Hmmm, bit of a dilemma.

Leave the setting up of my machine a bit longer until someone can help or just load up Windows 98 I happen to have on CD? If this machine is basically going to be doing sod all, do I really need the latest OS? (don't start me on Linux, please....) I know with a version of XP Pro I had it kept asking for permission to get updates, but upon checking it realised it wasn't a legit version.

Its a "good" Windows 98. Any harm using it?

As long as you have Win98 drivers for all the hardware, should be no problem

That said, XP is far more stable than 98 and can run for weeks without a restart, which is more than can be said for 98!

XP is 'supposedly' more stable especially if you have XP Pro. However if your new PC is only going to be folding then you should be ok with Win98 and all its updates.

It's not just supposed to be more stable - it is, no doubt at all.

Any W9x OS is basically leaking memory, handles and resources without any means of recovery other than a reboot.

NT4 is better than that already, W2K is another step in the right direction, and XP has a vastly improved memory management.

W98 is fine, but definitely put all patches on that you can find, and take a fair bit of care on what sites you visit etc, as there are a load of security holes and exploits.

I would stick with XP -- I very rarely get any issues any longer -- which is more than could be said when I used 95/98 !!

I would stear clear of windows 98 if you are using this machine for folding and nothing else. If only for the reason that you are going to turn it on and never really want to touch it afterwards. For a machine that is going to be on permanently you should stick with windows xp. XP is around 20 million times more reliable then 98.

Alteast your not trying to put windows ME on it. Now that would eb a disaster.

Dear mr Devonmyopia (short sighted non parcel spotting bloke :D )

I have 50 licenses for XP-Pro, and only 4 people in the company and 25 machines ...... they are from my MSDN subscription and for internal use only.

would you like a "job"?

Hint, nudge, hint, nudge.

Got the 64bit retail edition to if you want, folding client works on it without problems, if you wanted to do some developent for us on that "cough"

It's not just supposed to be more stable - it is' date=' no doubt at all.

[/quote']

Really ?

All I can say is thank god for restore points probably Win XP's best feature.

Seriously though, you are right, Win XP is a big improvement over Win 98, especially for a machine running continuously.

If you haven't already got a version of XP, but do have a genuine Win98 install, it may be worth getting hold of the XP upgrade rather than the full version, comes in a bit cheaper. I managed to get hold of the 'academic' upgrade to XP Pro a couple of years ago for around

I've had a few machines hosed with XP Pro due to spyware + I know some of the betas of windows media player can have really bad side-effects too.

Restore points rock when testing stuff

If you want to use W9x for FAH that's cool too, just get a little proggie from 't net that does a reboot every say 24 hours, keeping the memory leaks under control

IIRC there are also trial editions that tend to come with books etc, NT4 had one for 180 days use, then you had to reinstall, which are legit & could do nicely.

Other options worth considering for a machine like this could be Overfoldix, which is a linux distro with the FAH client ready to be configured, haven't used it myself but it could work well for what you're describing.

One day (hmmm) I will get round to actually trying out some of these things myself

Dear mr Devonmyopia (short sighted non parcel spotting bloke :D )

Gonna get a non-serious for that comment!

I have 50 licenses for XP-Pro' date=' and only 4 people in the company and 25 machines ...... they are from my MSDN subscription and for internal use only.

would you like a "job"?

Hint, nudge, hint, nudge.

Got the 64bit retail edition to if you want, folding client works on it without problems, if you wanted to do some developent for us on that "cough"[/quote']

Hmmmm. Sounds interesting. I feel a PM coming my way. I think I feel the need for some developmental work for sure (or maybe just mental )

Or use your non-official XP copy and google "autopatcher"

Or use your non-official XP copy and google "autopatcher"

Or use the non official version, go to tools in IE and then select manage add ons and then disable the windows genuine advantage activeX control

this allows you to then patch your "evaluation" copy.

I might be talking through my hat, but I think you can have two OS's loaded if the disk is partitioned. If that's possible (anyone?), you could perhaps switch between the two according to which tasks are better for which OS.

A lot of folks seem to be happy with 98 since it's not the current OS and therefore escapes viruses etc written for the most prominent system (XP), so not requiring so much maintenance time to keep it under control.

I know nothing however, so just throwing these into the air.

Best

Mo

You can run a few OS on the same disc for sure.

Virus-wise there is plenty out there to take over a W9x box - without a firewall it wont last very long if on a broadband/permanent on connection.

Either way, it's not a bad OS and some stuff doesn't work on anything newer

If Fluff is OK with it, I think I'll just load it up and let it do its thing - It can update as it wishes as it will be connected to my router all the time anyway.

How does this license thing work anyway? As an "employee" is the a _____ - _____ - _____ - _______ - ______ thing I need?

Really ?

All I can say is thank god for restore points probably Win XP's best feature.

Seriously though, you are right, Win XP is a big improvement over Win 98, especially for a machine running continuously.

If you haven't already got a version of XP, but do have a genuine Win98 install, it may be worth getting hold of the XP upgrade rather than the full version, comes in a bit cheaper. I managed to get hold of the 'academic' upgrade to XP Pro a couple of years ago for around

Pro is better as Home will be unsupported a fair bit sooner - that said it works fine.

I'd never rely on a built-in MS backup system of any sort, it's been a problem since the days of DOS where it was supplied FOC as well, backup/restore never worked post-upgrade :(

W95->98(SE) tends to be ok, ME works too, sometimes, but I'd avoid it as it's rubbish.

There is a remarkably large number of machines out there that cant be upgraded from W9x to XP - they may still be able to manage W2000 but driver support for 2000 wasn't anywhere near as good, so check that first if you have printers/scanners etc you wanna keep going

I might be talking through my hat' date=' but I think you can have two OS's loaded if the disk is partitioned. If that's possible (anyone?), you could perhaps switch between the two according to which tasks are better for which OS.

A lot of folks seem to be happy with 98 since it's not the current OS and therefore escapes viruses etc written for the most prominent system (XP), so not requiring so much maintenance time to keep it under control.

I know nothing however, so just throwing these into the air.

Best

Mo[/quote']

Most of the viruses in the wild affect windows 98. Only a few have been written to take advantage of anything specific in xp. 98 is LESS secure then XP as it's not really patched anymore. Anyone using 98 thinking they are safe from viruses is very wrong.