Just what is XP Black???????

[Guest Twayne]

Re: Just what is XP Black???????

 

> Hi, Ken,

>

> As I mentioned in the post, since it's bogus I'd install it somewhere

> that I wouldn't feel bad about formatting the drive it's on to get

> rid of it. If I had an extra computer to play with, I'd install it

> there. :-)

 

Sooo, you wouldn't mind getting caught up in MS's piracy drive? Good

for you. I've only ever heard of ONE install on one of these groups,

forget which, and it was full of scanning and tracking software. Oh,

and if you can believe him, "encryption" was nothing more than ROT-13.

But in all fairness, some of the ilk on these groups aren't the most

honest or accurate slime balls, so I'm sure ymmv. Hope it works out for

you.

 

I even once talked with a guy who was trying to copy XP os in VB6 of all

things! I wished himj luck; he's still trying. lol

[Guest PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Re: Just what is XP Black???????

 

Please begin a new thread to discuss those issues, Ken. Thanks.

 

Ken Springer wrote:

> Good Morning, PA Bear,

>

> I've actually not made any decision on what to do. I'm still mulling over

> my alternatives.

>

> My XP based computer is old and slow. At least 6 years old. And over the

> years, I've tried enough pieces of legitimate software that there's lots

> of

> "leftovers" scattered about that really seem to have had a negative

> cumulative effect.

>

> One thing I don't like about the restore/reinstall disks on the XP

> computer

> is they are simply a disk image or back up files of the original machine.

> So it's going to install the drivers for hardware that no longer exists in

> the machine (modem and hard drive come to mind at the moment), as well as

> software I don't want. One advantage of this type of system is it's good

> for the less knowledgeable user who finds himself/herself needing to start

> from scratch.

>

> At the moment, I've just got this list of alternatives:

>

> 1. The good old "do nothing" alternative, and just live with the way it

> is

> in order to avoid the work. LOL

>

> 2. Reinstall the original software and try to get things removed that I

> don't want. I've never been able to remove all the stuff associated with

> the original modem. It continues to show up in the add/remove control

> panel even though the modem went to the landfill many years ago. But this

> issue may be associated with the new modem and the vendor forgot to change

> a word or two in the coding for the current modem. The software disk for

> the current modem contains file references to the name of the original

> modem.

>

> 3. Buy a stand alone copy of XP, if I can still find one, and install it.

> I'd probably buy XP Pro. I've got Outlook 2007 installed now (I've got a

> cell phone with Windows Mobile 6 and I sync the phone to the computer) and

> Outlook 2007 spends so much time being pretty it takes forever to display

> new screens. And I've not found a single feature in it that didn't exist

> in

> Outlook 2000. In fact, there's one feature in 2000 I used but can't find

> in

> 2007. I bought Outlook 2007 because Active Sync occasionally would

> complain

> about Outlook 2000. Hasn't been a good buy, IMO.

>

> If I do buy XP Pro, I'd also look for Office 2003 Professional, and

> basically start from scratch.

>

> 4. Buy and install one of the Linux OS's out there. At least the

> software

> is reasonably priced. And from what I've learned so far, a lot of the

> Linux

> software has the ability to read and write MS file formats as well as

> being

> almost as powerful as current Windows stuff. Still a lot to learn here.

>

> 5. Buy a new off the shelf computer. My inclination here is, it would be

> a

> Mac. As posted earlier, I'll only buy a new off the shelf Windows

> computer

> if I need one for a job.

>

> 6. Take the existing computer, make it a dual boot computer and play with

> XP Black as a separate installation.

>

> 7. For no more computer needs than I have now, and the lessened interest

> in

> computers due to the Windows issues of software with useless features for

> me, continuing growth of program and filesizes that require more

> horsepower,

> viruses, spam, spyware, I may just blow off XP and go back to Win98 on my

> 400 mhz Pentium II Dell. For what I do now, it gets the job done a lot

> faster. I will stipulate that if I reinstall XP and install all the

> updates, the XP computer will probably run my older MS software faster.

> But........ I don't think most of the virus writers out there are

> targeting Win98. :-) There are some antivirus program available that

> still support Win98 where the "big boys" won't give you the time of day.

>

> And possibly some variation of any of the above.

>

> At the moment, my preferred alternative is to buy a Mac.

>

> So I've made no decision as yet. :-)

<snip>

[Guest Ken Springer]

Re: Just what is XP Black???????

