Tony Ferguson on fri 5 dec 03
Rebecca,
You have a great camera there--you are going to really really like that
camera the more you use it. I am fairly dissapointed with the windows
operating system so I am not the best person to ask. I think, however, that
windows 98 is the most stable--but I have that from a variety of people
about all their operating systems. Mac (which is Unix based) is by far the
most system I used to use. Sorry I can't be muc help at the moment.
Thank you.
Tony Ferguson
On Lake Superior, where the sky meets the Lake
Custom & Manufactured Kiln Design
Stoneware, Porcelain, Raku and more
by Coleman, Ferguson, Winchester...
http://www.aquariusartgallery.com
218-727-6339
315 N. Lake Ave
Apt 312
Duluth, MN 55806
----- Original Message -----
From: "r horning"
To:
Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 5:50 PM
Subject: operating system advice requested
> with all of the computer experience among this group, i am hoping to get
some help determining what operating system to install on my computer. i
currently have windows nt. this was necessary to run the very high end 3d
design software i used for work. i no longer need to use that system and i
just purchased a cannon powershot g5 digital camera. it is not compatible
with windows nt. now i need to decide whether to get windows 2000, windows
xp home edition, or windows xp professional. does anyone have any advice on
this? these systems will all support the other software i need to use.
>
> i have never installed an operating system before. i know it will wipe out
everything currently on the hard drive so i will have to back everything up.
that is the limit of my knowledge. i'm sure i can find a lot of info on
line regarding this, but wondered if there are any words of wisdom before i
begin.
>
> thanks a lot for your help. rebecca
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
Carl Finch on fri 5 dec 03
At 03:50 PM 12/5/03 -0800, r horning wrote:
>with all of the computer experience among this group, i am hoping to get
>some help determining what operating system to install on my computer. i
>currently have windows nt. this was necessary to run the very high end 3d
>design software i used for work. i no longer need to use that system and
>i just purchased a cannon powershot g5 digital camera. it is not
>compatible with windows nt.
Your G5 camera uses CF (Compact Flash) storage media, both Type I and Type
II, right? Most people find transferring images to their computers via an
inexpensive card reader (about $20US) fast and simple, rather than messing
with the (notoriously) buggy transfer software programs supplied by most
camera manufacturers. You pop the CF card out of your camera, slip it into
the reader, and voila, it appears in Windows Explorer (or any other Windows
program) looking just like hard drive. You can then simply drag and drop
the image files from the card to wherever in your computer. In addition
there is no drain on your camera's battery. And of course your camera
isn't even needed for this--it can be in the next county!
thousands of others find it easier and quicker--there is a whole industry
niche out there to manufacture and supply these readers!>
I suppose it could be that some of the utility programs that came with your
camera would not run with NT, but I suspect that is unlikely. But with
your experience in computer graphics you probably already have and are
familiar with imaging programs far better than what came with you camera.
However, another consideration might concern a person who travels with a
laptop and doesn't want to carry along the reader (they are about the size
of a computer mouse and have a USB cable), but would rather carry a USB
cable for the direct connection.
Be aware that attempting to upgrade an older computer with Windows XP will
likely necessitate finding and installing new drivers for your peripheral
devices.
--Carl
in Medford, Oregon
Butch Welch on fri 5 dec 03
Susan provided some very good information. It is a difficult subject to dive
into and I am not qualified to do it.
