XP is garbage

J

John Larkin

Guest
Every time I plug in my USB flash memory stick, it creates another
desktop icon to my Zip drive.

The size and location of windows associated with removable drives are
not persistant.

Sometimes a drive is present and purports to be working, but isn't
visible anywhere.

The mouse wheel handling is absurd; at least that is fixable.

It beeps and boops all the time, for no good reason.

It's still slow and buggy.

Most all the system setups are still tangled, hidden, and/or don't
work.

All sorts of little balloons keep popping up from the taskbar.

Word is worse than ever. I have a tiff image that absolutely locks it
up if you include it in a doc.

"Help" rarely is.

If you get stuck in the powerup chkdsk loop, all you can do is pray.
The good part is that you'll have lots of time to pray.

You can't screen capture a DOS graphic screen to the clipboard. '98
could.

It's inclined to create funny-named folders that can't be opened and
can't be deleted. Good thing I have a big hard drive.

Seems like every time I run Registry Mechanic is finds a bunch of
problems, sometimes 100 or so. That's scairy.

The three most important things about Windows are still: reboot,
reboot, and reboot.

John
 
Hello John,

Welcome to progress in the world of computers. Similar frustrations
here, I do not like XP at all.

Last time I bought a new laptop I could convince them to ship it with an
older and thus more stable version. For a fee, of course. This time I
could not cajole them into it so I got an XP box. And I don't like it.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
 
On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 18:33:24 GMT, Joerg
<notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> wrote:

Hello John,

Welcome to progress in the world of computers. Similar frustrations
here, I do not like XP at all.

Last time I bought a new laptop I could convince them to ship it with an
older and thus more stable version. For a fee, of course. This time I
could not cajole them into it so I got an XP box. And I don't like it.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
Click to expand...
I managed to install Win2K over the crap that came on my Sony Vaio,
but it took me MONTHS of scrounging to get all the power control and
video features working correctly.

But this past summer I bought a tower "bare", formatted and installed
Win2K... worked "just ducky".

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
 
So far, I've found the best Windows XP troubleshooting tool to be my old
Windows 2000 CD. Whenever XP does something I don't like, I reformat it
and install Windows 2000 instead.
 
Hello Jim,

I managed to install Win2K over the crap that came on my Sony Vaio,
but it took me MONTHS of scrounging to get all the power control and
video features working correctly.
Click to expand...
I was tempted to do that as well. But besides finding another license
for NT there is another lurking issue: Often new hardware isn't
supported anymore. Even some of the SW I use, such as the scanner and
printer driver explicitly says it will not work with any OS other than XP.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
 
LOL, my Sony Viao is running perfectly on Windows XP Pro.

Never crashes, never "beeps and boops". I do have a Win2K box at work,
which has is also very good, but I prefer XP as the mouse wheel does work
better. Of all the Operating systems that I've used Windows XP is the best
OS that I've seen to date. Win95,98 and ME needed to be re-built every six
months, Windows NT 4 once a year, Windows 2K works well, but there are
issues which are down to it's age more than anything else.

I'm still keeping an eye on Linux, but I don't think that it's quite got the
ease of use bit sorted out properly. I can't see it being a serious
contender for Windows for a while yet, but it is improving.



"Jim Thompson" <thegreatone@example.com> wrote in message
news:esgl5152i89nmetc0p1r5gj2dcplouact3@4ax.com...
On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 18:33:24 GMT, Joerg
notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> wrote:

Hello John,

Welcome to progress in the world of computers. Similar frustrations
here, I do not like XP at all.

Last time I bought a new laptop I could convince them to ship it with an
older and thus more stable version. For a fee, of course. This time I
could not cajole them into it so I got an XP box. And I don't like it.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

I managed to install Win2K over the crap that came on my Sony Vaio,
but it took me MONTHS of scrounging to get all the power control and
video features working correctly.

But this past summer I bought a tower "bare", formatted and installed
Win2K... worked "just ducky".

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
Click to expand...
 
Colin Dawson wrote:
LOL, my Sony Viao is running perfectly on Windows XP Pro.

Never crashes, never "beeps and boops". I do have a Win2K box at work,
which has is also very good, but I prefer XP as the mouse wheel does work
better. Of all the Operating systems that I've used Windows XP is the best
OS that I've seen to date. Win95,98 and ME needed to be re-built every six
months, Windows NT 4 once a year, Windows 2K works well, but there are
issues which are down to it's age more than anything else.

