The Steel Guitar Forum

My wife's new computer came bundled with XP. Seems to work fine, other than when I work on it everything has a completely different look and I have to fumble around to get anywhere.

My computer and my wife's old computer have 98. That's true of our seats at work as well.

As Billy boy's company is phasing us all out by not supporting 98 next year, it seems the upgrade must eventually come.

The question: Switch now and bite the learning curve or hang till the last dog is hung? Problems with the new version?


Will BIAB and Cakewalk and older programs get confused with the new operating system?

If you have switched, lead me on to the future with how good (or bad) it may be.

Thanks, Ken.

Ken you can have Windows XP look like your Older version Windows style.
Just right click on your desktop...and go to Properties. Then click on the Appearance tab....then under Windows and Buttons...pull down menu...and select Windows Classic Style as opposed to XP style.
....then you can look at XP the same way you were used to it.
I've been Running XP Professional since(well before it even came out on market..ha) and zero problems...
If there is a software you have that doesn't work on XP...go to that software's site and upgrade drivers to work with XP.....they all have'um now.
Ricky<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Ricky Davis on 15 January 2003 at 10:14 PM.]</p></FONT>

In addition to what Ricky said, right click on your START Button, select properties, select CLASSIC START MENU, and your Start Menu will look like Windows 98.

Nice featue, but I don't use it.

I've been happy with XP Pro.
Can't advise you about BIAB and Cakewalk.

I use Tabledit and Sound Forge. They work fine.

Yes, BIAB works with XP. I just loaded in on a new computer. My old computer was getting so outdated that it wouldn't even accept the new version 12 of BIAB. I am also getting it set up to resemble what I'm familiar with the earlier versions of Windows. I seem to be getting some weird error messages from XP, however. Is anybody else having this problem?
Erv

I have both, 98 and XP, and the weird error notices than I am still getting is from the 98. (that's the one I passed on to my wife when I got the XP) Gene

XP Home or XP Professional??????????????????

I have a laptop with XP Home and have nothing
but problems. The biggest problem of all is
the lousy techical support offered by the famous "Award Winning Dell Support" BULL.

I was on the phone for three days with a problem with XP home,,and when I was able to reach a technician,,,a real live (I think)he was hardly able to undertand English.All calls according to Dells customer service are tranferred to their service facility in INDIA....whats this all about???

This Indian cat spoke with his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, he then had me do a restore of my XP,,and that was another can of worms.

I called back and once again another Indian got on the phone,he then had me restore the XP Home back again,,now I was back to the first problem after having the second problem
resolved.

I called AMEX and requested a "dispute" to be put on my account until this is resolved.

I was finally able to reach someone who spoke
English,,she was a customer service rep and she told me many heads have rolled at Dell due to the slowdown in the economy and most all calls that went to Austin Texas and Nashville are now being forwarded to India.

I dont need this bull......T....They will have someone call me to resolve the issue.
That is what I have been told.

If I do resolve this,Im going to request a XP
Pro instead of XP Home..If not send me back my money. This dammed thing was manufactured
in Malaysia,,I dont need Indians and Malaysians telling me what to do, I paid in
American Dollars and I want to speak to someone who speaks English.

Let the Indians open a 711 store and screw it. PS,,,word is out that XP has big problems
and I myself being an amatuer prefer Windows 98 second edition less the Indians...

I have a Micron DT and no problems,,and they
have Geeks and not Indians. Question is if I have no case,Im going to ask for a replacement for XP Home...and let them keep the Home edition and give it back to the Indians.. I'll try to get the XP Pro edition
or send me my money back.
Do You Yahoo????? Dell Does Indian style. Being a Cowboy like Gene Jones,,I never did like those dammed Indians Those Indians think they send smoke signals???? watch the smoke they get from this Cowboy.

Stick em up,,,or Stick it Up...the choice is
Dells.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 17 January 2003 at 06:21 PM.]</p></FONT>

Ricky
I did as you sugggested,,Start click on properties but I see no pull dowm menu..