One test that may eliminate one option is to test your computer to see if it
is compatible with windows XP by running the xp readiness test provide by PC
Pitstop. http://www.pcpitstop.com/xpready/default.asp
Regards, Butch
r horning on fri 5 dec 03
with all of the computer experience among this group, i am hoping to get some help determining what operating system to install on my computer. i currently have windows nt. this was necessary to run the very high end 3d design software i used for work. i no longer need to use that system and i just purchased a cannon powershot g5 digital camera. it is not compatible with windows nt. now i need to decide whether to get windows 2000, windows xp home edition, or windows xp professional. does anyone have any advice on this? these systems will all support the other software i need to use.
i have never installed an operating system before. i know it will wipe out everything currently on the hard drive so i will have to back everything up. that is the limit of my knowledge. i'm sure i can find a lot of info on line regarding this, but wondered if there are any words of wisdom before i begin.
thanks a lot for your help. rebecca
---------------------------------
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Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now
Susan Giddings on fri 5 dec 03
It is hard to give advice for this topic without knowing an awful lot more.
Let me instead give you some facts to help you make the decision. If you already know this, forgive me.
Windows 2000 is based on NT Technology. Aside from some rather specialized software needs as with your 3D design tool, there really is no compelling reason to use NT/2000 for the typical home installation - even if you have a network going at home. XP supports networking quite nicely.
Windows XP is "brand new" technology. It is far more stable than 98 and light years ahead of 95. I am a professional IT person and am using XP home edition at home and am shocked that I haven't yet felt the need to upgrade! True, I am not pushing the OS as hard at home as I do at work but I still use some pretty big footprint applications at home. (I use 2000 at work - but no choice for me.)
I think the biggest difference between NT and XP technologies is the way memory is managed as the OS runs, My understanding of XP is that it runs in very much the same way as NT. (I'll spare you a lengthy explanation of thread management or orbit position and hot shifts.) If you are still planning to use the same (or even upgraded) design tool then I'd suggest 2000. (Although chances are things will all work just fine on XP).
The things to consider to help you make this dexision are:
How many applications will you need to run simultaneously?
What are the requirements for each application? How much resources does it take to run one instance of it? (You want to get an idea of the resource drain, the 'footprint', of each given application instance.)
If you are dealing with modest resource use, then it really doesn't matter go by price.
If you are dealing with pretty substantail resource drain then stick with NT technologu and go with 2000.
My gut feeling is to tell you to use 2000. But that is not based on any substantiation - just what you are used to having under you.
Hope this helps,
Susan
------------------
Susan Giddings
Daytime phone: 860-687-4550
Cell phone: 860-930-8813 >From: r horning >Reply-To: Clayart >To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG >Subject: operating system advice requested >Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2003 15:50:36 -0800 > >with all of the computer experience among this group, i am hoping to get some help determining what operating system to install on my computer. i currently have windows nt. this was necessary to run the very high end 3d design software i used for work. i no longer need to use that system and i just purchased a cannon powershot g5 digital camera. it is not compatible with windows nt. now i need to decide whether to get windows 2000, windows xp home edition, or windows xp professional. does anyone have any advice on this? these systems will all support the other software i need to use. > >i have never installed an operating system before. i know it will wipe out everything currently on the hard drive so i will have to back everything up. that is the limit of my knowledge. i'm
sure i can find a lot of info on line regarding this, but wondered if there are any words of wisdom before i begin. > >thanks a lot for your help. rebecca > > >--------------------------------- >Do you Yahoo!? >Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now > >______________________________________________________________________________ >Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org > >You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription >settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/ > >Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Shop online for kids’ toys by age group, price range, and toy category at MSN Shopping. No waiting for a clerk to help you!
Odin Maxwell on sat 6 dec 03
Perhaps the simplest solution is to get a USB card reader. These are about
$20. The advantage to this is that you likely can keep your regular OS.
I had a similar problem with my OS (I run GNU/Linux). Sadly, my camera
isn't supported - but I completely soloved the problem with the card reader.
When I want the pictures off the camera, I just pop the card out of the
camera, stick it in the card reader, and it mounts right into my file
system. Then I can do anything I want with the pics - usually means moving
them to the HD. Anyway, if you don't want to mess with your OS, this is the
way to go. And if it doesn't work, you can always take the reader back.
