What Operating System are you using???

[jabarnutcase]

With all the discussion every day here about windows related problems...I am curious. What OS are you using?

I realize many of us have dual boot systems, but sorry folks...Only one choice. What is your primary OS?

Reply if you wish, but not necessary...Just wondering what kind of percentages we have here in the forums.
Thanks! ;)

Yea, I know- It would be pretty hard to participate with Dos only! :)

[mjc]

Actually...no it wouldn't be too hard with just DOS...been there, done that.

Especially if using Arachne (a graphical DOS browser)

[jabarnutcase]

Arachne (a graphical DOS browser) ???

You sure got me on that one mjc! :confused: never heard of it!

So, just to be sure you weren't pulling my leg :), I did a google search-
Wow! And I'm not exactly the youngest guy here either! :D

BTW Everyone, now that I'm here- I said "No reply necessary", but they are certainly welcome. I also realize there have been threads like "what version of windows is best" etc. But I don't think there has been a poll yet.
Then, I had a really silly thought...If there are no replies, the poll may get lost in the dust.
Then , I thought...Yes, how silly. Just voting brings the post back up to the top of the thread.....Doesn't it? :rolleyes: :D

[Rick]

You don’t have Daul /Multi Boot listed

In fact it looks more like a poll to see what MS O/S your using
Did you forget that Linux comes in MANY flavors and versions
Unix also has a wide number of versions still in use to include 3.2 and Up

Only Microsoft thinks DOS is dead.
He is dead wrong .
Long Live Dr.Dos :)

[Vic 970]

Good one jab,

it's about time we had a poll on this, maybe a follow up with why?

I'm using w98 se as my main o/s because I use same system at work, but some of the pc's at work have been upgraded to w2000 so I have that as my 2nd o/s which I use now and again, getting ready to u/g. I also have linux installed (but not running properly yet) because I want to see what it's all about.

I think the answers will be interesting to all of us.

So come on folks, Get voting. ;)

[jabarnutcase]

Hi Rick..I realize many of us have dual boot systems, but sorry folks...Only one choice. What is your primary OS?

You're right, I thought about putting that in there, then decided not to.
And I realize it looks more like a "what ms OS are you using poll"....Sad, but true.

And I am aware of all the many flavors and versions of linux and unix, figured breaking that down a lot wouldn't make a big difference and I would run out of choices in the poll!...("maximum 10 choices") Unfortunatly, it probably is more of a Win poll...:(
Went brain dead as to what else is out there, hence the "other alternatives" option. :)

Hi Vic! Yes, you know..After I posted the poll, I thought of lots of other ways to do it...Live and learn. Should be interesting anyway. :)

[Rick]

OK

I’ll answer your question now then
My Primary Operating System is .

“What ever I am using at the Moment”

I love having a choice.. ( Dos, win98se, XP, Redhat and Mandrake)

[jabarnutcase]

The spice of life...Nice having many choices! :D
Of course... M$ would love to change that. :mad: ( They won't though, if anything people will get more and more sick of their nonsense and go for alternatives).

[Rick]

Unfortunately
Until the people have a choice Prepackaged, Preinstalled , and On the Store shelves
MS will continue to impose their Idea’s

PC doesn’t that stand for “Personal Computer”

[Steve]

Even though I'm writing this on an XP machine, my main computer has w2k as my main choise with 98se as an alternate boot. It is networked with an old 233mhz pentium machine dual booting 98/95. :rolleyes: I had dos 6.22 on it but I put that on an old 486 that a friend gave me.

W2k is probably the best of the lot, with 98se right behind. Or may 98 is better....:D

[jabarnutcase]

Gee Steve- I thought you would really come to like XP when you got use to it! And not even an honorable mention...:confused: :D

[Steve]

Heh heh, maybe I'm just not used to it yet. It's sloooow. Even a slow old man like me has to wait for this thing. I went through the BlackViper list you suggessted but it's still slow.

[jabarnutcase]

Steve- Did you go with the NTFS file system as opposed to Fat32?
NTFS IS a bit slower...In fact, this is what it said after a test at PC Pitstop:One or more partitions are using the NTFS file system. Although this file system offers many good features such as encryption and improved security, it is often slower than the FAT32 file system. You may notice a significant performance difference between FAT32 and NTFS partitions on the same drive.
The tweaking and exta ram helped mine a lot. I also had a bad problem right after I installed XP- For some reason my DMA was disabled on my primary IDE channel.
Once I got that sorted out it's been great. Yes, a little slower, but I have come to really like the OS a lot.
Definitely my favorite so far. :)

[sleddog]

Recently I got a new laptop at work (Fujitsu C-Series, P3 1.1GHz, 256Mb RAM) that had Win XP Home Ed. pre-installed. This was my first time using XP, and after 3 minutes my first reaction was to reach for the Win 2K installation CD :)

But I decided to give it a few hours. First I went through an extensive de-dummification process, after which the interface was much more usable for a traditional (and, if I may say so, experienced) Windows user. Then a tweaking processing, killing unneeded background applications and services. Perhaps the most radical move was to disable System Restore, which, after the indexing service, is (IMHO) the biggest cause of sluggishness. But don't do this unless you're prepared to reinstall the OS if need be.

