My Dell L400 has Windows 2000 Professional on it currently. A neighbor of
mine who's trying to start her own PC repair/building business told me that
since I installed Office XP, I really should upgrade to Win XP because of
conflicts between Office XP and Windows 2000 as well as the known security
holes in Windows 2000 that Microsoft hasn't patched yet and probably never
will.

However, I've read upgrading an OS isn't for the faint of heart and can be
quite difficult. I've installed all of the patches for Windows 2000, as well
as Office XP, already. Is upgrading to Windows XP really that necessary, and
is it as potentially as difficult as I've read it is? I don't trust that my
neighbor necessarily knows what she's talking about because she was already
wrong about the backlight being the problem on my laptop monitor, when it
was really that the sun is going to wash out almost ANY laptop screen. I
read the technical specs and this PC should be able to handle an upgrade to
Windows XP Professional, but I don't want to try it, get stuck in the middle
and end up rendering what now is a functional laptop, useless or be forced
to pay somebody to fix what I screwed up trying to do the upgrade
installation myself.

Christopher J Martin wrote:

> since I installed Office XP, I really should upgrade to Win XP because of
> conflicts between Office XP and Windows 2000 as well as the known security
> holes in Windows 2000 that Microsoft hasn't patched yet and probably never
> will.

Are you having a functional problem with Office XP RIGHT NOW?
Are you running up-to-date antivirus software?

If the answers to those questions are no and yes respectively, then do
not try to fix something that isn't broken.

The safest way to do this is on a new hard drive (might not be as
expensive as you think ... or even close). That way you can always go
back to the old drive. Use a USB drive cable to connect both drives at
the same time.

And implicit in this is my recommendation for a clean install, not an
upgrade install. You can still use the upgrade version if you have your
2000 CD.

If you don't need domain networking or remote desktop, XP Home would
meet your needs for half the price of Pro; in fact, an upgrade copy of
XP Home was available from Office Depot for $30 (after a $70 rebate) for
the last 3 days (sorry, that ended at Midnight Saturday).

As to the wisdom of it: XP is a much better and more secure OS than
2000. But that said, I would not necessarily go so far as to say that
upgrading is "necessary" if you are happy with 2000 and it meets your needs.

The hardware requirements of XP and 2000 are substantially identical.
It's best to have 512 megs of memory, but things will run ok, if a bit
slower, in 256MB.


Christopher J Martin wrote:
> My Dell L400 has Windows 2000 Professional on it currently. A neighbor of
> mine who's trying to start her own PC repair/building business told me that
> since I installed Office XP, I really should upgrade to Win XP because of
> conflicts between Office XP and Windows 2000 as well as the known security
> holes in Windows 2000 that Microsoft hasn't patched yet and probably never
> will.
>
> However, I've read upgrading an OS isn't for the faint of heart and can be
> quite difficult. I've installed all of the patches for Windows 2000, as well
> as Office XP, already. Is upgrading to Windows XP really that necessary, and
> is it as potentially as difficult as I've read it is? I don't trust that my
> neighbor necessarily knows what she's talking about because she was already
> wrong about the backlight being the problem on my laptop monitor, when it
> was really that the sun is going to wash out almost ANY laptop screen. I
> read the technical specs and this PC should be able to handle an upgrade to
> Windows XP Professional, but I don't want to try it, get stuck in the middle
> and end up rendering what now is a functional laptop, useless or be forced
> to pay somebody to fix what I screwed up trying to do the upgrade
> installation myself.
>
>

zwsdotcom******.com wrote:
> Christopher J Martin wrote:
>
>> since I installed Office XP, I really should upgrade to Win XP because of
>> conflicts between Office XP and Windows 2000 as well as the known security
>> holes in Windows 2000 that Microsoft hasn't patched yet and probably never
>> will.
>
> Are you having a functional problem with Office XP RIGHT NOW?
> Are you running up-to-date antivirus software?
>
> If the answers to those questions are no and yes respectively, then do
> not try to fix something that isn't broken.
>
Exactly. Unless you have a need to upgrade to XP for various reasons, I
would stay with 2K. Those security concerns? Well, as long as users will
install new programs and files, and connect to the Internet, no system
will be fool proof. If you use a firewall, an antivirus-antispyware
program which you update frequently, AND if you stay away from MS
Explorer to surf the Web, do not upgrade to XP unless 2K becomes a
limitation in what you do with your machine.

