onmagazine.com
Look Before Leaping to Windows XP Upgrade
You'll want to make sure that current drivers are available — or face more crashing
[ BY CHARLES HEROLD ]
OCT 31, 2001 - By the time Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system launched last week, everyone had heard that it was the first substantial improvement in Windows since Win95. It crashes less, it’s got all sorts of cool new features, and people are falling all over themselves congratulating Microsoft for doing something right for a change. It’s true, it’s better. But while it’s basically worth the $100 for an upgrade (or $200 if you have a computer without Windows 98 or ME), expect a period of adjustment.
First, the good stuff. XP is by no means crash proof, but while previous versions of Windows could suddenly crash for no good reason when you weren’t even using the computer, with XP you can leave it on all night without waking up to the blue screen of death.
XP has improved both cosmetically and in more substantial ways, It has a friendlier, more intuitive interface, but since people with an expertise in Windows are likely to be more comfortable with the uglier, less intuitive interface they’re used to, you can easily customize things to your taste. There are a wealth of new ways to display file information, and you can actually choose what information to see in detailed folder view — if you have a folder full of MP3s you can see the artist name and length, and if you have a folder of images you can see file sizes. You can log into your computer, start an application, then someone else can log in as a different user and your application will continue to run in the background, so when you log back in it’s still there. Zip files now open just like folders; you don’t even need to use WinZip anymore. And unlike Windows ME, I installed XP on two machines without a hitch.
I did have some serious problems, for example Palm’s HotSync application will become non-responsive sometimes and I’ll have to reboot my computer before I can sync my Palm. But the biggest issue is drivers. When I installed my printer XP warned me that the driver for it was not compatible, but it was the only one I had, so I installed it, only to find that every time I printed a page my computer would spontaneously reboot. After a lot of searching I finally found an XP driver for my printer, but I have an MP3 player that simply hasn’t come out with an XP driver, and every time I unplug its USB cable my computer crashes.
While it’s fun to have the latest toys, a little patience might save you a lot of aggravation. First check the website of your printer, digital camera, MP3 player — everything you plug in — and make sure there’s an XP driver for them. Then, and only then, upgrade.
Once my drivers are all updated and I figure out how to handle a few glitches, I expect to have a better relationship with my computer. I’m sure I’ll still sometimes curse Microsoft, but not as often. |
