Question about which Operating System to purchase

Last week I bought a used Dell Dimension XPS T500 P3 desktop without an operating system from Surplus at the University I work for. This computer will replace an old Gateway AMD Athlon desktop which is running Windows ME.

Any recommendations for operating systems? I was thinking that I would purchase XP Home through my campus IT store (with the discount), and just load it up. Is there anything that I need to know or do before I do this?

 

I tried XP on a Compaq Presario 5461 (500 MHz AMD K6, 320MB RAM), which is similiar in specs to yours. It will run decently but not particularly fast. OK for internet, email, and word processing. You will want at least 256MB memory, preferably 512MB+ and use Blackviper's list - his site is down for moving issues but someone is hosting a copy http://www.student.dtu.dk/~s011527/blackviper/service411sp2.htm - to disable unneeded services, which will help performance.

 

I would go for XP SP2, its just overall better than home edition. Although, never had home installed on my computer, reading about home and XP, XP is better with security and i believe it gives you more options to do things than Home edition does.

 

I have XP home with SP2. the service pack is for both the Home and Professional editions. I'd recommend the Pro edition if there is not a major price difference as it has more networking and security features. Other than that, there is no difference.

 

You can get service pack 2 for the home edition of Windows XP, and the PROFESSIONAL edition of XP, which is what I believe you're speaking of, doesn't really offer that much more to the casual user. True, there are some networking security tweaks, but home edition will do just about everything most people need.

Edit: Yerrr all too quick fer me! Heh.

 

Thank you all, I appoligize also, didnt mean to confuse anybody..and i have not had home edition before, so i did not know much about it..only from reading..and what other people have said. I was only giving my opionon about the operating system. Although, just a thought. My college makes us use windows XP Professional SP2, so for people out there make sure you check with your school and see what they recomend you use, before you buy an operating system.

 

Thanks everyone. I have XP Pro with the SP 2 on my laptop, but I really don't know if I am using it to it's fullest capacity since my hubby and I mainly use it to surf the net, download digital photos and check work email.

I came to your site originally to figure out how to get rid of a bunch of nasty malaware and trojans that was on the old desk top, thank you very much by the way! It is fixed, but the thing is just way too slow since I have been spoiled by the faster laptop.

I have Comcast for my broadband and they offer free McAffee, so I will hook that up right away when I get the OS.

Most likely I will have more questions once I get going...thanks for all of your advice.

 

You would be better off with Windows 98SE on that PC.

It can be purchased for next to nothing these days, and you don't have to worry about Product Activation, and your PC will run better.

XP is designed for more modern hardware.

 

What do you mean when you say worry about product activation? Do you mean buy Windows 98SE used? Is that legal? Sorry if these are dumb questions, but I have very little computer knowledge.

I notice that when I start the computer up it shows that it had Windows 2000 and a Windows Server Program on it in the past. Would the Windows 2000 also be ok to use? I am planning on stopping in the IT store on campus tomorrow to look into pricing. I got the CPU, a flat screen monitor, mouse and keyboard all for $30.00, so I can go ahead and spring a new OS, but do want to get the best match for the computer.

Thanks!

 

I use Windows 2000 on the old compaq I previously mentioned. That's what it came with it and it's performance is acceptable. Again I'd recommend 256MB+ memory but it did manage to run with 64MB, albeit slowly. If you can get Win 2k cheap, and a decent amount of memory, it will work.

If you get the Certificate of Authenticity when you buy the disc, it shouldn't be a problem to buy Win 98 used.

 

What I mean is you don't have to activate it like you do with XP. (With XP you have 30 days to activate it via the internet or phone. This is to stop people installing it on more than 1 PC, so it ties your copy of XP to that PC)

It's not a huge deal, but still a benefit.

As far as where to get 98SE, you can buy it new for very cheap these days.

Windows 2000 is OK, but 98SE (make sure it's second edition ie SE) is far better for things like gaming, it's generally better suited to the average home user, and it's also cheaper.

 

Thanks!

 

You're welcome.