Actually, upgrading to XP should not be difficult unless your machine
has some hardware that XP has no driver for and I doubt that will be the
case. But the down side would be a loss of performance that might be
noticeable, depending on your machine.

Although I still fail to see what Vista will bring beyond window
dressing (pun intended, of course) and some limited improvements in
terms of ease of networking, I believe you will probably be better off
keeping your system as it is today and considering at a later date an
upgrade of your whole system, hardware and software.

--
John Doue

Christopher J Martin wrote:
> My Dell L400 has Windows 2000 Professional on it currently. A neighbor of
> mine who's trying to start her own PC repair/building business told me that
> since I installed Office XP, I really should upgrade to Win XP because of
> conflicts between Office XP and Windows 2000 as well as the known security
> holes in Windows 2000 that Microsoft hasn't patched yet and probably never
> will.
>
> However, I've read upgrading an OS isn't for the faint of heart and can be
> quite difficult. I've installed all of the patches for Windows 2000, as well
> as Office XP, already. Is upgrading to Windows XP really that necessary, and
> is it as potentially as difficult as I've read it is? I don't trust that my
> neighbor necessarily knows what she's talking about because she was already
> wrong about the backlight being the problem on my laptop monitor, when it
> was really that the sun is going to wash out almost ANY laptop screen. I
> read the technical specs and this PC should be able to handle an upgrade to
> Windows XP Professional, but I don't want to try it, get stuck in the middle
> and end up rendering what now is a functional laptop, useless or be forced
> to pay somebody to fix what I screwed up trying to do the upgrade
> installation myself.
>
>

Office XP is probably the most operating system-compatible application
that Microsoft has ever produced. With the service packs, it is
continuing to be a reliable product for everything from Win98 to Vista.
The only reason to upgrade Office XP is to take advantage of the
execution threading of the latest Office version for Vista. Threading is
not going to make word processing, spreadsheet execution, database
access, etc., etc., noticeably faster for most users.

There are very few advantages to upgrading Office XP, and security is
very low on the list. Millions of businesses run Office97 and Office XP
and will not upgrade for Vista. Why upgrade when the Office XP apps
work for 99.99% of requirements under Windows XP and Vista?

If it isn't broke, don't fix it. That might also apply to upgrading
Windows XP to Vista.

Q

"Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
news:4584fd7b$0$5253$4c368faf@roadrunner.com
[...]
> And implicit in this is my recommendation for a clean install, not an
> upgrade install. You can still use the upgrade version if you have
> your 2000 CD.

I have two retail versions of Windows XP Home. One was just bought this
year (already has SP2) and one was purchased probably back in 2003. Both
upgrade versions will only upgrade Windows 98 or Windows ME. Not if
Windows 2000 is already installed on the drive. Although you can if you
hide the partition. This can be complicated if you never did this
before.

Although get this! If Windows XP upgrade can't see Windows 2000 on the
HD or Windows 98 or Windows ME, it will take the install Windows 2000
disc and accept it as an upgrade. Weird eh?

--
Bill

"Christopher J Martin" <CJMARTIN04@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:I83hh.118$pr5.72@trnddc01...
> My Dell L400 has Windows 2000 Professional on it currently. A neighbor of
> mine who's trying to start her own PC repair/building business told me that
> since I installed Office XP, I really should upgrade to Win XP because of
> conflicts between Office XP and Windows 2000

This is nonsense, and the kind of thing that will *immediately* cause her to
lose any would-be customers who know a thing or two about computers.

Per Amazon's web site, Office XP works all the way back to *Windows 98!*

> as well as the known security
> holes in Windows 2000 that Microsoft hasn't patched yet and probably never
> will.

This is a reasonable point. However, if you're behind a firewall (software
and/or hardware) realistically you're pretty safe anyway.

> However, I've read upgrading an OS isn't for the faint of heart and can be
> quite difficult.