After two days (!) of mucking about, I'm now very happy with XP. I find it every bit as quick as Win 2K, slightly lighter on memory usage, and just as stable. The laptop has been up now for four days/nights of constant use without a hiccup.

Another IMO :) -- comparing XP with Win98 in terms of speed and performance doesn't make sense. They are apples and oranges.

[Steve]

Yes, I'm using NTFS. And I really haven't finished tweaking. I thought w2k was ponderous when I first started using it, also, so it may just be a matter of time and tweaking.

I think I'll try shutting down the system restore feature for a while and see it that helps. I'll check on DMA also. I have 256MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM. Maybe bumping that up a bit would help.

Thanks for the tips. :)

[jabarnutcase]

Hi again folks-
Well, the poll seems to be coming along pretty well. Although as is typical of many posts we all make, I might have made it a little different after the fact.
I realize many have dual or multi boot systems, so possibly I should have allowed multiple choices.:p (I did mention this in the beginning)

As Rick and I talked about earlier, it is more like a "Which M$ OS do you use" poll....This is for good reason however, as we really have little choice. Even if you prefer a version of Linux for example, you really have little choice but to include some version of windows in your system just to be able to get along with the rest of the world. :eek:

At any rate, even if you use many different Operating Systems, choose the one that you fall back on the most...The OS that really ends up being the "backbone" of your computer work... the one that you spend the most time using.
I know a lot of us wish it weren't so, but I suspect that no matter how much you love linux or another OS, some form of Windows is your mainstay.
(Not in ALL cases I know, although I've yet to see a vote for "Mac" or "Linux/Unix") .

A question such as "Which OS would you LIKE to use the most", would have had entirely dfferent results!

Oh well, it's only a poll- And all in fun. ;)
And one last thing... I have to admit, this post was also an experiment...
I notice that people are voting without posting a reply...(Which is perfectly fine), but it now confirms something I was wondering about: A vote without a reply, does not move this thread back up to the "top of the topics"...But this post just did!

It's kind of like paying for the extra exposure on eBay when you're trying to sell something.
A lot of people just look at the topics on the PCGuides main page, or search new posts, without looking through each and every catagory! ;)
Enjoy! :D

[david eaton]

Good thread Jabbar. I'm not, actually surprised that no-one has voted for MAC. This is the PC Guide, after all.:D

David

[jabarnutcase]

HeHe...Good point David. Although, I have seen in the past someone saying "they were on their Mac now"...
Of course, it was usually to ask a question about how to fix their Windows machine! :D

[Mitch Hatfield]

Good work, Jaba:D

And there was me thinking that my old OS was, like me, creaking at the seams.

Looks as if W98SE still rules here - although its future seems uncertain now that M$ will not be supporting any further development on it from next year, at least as far as I understand it.:rolleyes:

[jabarnutcase]

Hey Mitch!
Looks as if XP has taken the lead! :)
I don't think you should worry too much about next year....The way M$ operates, XP may even be a thing of the past by then...Who knows! :D

98se is still a great really good OS, as the poll apparently shows.
It is hard to believe there wont be some type of support. You can actually still find a lot of support, drivers etc. for Win95!

[Mitch Hatfield]

Yeah Jaba,

More than a bit of M$ scaremongering, I think!

Point taken, nevertheless! :D

[Budfred]

I use WinME because it has a few features that I like, but I see it as a layer on Win98SE rather than a unique OS. I am concerned that MS will bring out another version in the next year or so and become even more intrusive in the process. I am looking at Linux as a way to maintain some autonomy in using PCs and the internet. While I will use pre-XP versions of Windows until they become completely obsolete, I really don't want to use a program that makes me explain myself and ask permission if I make any major changes to my system.

Budfred

[jcandsc]

Im using win98se cause thats wot came with my computer and ive never bothered 2 update because im thinkin of building my own computer so then i wont need the 1 im usin now so theres no point in spendin money updateing it

[mjc]

I have a multi-boot setup, want to get a network of various OS machines setup.

One of the reasons I use 98 is that many of the questions here are still for it (or 9x in general) and it is easier to look up a procedure with it running instead of having to reboot (you know, go to control panel and do this.....). Besides, I like it....:D. I might continue to keep a 9x system or two running long after M$ has left it behind.

For much of my other stuff stuff I split between Linux and Windows...occaisionally I play around in a pure DOS environment or something else (rarely a MAC....but it has been know to happen a time or two).

