have a swap file of at least 200MB.

As long as all your favourite programs have a way of running on Linux its fine, otherwise run them on Win98 SE :ok:

FYI,

I am running XP on a 666MHz Machine with 160 odd megs ram,

and it runs fine, not super fast, but fine...

That I think would be the bare minimum for XP though...

Hey I am even running Visual Studio .NET on that machine...

And warcraft III... :Titan:

What about it. It's not great for games, but it is stable and good for work.

If this is going to be gaming machine, load 98SE, install SpyBot, update it, select advance mode and clean everything from startap settings (spybot does it nicely, and it tells you what is required and what is optional).

If you load AV softare, make sure it's not running all the time, and schedule scans like once a day. This way comp will not respond slow.

Do all Win98 updates, and make sure you have some sort of firewall installed.

Wihtout running active scan, make sure everything you download, you first check with virus software.

This should improve computer speed.

I've worked with all the Windows OSs inside and out. And I can tell you right now:
FOR THE LOVE OF ALL HUMANITY GO WITH 98!
If someone wants help with a computer that has ME installes I tell them that to fix their problem they must install a different version of Windows. Heck, Windows 3.1 beats ME in my opinion.

98 - It's like 95 with the problems taken out.
Me - It's like they decided to put them all back in again.



FYI: I've a P3-500 that runs XP fine with 128Meg RAM. I wouldn't use it for anything too taxing, but native windows gaming (up to a few years ago) or web surfing are fine

I ran my 666Mhz machine with 128meg ram on ME for three years...

The most frustrating three years of my life!!! :rifle:

Hahaha, I love that. It's so true. :kosta:

you dont really need much cpu power to run XP.. especially if you turn off all the stupid 'eye candy' junk (i turn it off anyway)
i had a friends pc running xp on a crappy 300 mhz BUT with 320mb of ram!