I used Windows XP today--Now I have a Headache!

i occasionally use our 766mhz Pentium3 Dell desktop for a few things that i dont have the luxury of on Mac (soulseek p2p, photoshop with truetype fonts), and today i had to do just that. it certainly didnt give me a headache. but i can say that now thanks to alot of applications that allow you to make XP at least LOOK like OSX, the interface stuff that frustrates alot of mac users using PCs can at least be tweaked.

what frustrates me about Windows isn't the Explorer or the whole large Application window thing... but the freaking vulnerability to spyware, worms, and security breaches is really annoying. its easier to get a virus than it is to prevent yourself from getting a virus. and thats where the real headaches lie.
 
I have a 1.4 p4 Dual boot xp/2000 which we brought a few years ago. it was last reinstalled 18 months ago and gets regular os updates. I have no real issues with it except for I can only get it too talk to the macs under xp and I have 1 small problem problem where it just stops in xp and finished with no error message but a corrupted file. I boot back in to win 2000 to run the exact same thing maybe once a month for that. Now and then it cant see the rest of the network but a reboot of both machines fixes that. But it isnt used for the web, email,file sharing or games and it never gets unknown software installed on it:) But back when we first brought i let it get borrowed for all of the above and I think it got reinstalled about a dozen times with all sorts of mysterious problems.
 
urm OS X doesnt crash? Then what is this? Nothing more than a pretty image? Hrmph.
dscn4053.jpg
 
radhak said:
To repeat this question, what do you all use to create VCDs on OSX?
Click to expand...

I use VCD Builder, vcdtoolsX, and Toast to make simple VCDs (don't get me wrong they work great). But for complex VCDs (with motion menus, background audio, etc.) I haven't found a program yet.

Of course we have DVD Studio Pro (3 looks great) for DVDs though.
 
I like Macs a lot better, but the learning curve wasn't instantaneous. I remember having to ask on the forums all kinds of stupid questions like "How do I uninstall programs on a Mac?" I still haven't warmed to the way folders are not put at the top of list views in Finder. I get frustrated with the limited contextual menus on a Mac. Then I look at my wife's PC running XP and I want to vomit. The ugly text and graphics. The instability. The idiotic way that you have to know the name of a program's developer in order to find the program on the Start menu.

Neither OS is perfect. Both have a learning curve. And most human beings will, in their infinite egotism, always assume that the problems they are having are with the OS itself, not with their own instinctive resistance to anything different—“ewwww”—that requires a little patience to learn. It's that same silly prejudice that keeps a lot of people away from Macs.
 
I wouldnt bash anything for no good reason, but explain me this. My dad has his PC which doesnt crash and I was using it to see how iTunes works on Windows. It is OK, butt ugly, but OK. He leaves his PC on but the fan is going all the time, so I thought "sleep". In XP I see there is an option to hibernate your PC. It doesnt seem to be a hack or a complex procedure, you go Start, and click and the computer hiberbnates. So when it eventually goes through its round the houses process to wake from hibernation, I find I cant type numbers, just the " · $ %. My dad went skitz and demanded I reset it as it was. So I went to Control Panel and clicked on whatever icon it was. Somehow one click highlighted 20 icons at once. I had to restart the computer in order to get the keyboard to work. Great advert.

I also activated a Nikotel VoIP account for him so he can "phone" me on my Mac , but it wouldnt work so I thought it was related to his firewall - software one. The Nikotel instructions explained the need to open a range of ports, with numbers. I phoned my brother who is not a Windows dummy at all. He didnt know how. I dont know Windows, but I dont think I am a dummy, I was searching for an hour trying to find out how you open a port. It kept coming back to asking an administrator. I just gave up in the end and asked Nikotel to help, which they did. I have never specified an open port in my life on a Mac, but I just tried to do exactly that, and it took about 10 seconds to find that I can open any frigging port I like via a no brainer dialogue box in sharing.

Talking to my dad, I get the impression that sure, you can do as much multi media and surfing and so on with XP as with OSX, (he is a bit good with digital photography especially) but I have to say, it seems like you have to work pretty damn smart downloading here there and everywhere just to be able to produce the same results as the no brainer out the box OS X way. And dont even get me started on his battle to keep uptodate with patches using dial up.
 
The hibernate option can have problems, specific with the motherboard, chipset, bios, and hardware manufacturer out there. In my case, it works perfectly, because it is a widely support motherboard manufacturer and chipset (Asus; chipset: nForce2).

However, attempting this on a Via board a few years ago led to hard locks--a subsequent BIOS fix a few months later fixed that.

Honestly, the OS is not always at fault. If it is too old to support it, or has issues, the manufacturer is sometimes at fault--in my case it was an old VIA board (which I have since then been tossed out--it was 5 years old).

*the one-click highlight everything at once has something to do with the USB keyboard/mice locking up...again this is hardware, motherboard, brand specific.
**I think pressing Alt/Ctrl may get you out of it. I had this with my VIA mobo, but not with the nForce2. I used the same USB devices (Msoft Keyboard, Msoft USB wheel mouse).