Im using Windows 98 SE on my Desk Top PC.

You too Joey,,I see nothing as both of you pointed out,,where's the appearance tab???
Again nothing,,,are you guys from India???

White Man drink too much "Fire Water" burn stomach..<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 17 January 2003 at 06:56 PM.]</p></FONT>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">quote:</font><HR><SMALL>Ricky
I did as you sugggested,,Start click on properties but I see no pull dowm menu..</SMALL><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Jody; I don't think I ever suggested that pal...ha.....now go back and re-read what I said>....ha...
Ricky

Ricky
If you are making reference to the older version or professional version,yes I agree
that the system can be configured to look like Windows 98.

Not on the XP Home I have. It is a different animal than Windows 98 SE. I re read your post and did as you suggested,but I'm sorry
I misunderstood and thought you were reffering to Windows 98..Oh who cares?,,whats
a window between friends.

Thanks,,Im going back to radio.

later

Jody

..Radio?... I never did understand it after they upgraded it to include both AM & FM!

What's that thing you guys are calling "radio" ? Perhaps it's the same thing as the copper coil I wound around a Robin Hood Flour container and used in conjunction with a cat's whisker touching a small crystal....have things REALLY improved since then ? The only "Window" I used was my bedroom window where I hung out the antenna wire. Worked great!

I don't understand why you would call Dell for a Windows XP Home problem. XP Home is a Microsoft product. Don't they support it themselves?

I call the hardware vendor when I have problems with the hardware, and the software vendor when I have problems with the software. Dell didn't develop Windows XP. How can you expect them to offer adequate technical support for it? They don't really know all that much about it.

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<small><img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b.gif" width="64" height="64">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (F Diatonic), Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6), Roland Handsonic

bOb
It is the sole responsibilty for Dell to determine whether or not it is indeed a software issue. There is an unconditional 90 day warranty by Dell on all software. After that time frame,it is the responsibility of the owner of the PC to contact Microsoft.

FYI,,I called Microsoft and they told me to
resolve the problem with Dell and if over the
90 day period,Microsoft would then get invloved and not before at my expense, and in
the meantime,they are tossing the ball from
one end of the court to the other.

OK,,Dell warrants all hardware for 3 years on their extended parts and labor,this is optional at extra cost to the consumer.

Dell will on their terms determine the problem after 4 attempts to rectify the problem and not before all attempts are made
by telephone tech support. It is then that they dispatch a technician to your home or place of business for this to take place.

Your comments are not up to what Dell sets as their policy. Read the small print. Easy for you to say my friend, but thats the ballgame,,play it their way or you are out of the game.

Oh sure,if you want to spend $ 1.99 per minute Microsoft will "walk you through the problem. Microsoft WILL NOT under any circumstances be held responsible for their
agreement with Dell.

This is what sets Dell apart from the others.

Does this satisfy your question? They record
a case # each time you call for a problem and
they pick and choose whether or not it is necessary to dispatch a technician...This Dell laptop is one month old,,do you think I should pay #1.99 per minute to have a problem with software to be resolved?? when
Microsoft themselves discourage consumers to pay the $1.99 per minute where Dell is responsible, END OF STORY...bOb,,buy a Dell and see for yourself. You buy a new guitar & you have string breakage,who do you call? the string manufacturer or the guitar manufacturer?? This may be apples to oranges as an example,,but take heed to what Im trying to get across here..

This is my problem and I can handle it. Its my ball game and I'll play it my way.

Thanks to all of you. This took a long time to write,and was it worth it ??? thats your opinion, not mine.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 18 January 2003 at 06:45 PM.]</p></FONT>

WinXP has customer support built in which can be accessed through Remote Desktop allowing a Microsoft (or any other person for that matter) to access and run your machine as if he were sitting at it. what exactly is your issue with XP?...Wont matter if its Home or Professional...same crap...just more of it...Im very familiar with this OS..I should be certified ive fixed so many problems in it.....email me directly if you like...

