New to XP

~~RE III - Frankie~~ · Feb 1, 2009, 05:49 AM

Hey. Just installed Windows XP. What's so good about it and what should I download first??

nicnik · Feb 1, 2009, 12:30 PM

updates and anti malware/virus :P

Judas · Feb 1, 2009, 05:02 PM

indeed.. SP3 asap.

Anti-virus of some sort.

Matth · Feb 1, 2009, 07:13 PM

If you expose an Un-SPed XP on the internet, it will probably be infected by the time you finish getting the updates. A router (using NAT) will generally prevent such first level exposure as it prevents incoming attacks reaching the more vulnerable areas.

NB. A router will not save you from hostile links and content, only from hostile incomimg packets.

VampyrByte · Feb 2, 2009, 01:56 AM

Personally, i would use this current XP installation to download service pack 3, and any applications you will need once you get it up and running. Bung all the applications on a DVD or external drive of some sort.
use Nlite to slipstream the SP3 into the installtion. You can also use this to remove any rubbish you dont want from an XP isntall, and set up services before you even go. Since you havnt used XP before i dont recomened this as you probably wont know what you will and wont need for your hardware/software.
Lastly, unplug your Ethernet/Modem whatever, and re-install. install all your applications, reboot, cleanup, reboot, defrag, reboot. Finally connnect to the 'net and get your updates and whatever.
Yeah this way takes forever, but set aside a saturday and some beers for it. You wont regret it when in 6 months time your XP install is still runnning smooth as a babys bottom. Just make sure you look after it.

Oh, i forgot to mention. First thing you install is Drivers. Then Anti-Virus, then the rest like Browsers, Office whatever. Reboot and defrag inbetween each of these sectors.

CDsDontBurn · Feb 2, 2009, 02:35 AM

the first thing i would install would be sp3 before installing any drivers or anything else. restart, then install all of your drivers and restart again. afterwards, install some AV and anti-spyware stuff, restart again. then install all of the remaining MS updates and restart again. afterwards then install everything else: office, games, other proggies, etc. after you've installed all that, then perform a defrag.

~~RE III - Frankie~~ · Feb 4, 2009, 05:05 AM

Thanks guys.

**Mousey** · Feb 4, 2009, 08:43 PM

First thing i'd do is put a vista DVD in, restart and format

But yeah get some anti malware on and start installing SP3 ASAP

CDsDontBurn · Feb 4, 2009, 10:54 PM

i need to make me a slipstream version of sp3, and also vista sp1. i already have vista 32bit sp1, but i need to make one for 64bit as well.

~~RE III - Frankie~~ · Feb 19, 2009, 02:00 PM

nevermind. I'm running Vista now.

Neshi · Feb 19, 2009, 02:11 PM

you followed mousy's advice!

~~RE III - Frankie~~ · Feb 20, 2009, 04:26 PM

Yes. I did.

CDsDontBurn · Feb 20, 2009, 05:23 PM

the concept still applies to vista as it does to winXP. but, it'd be sp1 instead of sp3

GigaWatt · Feb 20, 2009, 09:26 PM

i would do the same thing Mousey suggested, but with Server 2003 EE...

~~RE III - Frankie~~ · Feb 21, 2009, 06:12 PM

Can you play games on server 2003? I don't know if I could afford a server OS. Don't they cost $????.?

Judas · Feb 21, 2009, 06:26 PM

server os'es do tend to be considerably more..

but why go with 2003..... vista superior

GigaWatt · Feb 21, 2009, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RE III - Frankie

Can you play games on server 2003? I don't know if I could afford a server OS. Don't they cost $????.?

sure, there are some tweaks to make the OS more user friendly and play games on it... TweakNT is one of them... although if you do happen to tweak it, you must not make any updates of the OS cuz it may become useless (if the update changes the version of winlogon)...

the GUI is the same as the Windows Classic GUI in XP, and you can install the XP theme GUI... or any other GUI... after you tweak it of course...

and about the price... i woun't go into that since i didn't bought my copy...

~~RE III - Frankie~~ · Feb 23, 2009, 02:52 AM

What are the advantages? Is it a better OS if you have multiple PC's that you play games on?

Customgamer1 · Feb 23, 2009, 04:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RE III - Frankie

What are the advantages? Is it a better OS if you have multiple PC's that you play games on?