 

Hi, Twayne,

 

"ymmv"? That's got me stumped! :-)

 

LOL While I am not a fan of piracy, MS would really have to be hurting for

them to pick on me. I'm worth more dead than I am alive, and I'd be more

than happy to let them pay my bills.

 

Besides, when it comes to computer program "hacking", I couldn't hack my way

out of a paper bag!!!!!

 

Enjoy.

 

Ken

 

"Twayne" wrote:

> > Hi, Ken,

> >

> > As I mentioned in the post, since it's bogus I'd install it somewhere

> > that I wouldn't feel bad about formatting the drive it's on to get

> > rid of it. If I had an extra computer to play with, I'd install it

> > there. :-)

>

> Sooo, you wouldn't mind getting caught up in MS's piracy drive? Good

> for you. I've only ever heard of ONE install on one of these groups,

> forget which, and it was full of scanning and tracking software. Oh,

> and if you can believe him, "encryption" was nothing more than ROT-13.

> But in all fairness, some of the ilk on these groups aren't the most

> honest or accurate slime balls, so I'm sure ymmv. Hope it works out for

> you.

>

> I even once talked with a guy who was trying to copy XP os in VB6 of all

> things! I wished himj luck; he's still trying. lol

>

>

>

>

[Guest Ken Springer]

Re: Just what is XP Black???????

 

Hi, Daave,

 

Actually, I didn't. For me that's part of alternative #2. By the time I

finally discover everything that's a problem I could reinstall everything.

Besides, I haven't got the knowledge to discover the problems I don't know

are there.

 

True, I already have an XP licensed, but in my case XP is not on it's own

set of disks. It's all part of the recovery disks that came with the

computer and includes the preinstalled software. There's no way to separate

out what you want and don't want for my computer.

 

Thanks for those links. I'll check them out before making any kind of rash

decision.

 

Ken

 

"Daave" wrote:

> You forgot:

>

> 7. Address what is currently wrong with your PC and fix it.

>

> For starters, have a look at "Slow Computer":

> http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/slowcom.htm

>

> If you still have questions/issues, simply post them here. I am

> confident one of us will be able to assist you.

>

> Also know that it is possible to create your own installation disk as

> long as you have access to the i386 directory:

>

> http://www.howtohaven.com/system/createwindowssetupdisk.shtml

>

> Very useful for repairs! And then you could always perform a clean

> install if the mood strikes you (then again, clean installs are almost

> always unnecessary), and you wouldn't have to deal with any

> pre-installed bloatware.

>

> There is no reason whatsoever you should buy a new XP disk; you already

> have the license! Pro, in your situation, probably won't provide any

> advantages over Home. However, MS Office will need to be purchased if

> you want to install it. Then again, Sun provides an excellent *free*

> alternative suite:

>

> http://www.openoffice.org/

>

> Or you could just buy a Mac. ;-)

>

>

> "Ken Springer" <wordworks.nospam@greeleynet.com> wrote in message

> news:8EBC8249-E942-406F-8167-5FDA3F396D5F@microsoft.com...

> > Good Morning, PA Bear,

> >

> > I've actually not made any decision on what to do. I'm still mulling

> > over

> > my alternatives.

> >

> > My XP based computer is old and slow. At least 6 years old. And over

> > the

> > years, I've tried enough pieces of legitimate software that there's

> > lots of

> > "leftovers" scattered about that really seem to have had a negative

> > cumulative effect.

> >

> > One thing I don't like about the restore/reinstall disks on the XP

> > computer

> > is they are simply a disk image or back up files of the original

> > machine. So

> > it's going to install the drivers for hardware that no longer exists

> > in the

> > machine (modem and hard drive come to mind at the moment), as well as

> > software I don't want. One advantage of this type of system is it's

> > good for

> > the less knowledgeable user who finds himself/herself needing to start

> > from

> > scratch.

> >

> > At the moment, I've just got this list of alternatives:

> >

> > 1. The good old "do nothing" alternative, and just live with the way

> > it is

> > in order to avoid the work. LOL

> >

> > 2. Reinstall the original software and try to get things removed that

> > I

> > don't want. I've never been able to remove all the stuff associated

> > with the

> > original modem. It continues to show up in the add/remove control

> > panel even

> > though the modem went to the landfill many years ago. But this issue

> > may be

> > associated with the new modem and the vendor forgot to change a word

> > or two

> > in the coding for the current modem. The software disk for the

> > current modem

> > contains file references to the name of the original modem.

> >

> > 3. Buy a stand alone copy of XP, if I can still find one, and install

> > it.

