--This is one reason more people are investigating Linux, or at least alternatives to MS. With every "upgrade" of the Windoze OS, MS gets more and more evil and resource-hungry. I've heard that XP eats 128Meg of RAM just after BOOTING. WTF??? Linux still works just fine on my P233MMX with 160Meg of RAM. I also use Knoppix frequently on P166 and P300 laptops with 96Meg, 128Meg and 164Meg of RAM.

--My "fast" computer (AMD Duron 900MHz, 196Meg) runs W98SE, SuSE 7.3, and Knoppix. I stick with W98 for a reason - it works fine for my needs. I only recently started getting experience with Win-ME, and already it's a PITA. MS tried to do away with DOS-mode at boot, and I have to hack around it to re-enable things. (F8 at bootup does wonders if you're in a hurry and don't want to screw around with booting from a floppy.)

--I wouldn't run W95 if you paid me anymore, 98 is worth the upgrade - I've gotten it running (and stable!) on a 486-dx3-75MHz with 16Meg of RAM, albeit with a 200Meg perm swapfile. Win-ME is still based on the 98 kernel, and I see no compelling reason to "upgrade" to it, except possibly for driver support. (ME can use my 32-bit Cardbus PCMCIA cards, 98 can't.) But that's only ONE SINGLE CASE so far. Win-ME crashes just as frequently as 98 does.

--But I digress. Pretty much the only thing I use W98 for these days is to check my Juno free email and watch DvD's, and maybe play a few games. I've even taken to rebooting into Knoppix for Web browsing (with Opera) - it's FASTER under Linux!

--IMHO, it's just a matter of time b4 the "need" for Windoze goes away. MS is clamping down on the consumer with restrictive EULAs that are mixed in with SECURITY UPDATES, for Pete's sake. They're *desperate.* And I for one will be glad to see them diminish in power - it's about time somebody handed them their ass.


Quote Originally Posted by aay
I have seen posts about this happening several times in this forum. What is the deal here? Does this happen on every XP machine or are there specific conditions that cause it. Clearly one MS "feature" that is a real pain in the ass for some people.