Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.newusers (
More info?)
all I want is word/excel 97 winamp, and firefox. will the desktop
really run that much slower than win98 if I use 'classic' mode?
Bruce Chambers wrote:
>Jeff W wrote:
>> Hi - I'm thinking of putting XP HOME SP2 on an WIN98SE machine - 350MHz
>> P-II w/256MB of memory. If I turn all the graphic performance tweaks
>> off (make it look like WIn98 Windows "classic" GUI) - how much slower
>> will it run than WIN98SE - will it run faster? Does it need more
>> memory? (usually no more than 2 real Apps running at a time).
>>
>> thanks
>> /j
>>
>> (PS - I ran upgrade advisor on the target machine, it says no problem
>> putting XP on it)
>
>
> "Glacial" is the term that comes to my mind, I'm afraid. If you
>turn off all of WinXP GUI eye-candy, it will still be very slow, but
>it might usable for simple word processing, email, web-browsing, etc.
>It won't be any good for graphics-intensive applications, and most
>newer games. (During the public preview period, I tested WinXP on a
>500 MHz machine with 256 Mb of RAM, and it was slower than I like.) Of
>course, "adequate performance" is a subjective standard. Performance
>that I would find wholly inadequate might seem just fine for you. (Or
>vice-versa.)
>
>1) Right-click the Task Bar > Properties > Start Menu, ensure
>"Classic Start menu" is selected.
>
>2) Right-click an empty spot on the Desktop > Properties > Themes >
>select "Windows Classic."
>
>3) Right-click My Computer > Properties > Performance > Settings >
>Visual Effects, ensure "Adjust for best performance" is selected.
>
>
> However, with a PC this old, it's essential to make sure it's
>components are WinXP-compatible _before_ proceeding. Have you ensured
>that all the PC's components are capable of supporting WinXP? This
>information will be found at each of the PC's component's
>manufacturer's web sites, and on Microsoft's Catalog:
>(http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx). Computer components
>designed for use with Win9x/Me very often fail to meet WinXP's much
>more stringent hardware quality requirements.
>
> Can you obtain OS-specific device drivers for your PC's
>components, and any necessary motherboard BIOS updates? Additionally,
>you can download and run Microsoft WinXP Upgrade Advisor to see if you
>have any incompatible hardware components.
>http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/upgrading/advisor.asp
>
>
>