Diffrent look with 2K

I just changed a computer over from XP to 2K. After installing all the programs I noticed things looked diffrent. Things like the icons on the Explorer toolbar are grey until you mose over them. I'm also using Office 2003. Access has a completely diffrent look to it. Almost more of a 2D look. The command buttons are more squared off rather then the rounded look they had with XP. The drop down arrow box is grey instead of blue.
I also noticed on my XP machines they have an XP scheme while 2K is using Windows standard. Is this the reason it's like this? Or is there a way to make 2K look like XP
I', also using 1024x768 32 bit color on all the computers.
If it is because of the XP scheme is there a way to load that scheme into 2K?

XP was nweer and thus has a newer interface - Windows 2000 is a workstation O.S so it doesnt have all the pretty colored themes in it. and u cant load the XP theme into 2000 - unless using some third party program to tweak you 2k look.

Thats what I thought.

Thanks

You could try commercial software like windowblinds, it really has a lot of nice (and good working!) skins...

Why would anyone want to revert to 2000 from XP? It's a better OS.

^^ good point really - some do claim 2k is better - less bloat? but i find XP to be perfectly fine out of the box - runs smooth on any system i put it on and has far superior compatibility.

is noce now and then thought to go back to ld O/S :d memoriessssss

El<(')>Maxi said:

Why would anyone want to revert to 2000 from XP? It's a better OS.

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Negative. Windows 2000 is a better OS. Less bloat, more stability.

chris6104 said:

I just changed a computer over from XP to 2K. After installing all the programs I noticed things looked diffrent. Things like the icons on the Explorer toolbar are grey until you mose over them. I'm also using Office 2003. Access has a completely diffrent look to it. Almost more of a 2D look. The command buttons are more squared off rather then the rounded look they had with XP. The drop down arrow box is grey instead of blue.
I also noticed on my XP machines they have an XP scheme while 2K is using Windows standard. Is this the reason it's like this? Or is there a way to make 2K look like XP
I', also using 1024x768 32 bit color on all the computers.
If it is because of the XP scheme is there a way to load that scheme into 2K?

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What does that PC have for hardware? Some people speculate that Windows 2000 performs better than Windows XP for AMD users and vice-versa for Intel users.

Paul1 said:

Negative. Windows 2000 is a better OS. Less bloat, more stability.

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Sorry, XP has more features, better stability & better security. Have you even run it?

karl pell said:

Win2k is a "buy it once" OS. Install key requires no subsequent activation, no activation limit ... if you oc or change hardware frequently, you'll burn up the allowed activations in XP quickly. Not so with 2k ... and 2k works just fine.

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I have activated my copy of XP over 15 times with no problems, you don't run out of activations. Yes activation is a pain compared to 2000 but still worth it. And yes 2K works just fine, but if you want remote desktop, native burning, native .zip support, easy wireless config and many other features your not gonna get it with 2K.

karl pell said:

... if you oc or change hardware frequently, you'll burn up the allowed activations in XP quickly.

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Can I get a link from MS were there is a limit? I have never heard of this. It is your OS to activate as many times as you like on your one computer. When I first used XP there was a bad virus running rampant, and I activated 4 times in one day. After that I activated the same key another 20 times. I have yet to run into a limit. So far on this key(differnet machine altogether), I only activated 3 times. I must call, but the reps never tell me about limits. If you like I will call MS activation and find this out if you are unwilling to.

i recall something about you are allowed to activate your copy of XP upto 10 times online - pending on hardware differnces - after that you need to call

XP ahs the isolation crash system - if a program crashes - it doesn't take the O/S with it like in 2k it often does and XP does have much better compatibility but - i it really depends on what you use your system for i guess - i used 2k from the day it hit Alpha and loved it, but i loved XP more.


i think in the end it comes down to whether your hardware changes alot or not that you may have to call.

xp is way better than 2000 period. and i cant wait till the next os from ms comes out. it will be even better than xp. makes sense right. new versions better than old. and dont give me that millenium edition hoopla.

especially when it comes to xp vs. 2000

Activation is weird, I reformatted onto a Raptor two night's ago after a failed repair. I activated the repiar via phone as I couldn't get stable enough to setup the LAN connection, 5 min tops with the automated system. Then I activated the very next day with the fresh install. No call, nothing required, just clicked 'Activate' within Windows initial setup screen.

I actually found that odd as I'd had to talk to someone several times in the past when the automated system would not give me the new activation key.

