Well I was going to make this into a poll, just cuz it's easier to figure out but didn't see that option here. I'm just wondering what OS you guys are running and why.

Personally I like Win 2K best. I thinks it's more stable then XP, runs a little slower- at least at start up, but more stable. I do have XP on one machine and 98 on an other just so I can play some of the older games to don't run under 2K. What are you guys running?

98SE. No RPC ;). Last DOS compatible for my Scene-Demos ;D

Regards,
Andreas

Hmm...

The ones I still have in service now :

Win2000 Professional SP4
WinXP SP1
Win98SE
Win98
WinNT SP6 for Alpha
Win95 OSR1/SP1
Win95A

I presently like the Win2000 the most (running on my main Gaming rig) :)
(very volunerable OS by now however, requiring very strict and solid Firewalling, constant patching, and a permanent, keen eye on it :-/ )
It feels like a bit of a resource hog (compared to the slick '98, but given enough RAM, it runs 'as good as it gets' IMHO)

The 98/98SE Systems I mostly liked for their ease of use; very quick to setup or troubleshoot, and a very straight-forward plus backwards compatible OS (and almost free of Spyware).
I think those gave me the least Troubles of all M$ OS'es in the past.

The 95 Systems I did setup, because it was dirt cheap to pick up mostly; still gets the Job done nicely, though, even on fairly high-end Hardware actually ;)
(when was the last time you've seen a Windows completely boot in less than 8 Seconds from scratch ?)

WinNT is quite an immobile and unflexible OS, but once setup, gives the impression that it is determined to run until the end of days. It feels like the only thing that could stop it from running, would be the failure of the Hardware it runs on after like 15 years ;)

XP I dislike the most, but the Notebook it runs on gave me a good fight, not accepting any other OS after 2 weeks of fierce battle :P
(I intend to either sell it, or try Win2000 on it again one day, but it will be the first and last WinXP Installation I ever did in my Network :-X)
For security reasons, it has been almost isolated from the rest of the Network, setup to perform only very limited actions or connections.
Very resource unfriendly, almost feels like bloatware, until you strip it of almost all its "Features".
Generally, rated as "untrustworthy" Software, requiring massive intervention, Firewalling and 'cleansing' before first use.
Connecting a default WinXP installation to the Internet is widely regarded as a practically applied "digital suicide".
----------------
Within the next months, however, Linux Installations will have taken all their places, with the Exception of one Notebook and the Gaming rig.
(Presently it's 60% Linux or Unix vs. 40% Windows in the Network, with Linux gaining more and more momentum :) )

FalconFly, in relation to your answer, what tools did you use to rid yourself of all the "hidden, unwanted and spyware-ridded" functionalites of WinXP?
Or did you just put it down to good old tweaking? :)

wrote on 26.03.04 at 06:37:58:

Well I was going to make this into a poll, just cuz it's easier to figure out but didn't see that option here. I'm just wondering what OS you guys are running and why. Personally I like Win 2K best. I thinks it's more stable then XP, runs a little slower- at least at start up, but more stable. I do have XP on one machine and 98 on an other just so I can play some of the older games to don't run under 2K. What are you guys running?

Depends what you want the system for.
If it's 3Dfx testing/gaming/misc. , IMHO, I would use Win2000 SP4 and Win98SE (run as dual-boot, like Micha  ;))

They're more suitable and compatible for your 3Dfx needs. WinXP was well after 3Dfx's time, so don't expect too much from it.

My 3Dfx box will be a dual boot of Win2000SP4 & Win98SE.

My current general use system is WinXP, but this is because it's used to cater today's modern software apps, which are now being designed from WindowsXP and up.

I'm using a dual-boot, too: Win+ Lin, but I'm planning a tri-boot system: Win98SE + ? + Slackware 9.1  :o

Now, I can't decide what to replace the "?" with: XP or 2k.  ;D

wrote on 26.03.04 at 14:15:06:

FalconFly, in relation to your answer, what tools did you use to rid yourself of all the "hidden, unwanted and spyware-ridded" functionalites of WinXP? Or did you just put it down to good old tweaking? :)

It's a combination of :

- AntiSpy
- Ad-Adware
- Firewall
- Manual removal/denial of Services

Since that is actually not 100% sufficient (a couple of Security flaws and malicious functions are hardlinked to more native Functions/Components which can't be disabled), it is furthermore completely prohibited from making contact to the Internet.

Alright, lets see, I use currently Win98SE OEM and XP Pro SP1 on my main box, with space set aside to install fedora C1 once I get around to it. My little old 486 laptop uses Windows 95 OSR1 (installed using DOS networking and a parallel port network adapter, cause it has no CDROM), one of my P2s runs Redhat 9, and my rents P2 uses Windows 2k SP4. Personally, I find XP to be the fastest, but 98SE is the most flexible. BTW, I use 98lite and XPlite to do a lot of tweaking, then disable some services manually, and also turn off that stupid system restore (I've never had any use for it!). I also use the FAT32 file system, I've never had very good luck with NTFS.

2000pro  ;)

I use Windows 98 SE on my main PC.  boot is ultra fast (really a few seconds), the OS runs fast and is much more friendly and less bloated that windows XPee.
I have the best compatibility possible on a Windoze OS (everything recent still runs, and I can run my DOS games, with great midi sound thanks to my soundblaster live 5.1)

my other rig (the family PC) runs Windoze XP, and despite being reasonably fast (duron 1300 w/ 512MB RAM) it struggles with that bloated OS, giving me the feel of a 386 (sic)
XP is often encensed for its pretented stability and performance. I find it's buggy, with an overly complex interface (ever noticed that each windows version is more complex and more difficult to use?)

I like 98SE so much better (annoying point : LONG scandisk needed when installing, scandisk through 100GB of data is SLOW ;D)
I even uninstalled Internet Explorer :D
http://www.litepc.com/ieradicator.html
not quite though, I chose the 'gentle' eradication, with rendering dll's still present. But windows feels a bit faster maybe

wrote on 29.03.04 at 21:16:29:

I like 98SE so much better (annoying point : LONG scandisk needed when installing, scandisk through 100GB of data is SLOW ;D) I even uninstalled Internet Explorer :D http://www.litepc.com/ieradicator.html not quite though, I chose the 'gentle' eradication, with rendering dll's still present. But windows feels a bit faster maybe

Win98 setup takes command line arguments which allow you to disable scandisk, startup disk  and billboard display etc.  Type "setup /?" to see the list of documented arugments.  There are undocumented arguments also used to force APM and PIC.