But if you are going to change your OS - why not try GNU/Linux? You can try
it out without actually installing anything on your HD or affecting your
current OS in any way. Various distros offer "live cds" - basically, the OS
runs off the CD. Restart the computer and you're back with what you had
before. It's all free but this is getting fairly OT, so email me directly
if interested in further info.
Odin
------------
http://www.anagama-west.com
Steve Slatin on sat 6 dec 03
Rebecca --
There are different reasons why your camera might not be compatible with
your current version of NT. Some may be fixable. If everything else =
about
your system is OK for you, a good first step is to contact the computer
vendor and then the camera manufacturer to see if there's some way of =
making
it be compatible. Google searches sometimes reveal techniques for =
making
this kind of stuff happen.
Even if your CAMERA isn't compatible and can't be made so, the same =
might
not be true of your images. There is no fundamental reason why any =
version
of NT from 4.0 on can not handle digital imagery of any kind. If the
problem is only that there's a cable of some kind that connects your =
camera
directly to some computers -- but not yours -- it's really no problem. =
Get
a USB board for your computer, if it doesn't already have USB, get a USB
media reader for the media the computer saves to, and move images to =
your
computer by removing the card from the camera and plugging it into the
reader.
Installing a new operating system does not always involve wiping out all
your data. On the other hand, if you're upgrading your OS, the extra
hardware requirements of the new system may encourage you to upgrade =
your
hard drive anyway. If you're at this point, the easy way to do it is to
make a recovery disk or disk set (using your floppy drive), disconnect =
the
existing drive, put the new drive in the same place on the connector =
strip
that the existing drive came from, jumpered for 'master' and put the
existing drive on the next slot on the cable, jumpered for 'slave.'
Close everything up, boot up on the recovery disk, and install the new =
OS to
the new drive. The OS will now 'find' the old drive, and you can access =
it,
and everything will be there. Actually, this is pretty fast and pretty
easy.
If you have an adequate drive now, AND IF YOU HAVE IT FORMATTED IN THE =
FILE
SYSTEM YOU WILL USE WITH THE NEW OS then you can probably just install =
the
new OS over the old OS and not have a loss of data. You will, of =
course,
lose all your program links (this is why folks who reinstall Windows =
from
'image' files have to reload their software but lose no document files).
DO CHECK YOUR FILE STRUCTURE. Not all Win NT machines use the NT file
system. Lots of older Win NT 4.0 setups, for example, use FAT-16 file
structure (this was done especially for multi-boot systems, so you could
read data across OS boundaries). =20
Do make a careful calculus of your needs. Last year I added a media =
reader
to my machine for under $20. I put a CD burner on for about $40. When =
my
computer got creaky with the work I was throwing at it, though, I saw =
the
upgrade path as (1) $40 for a new power supply (2) $100 for a new OS (3) =
$20
for extra RAM to support the new OS (4) $60 for an upgraded processor to =
get
some extra power, and (5) $20 for a new cooling fan so it wouldn't be so
darned loud. I got a whole new machine, with OS, stepped up to DDR RAM,
etc. for less, and had the old computer to pass on to a worthy soul as =
well.
Upgrading step by step is really not cost effective. =20
If you do decide that you can't make do with the existing OS but you can =
get
along with your existing hardware, then you have the OS dilemma. Each
version of Windows has several handicaps, but the handicaps are =
different.