Kinda odd how Apple users tend to blame an OS first when the wide diverse selection of products on the PC side (from the mouse, motherboard, chipset manufacturer) are probably more likely at fault.

I guess its b/c with Apple hardware and software are tightly controlled, monopolized (but differently). With PC, you have to remember that it is only the software that is monopolized...with the hardware its a wild jungle...(hence NEVER ever buy 3rd party hardware "just because its cheap").
 
With OS X if something as bizarre with the keyboard had happened on my Mac I would have looked to hardware glitches straightaway. I guess the klutzy ham fisted way Windows woke the PC up from hibernating, before the keyboard and Control panel even played up, didnt instill me with any confidence in the OS.
 
The whole OS debate is fun... neither are anywhere near perfect. Both enjoy some neat abilities and both can let you down. It was said that the operator's ego usually determines that the OS is at fault. Excellent observation and soooo true sometimes.

All of the points raised here have enlightened me a great deal on both fronts of XP (of which I run Pro SP-1) and OSX (of which I used to run 10.2.8... until my 7 year-old smoked it somehow and now I am back to running 9.2.2). I come to this forum for info, experiences and answers. My experience with OSX is limited and you folks are helping me learn it. Thanks to all.

My observation of late is that when my kids get on the web and play their "Yahooligans games" etc. on the PC; it seems to go fine. When my kid did the same with the Mac; it "self destructed." I know the little b*gger did something but he has no clue and neither do I. I am sure it isn't the fault of the OS but the operator. I consider myself lucky to have the ability to use each (Mac or PC) for tasks that work best on their respective platforms.
I guess I need to go and reload my OSX now... :)
 
Okay I used XP again today and sorry it sucked!

I got some virus message box that I clicked Ok on 5 time, then cancel, then the BIG X, and it wouldn't close!

I also installed iTunes for Windows for my friend. I wanted to give her a little taste of Apple ;)
It's a good program on Windows, but it didn't make me forget I was on Windows.

Sorry these are my feelings and I would have never thought I would receive such discord from a Mac forum. I wonder what the response would have been had I posted this in a PC forum :eek:
 
Well this thread is only 2 pages :)

On a PC forum, this thread would have to be closed around the 10 mark haha.

I got some virus message box that I clicked Ok on 5 time, then cancel, then the BIG X, and it wouldn't close!
Click to expand...

Well, sounds like a whole bag of trouble comin' your way, and its NOT the OS. Your friend can have anything from spyware, to viruses, to zombies running on her system if she has been using Outlook/OE or IE.

Here's the solution:

Format. Switch to Firefox and Thunderbird (browse/mail).
Install Spybot S&D. (A) Immunize (B) Block Active X downloads
spybot_1.JPG

(above is when you HAVE to use IE, and only when you have to, it will be much safer).

Its just that easy. I do this right after I build my comp (and a few others), and that means no wasted time with security, no wasted time on crashes from mysterious spyware dlls.

By stopping the two main doorways, the browser and attachment security, then you are cutting down alot of the security risks. Of course, if your friend uses Thunderbird, but still insists on double-clicking .exes, .pifs, .zips or what have you, then there's really nothing else I can say.
 
Mav451,

Thanks for the tips! I will do what you suggested.

I am just trying to help my friend out on her computer.

Frisco
 
Frisco said:
Okay I used XP again today and sorry it sucked!
I got some virus message box that I clicked Ok on 5 time, then cancel, then the BIG X, and it wouldn't close!
(snip)
Click to expand...
Haha honestly...*growl*
If you have any problems with ANY OS on earth, it's probably your fault. Some people never have problems with their PC, some people never have problems with their Mac. If you're one of those lucky people, then great. But just because you aren't doesn't give you the right to say that x sucks compared to y.
btw, the answer to your PC forum question depends on the forum. Some of them have smart people who know the pros and cons of the OSs and choose the one they want based on their needs and wants. Most are filled with ignorant, asinine, biased, and inane morons who just want to bash anything they think is stupid based on their paltry knowledge of OSs and OS versions other than Windows XP.
 
My feelings toward XP range from indifferent to disgust. I find XP to be a decent operating system, but the little things about it drive me nuts.
 
Mav451 said:
Well this thread is only 2 pages :)

On a PC forum, this thread would have to be closed around the 10 mark haha.



Well, sounds like a whole bag of trouble comin' your way, and its NOT the OS. Your friend can have anything from spyware, to viruses, to zombies running on her system if she has been using Outlook/OE or IE.

Here's the solution:

Format. Switch to Firefox and Thunderbird (browse/mail).
Install Spybot S&D. (A) Immunize (B) Block Active X downloads
spybot_1.JPG

(above is when you HAVE to use IE, and only when you have to, it will be much safer).

Its just that easy. I do this right after I build my comp (and a few others), and that means no wasted time with security, no wasted time on crashes from mysterious spyware dlls.

By stopping the two main doorways, the browser and attachment security, then you are cutting down alot of the security risks. Of course, if your friend uses Thunderbird, but still insists on double-clicking .exes, .pifs, .zips or what have you, then there's really nothing else I can say.
Click to expand...