.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 28 February 2003 at 09:38 PM.]</p></FONT>

Seems like I've stirred up a hornets' nest of problems related to XP. I'll go with waiting till the last dog is hung before I change the OS on my other computers.

Isn't strange that the guy (Gates) with all the bucks, and all the investment he has spent on computer programs, still can't give us a program that really works.

I was against the government and their suit against microsoft, but I have changed my mind.

Bust Gates down to buck private and toddle him along to Iraq. Maybe he will learn a little humility when he has to drink goat milk along with the Kurds.

Just a quick note on Dell support of MS Windows - what you will find is that if the product was purchased from a vendor like Dell, Compaq, HP, Gateway, etc. and it came bundled on the system, it is called an OEM edition and primary support if from the OEM, NOT Microsoft. If you buy the full retail version from the store, then MS will support you from day one - first 30 or 90 days free (you pay for the phone call).

Good luck Jody.

Ken - think about W2K - it is very stable and most of the "issues" are well known at this point.

Give a shout if you have questions - I drive through Simi about three times a week.

jdg

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MSA D-10 w/Nashville 400
'63 Gibson Hummingbird
16/15c Hammered Dulcimer

Are you guys saying that XP is no good? I really need a new OS. I was going to buy XP Home. My Dell crashed the other day, and this will be the 2nd time in as many monthes I've had to re-format my computer, then re-install Windows. My crashes were due to viruses (I have been told). I had a virus that wiped out all my drivers (again, that's what I've been told). All I have is a CD of an older version of Windows 98.
BTW, I've always had good support from Dell.

Also, I think the only difference between XP Home and Proffesional is Pro has network server capabilities. Am I right?

Been using XP Pro in my DAW a little over a year now. I`m running Audio Logic Platinum,
Cubase SX and Wavelab with no problems.
K.L. - If I were you, I would just bite the
bullet and switch to XP now - nothing is gained by hanging on to "winders" 98.
I`ve used W95,W98,W98-OSR2 and I find that
Win XP Pro is the most reliable of the OS`s
mentioned.
Go for it...<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Uwe Haegg on 22 January 2003 at 06:09 AM.]</p></FONT><FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Uwe Haegg on 22 January 2003 at 06:09 AM.]</p></FONT>

I am with Uwe on this issue. I think XP Pro. or Windows 2000 is the most stable OS they have come out with.

I can not stress enough about the Windows Update feature. Think of your OS as the tuning of your steel guitar. You can't just sit down at the guitar and play it, first you have to tune it in order for it to sound and perform well. The same thing goes for Windows Update. Microsoft releases TONS of updates each month for their Operating Systems. It is critical that people download the fixes in order to keep their machines running smooth.

Now most people will ask "Mark, how do I get to Windows Update?" Well, it is real simple. If you use Internet Explorer, just go up to the tools menu in Internet Explorer and scroll down to "Windows Update".

Next question "I don't use Internet Explorer, how do I update Windows?" Very simple, just go to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsupdate

Please note: Some of the fixes are rather large in size, so people with dial-up internet access will suffer with the time to download the fixes.

Please let me know if I can do anything else to help you guys out, but please use the Windows Updates and I think you guys will see the difference.

Mark


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Sho~Bud Pro I, Fender D-8 (C6&E13) http://www.darkmagneto.com

We just switched to XP from 98 at work, and I have some of the same problems with error messages and stuff. I'm still using Win 3.1 at home, and my work experiences, and what I'm hearing here, only strengthen my stubborn resolve to keep it as long as I possibly can, which means until they come up with something I like better or until I can't find drivers anymore.

Chris -

You are pretty much correct - the big networking issue is support of/for Domain server connectivity. Pro has it, Home does not. Other than that, they are pretty much the same.

jdg

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MSA D-10 w/Nashville 400
'63 Gibson Hummingbird
16/15c Hammered Dulcimer

My kingdom for a Dos prompt!

Dos prompt! Look out folks, there is a dragon slayer among us.