I would run 2k/98se because XP is just too bloated. You might just be able to use 2K without duel booting because I have NEVER had a 98 program not work on 2K. Symbios

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Install ME and watch your comp go down the toilet. Use 98SE nuff said. ^(',')]}~~~:]>

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Majority rule does not usually shine a light on the best decision for the individual, yet that's what most posters do. If 3 out of 5 people vote one way, the poster feels guided. Much better to critically analyze each individual response. dual boot is like dating two people at once. At some point you will settle on one and you'll avoid headaches if you can make that decision sooner than later. The most stable operating systems are always the oldest. It takes a short time to invent software and a long time to stabilize it. That will never change. Early operating systems were controllable. Recent operating systems control you. Any problem of any type on an older operating system is easily fixable. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the dreaded >512MB problem on win98se. Fixable in 20 seconds, but that's too much work for some.

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"Install ME and watch your comp go down the toilet" giggles...that is pure B.S. Have you ever used ME or are you just going by what other people who've never used it have to say? I've installed it on at least a 1/2 dozen PCs & I run it on my own in a dual boot setup with XP Pro. It works fine...absolutely nothing wrong with it. I've never had a problem & have had no complaints from the those that I set up with it. Don't knock it unless you've tried it!

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I have 3 PC's ,one running Windows 95,another with 98SE and my newest running WindowsMe ! Yes I was frustrated at frist with WinMe ,however once I configured it to run properly (thanks Trev,s How to Make WinMe Run Well ver5) its by far my favorite O/S so far. Iam sure on my next PC I will run XP, however I really dont like the look of its user interface, to MSN Messenger like ! I was told you can turn that "look" off ? Back to the topic ,those who really dont like Windows Me ,usally have not taken the time to learn the in's and out's of this O/S ,once you do ,its hard to deny its many positives ! Good Luck Nick

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Yeah by the way, i have used ME before for a few days until i got this undeniable itch to format my hdd and install 98. Not only have i had a bad experience using ME but many of my close friends have told me about theirs. If you really must go to the work to learn the ins and outs of the OS, by all means do what you want, but if you want an OS that is user friendly and user controlled from the first boot up. Use 98SE. And also if your going to use it to play old 98 games so you dont have to deal with the XP patch headaches for games, then it will suit you fine and you wont neglect it for XP. ^(',')]}~~~:]>

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I used winme for a month once a few years ago and the system locked up several times a day. But that could have been the mobo. Given the winme bad press I reformatted with win98 and swapped out the mobo. The superfast boot-up time of winme was great. Maybe its time to give it another shot.

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Well, win 98 also has very fast boot shutdown times. My comp shuts down in about 3secs and boots in about 10secs and im runnin a 500mhz celeron! But my sister's laptop 2.4ghzP4 256mb ram boots xp in maybe a minute and shuts down in about 25 secs. This is the main reason i dont use XP, it takes forever to boot and shutdown. ^(',')]}~~~:]>

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do you boot and shutdown your computer a lot? cuz if you dont, it's obviously not a problem AT ALL. i turn my computer off once and thats at night and i turn it on once, and thats in the morning. maybe you should try my neat schedule FBI_Agent

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Well, i do shutdown and bootup a lot. I only use my pc for gaming and using the internet so i turn it off when im done. ^(',')]}~~~:]>

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Linux rules! why not get linux its free (mostly) LOTS of free soft ware if u absolutly need win aps use WINE... i dont see any reason to use win (if ur not playing games) im dualbooting linux/win2k... works fine

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As a system admin, at the moment, the ideal (note, never use best, I've seen geeks and conputer fans alike die over a "best os") operating systems would be either Windows 2000 or some form of Linux (coughmandrakecough). Windows 2K has excellent stability, is a little (minimanlly) less ram hungry than XP, and is more cost efficient. Linux is alot better for anyone who can handle their computers intestines in their hands. A GREAT os, very powerful, but at times too powerful for users. (great for multi-user environments, very hard for an update *nix box to be compromised by a lesser user). You can look at windows 98 (buggy), ME (omg, lets not even go into ME. Instead of where do you want to go today, it should be, what BSoD would you like today. Trust me (and hundreds of other users) ME is bad... very bad... A metamorph between 9x and NT (remember, 9x were not Os's, just nice interfaces for DOS) with some of dos censored. Forget ME, if you've used it, you should know how bad it is. If anyone thinks its good, try knoppix for a day or two (its live, doesnt modify ur HD so your precious docs are safe) and you'll never (ever) go back to windows...or your money back (for knoppix, hehe). OH! and if you decide on XP or 2K, remember, the more ram the better. I would recommend a minimum of 512 for them to run smooth. (btw, knoppix is free, like linux should be) .... before I forget, a mini-flame to jam and supporters of winME... 6 pc's you say? I was requested to "upgrade" an entire network to ME a while ago... Ive never had more support requests than that... thank G*d Win2K came out soon after... Spinal

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Whoa whoa whoa, compudude just wants a os to use his old 9x apps, not linux or mandrake or knoppix ok. And btw win 98 was not a nice interface for dos, remember it used a virtual dos. Dos was never there. Now if you can remember back to win 3.1 as well, it was a nice interface for dos. Heck, just to install 3.1 you had to have dos on your system already, real dos. ^(',')]}~~~:]>

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Hi giggles, Try running 98 without command.com, io.sys and msdos.sys and get back to us. For the original question: 98se & w2k on a FAT. And yeah, forget ME. We put ME on 5 PCs just after it came out and had several clients carry in their PCs, wearing long faces. Every one was an unmitigated disaster. Anyone remember DOS 4? Guess not? M2

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Uh, i think ill keep those files if its ok with you. ^(',')]}~~~:]>

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Hey thanks for all the great responses! My personal experience is that Me works GREAT on certain enviornments and terrible in others. I had a Pentium I 200 Mhz machine w/ 160 MB RAM and a 3 GB HD and it worked BEAUTIFULLY! Better than 98se ever did. I also run it on my personal church machine. Celeron 333 Mhz w/ 256 MB RAM and a 1.18 GB HD, a 1.99 GB HD, and a 20 GB HD. It also works beautifully, but on many other machines, mine included, it crashed a LOT! I'm just staying w/ XP but am dual-booting 2k and Me on my sister's PC. (Celeron 566) it works fine. Thanks!

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