NT 4.0 is a workhorse, and steady, but has to be turned off and back on
every day to remain stable, and you have to defrag the drive more often =
than
you probably think is reasonable to maintain performance. It has very
limited capacity for auto-install (plug-and-play). Windows 2000 really =
is
NT, with plug-and-play added, and a few other nice touches, as well as =
some
that it seems very few people use (dynamic disk support, for example). =
You
can tell it's just an NT upgrade, though, at least one pop-up screen =
with
system information identifies itself as "NT 5.0" Like earlier versions =
of
NT, though, it doesn't run all software (most of what you lose with =
these
two are games). And it's not clear when MS will be pulling the plug on =
2000
in their campaign to push everyone into XP. =20
XP comes in two versions, home and professional. Unless you're =
networked,
you probably don't need professional. Pro has a little bit of security =
for
networked systems that's useful (encrypting file systems and file-level
access controls), you get dynamic disks again, remote desktop, etc. If =
none
of this is familiar to you, you certainly don't need it. It is about as
reliable as 2000, plays games and does business work too, and it works =
with
all the newest hardware. The problem with XP is it doesn't work with =
lots
of the older hardware. If you're keeping any old printers, scanners, =
fax or
modem boards, networking cards, etc. check the "hardware compatibility =
list"
before you upgrade. =20
This is all much too long, so in concise form -- 1) try to make existing
system work by using an inexpensive media reader, 2) if you've got to
upgrade, make sure existing system will support new OS, 3) if you've got =
to
do hardware upgrades to support an OS upgrade you're committed to, =
consider
getting a whole new system with a new OS included.
Best wishes -- Steve S
=20
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of r horning
Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 3:51 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: operating system advice requested
with all of the computer experience among this group, i am hoping to get
some help determining what operating system to install on my computer. i
currently have windows nt. this was necessary to run the very high end =
3d
design software i used for work. i no longer need to use that system =
and i
just purchased a cannon powershot g5 digital camera. it is not =
compatible
with windows nt. now i need to decide whether to get windows 2000, =
windows
xp home edition, or windows xp professional. does anyone have any =
advice on
this? these systems will all support the other software i need to use.
i have never installed an operating system before. i know it will wipe =
out
everything currently on the hard drive so i will have to back everything =
up.
that is the limit of my knowledge. i'm sure i can find a lot of info on
line regarding this, but wondered if there are any words of wisdom =
before i
begin.
thanks a lot for your help. rebecca
wayneinkeywest on sat 6 dec 03
Rebecca:
Hands down... go with xp pro. I've used all of them. xp pro works the best
of all of them.
Win2000 is an updated version of NT, and xp home does not have all the
features of pro.
Go with the pro. and make sure you have at LEAST 256M of RAM (512 is better,
a gig would probably be best0.) If you're storing digital images, make sure
also that you have a whopping huge hard drive
Wayne Seidl
> with all of the computer experience among this group, i am hoping to get
some help determining what operating system to install on my computer. i
currently have windows nt. this was necessary to run the very high end 3d
design software i used for work. i no longer need to use that system and i
just purchased a cannon powershot g5 digital camera. it is not compatible
with windows nt. now i need to decide whether to get windows 2000, windows
xp home edition, or windows xp professional. does anyone have any advice on
this? these systems will all support the other software i need to use.
>
> i have never installed an operating system before. i know it will wipe out
everything currently on the hard drive so i will have to back everything up.
that is the limit of my knowledge. i'm sure i can find a lot of info on
line regarding this, but wondered if there are any words of wisdom before i
begin.
>
> thanks a lot for your help. rebecca
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
Vicki Hardin on sat 6 dec 03
I have used both XP Home and Pro and have found that for the normal use, =
you won't be able to tell a difference. Pro has some nice features like =
being able to do a remote connection from across town, but I haven't =
used that. So, the moral of this story is....most people can get by =
with the home version and keep that extra Ben Frankin in their pockets.
Vicki Hardin
http://ClayArtWebGuide.com
Earl Brunner on sat 6 dec 03
I like XP a lot and have had few problems with it, however, (and I'm not
sure this has been said) you might have problems putting it on an older
machine. Someone else suggested using a website or program to pretest
for compatibility issues, that seems prudent. I have heard that XP is
not always back compatible with some older hardware components. Tech
support at work won't let us update the operating systems on our
computers, at least that drastically.
