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Makou
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So I have my old laptop back from my parents. It was so worn out that I wasn't even going to bother trying to clean the crap off of it. I grabbed my factory install discs and let it ride, so now it's sitting more or less in the same condition it was in when it was initially purchased.
It turns out that this thing was built before Windows XP Service Pack 1 was released. The install is so basic that it had to download updates to even get the option to download SP1 in the first place. Imagine my surprise.
So I'm staring at the Windows Update page, and I have three options.
1) Windows XP -- 35 critical updates.
2) Windows XP Service Pack 1.
3) Windows XP Service Pack 2.
I've honestly not dealt with a "modern" system this out of date before. Should I go through the process of downloading the existing critical updates, then SP1, then optionally SP2, or should I just jump to the service pack of my choice?
Man, do I feel stupid right now.
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If you see a "Rona Altana" out there on the internet somewhere, that's probably me
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Angst
Rabid Doomer
Team Member
Elite
  
Posts: 1011
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35 updates, then sp2, sp2 SHOULD cover the sp1 updates as well.
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"Who says a chainsaw isn't a ranged weapon?"
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Makou
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I've installed SP1 first. Get this, Pho: Those same 35 updates are still there to be downloaded. That just dumbfounds me.
I'm trying to decide, now, whether or not I even want to bother with Service Pack 2. It's not on my main machine (the one I type this from), and I've not had an issue. However, the main reason I haven't put SP2 on here is because I can't afford to have the install make it FUBAR. I don't have this concern with the laptop -- there's nothing on it, so a borked install just means I run the factory install disc again.
So, my question is: Should I bother? Does SP2 have anything truly beneficial, or should I just do it so I don't see the damned "Update to Service Pack 2" notice when I run Windows Update?
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« Last Edit: 2006-03-13, 03:38 by Makou »
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If you see a "Rona Altana" out there on the internet somewhere, that's probably me
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Phoenix
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Well, I'd get the 35 updates then. Just one thing to be aware of with XP SP2. If you have a pirate copy of XP OR if your install is not pirate but for some reason Microsoft has blacklisted your product key, SP2 will NOT install. It will download, scan your system, and then fail with an "invalid producy key" error, and then you'll be on the phone with Micro$haft trying to straighten it out, which will happen about the time you'll see Satan throwing snowballs at you. I'm sure there are more "creative" ways around this, but it's something to be aware of if you do want to put SP2 on. The good news is if it fails it just fails, no harm done. The bad news is that without SP2 you'll be locked out from future security updates that require SP2 to be there first, and you'll have wasted about an hour or two downloading. I ran into this little snag while trying to fix someone's spyware-infested box. They could have at least put on a pirate copy that already had SP2 integral to it. 
As for what good SP2 is, I'll have to refer you to Sir Google and those who run XP on their own machines, but I'm pretty sure you'll have some vulnerabilities without it.
Edit: If you got SP1 to go in, SP2 might go in as well. I don't know if SP1 is locked the same way or not. Try it if you're feeling brave.
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« Last Edit: 2006-03-13, 06:22 by Phoenix »
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  I fly into the night, on wings of fire burning bright...
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Lopson
Elite
Posts: 1133
Still Going In Circles
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SP2 adds some neat security features, and there are some programs that run in SP2 but not in SP1 for some stupid reason.
And this Anti-Piracy system that MS created sucks. I can't install a single program from MS only because of the damn VLK. It seems like I'll have to fix this the hard way, although I have no clue on how to do this.
Do you think that now that they have locked my VLK, they won't let me download their security updates?
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shambler
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maybe. its enough to make a man turn to Linux. I would if I was cleaver enough, or knew which one was the closest to windows, or which was the most compatible etc......
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Phoenix
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I believe Mandrake Linux is regarded as the most "friendly" version. I'm going to be making a "98% newbie" foray into Linux soon for Gen development purposes, which is going to involve the following:
1) Getting the internet to work with Linux
2) Getting NVidia drivers onto Linux
3) Getting Quake 3 to run on Linux (full gaming mode as well as dedicated)
4) Getting Generations to run on Linux (full gaming mode as well as dedicated)
5) Compiling Quake3 GPL on Linux
I say "98%" because I've installed Linux before and even booted into it, I just never did anything more than that. I've already been through the installation process for Mandrake 10.1. My old version 9 disk went bad, and I had to ditch the old Linux install when I changed hard drive partitions around a while back. Installing can be easy, or fairly tedious depending on how technically minded you are (and how many individual modules you want to make install decisions on). Linux CAN destroy Windows during installation if you tell it to install to the wrong place or overwrite an existing partition, so be careful with the partitioning process during install. If you don't know anything about disk partitioning and OS installation, I recommend getting a new hard drive, disconnecting the old one, installing Linux by itself on that drive, then connecting the old drive as your master. If you want to boot into Linux, tell the BIOS to boot to the secondary drive. If you want to boot into Windows, tell the BIOS to boot to the primary drive. Or... build a dedicated Linux PC, if you have the dough.
As for ease of use, I'll get back to you on that. Linux does have a few graphical shells, like KDE and Gnome, that work like a Windows desktop. The installer lets you choose a default one to boot into if you like. Just keep in mind that it may look like Windows, but it is not Windows. KDE and Gnome are shells, so you will have to have a decent level of computer literacy to use either one. Linux will never be Windows, but it doesn't aim to be (which is a good thing if you ask me).
Check out http://www.linuxiso.org/ for more info on the various Linux distributions, and links to various ones. That's a good place to start out, and oh yes, Linux is free (yay!) though you can buy retail copies that include proprietary and licensed software. Which distribution you pick really comes down to what you intend to do and what your preference is. I'm completely inexperienced, and my goal isn't to learn the OS inside-out so much as use it for a specific task, hence I went for Mandrake. Warden prefers Slackware, which afaik is more tuned for Unix gurus, and Ward is heavily involved in server management. Lyfe runs FreeBSD, which isn't really Linux. Best thing you can do is get as educated as you can and find some people with Linux experience that are willing to help newbies instead of looking down their noses at them. I can't say what build is "better" than any other build since my knowledge is extremely limited. I leave that to the people who use Linux every day and have used various versions.
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I fly into the night, on wings of fire burning bright...
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shambler
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You know you can buy a linux PC with 2.2 gig celiron processor and 40 gig drive for ?199 over here? the rest of the spec is basic, but it'll do for students to type with.
I tried booting with a linux CD once of twice, but got scared and pulled out(as the saying goes) and never got around to really installing it on a PC. Maybe Lindows is the closest to windows, but I exspect that most games would not run. Maybe a spear harddrive in a caddy could be the answer. Or boot from a USB drive? is that possible, as i already have one. or boot from a RAM disc, maybe?
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Lopson
Elite
Posts: 1133
Still Going In Circles
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I've done a couple of things in Fedora, and It is a quite interesting Linux OS. Easy & fast. But that was the only International Linux I have ever touched (done a couple of things in a National Linux).
BTW I don't have a clue if the Linux will run through a USB disk. Probably it will.
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