Now that Windows ME has been around for over a year or so, I thought it time to help inform the rest of the world (well...at least those of you reading this) my opinions on Microsoft's latest. Some of the "off the shelf" computer manufacturers are including it with their newest systems, although there are still a few Windows 98 and 98SE systems still available. It seems that MS is really trying to make a user friendly operating system, and they've partially succeeded. Below, in point form, are a few of my observations (remember, these are only opinions, based on my own first-hand experience) on this newest to come out of Redmond.
 ME works flawlessly on a previously flawless system with a clean install.
ME upgrade/update will NOT fix anything on a previously flawed system, except user stupidity.
ME works best on "Off the shelf" systems like Compaq, IBM, PB, HP, etc..
ME does not like shoddy hardware. (Insert PC Chips, Cirrus Logic, ESS, and others).
On a normally stable, fast, Windows 98 (or SE) system, ME may show a noticable speed increase.
On a marginally stable, slow, Win9x system, ME will crash every time, usually more than once, requiring multiple patches, fixes, drivers, and other Microsoft "critical updates" to run at all. The whole time wearing out your hard drive, monitor, and reset button, diagnosing and repairing the BSOD's one at a time.
ME is 98 for dummies. Hit "system restore", and keep playing that 16 bit DOS game another 5 hours. <grin>
Choosing to update/upgrade instead of a clean install is a sure fire way of causing more problems than you originally started
with.
Hardware seems to be the key. Top quality parts (Asus, Abit, Soyo motherboards, Micron RAM, Rockwell/Conexant modems, 3com NIC's, IBM hard drives, ad infinitum, ALL contribute to a stable system, regardless of operating system. ME is just far more fussy.
Do NOT attempt to run ME on your grandmothers Pentium 133, Cyrix/IBM Pr200, Winchip upgrade, or AMD K6-2.
Many of the common errors seem to point to a RAM issue. It's not necessarily bad ram, but "not so good" ram, or improperly seated ram that may be the culprit. I've seen 256 meg of "no-name" PC100 that ran for well over 2 years on win98, and completely refuse to run ME. Swap it for a name brand, and no more troubles. Dumped the no-name into the kids (P166) Win95 box, and it too runs with no troubles, ever. Swapped it into the K6-2 box, and it also worked without a hitch. Thinking it was a gremlin playing tricks on me, I put it back into my ASUS/Celeron system, and it immediately flaked out...back into the kids box it went.
Although I never recommend buying a name brand computer such as Dell, or Gateway, they seem to have the most stable mix of hardware in their systems, and thus ME runs nicely on these systems. If it doesn't, you (hopefully) always have a warranty. On a home built system, depending on the savy of the user, I still recommend staying with 98 or 98SE, and there's not any real reason to upgrade.
System Restore. What a wonderful function to have! MS has compressed the complicated procedure of restoring a working computer to just a couple of mouse clicks. Definitely a keeper for those who just have to play with things, or those who just don't know any better.
Now I know that there are some who would argue. ME is a viable, working OS, and totally suited to the average home user. Power users may not like it's limited DOS capabilites, and do away with the System Restore function, in favor of doing things the "old fashioned" way. New users will have no trouble getting used to it's interface, as they haven't been jaded by our trials and tribulations with MS since Windows95a. MS has discontinued the cheap upgrade for Windows 98 users, although there may still be a few on the shelves, so you'll have to fork over a few more dollars for the 95/98 upgrade.
In a nutshell, there seems to be no reason to buy the upgrade disk, other than getting it just to say, "I run ME".
I still run a multi-boot system, and using ME has been an "experience", but it will never become my main operating system.
Cheers, and happy MEing! |