----- Original Message -----
From: "r horning"
To:
Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 5:50 PM
Subject: operating system advice requested
> with all of the computer experience among this group, i am hoping to
get
some help determining what operating system to install on my computer. i
currently have windows nt. this was necessary to run the very high end
3d
design software i used for work. i no longer need to use that system
and i
just purchased a cannon powershot g5 digital camera. it is not
compatible
with windows nt. now i need to decide whether to get windows 2000,
windows
xp home edition, or windows xp professional. does anyone have any
advice on
this? these systems will all support the other software i need to use.
>
> i have never installed an operating system before. i know it will wipe
out
everything currently on the hard drive so i will have to back everything
up.
that is the limit of my knowledge. i'm sure i can find a lot of info on
line regarding this, but wondered if there are any words of wisdom
before i
begin.
>
> thanks a lot for your help. rebecca
>
>
Vince Pitelka on sat 6 dec 03
Rebecca -
On my office computer I recently upgraded from Windows 98 (not SE) to
Windows 2000. First I backed up all my important documents, but there was
no problem at all with the upgrade installation, and I did not loose any
data. Everything is working very smoothly on the computer now. It was one
of those instances where you take the precaution of backing up the data,
hoping that you won't need it. In hindsight I didn't need it, but of course
it is a sure bet that if I hadn't done it, I would have lost imortant data.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
terry sullivan on sat 6 dec 03
My computer experts all agree that Windows XP is a very good Operating
System ( OS ). But they also agree that doing an upgrade to XP from a
former system , like Win 98 vs. 2 or such, is usually not a good thing
to do if upgrading an overlay of XP.
What they all have advised is a totally clean install of XP.
That means copying all your files to backup discs and then wiping your
hard drive clean. Then install windows XP and putting in all your files,
drivers, etc. new and clean. To many problems with a "simple" XP upgrade
overlaying the earlier operating system.
With some,most, systems this might be the time to upgrade the hard disc
hardware to a larger faster hard drive. This is about $ 200 to get a
new hard drive and replace the old one on your computer. You copy all
your data to CD's and then pull the old hard drive out and replace with
the new one. Then install XP on the new hard drive and put in your
stuff. Win XP is a very stable platform OS. It isn't NP or 2000
revised. It is a totally new OS. Runs well with most stuff and does not
CRASH !! No "blue screen of death".
Terry Sullivan
Nottingham Arts
Mike Martino on sun 7 dec 03
>I like XP a lot and have had few problems with it, however, (and I'm not
>sure this has been said) you might have problems putting it on an older
>machine. Someone else suggested using a website or program to pretest
>for compatibility issues, that seems prudent. I have heard that XP is
>not always back compatible with some older hardware components.
This is absolutely correct. If installed correctly on a system that can
handle it, XP and 2000 are extremely stable when compared to every previous
Windows OS. The number of system hangs that you will get will decrease
radically.
Memory management is much improved. This means memory leaks in your programs
will not cause system clogging and freezing, because the OS forcibly frees
up memory at specific intervals. Also, this means that when a process
crashes, it doesn't take down the system with it, because the process is
isolated and can be shut down by itself without impacting the entire system.
Every windows 2000 and XP cd contains an oft neglected diagnostic utility to
run before installing. I believe it is in the support directory on the CD
and is called APCOMPAT.EXE. This utility will scan all of the system's
hardware and software, and detect what it will and won't play nice with.
Then it will give you a printable status report. This gives you a chance to
upgrade what you know should be upgraded, or download updated drivers for
that hardware/software from the manufacturer before you upgrade the OS. If
you do a fresh install from the command line, you can ask for help and it
will give you the correct parameter to add to your install command so the
diagnostic util will run first.
Also, regarding minimum system requirements: take them literally. The
minimum system requirements for windows are for windows. This means that if
you have the minimum requirements for windows, windows will run, but just
try to get anything else to run (with any reasonable speed) and you're in
for a big disappointment. And you won't be able to load/stress the system
without it complaining very quickly. It is a good rule with Windows to take
the minimum requirements, double them (especially RAM), and that will give
you a usable system, keeping in mind that the definition of 'usable' is
variable from person to person.
