[Knitebane]

All he proved was that XPs generic network drivers had an issue with his particular network adapter and he needed to use the driver disk that came with the computer. BFD.

What he did was install the most commonly used version of Windows on generic hardware from a major box manufacturer. And it didn't work.

That's an indication of how Microsoft does things.

[boogerbear]

Again that’s BS. It DID work, it just needed some additional drivers, which shipped with the computer. It’s not an indication of anything. IT’S A SEVEN YEAR OLD OPERATING SYSTEM, IT HAS ZERO BEARING ON TODAY. You and the author need to get that through your heads.

XP DOES have generic drivers for things like network adapters.
XP’s generic driver DO work with many devices even today.
here have ALWAYS been devices that didn’t work with the generic drivers in XP and other OSes for a variety of reasons.
As an OS gets older that list of things that don’t work with the generic drivers tends to get longer, it’s a natural part of OS aging.

[PugetSoundSoldier]

What he did was install the most commonly used version of Windows on generic hardware from a major box manufacturer. And it didn't work.

No, what he did was try to create a custom slipstreamed CD and then do an install. How do we know he didn't screw up the custom CD? Maybe he selected the wrong driver for the ethernet or the video?

At the very least, it should have come up as an NE2000 compatible ethernet adapter and a generic VGA display - enough to go out and install the right drivers. If it didn't do that, then the author simply FUBAR'd his own install.