Anyway I hear ya karl, if you don't need any of that stuff 2000 is fine behind firewall(s) like you have. I still use 2000 everyday at work, it's a good OS no doubt. But I wish I had Remote Desktop sometimes, it would make testing much easier for me.

El<(')>Maxi said:

Sorry, XP has more features, better stability & better security. Have you even run it?

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Yes I have, for a few months. I switched right back to 2000 after constant freezes and BSOD errors.

Paul1 said:

Yes I have, for a few months. I switched right back to 2000 after constant freezes and BSOD errors.

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Well it wasn't the OS, it was your hardware or something else I'm sorry to say.

Why would anyone want to revert to 2000 from XP? It's a better OS.

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I prefer 2K to XP as well. I found 2K to be a lot less bloated and faster. In fact, if you read the bottom of the box for a lot of software, it will say stuff like "Required: Windows 2000, 1ghz processor, 256mb of RAM OR Windows XP, 2 ghz processor, 512mb of RAM". 2K is faster given equivalent hardware and uses less memory. Also, there is no activation, which is the biggie for me. I don't want to have to justify my changes to M$, it's none of their ****ing business if I put in a new video card or upgrade my processor. As for security, they are about equal. Both of them still get security updates. Older versions like NT are no longer patched, so they are less secure. I suppose you could argue the built in firewall makes XP more secure, but I don't need a firewall, I run a hardware firewall in my router. I have also found 2K to crash less, be more stable, and generally work with more software (XP has some issues with some games and some older software that 2K does not). I think 2K was M$'s best OS, and the stuff before or after went downhill. Personally, I like the 2K look better than the Fisher-Price interface of XP.

Vista will be even worse. More bloated, slower, more of a resource-hog, and crippled with DRM and activation. I can't see any reason at all to upgrade to Vista.

MRD said:

I prefer 2K to XP as well. I found 2K to be a lot less bloated and faster. In fact, if you read the bottom of the box for a lot of software, it will say stuff like "Required: Windows 2000, 1ghz processor, 256mb of RAM OR Windows XP, 2 ghz processor, 512mb of RAM". 2K is faster given equivalent hardware and uses less memory. Also, there is no activation, which is the biggie for me. I don't want to have to justify my changes to M$, it's none of their ****ing business if I put in a new video card or upgrade my processor. As for security, they are about equal. Both of them still get security updates. Older versions like NT are no longer patched, so they are less secure. I suppose you could argue the built in firewall makes XP more secure, but I don't need a firewall, I run a hardware firewall in my router. I have also found 2K to crash less, be more stable, and generally work with more software (XP has some issues with some games and some older software that 2K does not). I think 2K was M$'s best OS, and the stuff before or after went downhill. Personally, I like the 2K look better than the Fisher-Price interface of XP.

Vista will be even worse. More bloated, slower, more of a resource-hog, and crippled with DRM and activation. I can't see any reason at all to upgrade to Vista.

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I also find all of those statements to be true for me.
Win2K is has tons more compatability than XP because it was around before XP and had programs written for it and is still to this day being patched and being included in the list of operating systems that are supported by games etc..
I was VERY dissapointed with Win XPPro.
I actually bought two disks for My P.C. and my girls and after running it on mine for around 6 weeks I formatted that bad boy the old school DOS way to get rid of that XPpro(virus is more like it).
My girl insisted I do it to hers maybe 3 months later, and I obliged.

I saw a huge drop in the overclock I could achieve with the same exact hardware and not to mention I lost tons of points in 3dmark. I know this because I test and bench my systems for weeks before running em on games etc and the same overclock in 2K (before i topped it out) yeilded higher scores in most everything.
By tweaking XP I could get it to run about as fast as 2k without tweaking.

Oh ya did I mention it was considerably less stable than 2k or even patched up win 98.

Hey Im all for new things as long as they work and work WELL.
XP is the OS version of a virus as far as Im concerned.

I have both disks still and neither is being used.
I will never buy another MS operating system if I can at all avoid it.
I will however use 2k until its last breath but then thats it.
With all of the tracking software being preinstalled with Vista and the new hardware being made the same way I dont see any reason at all to pay for that.
I can get tracking software such as GATOR installed (for free LOL, by accident) and its a bad thing but when MS does it everyone thinks its so great I just dont understand.

Anyway I guess you can tell that my feelings are that XP is nowhere in any way superior to 2K.

Just my thoughts and experiences though, LOL.


Wardog