I would recommend you don't bother installing server any version on your main pc...

CDsDontBurn · Feb 23, 2009, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RE III - Frankie

What are the advantages? Is it a better OS if you have multiple PC's that you play games on?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Customgamer1

I would recommend you don't bother installing server any version on your main pc...

ditto. server is for just that, SERVERS!!!

GigaWatt · Feb 23, 2009, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

ditto. server is for just that, SERVERS!!!

well... i don't agree on that... i've been using Server 2003 EE tweaked with TweakNT for three months now... it has proven to be more stable and much faster than XP... it uses the same drivers as Xp 32bit and it has a larger driver database... with XP, i had to install the chipset driver, the IDE cotroller driver, etc...

it's basicly the same OS, except the boot screen is diffrent (it will change after you tweak it, it will have the same boot screen as XP)... and no, you don't have to have a network of PCs to run the OS... i'm runing ot on a single rig...

just do a google serach on Server 2003 vs XP... you'll see what the advantages and disadvanages are... for me, it's perfect cuz i have my rig under load almost all the time...

CDsDontBurn · Feb 23, 2009, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GigaWatt

well... i don't agree on that... i've been using Server 2003 EE tweaked with TweakNT for three months now... it has proven to be more stable and much faster than XP... it uses the same drivers as Xp 32bit and it has a larger driver database... with XP, i had to install the chipset driver, the IDE cotroller driver, etc...

it's basicly the same OS, except the boot screen is diffrent (it will change after you tweak it, it will have the same boot screen as XP)... and no, you don't have to have a network of PCs to run the OS... i'm runing ot on a single rig...

just do a google serach on Server 2003 vs XP... you'll see what the advantages and disadvanages are... for me, it's perfect cuz i have my rig under load almost all the time...

i totally DISAGREE on server 2003 having more drivers available for it than for winXP. a particular good example of this is the 32bit version of the OS. The reason being is because there are no drivers available for NVIDIA based gfx cards. Take a look here on their driver selection page and you'll see what I mean. Now, I know that what you said is correct, server 2003 is a spinoff of winXP, so I'm sure that you could modify a winXP driver to make it work. But, it's something that it's not readily available out of the box.

And besides, you said it yourself, you need to use a utility, TweakNT as you specifically stated, to make it better than winXP. IMO, it's just too much work to make it work out of the box.

with my thoughts having been said, i would like to keep it said that server 2003/2007 would be better for a server environment and not an end user environment.

GigaWatt · Feb 23, 2009, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

i totally DISAGREE on server 2003 having more drivers available for it than for winXP. a particular good example of this is the 32bit version of the OS. The reason being is because there are no drivers available for NVIDIA based gfx cards. Take a look here on their driver selection page and you'll see what I mean. Now, I know that what you said is correct, server 2003 is a spinoff of winXP, so I'm sure that you could modify a winXP driver to make it work. But, it's something that it's not readily available out of the box.

not true... i installed the latest nVidia drivers (i own a GeForce 7200GS) before i did any of the tweaking to the OS... the drivers only care if it's an NT based operating system (like XP is)... the same drivers that can be installed on XP can be installed on Server 2003 without any kind of tweaking... i too was afraid that this wouldn't work, but every single driver i've used on XP works on the Server 2003 edition also (the 32bit version).

and about the driver database... i was refering to the ammount of devices that are automatically installed with Server 2003, like chipsets, HDD controllers, etc. i wasn't talking about how many companies have driver support for the OS... basically, any driver that is intended for Win XP 32bit will work under Server 2003 EE 32bit without any problem... i've tested this theory on 4 other rigs and it works...

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

And besides, you said it yourself, you need to use a utility, TweakNT as you specifically stated, to make it better than winXP. IMO, it's just too much work to make it work out of the box.

no, no... i was misunderstood...

... you don't need the tweak to make the OS better than XP... it already is better tha XP...

... you need TweakNT to change the header of winlogon to fool applications (mostly games) to think that they are being installed (and running) on WinXP, cuz most games will not install on a server OS, whatever it may be... the irony of it all is that most games run much better on Server 2003 than on XP... just like every app i've tried in the last 3 months...

