O/S Comparisons - For reference

[SpeeDj]

Alot of people have been posing the question as of late as to what os should they choose what follows is a quick rundown or at least the best I can of the major differences between some of them and hopefully will help someone wondering which to go with a better view of which would suit their needs better. If you are looking to stay with MS products I would recommend the following;

WindowsXP: If you are planning on running games and multimedia to the max *It is basically win9x/2k merged into one o/s combining the best of both. It has some advantages and disadvantages, the main advantage being the DirectX and game support that now abounds with XP, typically the older the game the better the chance it will run under XP. Unlike 9x based Windows os's you are not limited to the amount of physical ram you can run it with and have recognized. Recommended ram would be 512MB's. Being the latest Windows Version it is not without problems, bear that in mind. As shadow has pointed out it can be formatted and installed using the NTFS file system in addition to FAT32. If you need to further delve into which version; home or pro is best for you a little bit of research at Microsofts website should go a long way.

Currently available in two distributions;
- Home : Based solely for single processor machines
- Pro : Intended for multiple processor machines, Adds the following functions;
- : Remote Desktop - Basically a VNC (Virtual Networked Computer) Prog
- : Domain managed networks
- : EFT (Encrypting File System) Allows you to encrypt file and folders
- : More robust system restore options than home edition
- : For the power user

Windows2k: If you are planning on doing things that require alot of stability such as running servers, game support is and can be sketchy at best. Windows2k is based upon the NT Kernel, which has some very strong suits such as NTFS which is a very durable file system. Windows2k excels in many areas relating to stability as well provides some of the best Server options around aside from a Linux based solution. It also does not suffer from a physical ram limit as well. Recommended would be a minimum of 256MB's of ram.

Currently available in three distributions;
- Pro : Standard win2k os with none of the server bells and whistles *Supports dual CPUs
- Server : Same as Pro but adds all server functions such as the following;
- : E-Mail server
- : Webserver
- : File server *FTP
- Advanced Server : Same as Server but with support for up to 8 CPU's

WindowsME: ME is basically just 98SE with all the patches pre-installed. It is based upon the 9x Series of kernel, 95/98/98SE It cannot physically address more than 256MB of ram so anything more will be overkill for ME. It handles gaming quite well as well as other tasks, which makes it a good all around os if you do not want to run anymore than 256MB of ram. If you do not want to run ME I recommend you go no further back than 98SE.

Currently only one version;
- WindowsME



Non MS Products;

Mandrake 8.1: Good starter os lots of hardware support and user friendly to install

Redhat 7.2: Another popular Linux distro also user friendly

SuSE 7.3: Have yet to use but have heard great things about it

For more information regarding non-MS os's feel free to check out the Alternative Operating Systems section of the forums. If you have anymore questions please feel free to ask.

J - I hope this clarifies some of the questions commonly asked if you have anything to add please feel free, or pm me with Suggestions.

 

[XprincoX]

thanks for filing my request J... appreciate it!

Ok another commonly asked question. What is the difference between ntfs and fat32?

I think this lil article can shine some light on this question.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/columns/russel/october01.asp

But basically it comes down to this, NTFS has:
1. Better file security
2. Better disk compression
3. Support for large hd, up to 2 TB

FAT32 and NTFS indepth
Pros and cons of each format

Chart comparing all the OS's

 

[SpeeDj]

thanks for filing my request J... appreciate it!

Not a problem just thought I would delve into a bit more and explain some of the differences so user have a clearer picture of the various forms of the windows OS. Hopefully in time this can help alot of users.

J

 

[drunkmonkey]

We really needed one of these threads. I was thinking of making one but it would probably never get a sticky, be spammed to death, and be lost in the abyss.

Good job

I like to put it simply like this for all you super newbies:
-If you are poor(like me) get Win98SE
-If you want something very professional and stable get Win2000
-If you have a buncha money and want all the bells and whistles you can get, buy XP
-NEVER GET WinME

 

[Shadow ÒÓ]

SpeeDJ is checking something now, but I believe there's a little difference between XP Pro and Home than just multi processor support.

Also:

XP is also based on the NT kernel, has NTFS but is very watered down and WAY too user friendly for the average geek. Definitely more stable than any 9x or ME OS, but built for the average user who doesn't know jack about computers. W/O the "user friendly" interface, it's basically 2k server.

 

[Oni]

- Server : Same as Pro but adds all server functions such as the following;
- : E-Mail server
- : Webserver
- : File server *FTP

Uh . . . I can do all of that w/ my Windows 2000 Professional.

 

[SpeeDj]

Re: Re: O/S Comparisons - For reference

Uh . . . I can do all of that w/ my Windows 2000 Professional.

With add on programs yes, those are built into the server package out of the box.

J

 

[Oni]

Re: Re: Re: O/S Comparisons - For reference

With add on programs yes, those are built into the server package out of the box.

J

No, I can do that all w/ stuff built into Windows 2000 Pro. Honest.

I'm running a Webserver and an FTP at the moment (My website is on the Webserver) and I was actually toying around w/ the notion of starting my own mail server.

 

[Oni]

My Windows 2000 Pro info, just in case you don't believe me:

 

[HBK216]

Wow I seriously need to mess around with Win2KPro some more as I forgot about some of these features.

 

[foshdawg]

to clarify 2k comes in 4 flavors: Pro, Server, Advanced Server and Datacenter (albeit datacenter is only available to corporations and is a fancied up version of adv. server).

Pro can do most of what Server and Adv. Server can do (without add-ons). Server has roughly 2 times more administrative options and configurations. Adv. Server has about 6 times more administrative options and management modules than both as denoted by the accompanying photo.

 

[Oni]

to clarify 2k comes in 4 flavors: Pro, Server, Advanced Server and Datacenter (albeit datacenter is only available to corporations and is a fancied up version of adv. server).

Pro can do most of what Server and Adv. Server can do (without add-ons). Server has roughly 2 times more administrative options and configurations. Adv. Server has about 6 times more administrative options and management modules than both as denoted by the accompanying photo.

I think he didn't include Datacenter because it's not really available to the public. It also costs $29,000 USD, plus Server or Seat licencing.

I have played around w/ Server/Adv. Server, and you can do some really neat things, like setting up DHCP and such. Unfortunately, it's not really garnered towards home users, and Server/Adv. Server should really just be used for servers, not an everyday OS, like Windows 2000 Pro.

My Windows 2000 Pro does everything I need it to do, so that's all good.

 

[Overload]

where can i get service pack 3 !?

 

[foshdawg]

sp3 has been out for a while

 

[Oni]

sp3 has been out for a while

No, it hasn't, actually. What I'm running is called a Release Candidate. It pretty much boils down to a beta SP; one they might consider releasing. There are many ways of getting RC SPs, and all of them too dubious to list here.

 

[foshdawg]

hmm, odd how i heard about sp3 like 3 months ago then and just haven't been bothered to get the download yet.

 

[Oni]

hmm, odd how i heard about sp3 like 3 months ago then and just haven't been bothered to get the download yet.

Where'd you hear about it being released? True, I've been running my RC for about 3 months, but I havn't seen anything on MS's website or in the Critical Updates thingy

 

[foshdawg]

let's just say i heard about it through the grapevine

 

[Emericana]

isnt there something in beta and gonna be released soon called windows .net ? i have have seen beta copies floating around on irc but dont wanna download it.

 

[David]

Think it needs a little more Linux data...

Linux

This is essentially a kernel. The correct term for the entire Linux OS is GNU/Linux.

Linux comes in many versions - programs are compatibile with nearly all versions of linux.

For more info on linux check out the thread:
http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=73063

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