Is Win2k still usable on new systems?

wrote:
"nemo" wrote in message oups.com...
....
My understanding is that MS has dropped "official" support of W2k and
that manufacturers were therefore going to stop writing drivers for
new products. Am I mistaken about this?

You're correct on that first part, but my point is, as long as
Win2K is in widespread use (which it still is and will continue
to be in the foreseeable future, at least in some sectors)
hardware developers will continue to support it.

The 'extended support' ends on July 13, 2010!

http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?p1=3071

So, until mid-2010, you will get critical updates for W2k.

(And then you may be 'testing' Windows 7 Beta, too;-)


Gert

nemo wrote:
On Aug 11, 1:35 am, Bob Fry wrote:
I use XP Pro on a desktop machine and W2K on a laptop. They both work
fine which you'll rarely hear about Vista. If you like W2K you'll
really like XP Pro, but if W2K will run on your new system there's
really nothing wrong or obsolete about it that I can think of.

Thanks for the reply, but that's the sticky wicket now isn't it,
whether it will run properly on a new system given the potential lack
of support.

One poster has indicated that most developers are still supporting W2k
even though MS has dropped "official" support. I am also a bit
concerned about potential security issues considering the way that MS
writes their software letting the virus writers perform security
testing for them. If MS stops providing security updates, I guess I
will have to go with XP.

The 'extended support' ends on July 13, 2010!

http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?p1=3071

So, until mid-2010, you will get critical updates for W2k.

(And then you may be 'testing' Windows 7 Beta, too;-)


Gert

"Gert Elstermann" wrote in message ...
wrote:
"nemo" wrote in message oups.com...
...
My understanding is that MS has dropped "official" support of W2k and
that manufacturers were therefore going to stop writing drivers for
new products. Am I mistaken about this?

You're correct on that first part, but my point is, as long as
Win2K is in widespread use (which it still is and will continue
to be in the foreseeable future, at least in some sectors)
hardware developers will continue to support it.

The 'extended support' ends on July 13, 2010!

http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?p1=3071

So, until mid-2010, you will get critical updates for W2k.

True, but Extended Support doesn't include driver updates
and bug fixes, just critical security patches:
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy

On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 07:45:36 -0700, nemo wrote:

On Aug 11, 1:35 am, Bob Fry wrote:
I use XP Pro on a desktop machine and W2K on a laptop. They both work
fine which you'll rarely hear about Vista. If you like W2K you'll
really like XP Pro, but if W2K will run on your new system there's
really nothing wrong or obsolete about it that I can think of.

Thanks for the reply, but that's the sticky wicket now isn't it, whether
it will run properly on a new system given the potential lack of
support.

One poster has indicated that most developers are still supporting W2k
even though MS has dropped "official" support. I am also a bit
concerned about potential security issues considering the way that MS
writes their software letting the virus writers perform security testing
for them. If MS stops providing security updates, I guess I will have
to go with XP.

I installed win2k on a machine that was new about a year and a half
ago... my experience has been that it runs all the software I want to
use, but I have run into glitches with some hardware, most notably my HP
photosmart 7350 printer.

Microsoft is using various ploys to discourage consumers from using
win2k... for example, if you want to make lossless .wma files from your
audio CDs, you have to upgrade from win2k to XP.

But, having said all that, why not start with Win2k and buy a copy of XP
if you decide you need it?

Charlie

On Aug 10, 9:28 am, nemo wrote:
I have been using Win2k on my computers for some 5 or more years. I
like the fact that when I upgrade the hardware I don't have to buy a
new OS license. I am about to build a new computer and it occurred to
me that maybe Win2k is not supported by the hardware makers so much
now. If I buy all new components, will I be able to find Win2k
drivers for them?

I have heard little except bad about Vista, so I guess I might be
willing to give XP a try if I have no other choice. Vista is actually
the reason I want to build a new system rather than buy. Dell's
prices are not much higher than a DIY machine, but it looks like they
only provide Vista and not XP anymore. Any thoughts on Vista?

Dell still has the XP OS option on their small business line of
computers.