I'm still keeping an eye on Linux, but I don't think that it's quite got the
ease of use bit sorted out properly. I can't see it being a serious
contender for Windows for a while yet, but it is improving.
Click to expand...
Linux might very well be getting worse. The different distros all have
their own way of doing things, so no apps work the same across all of
them. They customize the vanilla apps such as OpenOffice and Mozilla to
integrate with their desktop and config tools, so you can't upgrade the
apps with drop in packages direct from the originating projects.

I am having so many problems with the highly regarded Suse 9.1 (after
about a month of tinkering just to get it to the point of being able to
do most of my work) that I'm really getting fed up. Each version gets
worse, in direct proportion to how much more "smart" it tries to be. I
am considering going back to Slackware with which I started 9 years ago,
but I can't afford another 1-2 months of tinkering to get it all set up.
And no matter what I do, more and more of the web sites that I simply
must use to run my life, have show stopping quirks or issues unless IE
is used. Or even more depressingly, they work with an alternative
browser such as Firefox on Windows, but not on Linux.

The PC OS and office software industry is a horrible mess, and there's
no relief in sight. Linux was a reaction to this brokenness. But it
isn't providing ordinary users with an escape path, only a narrow group
of highly technically skilled developers/users. I am becoming convinced
that Linux will never become the solution to the Microsoft problem, for
reasons the Linux community will never ever be able to admit.

If we had the kind of competition in the software industry as we have
say, between AMD and Intel, then we might really have something
worthwhile. Two or more 99.9% compatible PC OSes trying to one-up each
other all the time on straightforwardness and stability.

Oh what a dream.

At this point I would pay serious personal money, say $500-$600 for a PC
OS that was very solid, with the flexibility and features that I like
about Linux, and with the vast pool of applications and hardware
available for Windows. But it doesn't exist. And the Mac hardware is
way too expensive, though it's a possible contender for the first
criterion, except for the applications.


Good day!



--
_______________________________________________________________________
Christopher R. Carlen
Principal Laser/Optical Technologist
Sandia National Laboratories CA USA
crcarleRemoveThis@BOGUSsandia.gov
NOTE, delete texts: "RemoveThis" and "BOGUS" from email address to reply.
 
Hello Chris,

If we had the kind of competition in the software industry as we have
say, between AMD and Intel, then we might really have something
worthwhile. Two or more 99.9% compatible PC OSes trying to one-up each
other all the time on straightforwardness and stability.
Click to expand...
What ever happened to Linux with a Windows extension (Lindows?)?

Oh what a dream.
Click to expand...
Yes. I am just thankful that my car does not need an operating system to
work. Maybe some day my toaster will but then I'll just roast my bread
on the Weber barbeque.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
 
"Rob Gaddi" <rgaddi@bcm.YUMMYSPAMtmc.edu> wrote in message
news:d3egqa$a6g@gazette.corp.bcm.tmc.edu...
So far, I've found the best Windows XP troubleshooting tool to be my old
Windows 2000 CD. Whenever XP does something I don't like, I reformat it
and install Windows 2000 instead.
Click to expand...
I've found the networking side works better (read: faster) under XP, but
other than that, W2k is just dandy with me. I have applications running that
just sit there and do their stuff for six months at a time and if no-one
fiddles, the PC's just keep humming away. I haven't tried them under XP for
a while now - even the device drivers for the I/O cards wouldn't work, so
stuffed if I'm going to bother.

What I can't figure out is why they change the 'feel' of the OS every time.
It's never intuitive anyway, but once you get used to whichever one you like
(or are stuck with), then fine. Then MS come out with an 'upgraded' OS which
is only intuitive if you've never used MS software before!

Ken
 
"Joerg" <notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> wrote in message
news:%sB6e.530$J12.147@newssvr14.news.prodigy.com...
Hello Chris,

If we had the kind of competition in the software industry as we have
say, between AMD and Intel, then we might really have something
worthwhile. Two or more 99.9% compatible PC OSes trying to one-up each
other all the time on straightforwardness and stability.

What ever happened to Linux with a Windows extension (Lindows?)?

Oh what a dream.

Yes. I am just thankful that my car does not need an operating system to
work. Maybe some day my toaster will but then I'll just roast my bread on
the Weber barbeque.
Click to expand...
Or on your car exhaust.....

Ken

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
Click to expand...
 