It's actually quite easy -- it'll keep all your present settings -- *so long
as there isn't a problem*. The vast majority of upgrades happen with
incident, but once in awhile an upgrade will hang, creash the OS, or otherwise
really make your life miserable.

> I don't trust that my
> neighbor necessarily knows what she's talking about because she was already
> wrong about the backlight being the problem on my laptop monitor, when it
> was really that the sun is going to wash out almost ANY laptop screen.

She certainly sounds like the kind of person who thinks that giving some
reason, ANY reason, is better than saying, "I don't know." Such people can be
*far* worse than no help at all.

Note that if you buy an OEM version of Windows XP now (which will require you
to re-install all your software as well) you'll get a free upgrade to Windows
Vista in a few months.

---Joel Kolstad

Thanks for the help all. I forgot to add that my neighbor also told me
that if I had a Windows XP re-install rescue CD from a previous Dell
purchase, I could pop it in this laptop and it would simply install XP over
top of 2000. Tried that, and as I suspected, she was completely wrong. There
are files that the CD needs that it doesn't find and therefore the
installation fails. There is a reason she's still in school, and at the
school she's at, and this illustrates it. ;) I think she was just trying to
make a buck by convincing me to do it and then she'd offer to do it for me
for a price rather than trying to offer good advice.

Since I actually don't have Windows 2000 CDs (the laptop came already
installed with no 2000 CD, rescue or otherwise, along with it) I believe I'd
end up buying the entire OS and not just the upgrade. That is more than I
want to spend right now. I've got Office XP installed, and it works just
fine with 2000 so I'm not going to mess with something that isn't broken,
particularly since I do have anti-virus software and a firewall installed so
I am protected when I'm online.

"CJ" <cjmartin04@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:h8Fhh.130$Iy5.71@trnddc01
> Thanks for the help all. I forgot to add that my neighbor also
> told me that if I had a Windows XP re-install rescue CD from a
> previous Dell purchase, I could pop it in this laptop and it would
> simply install XP over top of 2000. Tried that, and as I suspected,
> she was completely wrong. There are files that the CD needs that it
> doesn't find and therefore the installation fails. There is a reason
> she's still in school, and at the school she's at, and this
> illustrates it. ;) I think she was just trying to make a buck by
> convincing me to do it and then she'd offer to do it for me for a
> price rather than trying to offer good advice.

Well I disagree! But I admit that you might be totally correct. And I am
not denying that one bit. I used to work with the best experts coming
from the best schools in the world! And I learned once that if you back
them in the corner, most will admit they were just blowing smoke! They
hate to be wrong in anything, so they pull that thing. I hate this!

I personally believe she is learning and thinks she knows more than you
do. Which in some cases is probably true. But she like a lot of experts
don't know the real truth. And may sometimes do worse then somebody that
doesn't know anything.

No taking another rescue disc from another computer usually won't work
at all. First of all, it usually won't let you do to the fact that most
check for model numbers and/or BIOS, etc. Plus the drivers are likely to
be all wrong if it did work. Which means it won't work! <sigh>

One reason why these so-called experts want to take on the project
besides charging you something is that they can learn. Even the best
experts will do this. Think about it for a second. Do you want to pay
someone to learn? Or do you want to learn? Sometimes the latter is
better. <grin>

> Since I actually don't have Windows 2000 CDs (the laptop came
> already installed with no 2000 CD, rescue or otherwise, along with
> it) I believe I'd end up buying the entire OS and not just the
> upgrade. That is more than I want to spend right now. I've got Office
> XP installed, and it works just fine with 2000 so I'm not going to
> mess with something that isn't broken, particularly since I do have
> anti-virus software and a firewall installed so I am protected when
> I'm online.

Okay I use both Windows 2000 and Windows XP a lot. There are a small
handful of programs that needs Windows XP only, but they are rare and
maybe you might have to switch just for this reason (rare). But Windows
2000 does one thing really bad that I wish it didn't. That is about
multimedia! I have found on a number of machines that Windows 2000 is
the worst as far as playing DVD, streaming videos, etc. Depending on the
machine, Windows 98SE or Windows XP does far better in this area. If you
don't care, then it is no big deal.

--
Bill

Something wrong there; an XP upgrade disk is supposed to (and does,
normally) upgrade from 2000.


