PROBLEMS WITH MICROSOFT XP?

April 12, 2002 | EggsAckley

[EggsAckley]

We have a Hewlett-Packard, purchased in Oct.01, with the new XP system. We have had continuous trouble with it, and have even sent it back to the factory, where they replaced the hard drive. The system has a tendency to just shut down in the middle of working. Also, Microsoft neglected to make the system compatible with HP's 3-way printer (even though the computer is also HP.) There are other problems concerning word processing, as well.

We are at a point where work that needs to be done, cannot be done on the HP, and must be taken to KINKO'S.
This is WRONG! We get nothing but run-around from both HP AND Microsoft (surprise surprise.)

[savedbygrace]

Take it back and get your money back. HP makes lousy computers. Cut your losses and buy a real PC.

[On the Road to Serfdom]

RAM cards run as much as a new computer. around $900 USD.

Try www.pricewatch.com

[rdb3]

Don't you just love that? It just keeps going and going and going. . .

[savedbygrace]

UHHHH how does one use GHOST?

Read The Fine Manual. LOL.

[Quix]

I'll have to check . . . don't think I got one. It is part of System Works. Have never bothered much about it. Will do. Thanks.

[Quix]

THANKS. $5XX is a lot cheaper than $9XX USD.

[DennisR]

"I believe Windows XP was based on Windows 98."

Settle down, Hank. As I said, "I believe." Did I say I knew for sure? No. Because did I know for sure? No. And that is exactly why I chose the phrase "I believe," which is often used to express the fact that you think you are right, but you aren't sure. Which is exactly what I was trying to express, because that was exactly what the situation was. In other words, you did not need to waste time both your time and mine making smart remarks.

[goldstategop]

Not here. Since applying all the Microsoft updates, Windows XP Home has been rock solid. And for what its worth, I'm running an HP Pavilion 8766C desktop with 384 MB RAM. Windows XP is definitely way better than Windows Me that originally came pre-installed on the computer. I've also upgraded a recently acquired IBM 600E Thinkpad laptop to run on Windows XP Professional and so far so good. You can't go wrong with this operating system which is regarded as the best ever made by Microsoft.

[Lee'sGhost]

Thanks again. The ME came with the Compaq, and as far as I know the duel drive designations came with it. I did add another hard drive, but again, I'm pretty sure the partition on the orig drive was there to start with.

[ken in texas]

Your hard drive is partitioned into two logic drives. This generally is not a good idea.

On the contrary, it's a wonderful idea. It is a generally accepted practice for many people. I personally split my drive into 3, maybe 4 partitions. I have a specific purpose for each of the partitions, segregating data that I don't want to co-exist.

[Hank Rearden]

If it makes you feel any better, you can go on believing it if you want to.

[Bill Rice]

You beat me to it. I hate HP computers! It's probably got a cheesball modem or nic card that's causing all the problems. (But HP saved $5 by using it!)

I'll bet it would run OK with 2000 on it though.

[savedbygrace]

I think it's on the disk, but not printed. I remember printing part of it out when I needed to replace a second HDD.

[Mr. K]

Me too- I had a PICE OF SH*T pc-clone that crashed hourly and was incompatible with practically everything... I was about to throw it in the trash (literally) when I changed the OS from Win98 to Win2000.

It has not crashed ONCE SINCE!!! and it is faster too.

Win2000 Pro is the best windows ever. (Hate XP)

[Quix]

THANKS.

Is there a way to burn a CD boot disc instead of the small floppy? SHOULD BE but the options seem to be lagging way behind the technology. Sigh.

[DB]

That's what directories/folders are for. Unless you're running different operating systems on each it is just a fixed waste of space. Each partition has to have a complete file system structure which throws away a significant portion of your drive. If offers little additional protection if you get a virus and it adds no additional protection if you have a hardware failure. When one partition grows more than expected and becomes full things quickly turn into a nightmare.

Using Windows 2000 and the NTFS file system for example you can control access to and/or encrypt any folder/file anywhere.

Ultimately its each to his own though…

[savedbygrace]

You can glean some ideas about how to do this from several sources. I didn't find any concise directions in the quick search I just did, but these two have some ideas you might be able to use:

http://www.pcurtis.com/w95.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Paris/LeftBank/3992/preparation.html

You need to set the CD-ROM to be the 1st boot drive in BIOS. Normally, BIOS is set for the floppy to be 1st, then your C: drive to be second, and the CD-ROM 3rd. If it doesn't see a system file in the floppy or the C: drive, it looks at the CD-ROM. You want it to be sure to look at the CD, so you have to tell it to look there 1st.

Then you have to have the system file on the CD, plus whatever else you want the computer to be able to run without accessing the HDD. Make sense?

[TomServo]

Is there a way to burn a CD boot disc instead of the small floppy? SHOULD BE but the options seem to be lagging way behind the technology. Sigh.

All you ever wanted to know about making boot disks is right here.

[RickyJ]

Yes, XP has crashed many times on my system.

I'm starting to think Windows 2000 would have been the better choice.

[dalebert]

My cousin just bought a HP. I set it up for him and thought it was great. I was thinking of getting one.Not so sure now. What is the best PC on the market?