I read in sci.electronics.design that Ken Taylor <ken123@xtra.co.nz>
wrote (in <iwB6e.17814$1S4.1787150@news.xtra.co.nz>) about 'XP is
garbage', on Tue, 12 Apr 2005:

What I can't figure out is why they change the 'feel' of the OS every
time. It's never intuitive anyway, but once you get used to whichever
one you like (or are stuck with), then fine. Then MS come out with an
'upgraded' OS which is only intuitive if you've never used MS software
before!
Click to expand...
Because even THEY think they got it wrong last time?
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
There are two sides to every question, except
'What is a Moebius strip?'
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk
 
The old adage..if it ain't broke, don't fix it applies to operating systems!
I still use W98,1st,rock stable,no blue screens of death,etc. I finally
figured out to NOT buy the 'latest and greatest' PC as long as this one does
what I want, i don't care about the rest of the world. I'm a 2 finger typer
and need an ISA slot for my eprom burner. The $50 scanner (USB 1) works fine
too.
Nice thing about W98 is that I have my D drive as a clone so IF C goes
'funny' I can pull D out and slide it in C's slide mount. Simple,easy, the
way it should be.
Now if I could only figure out why the 'screen saver display timer' goes
funny some days, I'd be real happy.
XP = Xtra Problems

jay
 
In <d3em74031k3@news1.newsguy.com>, on 04/11/05
at 01:20 PM, Chris Carlen <crcarleRemoveThis@BOGUSsandia.gov> said:


Linux might very well be getting worse. The different distros all have
their own way of doing things, so no apps work the same across all of
them. They customize the vanilla apps such as OpenOffice and Mozilla to
integrate with their desktop and config tools, so you can't upgrade the
apps with drop in packages direct from the originating projects.
Click to expand...
I have always used IBM's OS/2. It has morphed over into what they now call
eComstation. Many figure its dead, but that is far from the truth. It is
still very viable, and has all the web capability and office stuff, lots
of hardware support, and software updates, other than the kernel, come
along when needed. Its just a lot of work to keep it up, and after 14
years, I finally had to let it go. That led me to Linux, and the same
conclusion you have reported. Splintered, and unusable in many ways. Now I
am stuck in Windows2K. XP is not an option, now, or ever.

And no matter what I do, more and more of the web sites that I simply
must use to run my life, have show stopping quirks or issues unless IE
is used. Or even more depressingly, they work with an alternative
browser such as Firefox on Windows, but not on Linux.
Click to expand...
This is why I was one reason I could stay with OS/2 for so long. The
mozilla/firefox stuff is well cared for, and can keep up with most, but
trully, not all sites.

Remember that with the preference bar add-on, or manual text editing, you
can spoof the browser type and most websites will then give you what you
want. I have been on a lot of sites that say "no go without IE," I change
the broswer ID to report itself as WinXP IE, and bingo, I am in and using
all the features. There are not that many sights that use anything more
than that browser ID to restrict users. Not all, but most can be spoofed.

The PC OS and office software industry is a horrible mess, and there's
no relief in sight. Linux was a reaction to this brokenness. But it
isn't providing ordinary users with an escape path, only a narrow group
of highly technically skilled developers/users. I am becoming convinced
that Linux will never become the solution to the Microsoft problem, for
reasons the Linux community will never ever be able to admit.
Click to expand...
The Linux community has a bigger ego that even bill gates, and it is not
possible to get them to see that a group effort, towards a killer
desktop/maintenance scheme would walk all over a lot of M$'s installs, but
don't wait up. As you said, its getting worse, not better. Whatever you
do, don't talk about this issue with the hard cores :)

If we had the kind of competition in the software industry as we have
say, between AMD and Intel, then we might really have something
worthwhile. Two or more 99.9% compatible PC OSes trying to one-up each
other all the time on straightforwardness and stability.

Oh what a dream.
Click to expand...

Its old, its over, but OS/2 was that OS, but gates blackmailed and
extorted IBM into shutting it down. In the trial it came out pretty clear
that he threatened to withhold, or increase to exorbitant amounts,
licenses of windows for IBMs business customers, and in the end, they bent
over for him, to please their own stockholders. We had a competition,
briefly, a long time ago, then a trial, a guilty verdict, and then......
nothing :)

At this point I would pay serious personal money, say $500-$600 for a PC
OS that was very solid, with the flexibility and features that I like
about Linux, and with the vast pool of applications and hardware
available for Windows.
Click to expand...
The hardware support you seek would be a bit thin, but honestly, OS/2 can
do that in many ways. Certainly it is better equipped and easier to use
than Linux, but I know many will laff, and not bother, and that's okay.
Even to this day, the company that is handling the maintenance of OS/2,
having bought that right from IBM, runs in fear of M$, as everytime the
step into the light with their product, M$ turns the machine loose on
them, and articles fly, innuendo pervades, and the same stuff happens
again, and occured in the mid to late 90's. bill still seems a bit afraid
of OS/2, even tho it has died a thousand deaths <g>