BillW50 wrote:
> "Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:4584fd7b$0$5253$4c368faf@roadrunner.com
> [...]
>> And implicit in this is my recommendation for a clean install, not an
>> upgrade install. You can still use the upgrade version if you have
>> your 2000 CD.
>
> I have two retail versions of Windows XP Home. One was just bought this
> year (already has SP2) and one was purchased probably back in 2003. Both
> upgrade versions will only upgrade Windows 98 or Windows ME. Not if
> Windows 2000 is already installed on the drive. Although you can if you
> hide the partition. This can be complicated if you never did this before.
>
> Although get this! If Windows XP upgrade can't see Windows 2000 on the
> HD or Windows 98 or Windows ME, it will take the install Windows 2000
> disc and accept it as an upgrade. Weird eh?
>

No it does not! You have to hide the Windows 2000 partition or not have
it on any drives. Although to prove you qualify, inserting the Windows
2000 disc during the Windows XP install is okay.

--
Bill


"Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
news:4587330b$0$2600$4c368faf@roadrunner.com
> Something wrong there; an XP upgrade disk is supposed to (and does,
> normally) upgrade from 2000.
>
>
> BillW50 wrote:
>> "Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
>> news:4584fd7b$0$5253$4c368faf@roadrunner.com
>> [...]
>>> And implicit in this is my recommendation for a clean install, not
>>> an upgrade install. You can still use the upgrade version if you
>>> have your 2000 CD.
>>
>> I have two retail versions of Windows XP Home. One was just bought
>> this year (already has SP2) and one was purchased probably back in
>> 2003. Both upgrade versions will only upgrade Windows 98 or Windows
>> ME. Not if Windows 2000 is already installed on the drive. Although
>> you can if you hide the partition. This can be complicated if you
>> never did this before. Although get this! If Windows XP upgrade can't
>> see Windows 2000 on
>> the HD or Windows 98 or Windows ME, it will take the install Windows
>> 2000 disc and accept it as an upgrade. Weird eh?

I'm sorry, you are correct. XP HOME will upgrade 98 & ME only. XP PRO
will upgrade 2000.

BillW50 wrote:
>
> No it does not! You have to hide the Windows 2000 partition or not have
> it on any drives. Although to prove you qualify, inserting the Windows
> 2000 disc during the Windows XP install is okay.
>

"Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
news:458738a2$0$2619$4c368faf@roadrunner.com
> I'm sorry, you are correct. XP HOME will upgrade 98 & ME only. XP
> PRO will upgrade 2000.
>
> BillW50 wrote:
>>
>> No it does not! You have to hide the Windows 2000 partition or not
>> have it on any drives. Although to prove you qualify, inserting the
>> Windows 2000 disc during the Windows XP install is okay.

Oh no! Windows XP Pro will and Windows XP Home won't? That is just pure
BS! There is no reason for that. As the full version of Windows XP Home
and Windows XP Pro Upgrade is about the same. :(

--
Bill

CJ, I have done my fair share of installing OS's & I think the only one
I would call intimidating used to be the server version of Windows NT.
I am not a networking expert so some stuff used to look like Greek to
me ;)
However 1 thing I think u have to grant to MS is their programs are
relatively easy to install if you can read the pop ups & stuff... I
can't understand why people pay $100 for XP Home at circuit city & then
pay $120 to have it installed. I was recently browsing at my
neighborhood CC when I saw a guy pay for this...
Vineeth

"BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote in message news:em7e8p$139$1@aioe.org
> "Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:458738a2$0$2619$4c368faf@roadrunner.com
>> I'm sorry, you are correct. XP HOME will upgrade 98 & ME only. XP
>> PRO will upgrade 2000.
>>
>> BillW50 wrote:
>>>
>>> No it does not! You have to hide the Windows 2000 partition or not
>>> have it on any drives. Although to prove you qualify, inserting the
>>> Windows 2000 disc during the Windows XP install is okay.
>
> Oh no! Windows XP Pro will and Windows XP Home won't? That is just
> pure BS! There is no reason for that. As the full version of Windows
> XP Home and Windows XP Pro Upgrade is about the same. :(

I mean they cost about the same!

--
Bill