As far as support from MW...basically if you ant to wade through th MSKB you can still find stuff on DOS and Win3.x, but don't call and ask a phone tech about them, you will either be charged an outrageous fee for the same answer as the KB or you will be told that there is no help available. Plus there will be no more "bug fixes" unless they happen to be common with a still supported version, and eventually things like DirectX and IE will leave your OS out in the cold...but since most current games don't fully utilize DX 8.x yet that won't be a problem for a while. You can still find most of the 95 updates and fixes if you go fishing on the M$ sites long enough.

[david eaton]

Who needs support from Micro$loth when there are sites like this?
I suspect that support for win98 will be available for quite some time,both from manufacturers and enthusiasts like us.

David

[Steve]

Don't worry. Support for Win98 will go on for a long time. M$ may cut off telephone support for it but they are not going to erase the KB of all 98 related references. Let's be real! Windows98 is probably the most successful OS to date. It'll be years before it fades away. It's to good of an OS to stop being used! There is a ton of info on the web that isn't gonna go away. There are millions of people who are knowledgeable about the program. If you're using 98 rest assured, it will be around for a very long time. Does anyone here have any problems finding info on DOS? :)

[iisbob]

It's not that 98se is really any better than 2k or XP ( argueably it could be said to be worse ); 98se's abundance has more to do with the fact that at the time it debutted, it happen to also be at the same time that the general public became PC aware-ergo it's the " leading " MS OS-the best as far as the public knows simply because of it's timely arrival during the PC "madness" of just 4 years ago.


I honestly believe that XP and it's next gen will eventually overshadow 98, but i don't see 98 dying any time soon. Not too mention it still has it's uses. And is still a viable OS to contend with for the average user. Also if you look at any windows software created in the last few years, i doubt you'll find any that won't work or haven't been written for 98 in mind-no matter what other OS's are on the box.

Tho i use XP as my primary Windows OS; it's because it not only gives the user friendlines of 98, but the stability of 2k. I believe that MS finally got it right-nonwithstanding the other nigling annoyounces like activation.

Doesn't mean that i don't use Linux just as much, i just find that since i have to work with MS products all day long, it's only natural for me to use them at home.

( by the way, i'm writing this from Mozilla on my Suse box :p )

[VCmute]

Ok, I voted.
Now my reply: I use Win 95 on my 4 year old Gateway and we have one old power Mac and two old 'all-in-one' Macs and one old 486 (no CD-Rom). I have an old power Mac in the garage, that I don't know if it works because I don't have an adapter for a monitor.
And that is my computer collection.

[jabarnutcase]

Not to worry VCmute!
The main thing is you've got a computer(s) and you're here!

It could be a whole lot worse! ;)
(Not sure what your Gateway has for a processor, but possibly you could go with Win98)- Good OS. :)

[VCmute]

Jabarnutcase - Yes, your right and I am enjoying the company.
I have thought of switching to 98 but I am Scared to death about changing over. Although, now I wonder if I could still get it. I would have to find out what my processor is, I don't know it off hand.

[granny]

Ok, I voted, so now here is my post.

First, when you look at the results, remember that people do not necessarily run the OS of their choice. Sometimes, you use one because it is the one you have and you don't want to contribute yet more money to Billy Gates pockets for a new "better" one. Then, there is the fact that all the new machines seem to come with XP, no choice (we recently had to buy a new computer for our student daughter so I know). This is bound to skew the results a little.

My main comment is: I understand that sometime in the future, there might be a version of Mac OS X released for use on PCs. Wouldn't that be glorious? After reading what I have read about that OS, I think I would be the first one in line to buy it! (And I am not usually the person to wait in line!) :)

granny

[jabarnutcase]

Hi granny- Some good points. :)
I think the poll has been fun. It does show one thing for sure...Because I did not make it a multiple choice poll, but restricted it to "What is your Primary OS", the votes are overwelmingly for windows. This isn't necessarily because we want it that way, but because it's just the way it is .
Many people have stated in their posts that they use multiple operating systems, (which I knew), but because the whole dang world is run by windows, we have little choice but to be involved in some way- Yep, more money in BGate$ pocket. :mad:

A lot of the guys (and gals) here like using other OS's, but still have to rely on windows in some way- For work in many cases!
And, unfortunately, it will probably be a long time before all that changes.

As far as new computers coming with XP, I don't think it would stop most of the regulars here in the forums from changing it to something else if they didn't like it! :D

Anyway folks- The poll seems to be winding down. Thanks for all the participation. Lots of votes, posts, and a ton of views- (Which tells me people were checking in now and then).
For those of you that stumble onto this poll and haven't voted yet...Feel free to continue!
Thanks again! While it wasn't the greatest poll ever contrived, it's been a lot of fun!!! ;) :D