loengard

First, a little background. I have a computer that I put in my loft that is the most powerful of the bunch. I would like to share it with other members of my family, but I don't like logging out and closing all my programs just so those other people can use it... That's where Fast User Switching comes in, right? Wrong! Not if you're using a domain model and not a workgroup model. I know, I know.... I'm a home user, what the hell am I running a domain for? Cuz I can.... It's secure.... and it provides me with central management of all the machines in my house. I have 7, so this makes it so much easier for me to administrate my network. Suffice it to say, the idiots at Microsoft decided that if you're using a domain, then you must not want to have fast-user switching as an option. That's just stupid. I know plenty of companies that have domains and multiple users who use one machine. They might like it to. I did find a way around it, but it's messy, and I don't like it. Someone care to explain to me the rational behind this? Loengard

If you upgrade your computer a lot, and have a good setup now doing everything you want, I'd say stick with Win2K.... Unless you like spending time on the phone trying to explain to the M$ people why you need to activate your OS *again* and why your hardware is different *again*. From my own personal experience.... I'm upgrading components in my computer at least every 3 months.... I'll get a faster CD burner, or a new CPU, a better video card, etc.... If my NIC goes bad, I'll have to replace it. I replace the motherboards at times too - better chipset, more processor support, etc.... Guess what? If I do that with XP, I'll probably have to re-activate.... Just food for thought.

For home users who use Windows 2000, XP offers the ability to finally get rid of that dual boot nightmare with Win2K/Win98..... New PCs will come with it, so users will have to get used to it.... For business... Most won't change what works.... They have no need for games in the office, so the fact that Win2K doesn't do those well isn't an issue for them.... My prediction. WPA will be XP's undoing... Aside from the people who get it with new PCs, I don't think many people will shell out the bucks to upgrade, especially if they own more than one PC.... They don't want to buy more than one copy of a new OS. Maybe that's wrong, but it's been going on for a long time.... Loengard

The only way around it is to set up your system as a member of a workgroup, not a domain, with the workgroup name the same as the domain name.... Then you have to duplicate all of your user accounts and passwords EXACTLY from the domain server.... Pain in the butt, but it works, and allows for shared file access on the network... Loengard

It IS possible with a couple of third-party applications, although I'm not sure if it's really all that reliable. Loengard

Of course, most of that is old information for old builds. I've had no problems with NBA Live 2k1 with builds > 2465.... Just installed 2505 (RC-1) and it works great. The issue might be your video driver. I'm using a Geforce 2 in one machine and an ATI Radeon in the other, and both work very well in XP with NBA live. What video card are you using?

That goes with what I heard, too... Essentially, it'll be just a re-named build 2502 as well.

It'll work, but as always, YMMV...

Geez.... I just got 2499 installed and running... :-) I'll be happy when the RC roll out.... At least the release time between them won't be so short!

Seldzar I installed 2495 with no problems. I applied the crack from the website above, and it looks like it worked (I haven't set the date ahead yet to test)... However, I was able to log in just fine, even before it was activated. You're not able to log in at all (other than safe mode), even after the first boot?

Weird. Some people said they were having problems with SB Live's with other builds as well... It's always worked for me, so we'll see what happens when I install 2495 later.

I haven't installed 2495 yet, but will this evening. If it's as stable as 2486, I'll be very happy with it. I still remember 2000 at this stage (or, God forbid, NT 4.0), and this is so much better and more stable. I've had 2486 running on this machine for 2 weeks straight with no blue screens or anything - even when playing 3-D games... Got anything interesting to report with 2495?

My shares work fine here, but I'm also using a domain model for my network, so all the authentication is handeled by the server. So, in my case, there's nothing that is broken and/or crippled in the version that I have, but I can see the point of it... The best bet for ***** people will be to do the same thing with WinXP as they did with Office - get ahold of the corporate (Select) version that doesn't require activation.

XP will stop working after 14 days if it's not activated. There are two other options - either call Microsoft's activation number, or apply the crack. Since you have a legal copy, it's probably easiest for you to call them.

Is that at an office or something? Maybe you can do it after hours... Your LAN would still be functional, but the internet would be down for a few minutes. Your only other choice is to get on the server and open up all the ports in the proxy and forward them to your box. This, and other compatiblility issues is why I dumped proxy and got a hardware firewall.

The best way around all of those problems is to set your system up the way you want it BEFORE you apply the crack, so the reset crack resets the machine back to the way you had it configured at the time it was applied.

More likely than not Activation uses a port that is not open on your proxy configuration. I don't have any idea what port Activation uses, so probably the best way to do this is to hook your computer directly to your internet connection and do the activation that way. After the activation is complete, you should put the machine back behind the proxy.

Yeah, and because it takes so long, even using the method you outlined above, to install (fast hardware or not), you can get REALLY f-ed up! :-) For those of us upgrading from Win2K, it should really be much faster, considering it's the same base code with a little revisions.... XP's convoluted install routine shouldn't have to go through all the crap that it does when upgrading from Win2K. Just my opinion, of course.... The engineers do have better things to worry about than making Win2K --> WinXP installs go faster, I guess.... :-)

Every build I've used since 2462 has gotten better as well. 2465 broke Remote Desktop, but it was fixed by the next build. The install routine is still rather slow, in my opinion, but the OS itself has gotten better with each build. I've even had no problems with internal builds, which I never could get to work right with 2K while it was in beta.... and don't get me started on how bad NT 4.0 was while it was in beta....

Interesting. Mine went through without a hitch. Incidentially, this is a Tunderbird 1Ghz with the following: GeForce 2 Sound Blaster Live IEEE 1394 card 2 30 GB Ultra-2 SCSI Hard Drives BusLogic SCSI Controller Mitsumi CDRW drive DVD ROM Drive Intel Pro 100 NIC 2486 installed just fine.... Took a little longer to run through the install routine though....

I see that 2485 is out (or at least leaked to the 'net).... Anyone running it yet? If so, how's everything look in comparison to 2481?

Well - apparently Build 2486 is now available. That was quick and the build number is just one up from the previous, so I bet there's something wrong wtih 2485 that they're fixing in this one.... Who knows? RC1 is supposed to be out in a week or so, as well....

Actually, there's more than that, because I have three different ones. Basically, there all close to the same thing. From the list you gave, I'd either go with the 2485crack one, or the one from Solarix. He tends to know what he's doing.

Microsoft has problems coding for their own stuff sometimes.... In 2465, I couldn't get my Microsoft Internet Pro keyboard to work right (the volume and mute buttons didn't function - they popped up on screen, but I couldn't change the settings).... I use a Logitech opitcal mouse and it works fine for all versions of Windows. A little trick I've been doing for stuff that worked in previous builds but not on the current one is taking the DLLs from the one it worked on and plugging them into the new OS... Usually works. Remember, though.... 2485 is an internal build, so it's bound to cause problems for some people.... With internal builds, I've noticed that it either works great or not at all. I've had no problems with 2485 here (other than the to-be-expected things), even my Sound Blaster Live works fine.... Adrian

No, the 247x-2481 cracks don't work on 2485, much like the 246x cracks didn't with 2475 or 2481. Microsoft's engineers are working at a frantic pace to try to keep ahead of the crackers, but usually there's a crack available within hours of a build's release... and, yes, there is one for 2485. I'll still probably purchase the OS outright when it comes out, but I really don't like the activation thing.... I also hope they price it at a reasonable level.... The prices for Office XP UPGRADES are WAY too much.... More than half the full version's retail price....