I am seriously consiering changing from XP to 2000 Pro for various reasons and would like to know if there would be any problems with my present setup in XP Pro if converting to 2000 Pro? If XP is based on the 2000 kernel I don't foresee any difference except XP is prettier, but then again I ain't a 'puter whiz in most areas. I know just enough to get me out of trouble and not enough to keep me out of trouble. I am not much of a gamer, but I do run MS Train Sim and thinking of loading MS Flight Sim. I am more interested in the creative aspect of those sims than the actual operation of the programs. Other than that I doubt if I will load any other game that are rescorce hogs. My system: Gigabyte GA-7VRXP MOB AMD Athlon 1600 XP CPU 256 MG DDR Ram 20 Gig HDD Creative Live 5.1 Sound ATI Radeon 7000 64 MG Video Card Sony CD R/RW 52x CD Rom Win XP Pro Any info or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Ken B.

I would switch over to Windows 2000. The thing you must realize is, that since a newer verision of Windows is installed, you will have to re-format your hard drive. This is the only drawback to doing a downgrade. Make sure you back up any files that you wish to keep by transferring them to a CDR or a secondary hard disk. Also, Windows 2000 is also not dumbed down as Windows XP is. Instead of having to reset everything to classic mode, and still having features disabled, you will be able to access them right away. Also, if your PC originally came with XP, you will need to find all the device drivers for your hardware so that they will function in windows 2000.

I see no reason to switch. XP does everything better than w2k. I love Win2000 but I love XP better. I'm just curious why you would want to go backwards but it seems you have your reason.

Glen- I'M curious why people think XP is so wonderful. I know it's all about "different strokes..." and all that. But XP does everything better? Can't prove it by me- OR some of my friends who have XP (Home AND Pro) and always seem to be asking me about W2K. But, enough of that... Ken B- They're all Windows, but 2000 Pro seems to be the most stable and time-proven thing Micro$oft has put out. I say go for it!

Both W2K and XP can see/manage all M$ file formats (fat16/fat32/ntfs5), so there should be no need of reformatting the drive prior to installing W2K... (as suggested in post-1) You could just install W2K alongside current XP folder; it will probaly go in as windows since winnt is in use by XP? Access to XP will be disabled since W2K will overwrite/replace the XP versions of mbr/boot-files etc. Once you have W2K installed OK (and apps/utils?) you can just locate/delete the XP folder off the drive. Defrag afterwards to tidy up. Make ERD for W2K. As to which OS is better? W2K is reasonably tried/tested etc; XP is still gaining its spurs/recognition? I read comments praising each over the other... and I guess it's all a matter of personal preference. XP can be pruned down to resemble/run much like W2K? W2K probably has more driver support than XP currently; but doubtless XP will overtake it anon for current kit (which may not be fully supported under W2K)? Also, there's a lot to be said for "not fixing wot ain't broke..." (if no real/pressing need of change - why change)? However you do go about 'reverting' to W2K (if you decide to), be sure to back-up/save data elsewhere before starting out; although the routine I outline above should leave data safe and untouched - as no reformatting etc. is involved.

Thanks for all the input...I really appreciate the help and suggestions...I plan on doing a clean install on a new HDD and keeping my present HDD stored away with all my extra parts...If there is anything I ever want to save or back-up I burn it to a CD just as soon as I can...I have about 50 downloaded zip files for my train sim I keep on a seperate CD and I do the same with anything on my HDD...I have a seperate CD for various files or pics...I am retired and a disabled veteran so about all my computer is is a toy or an object to help keep boredom from setting in. My major reason for the change is the cottonpicking activation hassle with XP...I want to make some other changes and in order to do so I would have to call up MS and go through all the activation BS. I figure if I use Win 2000 Pro the computer belongs to me and not MS to dictate what I can or can't do with it when I want. Thanks again and a very happy New Year to all that reads this. Ken B.