CDsDontBurn · Feb 23, 2009, 10:30 PM

maybe you've gotten lucky with the NVIDIA drivers, but i know many people who have tried to use the winXP drivers for server 2003 and the drivers not installing because it says it's not winXP.

GigaWatt · Feb 23, 2009, 10:39 PM

that's true... i've only tested this theory with rigs with either nVidia GFX cards or onboard cards... i haven't tested it with aany ATI cards... so i wouldn't recommend it to anyone who has a ATI card...

but on the other hand, you can install the drivers after you use TweakNT that will fool the driver into thinking it's installing on XP...

CDsDontBurn · Feb 23, 2009, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GigaWatt

that's true... i've only tested this theory with rigs with either nVidia GFX cards or onboard cards... i haven't tested it with aany ATI cards... so i wouldn't recommend it to anyone who has a ATI card...

but on the other hand, you can install the drivers after you use TweakNT that will fool the driver into thinking it's installing on XP...

see, again you mention that TweakNT utility. up until you mentioned that utility, i never even knew about it! and i'm sure that there are thousands of people out there who don't know about it or anything similar to it that would allow it to be used as a desktop OS instead of a server OS.

GigaWatt · Feb 23, 2009, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BestSoftware4Download.com

TweakNT is a Tweak Tools you can changes few settings on windows XP or Windows 2000 and all old windows NT. Tip! You can choose "Restore previous folder windows at logon" on Windows 2000 like Windows XP but this functions is standard in windows XP but not in Windows 2000, now you can use the same function in Windows 2000 or Server 2000 choose it from TweakNT Added Enable/Disable Arrow on shortcut and in this version you must not have a internet connection for show "How Uninstall MSN" new function you can change name and company on windows or show windows CD-Key if you have forget it, and you can get it now Fixed remove items from Add/Remove programs tab, now remember last position in list when delete item or refresh the list. Added a few new functions in last release see screenshot for more info... Compatible with Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2000 or 2003 and Media Center 2005.

TweakNT download - TweakNT - Best Software Downloads

here you go CDs...

... it's compatible with most NT operating systems and it's really easy to use....

CDsDontBurn · Feb 24, 2009, 12:16 AM

sure, i'll check it out when i get home

~~RE III - Frankie~~ · Feb 24, 2009, 12:50 PM

I didn't know you could do all that on Servers. Thanks. I just don't know about not paying for it.

Feb 1, 2009, 05:49 AM	#1
~~RE III - Frankie~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,754 Rep Power: 0	New to XP Hey. Just installed Windows XP. What's so good about it and what should I download first??

Feb 1, 2009, 12:30 PM	#2
nicnik In the Land of Snow Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 567 Rep Power: 44 System Specs	Re: New to XP updates and anti malware/virus :P __________________ >>Steam<< Currently Playing: BF3 (nic9394), Rift (devilryuji)

Feb 1, 2009, 07:13 PM	#4
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,410 Rep Power: 91 System Specs	Re: New to XP If you expose an Un-SPed XP on the internet, it will probably be infected by the time you finish getting the updates. A router (using NAT) will generally prevent such first level exposure as it prevents incoming attacks reaching the more vulnerable areas. NB. A router will not save you from hostile links and content, only from hostile incomimg packets. __________________ Mary had a little lamb, Her father shot it dead Now Mary takes her lamb to school, Between two crusts of bread

Feb 2, 2009, 01:56 AM	#5
VampyrByte DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 47 Rep Power: 19 System Specs	Re: New to XP Personally, i would use this current XP installation to download service pack 3, and any applications you will need once you get it up and running. Bung all the applications on a DVD or external drive of some sort. use Nlite to slipstream the SP3 into the installtion. You can also use this to remove any rubbish you dont want from an XP isntall, and set up services before you even go. Since you havnt used XP before i dont recomened this as you probably wont know what you will and wont need for your hardware/software. Lastly, unplug your Ethernet/Modem whatever, and re-install. install all your applications, reboot, cleanup, reboot, defrag, reboot. Finally connnect to the 'net and get your updates and whatever. Yeah this way takes forever, but set aside a saturday and some beers for it. You wont regret it when in 6 months time your XP install is still runnning smooth as a babys bottom. Just make sure you look after it. Oh, i forgot to mention. First thing you install is Drivers. Then Anti-Virus, then the rest like Browsers, Office whatever. Reboot and defrag inbetween each of these sectors. __________________