Just an opinion, because you lamented the lack of a reliable OS when its
possible that there is one you could utilize. Never said it was all
inclusive with hardware, but I was always able to find a way to "get there
from here"

JB
 
On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 17:31:45 -0400, "j.b. miller"
<invalidjbmiller@cogeco.ca> wrote:

The old adage..if it ain't broke, don't fix it applies to operating systems!
I still use W98,1st,rock stable,no blue screens of death,etc. I finally
figured out to NOT buy the 'latest and greatest' PC as long as this one does
what I want, i don't care about the rest of the world. I'm a 2 finger typer
and need an ISA slot for my eprom burner. The $50 scanner (USB 1) works fine
too.
Nice thing about W98 is that I have my D drive as a clone so IF C goes
'funny' I can pull D out and slide it in C's slide mount. Simple,easy, the
way it should be.
Now if I could only figure out why the 'screen saver display timer' goes
funny some days, I'd be real happy.
XP = Xtra Problems

jay
Click to expand...
Do you know what XP actually stands for? It stands for...eXPerience.

Tom
 
"Tom MacIntyre" <tom__macintyre@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:eek:bsl51dlk9dlpudvttvivga7e590qenrvg@4ax.com...
On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 17:31:45 -0400, "j.b. miller"
invalidjbmiller@cogeco.ca> wrote:

The old adage..if it ain't broke, don't fix it applies to operating
systems!
I still use W98,1st,rock stable,no blue screens of death,etc. I finally
figured out to NOT buy the 'latest and greatest' PC as long as this one
does
what I want, i don't care about the rest of the world. I'm a 2 finger
typer
and need an ISA slot for my eprom burner. The $50 scanner (USB 1) works
fine
too.
Nice thing about W98 is that I have my D drive as a clone so IF C goes
'funny' I can pull D out and slide it in C's slide mount. Simple,easy, the
way it should be.
Now if I could only figure out why the 'screen saver display timer' goes
funny some days, I'd be real happy.
XP = Xtra Problems

jay



Do you know what XP actually stands for? It stands for...eXPerience.

Tom
Click to expand...
I prefer Jay's answer to that one.

Ken
 
"j.b. miller" <invalidjbmiller@cogeco.ca> wrote in message
news:3_B6e.763$K24.697@read1.cgocable.net...
The old adage..if it ain't broke, don't fix it applies to operating
systems!
I still use W98,1st,rock stable,no blue screens of death,etc. I finally
figured out to NOT buy the 'latest and greatest' PC as long as this one
does
what I want, i don't care about the rest of the world. I'm a 2 finger
typer
and need an ISA slot for my eprom burner. The $50 scanner (USB 1) works
fine
too.
Nice thing about W98 is that I have my D drive as a clone so IF C goes
'funny' I can pull D out and slide it in C's slide mount. Simple,easy, the
way it should be.
Now if I could only figure out why the 'screen saver display timer' goes
funny some days, I'd be real happy.
XP = Xtra Problems

jay

Well, I couldn't operate a lot of our stuff under W98, but I like the cut of
Click to expand...
your jib. I don't get the 'latest' OS until it's been through several
updates, hotfixes and service packs. And plenty of bitchin' and whinin' on
NG's, so I know where I'll stand. And then only if the inevitable pain of
change is less than the pain of continuing to put up with what I've got.

Cheers.

Ken
 
"John Woodgate" <jmw@jmwa.demon.contraspam.yuk> wrote in message
news:NxTHUANYjuWCFwAq@jmwa.demon.co.uk...
I read in sci.electronics.design that Ken Taylor <ken123@xtra.co.nz> wrote
(in <iwB6e.17814$1S4.1787150@news.xtra.co.nz>) about 'XP is garbage', on
Tue, 12 Apr 2005:

What I can't figure out is why they change the 'feel' of the OS every
time. It's never intuitive anyway, but once you get used to whichever one
you like (or are stuck with), then fine. Then MS come out with an
'upgraded' OS which is only intuitive if you've never used MS software
before!

Because even THEY think they got it wrong last time?
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
Click to expand...
I don't mind them getting it wrong each time, but wrong *differently* each
time is a pain in the butt! At least I could get used to it if the errors
were consistent!

Cheers.