M$ says that as long as IE and OE are on your system, even if its not the default browser, that they still pose as potental security risks. check my sig. i use firefox and thunderbird, and I HATE WINDOWS! i used it for 6 years, feeling sick when touching a mac. then os x came out and suddenly i realized how frustrated and sick i was of /with windows! (esp. prior to XP, which is still horrid, but a lesser evil). I saw the "light" I'm never going back! The mac allows me to do things that i could never even dream of doing on the PC!
 
übergeek said:
urm OS X doesnt crash? Then what is this? Nothing more than a pretty image? Hrmph.
dscn4053.jpg
Click to expand...
yes, OS X does crash. ive recently been having problems with some kernel panics. but its nothing like the daily, hourly, sometimes minutely Windows crashes. at least in OS X, it usually saves automatically.... I have not lost one document do to a software fault. that doesnt mean its the case for everyone tho. by any means, its much more stabler than windows, as is any UNIX derivative.
 
What are you smoking? Can I have some?

Mav451 said:
However, attempting this on a Via board a few years ago led to hard locks--a subsequent BIOS fix a few months later fixed that.

Honestly, the OS is not always at fault. If it is too old to support it, or has issues, the manufacturer is sometimes at fault--in my case it was an old VIA board (which I have since then been tossed out--it was 5 years old).

.
Click to expand...

The above quote is refering to XP hibernate issues... YES it is the XP OS's fault... Which is Microsofts fault for whoring out their OS to anybody and everyone they can in the IBM/WINTEL market....
 
übergeek said:
Ahh. I can say the same about my Mac...
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I have a headache.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I have so many mood swings.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why my eyesight is screwed up.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I cannot do this or that.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I get teased every single day.

Blah Blah Blah blah blah.
Click to expand...

perhaps you should look into some of the well established SSRI drugs available today.

we get the point. it's just a computer. :eek:
 
RandomDeadHead said:
I have to agree with Frisco on this one, I just got finished building a gaming pc for my son's birthday, and it was a nightmare. Puting the components in the ugly box, and connecting everything properly was extremely easy, even setting the bios and overclocking the moble athlon proc was easy. But installing and configuring Windows sucked. Figuring out wich of the four drivers to install for the graphics card was very confusing to say the least.

One thing I can say about windows is that it doesn't crash nearly as much as I thought it would. He has had it for a week now and the only time it crashed whas when we were overclocking it, but that was our fault for clocking it too high. I was thinking that it would crash constantly, someone give Bill a cookie.
Click to expand...


Yes! I have had almost a carbon-copy experience. I have owned 2 roll-your-own PC's so far because I find it so much easier/enjoyable to build it from scratch than just buy something off the shelf, and have ran either FreeBSD or Linux of some kind on both of them. Both of them I built were dual proc workstations, dualie AMD MP chips, seemed to have speed to burn. So when my brother got frustrated with the speed of his souped up PMac 7600 for playing games, he comes to me and asks me to build him one like mine. So I build him a single AMD 64 3000+ based PC, and then came installing windows.. He opted for a SATA main HD.. which we were puzzled that you had to load a driver off a floppy disk (neither of us even intended to include a floppy drive in the system at all until then..) just for the install to recognize his drive. Then comes getting his files off the PMac and on to the PC, I figure peice of cake- I have a PCI SCSI host for PC's extra lying around put that in the PC, format an external SCSI HD as DOS on the PC and then connect it to the PMac and copy the stuff.... after 2 attempts for some reason or another this isn't working out. And formatting a HD in XP? have fun. A guy like myself figured it was as simple as goin into the DOS prompt and typing 'fdisk' but nooo .. Then there's the whole issue of windows being constantly in your face.. SuSE isn't constantly in your face. FreeBSD isn't. Red Hat wasn't. OS 9 wasn't. OS X insn't. heck, windows 3.11-98 weren't all that bad I didn't think compared to this overpriced, chopped up NT core with a GUI by Mattel.
 
Hmm, there was actually a similar problem with installing SCSI drives in '98 (requiring floppies, along with some other extra steps), but floppies were still being used, at least in the PC world, 5 years ago. Flash forward to now--and that is the reason I still use my ATA-100 drive with XP...

I definitely agree installing XP on a SATA drive is a bit of a challenge. I also have a feeling that this won't be addressed until Longhorn, as SP2, I doubt, will touch on this issue.

Well since I have tossed my floppy drive, looks like I'll stick with my current setup for at a few more years :)
 
wish I could have taken a picture, but have actually seen OSX seriously have a fatal kernel panic and drop down into text mode with a dump of memory locations where things went wrong... twice even.
 
PowerMacMan said:
"I used Windows XP today--Now I have a Headache!"



-I use Windows XP EVERYDAY-

That explains why I have a migrane everyday :mad: ...

-And it's telling me that I NEED A Mac...
Click to expand...


at least you dont use win me

btw, i was reading the win 2003 manual and it refered to win me as a "compost heap"

i double checked the publisher and it was a microsoft book. i thought that was pretty funny

anyways.....i think win 2k is really good in terms of stability

spyware is a plague on all windows system, but is easily remedied by using the proper software.
 
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