2 computer questions

[Crash2510]

All I can say is before you upgrade to the xp make sure if your computer is already in two paritions you A select right one and B if it won't let you select the me partition, repartition the hard drive to take all the extra space and set it for the new xp partition

Regards to 2 I would respect my parents decision if they let me know the terms

Good Luck

[jziegler]

If you need to buy any hardware, look at this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116056

It's an OEM copy of XP, can only be sold with hardware, but it's only $90. Just about any hardware qualifies. I've bought these before and it works fine.

Jim

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Not as bad as I thought:

I saw that but it says at the end of the product that you have to have a prior verision of SP to buy that upgrade. That makes no sense. I noted on Newegg they said you needed to have a proof of a "recent" purchase of a computer, motherboard, or the like to justify the upgrade version. Do you think Amazon or Newegg enforces that?

[parnelli]

Not as bad as I thought:

Windows XP Home Upgrade

'

Love the requirements listed :Upgrade only; previous installation of XP Home Ed. required". Ummm sure, I've got XP, and I'll buy this other copy of XP to overwrite the first one.

That said, I'm sure they meant previous MS OS install. I'm not 100% certain that the upgrade discs will accept a 98 OEM or ME OEM discs for an upgrade. Be sure to find out whether they do or not if that's what you have.

If you are able to use an upgrade disc, I'd suggest reformatting and starting with a clean install if possible. If my memory serves me correctly, there were all sorts of people with problems doing an upgrade from an installed me to xp. Of course many had no problems....but....

[Sam Conder]

From the Amazon.com page I referenced:

Product Features

• Eligibility for upgrade consists of current users of Windows 98/Windows 98 SE and Windows ME only

[Ed62]

I upgraded from Windows 98 to XP with no problem.

Ed

[scorrpio]

Upgrade is a ripoff. Just get an OEM version of XP home. Will be around $80-90. I would completely clean the ME machine, reformat to NTFS, do a clean install. Just back up whatever you don't want lost. FORGET Vista for the time being. It is still fairly loopy, has many issues, and is a system hog. Absolutely no reason to switch to it. A lot of issues with hardware - drivers etc. Wait till most of the issues are ironed out, maybe once SP1 is in.

You also might consider the following gambit: Examine what needs are served by various PCs in your house. A 'kids' PC probably should have XP cause it is what's best for games. But if you have a PC that does not see much gaming, you might consider transferring its XP license to your ME machine and installing Ubuntu Linux. For free, you know.

As to parental control: As I noted in another thread, I am quite fine using Norton Internet Security, of which I buy a new OEM version each year (~$21) as opposed to paying a $40+ renewal fee. It includes parental control component that takes care of everything I need. But, there are definitely other options out there.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

So the new laptop I am going to get has Vista. Should I find a laptop with XP instead?

[scorrpio]

So the new laptop I am going to get has Vista. Should I find a laptop with XP instead?

Well, a laptop you get will likely be packed with hardware that does work and has functional Vista drivers. And if something does not work proper, it is their tech support, not your problem. A new complete desktop with Vista should be also a safe buy, cause it'll probably be a while before you need to upgrade, and by then Vista will have better support. The cost of Vista over XP will likely be 'swallowed' in the overall new PC price.
What I would not recommend is upgrading to Vista on an existing PC unless you triple check that all hardware is properly supported, and drivers are available.

[TheRic]

If you only want 1 OS on the computer then (true no matter what OS's we are talking about):

I would recommend doing a new install NOT an upgrade. If you have any problems on the old, there is a good chance they will follow to the new OS. Also you are eating up extra space used up by the old OS. The computer WILL be slower on an upgrade than if you did a new install.

Doing a new install will allow to get rid of all that old stuff you don't want, old stuff you forgot you had on there, stuff you didn't put on there but is there (malware, spyware, etc.). Every time you install something, and then uninstall it, it leaves some of itself behind, wasted resources.

I do not know about MS XP upgrade for a fact (have done it many times with other OS's) you can do a new install with an upgrade disk. You WILL need to have a copy of the old OS on CD, it will ask for it. You go thru installing the OS like you would a new one. At one point (normally early) it will ask you to put the old OS CD in. After it checks this, it goes on like a new install CD.

Brand New OS's (Don't care which one we are talking about):
STAY AWAY never get a BRAND NEW OS that has only been out for a few days, weeks, even months (sometimes). There are always problems, wait for a patch to come out (maybe two in some cases). When you buy things on the cutting edge you get cut. The hardware that cames with it might work fine. The software that cames with it might work fine. But when it comes to loading up your favorite software (Pick your software) that worked fine on the old OS the chances will greatly increase you will have problems. I have seen too many people have to revert back to there old OS because something they liked / needed didn't work correctly on the new OS.

[LinuxRandal]

While I can't help with the keystroke software, I would recommed a few things.
Eliminate the ability to boot from CD, or USB and password your bios. Learn about the hosts file, and install a proxy server (something like Proxymotron, spelling?). Any software you use to moniter them could easily be defeated otherwise with a bootable Linux distro, that are readily available.
And yes, give them seperate restricted accounts, things appropriate for the older one, may not be for the younger one.

[scorrpio]

A quick comment: prices start coming in, and Vista Home Premium OEM at Newegg is $120. Which makes it exceedingly affordable, on par with XP Pro, and home premium - IMO - is more than enough for any home setup. So, if I were to build a new PC today, I probably would bite the bullet and get Vista - acknowledging that I'd have to suffer through some quirks early on, but saving in the long run. I would of course make sure that hardware I am getting is really Vista-ready.

[greencat]

I did a quick look and the upgrade is about$90 on ebay. If you know anyone in college or a teacher the upgrade is $90. I thought with Vista coming out the price would drop but it might actually become more valuable for people that don't want to upgrade. I think I have a full copy of MS-DoS 6.0 somewhere in the basement.

[Wood_workur]

cheapest way to get xp is this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116169, but you can only install it on the same computer 20 times, so If you upgrade to a new computer, you can't use it on it, and if you upgrade your motherboard, you can't use it.

I wouldn't upgrade to vista for another year or so, epically with all the ram it requires.

[sacherjj]

So the new laptop I am going to get has Vista. Should I find a laptop with XP instead?

If it were me, I would find one with XP. There may not be problems with the hardware that is in the laptop, but there are serious issues with some add on hardware you might want. I also have a problem with Microsoft's DRM with Vista. I've had over a dozen XP machines all with valid purchased licenses go into the "This copy of windows might be Pirated" mode and things shut down. It happened on a brand new laptop, when a minor hardware change was performed and it took over an hour on tech support to fix. Vista is much worse in this regard. Most people that know computers who have tried it don't really think the word "upgrade" applies to Vista.