Ken
 
On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 17:31:45 -0400, "j.b. miller"
<invalidjbmiller@cogeco.ca> wrote:

The old adage..if it ain't broke, don't fix it applies to operating systems!
I still use W98,1st,rock stable,no blue screens of death,etc. I finally
figured out to NOT buy the 'latest and greatest' PC as long as this one does
what I want, i don't care about the rest of the world. I'm a 2 finger typer
and need an ISA slot for my eprom burner. The $50 scanner (USB 1) works fine
too.
Nice thing about W98 is that I have my D drive as a clone so IF C goes
'funny' I can pull D out and slide it in C's slide mount. Simple,easy, the
way it should be.
Now if I could only figure out why the 'screen saver display timer' goes
funny some days, I'd be real happy.
XP = Xtra Problems

jay
Click to expand...
I ran 98 up until a month ago, when my new Dells arrived (one for
work, one for home) and I made the cutover to XP; I have almost
recovered from the experience. 98 was OK, but crashed a lot for me and
had to be rebooted daily to be reliable. It did run DOS apps well,
including ones that did real, direct I/O.

Each new Dell has 2 identical hard drives. I bought TrueImage to clone
the drives; one master setup on one pc gets cloned to all three other
drives. I wanted to also image the pristine setup to DVDs, which
TrueImage is supposed to do, too, but that doesn't work. So I ordered
two more identical hard drives and I'll image onto them, pull, and
stash them in storage for when something breaks.

Our realtime test sets all run DOS.

John
 
On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 09:57:05 +1200, "Ken Taylor" <ken123@xtra.co.nz>
wrote:

"Tom MacIntyre" <tom__macintyre@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:eek:bsl51dlk9dlpudvttvivga7e590qenrvg@4ax.com...
On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 17:31:45 -0400, "j.b. miller"
invalidjbmiller@cogeco.ca> wrote:

The old adage..if it ain't broke, don't fix it applies to operating
systems!
I still use W98,1st,rock stable,no blue screens of death,etc. I finally
figured out to NOT buy the 'latest and greatest' PC as long as this one
does
what I want, i don't care about the rest of the world. I'm a 2 finger
typer
and need an ISA slot for my eprom burner. The $50 scanner (USB 1) works
fine
too.
Nice thing about W98 is that I have my D drive as a clone so IF C goes
'funny' I can pull D out and slide it in C's slide mount. Simple,easy, the
way it should be.
Now if I could only figure out why the 'screen saver display timer' goes
funny some days, I'd be real happy.
XP = Xtra Problems

jay



Do you know what XP actually stands for? It stands for...eXPerience.

Tom

I prefer Jay's answer to that one.

Ken

I thought it stood for eXPerimental ;-)
Click to expand...

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
 
John Larkin wrote:

On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 17:31:45 -0400, "j.b. miller"
invalidjbmiller@cogeco.ca> wrote:

The old adage..if it ain't broke, don't fix it applies to operating systems!
I still use W98,1st,rock stable,no blue screens of death,etc. I finally
figured out to NOT buy the 'latest and greatest' PC as long as this one does
what I want, i don't care about the rest of the world. I'm a 2 finger typer
and need an ISA slot for my eprom burner. The $50 scanner (USB 1) works fine
too.
Nice thing about W98 is that I have my D drive as a clone so IF C goes
'funny' I can pull D out and slide it in C's slide mount. Simple,easy, the
way it should be.
Now if I could only figure out why the 'screen saver display timer' goes
funny some days, I'd be real happy.
XP = Xtra Problems

jay


I ran 98 up until a month ago, when my new Dells arrived (one for
work, one for home) and I made the cutover to XP; I have almost
recovered from the experience. 98 was OK, but crashed a lot for me and
had to be rebooted daily to be reliable. It did run DOS apps well,
including ones that did real, direct I/O.
Click to expand...
My experience too. 98SE is much better than the original - and the Windows
updates seem to work.

The change in the GUI in XP does my head in from time to time. Everything moved
or got called new names. And DOS - W16 apps may not run.


Each new Dell has 2 identical hard drives. I bought TrueImage to clone
the drives; one master setup on one pc gets cloned to all three other
drives. I wanted to also image the pristine setup to DVDs, which
TrueImage is supposed to do, too, but that doesn't work. So I ordered
two more identical hard drives and I'll image onto them, pull, and
stash them in storage for when something breaks.
Click to expand...
Why don't you use a RAID controller and mirror the drives in real time ?

Our realtime test sets all run DOS.
Click to expand...
No bugs in DOS AFAIK !


Graham
 
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