I just got winxp pro…
Any advice on things I ought to do before I connect to the Internet?
Firewall? Configuring XP for updates? etc?
KenTaiwan98
BTW,
I have now bought every MS OS since 3.1 (except ME)… I just installed Win95 on a museum piece, and was surprised how small the footprint was… just 70MB… my old pentium 90Hz seems positively snappy now!
There’s a firewall built into Pro. I found things slowed down quite a bit after installing all the mistakes - I mean updates.
There is one critical security vulnerability however which is fixed in SP1. If you don’t want to install SP1 you can patch the vulnerability here: grc.com/xpdite/xpdite.htm
Thanks for the suggestion.
I’m already suspicious of updates since I once updated IE5.5 and caused my computer to crash and refuse to reboot. Cost me $1000 to get it fixed. I couldn’t even boot the thing. Now I know what to do.
Anyone try vmware? I’m thinking of running win98se under emulation… anyone tried that?
Kenneth
I forgot to add that you should check that the firewall is enabled. Mine wasn’t until I did this. It’s under you LAN settings I think.
I think the first thing you should do is to reformat and install Linux. But that’s just me. 
Some of the first things I performd on my machine after installing XP:
Scchu,
What is the reason behind uninstalling MSN browser and MSN messenger. I need MSN messenger mostly to participate in multilingual chat. It’s the only chat program that I found to be working smooth with any language options I know.
Ken,
I’ve been using vmware and virtualpc on and off since 2001. vmware used to be running slow on my win2k. But the latest version I downloaded is pretty fast. I used it to emulate Korean winxp at home.
ax
[quote=“ax”]Scchu,
What is the reason behind uninstalling MSN browser and MSN messenger. I need MSN messenger mostly to participate in multilingual chat. It’s the only chat program that I found to be working smooth with any language options I know.[/quote]
I haven’t used MSN as Trillian is doing wonders for me… MSN browser is just a waste of bits on my computer. It was written by MS for “consumers” (as if people think the “normal” browser is hard to use?)…
[quote=“ax”]I’ve been using vmware and virtualpc on and off since 2001. vmware used to be running slow on my win2k. But the latest version I downloaded is pretty fast. I used it to emulate Korean winxp at home.
[/quote]
VMWare is a wonderful software. I can’t say enough good things about it.
Scchu,
I agree with you to some point. But there’s thing trillian can’t do well. The webcam and voice com on Trillian does not work very well on mine.
I think if trillian settle with their new patches, and incorporate Unicode in their messaging. I’ll completely scrap msn messenger.
ax
Hey, I tried! But I couldn’t get the wretched Linux to boot up.
It worked at the repair shop.
I took it home. It didn’t work. I took it back. It worked. I took it home. it didn’t work again. So then I unplugged everything, except my monitor, keyboard and mouse, booted up again. Nothing.
I don’t have the skills set yet to know how to fix it. Trust me: if I could Linux up and running without help, I wouldn’t have bought XP.
Thanks for the advice.
Kenneth
Thanks guys! I appreciate the support.
I’m stuck on some old legacy cds that I like to use. I guess they’re cheesy, anyway… I am kind of interested in running multiple versions of Win98SE on WinXP, each with a different function.
Multiple Partitions
I find it easier to manage when something goes wrong, just to copy the partition again and start again. It takes less time than a re-install, costs less (if I need the guys at the local pc shop) and I can separate them into work and play groups. It’s a real time saver. Right now, I’m using 3 partitions of Windows98SE on this pc, one of which is the original fully functional system. So if ADSL gets screwed up or something, I can simple restore…
I found it works pretty well. I don’t have too many problems doing that. Except it would be kind of nice to be able to back up partitions to CD rom, and thus make it more permanent…
BTW, does anyone still run Win3.1 or DOS as a hobby?
Kenneth
Anyone know if XPsp1a is necessary as an update?
Microsoft website just sent me around in circles looking for that info.
Kenneth
SP1a? Is that the same as SP1? I think it’s only necessary if you want to install some of the later updates which will check to see if SP1 has been installed.
Hmm… are those pre Windows 95 discs? Unless those discs are completely unreadable by your XP, you should be able run almost any legacy program under XP (given if the program is self-contained).
Copy the program to your HD, right click on the program, “Properties” → “Compatibility” tab. Under the the tab, you can choose to run the program under an emulation mode.
On partition restoring, you guys should check out Norton “Ghost”. It’s a fairly easy and small program. I think there are a couple of other softwares that do similar things too. You can basically take the entire HD image, burn to a CD and go from there.
XP also has a built-in restoration feature. I have used it to successfully restoring my computer back to pre-MS-updater stages. It actually works! There’s a more advanced version you can get for more features. However, I found the free one enough for what I need.
Back to the original topic. Make sure you have a strong password set on your Administrator account (letters and numbers, no dictionary words). If you don’t, your computer will soon be controlled by hackers from across the strait.
Thanks for your support about XP.
I have had it up and running for a few days. Someone mentioned that the update functions slow the pc down a lot… is this really true?
I was looking through the list of updates, wondering what to update from SP1. This afternoon, I saw a brand new pc with XP running like a tortoise, presumable after the updates.
Any advice?
Kenneth
yes, go back to win2k. Install vmware, and have your XP inside your vmware as many as you want.
ax
Oh well…I might as well go off topic with everyone else:
I encourage installing SP1, since it closes many security holes. I have all the security updates installed and my computer runs about the same as before (Duron 1300, 512MB RAM). However, there have been a few updates recently that degrade performance.
Things that REALLY slow down performance are the tons of junk like Hotbar, Kazaa spyware and other who knows what. Check for this stuff by running msconfig and looking at your startup programs.
Suggestions: alri.org/step2/usingmsconfig.htm
Lesson: Don’t be too fanatical about updating your patches, I usually wait 1-2 days for kinks to be ironed out…let other people be the guinea pigs.
i am having trouble with win xp (and regretting it, but i cant get my usb keyboard to work in Suse Linux. if you could help on that…)
the problem: winxp doesn’t seem to recognise my extended ram. the sys came with 256. i bought another 256. winxp only recognises 256. whereas win2k had no problems. now it’s real slow cf to win2k
I’m having trouble with my network card, when I boot up it seems to take about 5 minutes to come on. Suggestions?
Kenneth