Lastly, if all of this seems too difficult, don't be shy about bothering
that geek friend or acquaintance to help you. It's better than the wasted
time and frustration that can be avoided by getting a little help.
Mike
in Taku, Japan
Gail Phillips on sun 7 dec 03
The other thing to think about with XP Home and Pro is the Create Restore
Point function. Pro does it automatically, but you have to run Home manually.
- Gail Phillips
> I have used both XP Home and Pro and have found that for the normal use, you
> won't be able to tell a difference. Pro has some nice features like being able
> to do a remote connection from across town, but I haven't used that. So, the
> moral of this story is....most people can get by with the home version and keep
> that extra Ben Frankin in their pockets.
>
> Vicki Hardin
> http://ClayArtWebGuide.com
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Janet Kaiser on wed 10 dec 03
I would seriously look into making absolutely certain that you
really do need to "upgrade" from NT before doing anything so
rash. Not on a system and set-up which is otherwise working well.
I have no experience of your "cannon powershot g5 digital camera"
Susan, but how is it not compatible? There will be various
solutions to problems here without changing your OS...
If you really, really HAVE TO upgrade your OS (and I am not
certain that is so from what you have said to date), please be
aware that with XP (home edition or professional) that although
your programmes MAY be compatible, your hardware may not be. M$
have introduced a "licensing" system and all hardware
manufacturers need to comply... (insert rant of choice here). If
you have older printers, scanners, etc. it is unlikely that the
license has been applied for/granted and then it becomes
difficult finding drivers... BTW "old" is now considered two or
three years of age and anything older than five is positively
extinct!?!?
I was stuck for weeks without a scanner, because I could not
detect a driver for either the parallel port one "in service" or
the USB one which had never been out of its box. I spent hours
searching the net and downloading drivers. I eventually found one
"deep in cyber space" for the PP. But the latter is back in its
box although it is the newer of the two, as I still have not
managed to install a driver successfully on XP. Agfa scanners and
cameras are apparently not compatible with anything later than
Windows 2000 -- or so I gathered from an article I read on-line.
OK some may work on XP at a crunch, but it is still hit and miss.
I upgraded to XP (on a brand new PC) in August and am still
having difficulties with certain programmes which are supposedly
compatible, and which other people have not had difficulties
with. Yup, there is always an exception to the rule and I am
usually it!!???! For example, although MS Publisher 98 is
supposed to be OK, it is not on my PC... I have acquired
Publisher 2000 and have to go through a veritable acrobatic
juggling of files to keep Pub98 and Pub2000 separate (you can
open 98 in 2000, but you cannot open 2000 in 98, so even when I
work in 2000 I must be careful to "save as" 98). I am still not
able to use the WS_FTP LE... Apparently I am the only one on the
internet to have this problem!?
What I want to say, is that although people like my PC doctor and
my cousin say that XP rocks, that has definitely NOT been my
experience. They also have no problem just buying new equipment
to keep pace and blissfully spend hours messing with the damned
things to make them work. I RESENT THAT WASTE OF TIME and I think
most other "normal" users would too.
Nobody tells you about all the problems you may have when you
upgrade... As it is a considerable investment in itself (Windoze
OS are not cheap) who wants to renew software and hardware which
is functioning perfectly well, just because of M$ and their dodgy
"business ethics"? (insert second rant of choice here)
Anyway -- my advice is sort out that camera and ways of using the
images without unnecessary changes to your system, Susan. Like
the saying goes "if it ain't broke, don't mend it".
Sincerely
Janet Kaiser -- back after modem failure and almost a week off
line... like I say, who else would have that happen after just
four months use?
***********************************************************
The top posted mail was sent by Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art : Capel Celfyddyd
8 Marine Crescent : Criccieth : Wales : UK
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