I find it interesting that you went with XP Home instead of upgrading to XP Pro. Aren't you worried about security - i.e. that you are always logged on as an "owner" with administrative privileges?
Longshot, thanks. What I wanted to know was, what's the most secure, software or using hardware router to protect from viruses etc. Am presently using Norton Internet Security 2004, but I read on EliteTrader that hardware was the way to go...(couldn't find the tread).
With Windows-XP Pro, a P4-2.6, and 1 full Gig of PC3200 RAM, on a 20 Gig HD using McAfee Anti-Virus ( no firewall ) and a Belkin 4-Port Router via a Cable Modem. Initially, my boot-up time was so freaking fast that I was unable to "tap" F-12 during start-up in order to get into my BIOS. After about 20 attempts, I finally got into the BIOS and set the SUPERFAST BOOT-UP to a default that was much slower, which was fine by me . . . 48 seconds on a hard drive that has XP-Pro and 12.85 Gigs used. The Router is a great "hardware" form of firewall since it usesNAT and SPI and basically hides your IP address from intruders. With rebates, it's a very cheap form of insurance and doesn't slow down your computer system like most software firewalls. There are a ton of threads on "Routers". Just do a search. Question: I have a Western Digital SATA "Raptor" 37 Gig Hard Drive that spins at 10,000 RPM and has a 8mb buffer and has some very fast seek times sitting here on my desk. I have yet to install it because I am wondering if I need to go out and buy a FULL version of Windows XP-Pro for my clean install. My Dell 8300 only came with XP-Home, and I spent the $179.00 for the XP-Pro upgrade, which is what I have now. I have heard both Pro and Con about doing a fresh install with a full-version rather than using the Dell Resource CD for XP-Home and then downloading the XP-Pro Upgrade on top of it. What say you, Gurus?
Users who do not have multiple HDs have not yet had a system wipe-out, then had to do HOURS AND HOURS of rebuilding and reinstalling. It only takes once, and it IS just a matter of time.... (The last time I rebuilt "from scratch", I had trouble finding drivers, had to re-download Windows Updates a FEW times, a couple of corrupted installs, conflict with email and anti-virus... etc. Ended up with most of a weekend and a several hours a day over about 5 days in all. With XP, the recovery would be faster now, but rebuilding a system is still big inconvenience.... any precaution to avoid such a hassle is certainly worth the cost of an extra HD.)
There is one obvious solution to all of these problems, it's called Unix (Linux, FreeBSD, etc.) only then you will see what your hardware is really capable of. TM Trader
You don't need a full version of WinXP Pro for a clean install. Once you format the disk to clean everything off (or if you have a brand new HDD like you said), just boot from the XP Pro Upgrade disk to start the installation. After a few seconds, it will say that it can't detect an approved o/s to upgrade and to please insert a CD from full version of a previous version of Windows to verify your upgrade eligibility (see here for the list of upgradeable operating systems for Pro and Home). Then you have a clean install of XP Pro from an upgrade disk. Before you attempt this, do more research on the web and newsgroups. You may run into a problem with the Dell disk not being recognized as a full version of XP Home if it's a proprietary Dell installation. Always back up your data before starting anything like this. With 2 HDDs, you can have a dual boot system. Do a search on ET and Google for more information on this option. Lastly, I haven't done an XP Pro upgrade from a XP Home disk, so use the above information as a starting point to do more research rather than just taking my advice.
I presently run mostly Windows 2000 pro systems and no XP systems. On my next system should I stay with 2000 pro or get an XP pro system? Thanks to anyone with experience
"But here's what I do.... 1. I have a "base" HD (with current updates), drivers, and software I'll always have onboard... MetaStock, Office, etc. It sits in the closet for emergency recovery or just a refreshened load to get rid of the "bit rot", as you say. 2. I have 2 other HD's which are swapped about every 3-4 weeks and are of course current with anything I've added. This is my backup in case of a virus, HD crash, or whatever. HD copies are made with Maxtor's MaxBlast 3 software. Works great. 3. I also make an additional data backup current to the day on a CD-RW or flash drive. Who knows... I may never again have to do a fresh install from scratch!" Does someone have a link which explains this process? Thanks, NT