Feb 2, 2009, 02:35 AM	#6
CDsDontBurn 127.0.0.1 Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,458 Rep Power: 202 System Specs	Re: New to XP the first thing i would install would be sp3 before installing any drivers or anything else. restart, then install all of your drivers and restart again. afterwards, install some AV and anti-spyware stuff, restart again. then install all of the remaining MS updates and restart again. afterwards then install everything else: office, games, other proggies, etc. after you've installed all that, then perform a defrag. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Feb 4, 2009, 05:05 AM	Thread Starter #7
~~RE III - Frankie~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,754 Rep Power: 0	Re: New to XP Thanks guys.

Feb 4, 2009, 08:43 PM	#8
Mousey Synth's Long Lost Bro Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Web Design Hell Posts: 7,156 Rep Power: 243 System Specs	Re: New to XP First thing i'd do is put a vista DVD in, restart and format But yeah get some anti malware on and start installing SP3 ASAP __________________

Feb 4, 2009, 10:54 PM	#9
CDsDontBurn 127.0.0.1 Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,458 Rep Power: 202 System Specs	Re: New to XP i need to make me a slipstream version of sp3, and also vista sp1. i already have vista 32bit sp1, but i need to make one for 64bit as well. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Feb 19, 2009, 02:00 PM	Thread Starter #10
~~RE III - Frankie~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,754 Rep Power: 0	Re: New to XP nevermind. I'm running Vista now.

Feb 19, 2009, 02:11 PM	#11
Neshi S.N.A.F.U. Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Wellington, NZ Posts: 3,259 Rep Power: 150 System Specs	Re: New to XP you followed mousy's advice! __________________ If one does not attach himself to people and desire, never shall his heart be broken. But then, does he ever truly live? Life is just too damn short for if's and maybe's

Feb 20, 2009, 04:26 PM	Thread Starter #12
~~RE III - Frankie~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,754 Rep Power: 0	Re: New to XP Yes. I did.

Feb 20, 2009, 05:23 PM	#13
CDsDontBurn 127.0.0.1 Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,458 Rep Power: 202 System Specs	Re: New to XP the concept still applies to vista as it does to winXP. but, it'd be sp1 instead of sp3 __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Feb 20, 2009, 09:26 PM	#14
GigaWatt Now In Color :D Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Macedonia, Skopje Posts: 2,116 Rep Power: 79 System Specs	Re: New to XP i would do the same thing Mousey suggested, but with Server 2003 EE... __________________ It's not schisophrenia... it's just a voice in my head...

Feb 21, 2009, 06:12 PM	Thread Starter #15
~~RE III - Frankie~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,754 Rep Power: 0	Re: New to XP Can you play games on server 2003? I don't know if I could afford a server OS. Don't they cost $????.?

Feb 23, 2009, 02:52 AM	Thread Starter #18
~~RE III - Frankie~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,754 Rep Power: 0	Re: New to XP What are the advantages? Is it a better OS if you have multiple PC's that you play games on?

Feb 23, 2009, 10:30 PM	#24
CDsDontBurn 127.0.0.1 Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,458 Rep Power: 202 System Specs	Re: New to XP maybe you've gotten lucky with the NVIDIA drivers, but i know many people who have tried to use the winXP drivers for server 2003 and the drivers not installing because it says it's not winXP. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Feb 23, 2009, 10:39 PM	#25
GigaWatt Now In Color :D Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Macedonia, Skopje Posts: 2,116 Rep Power: 79 System Specs	Re: New to XP that's true... i've only tested this theory with rigs with either nVidia GFX cards or onboard cards... i haven't tested it with aany ATI cards... so i wouldn't recommend it to anyone who has a ATI card... but on the other hand, you can install the drivers after you use TweakNT that will fool the driver into thinking it's installing on XP... __________________ It's not schisophrenia... it's just a voice in my head...

Feb 24, 2009, 12:16 AM	#28
CDsDontBurn 127.0.0.1 Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,458 Rep Power: 202 System Specs	Re: New to XP sure, i'll check it out when i get home __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Feb 24, 2009, 12:50 PM	Thread Starter #29
~~RE III - Frankie~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,754 Rep Power: 0	Re: New to XP I didn't know you could do all that on Servers. Thanks. I just don't know about not paying for it.