xe783 upgrade to Windows 2000 or xp

[lukiedog]

I have this unit as sold by HP with the exception that its got 320MB
of ram. I am going to reformat and do a fresh install and want to
ditch ME and move to windows 2000 or xp. Is this advisable? Seems to
be debate as to whether the update will take. I have the recovery
disks and would appreciate any advice on how to proceed.

[Ben Myers]

BEFORE you upgrade, take note of the exact chipsets used in your system. The
easiest way to do this is to click the Device Manager tab in the System icon of
the Control Panel. Click on the plus (+) signs next to especially the display
adapter and hard disk controller, but you might as well expand the whole list.
Now do screen prints capturing ALL the information. Once you have this info at
hand, do some research to see if all the chipsets are supported in Win 2K and
Win XPee. I favor the former. The latter is a lot of bloatware, sort of Win
2000 tarted up with a prettier desktop masking still more software defects and
security holes. As a safeguard, go to each web site of each chipset
manufacturer and download the required drivers for all chipsets. Many of them
will be built into the Win 2000 CD.

The info on the HP web site will save you some of the work:

Intel 810 chipset on the motherboard, supported "out of the box" by Win 2K and
Xpee.
Cheetah modem (I dunno)
Intel 810 graphics, also built into 2K and Xpee
Crystal sound chip (chip not identified)

No drivers are available on the HP web site, so don't bother looking.

Before doing any of this, make sure the system has at least 256MB of memory. To
run either release with less is setting you up for some slow times twiddling
your thumbs while Windows exercises the hard disk as a swap file... Ben Myers

On 4 Jun 2004 16:36:49 -0700, smata671@yahoo.com (lukiedog) wrote:
I have this unit as sold by HP with the exception that its got 320MBof ram. I am going to reformat and do a fresh install and want toditch ME and move to windows 2000 or xp. Is this advisable? Seems tobe debate as to whether the update will take. I have the recoverydisks and would appreciate any advice on how to proceed.

[Rob]

Thanks for the tips, Ben. I've been using Win 2000 at work for 4
years without a single lockup and may stick with it. I do like how xp
doesn't bother you when installing hardware drivers, though, but how
often does that happen? This particular computer may have glitches w/
OS other than ME, which is why I posted. Have you had success with
this specific machine or are you speaking generally?

ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote in message news:<40c12fe1.2582583@news.charter.net>... BEFORE you upgrade, take note of the exact chipsets used in your system. The easiest way to do this is to click the Device Manager tab in the System icon of the Control Panel. Click on the plus (+) signs next to especially the display adapter and hard disk controller, but you might as well expand the whole list. Now do screen prints capturing ALL the information. Once you have this info at hand, do some research to see if all the chipsets are supported in Win 2K and Win XPee. I favor the former. The latter is a lot of bloatware, sort of Win 2000 tarted up with a prettier desktop masking still more software defects and security holes. As a safeguard, go to each web site of each chipset manufacturer and download the required drivers for all chipsets. Many of them will be built into the Win 2000 CD. The info on the HP web site will save you some of the work: Intel 810 chipset on the motherboard, supported "out of the box" by Win 2K and Xpee. Cheetah modem (I dunno) Intel 810 graphics, also built into 2K and Xpee Crystal sound chip (chip not identified) No drivers are available on the HP web site, so don't bother looking. Before doing any of this, make sure the system has at least 256MB of memory. To run either release with less is setting you up for some slow times twiddling your thumbs while Windows exercises the hard disk as a swap file... Ben Myers On 4 Jun 2004 16:36:49 -0700, smata671@yahoo.com (lukiedog) wrote:I have this unit as sold by HP with the exception that its got 320MBof ram. I am going to reformat and do a fresh install and want toditch ME and move to windows 2000 or xp. Is this advisable? Seems tobe debate as to whether the update will take. I have the recoverydisks and would appreciate any advice on how to proceed.

[Ben Myers]

Success with the chipsets, not with the model in question. But the available
chipset support is the make-or-break for ANY Windows upgrade. Or downgrade.
I've installed Win 95B on some high-end Pentium III systems, too, for people who
want something cheap... Ben Myers

On 9 Jun 2004 19:04:20 -0700, biddy67@hotmail.com (Rob) wrote:
Thanks for the tips, Ben. I've been using Win 2000 at work for 4years without a single lockup and may stick with it. I do like how xpdoesn't bother you when installing hardware drivers, though, but howoften does that happen? This particular computer may have glitches w/OS other than ME, which is why I posted. Have you had success withthis specific machine or are you speaking generally?ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote in message news:<40c12fe1.2582583@news.charter.net>... BEFORE you upgrade, take note of the exact chipsets used in your system. The easiest way to do this is to click the Device Manager tab in the System icon of the Control Panel. Click on the plus (+) signs next to especially the display adapter and hard disk controller, but you might as well expand the whole list. Now do screen prints capturing ALL the information. Once you have this info at hand, do some research to see if all the chipsets are supported in Win 2K and Win XPee. I favor the former. The latter is a lot of bloatware, sort of Win 2000 tarted up with a prettier desktop masking still more software defects and security holes. As a safeguard, go to each web site of each chipset manufacturer and download the required drivers for all chipsets. Many of them will be built into the Win 2000 CD. The info on the HP web site will save you some of the work: Intel 810 chipset on the motherboard, supported "out of the box" by Win 2K and Xpee. Cheetah modem (I dunno) Intel 810 graphics, also built into 2K and Xpee Crystal sound chip (chip not identified) No drivers are available on the HP web site, so don't bother looking. Before doing any of this, make sure the system has at least 256MB of memory. To run either release with less is setting you up for some slow times twiddling your thumbs while Windows exercises the hard disk as a swap file... Ben Myers On 4 Jun 2004 16:36:49 -0700, smata671@yahoo.com (lukiedog) wrote:I have this unit as sold by HP with the exception that its got 320MBof ram. I am going to reformat and do a fresh install and want toditch ME and move to windows 2000 or xp. Is this advisable? Seems tobe debate as to whether the update will take. I have the recoverydisks and would appreciate any advice on how to proceed.