> > I'd probably buy XP Pro. I've got Outlook 2007 installed now (I've

> > got a

> > cell phone with Windows Mobile 6 and I sync the phone to the computer)

> > and

> > Outlook 2007 spends so much time being pretty it takes forever to

> > display new

> > screens. And I've not found a single feature in it that didn't exist

> > in

> > Outlook 2000. In fact, there's one feature in 2000 I used but can't

> > find in

> > 2007. I bought Outlook 2007 because Active Sync occasionally would

> > complain

> > about Outlook 2000. Hasn't been a good buy, IMO.

> >

> > If I do buy XP Pro, I'd also look for Office 2003 Professional, and

> > basically start from scratch.

> >

> > 4. Buy and install one of the Linux OS's out there. At least the

> > software

> > is reasonably priced. And from what I've learned so far, a lot of the

> > Linux

> > software has the ability to read and write MS file formats as well as

> > being

> > almost as powerful as current Windows stuff. Still a lot to learn

> > here.

> >

> > 5. Buy a new off the shelf computer. My inclination here is, it

> > would be a

> > Mac. As posted earlier, I'll only buy a new off the shelf Windows

> > computer

> > if I need one for a job.

> >

> > 6. Take the existing computer, make it a dual boot computer and play

> > with

> > XP Black as a separate installation.

> >

> > 7. For no more computer needs than I have now, and the lessened

> > interest in

> > computers due to the Windows issues of software with useless features

> > for me,

> > continuing growth of program and filesizes that require more

> > horsepower,

> > viruses, spam, spyware, I may just blow off XP and go back to Win98 on

> > my 400

> > mhz Pentium II Dell. For what I do now, it gets the job done a lot

> > faster.

> > I will stipulate that if I reinstall XP and install all the updates,

> > the XP

> > computer will probably run my older MS software faster. But........

> > I don't

> > think most of the virus writers out there are targeting Win98. :-)

> > There

> > are some antivirus program available that still support Win98 where

> > the "big

> > boys" won't give you the time of day.

> >

> > And possibly some variation of any of the above.

> >

> > At the moment, my preferred alternative is to buy a Mac.

> >

> > So I've made no decision as yet. :-)

>

>

>

[Guest Ken Springer]

Re: Just what is XP Black???????

 

Hi, PA Bear,

 

No problem, additional discussion wasn't my intent. Having spent many years

being told I had enough information to make decisions, and I'm sitting there

asking more questions, I posted that for those that might be out there

wondering why/what/where I was doing all this.

 

Have a great one.

 

Ken

 

"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:

> Please begin a new thread to discuss those issues, Ken. Thanks.

>

> Ken Springer wrote:

> > Good Morning, PA Bear,

> >

> > I've actually not made any decision on what to do. I'm still mulling over

> > my alternatives.

> >

> > My XP based computer is old and slow. At least 6 years old. And over the

> > years, I've tried enough pieces of legitimate software that there's lots

> > of

> > "leftovers" scattered about that really seem to have had a negative

> > cumulative effect.

> >

> > One thing I don't like about the restore/reinstall disks on the XP

> > computer

> > is they are simply a disk image or back up files of the original machine.

> > So it's going to install the drivers for hardware that no longer exists in

> > the machine (modem and hard drive come to mind at the moment), as well as

> > software I don't want. One advantage of this type of system is it's good

> > for the less knowledgeable user who finds himself/herself needing to start

> > from scratch.

> >

> > At the moment, I've just got this list of alternatives:

> >

> > 1. The good old "do nothing" alternative, and just live with the way it

> > is

> > in order to avoid the work. LOL

> >

> > 2. Reinstall the original software and try to get things removed that I

> > don't want. I've never been able to remove all the stuff associated with

> > the original modem. It continues to show up in the add/remove control

> > panel even though the modem went to the landfill many years ago. But this

> > issue may be associated with the new modem and the vendor forgot to change

> > a word or two in the coding for the current modem. The software disk for

> > the current modem contains file references to the name of the original

> > modem.

> >

> > 3. Buy a stand alone copy of XP, if I can still find one, and install it.

> > I'd probably buy XP Pro. I've got Outlook 2007 installed now (I've got a

> > cell phone with Windows Mobile 6 and I sync the phone to the computer) and

> > Outlook 2007 spends so much time being pretty it takes forever to display

> > new screens. And I've not found a single feature in it that didn't exist

> > in

> > Outlook 2000. In fact, there's one feature in 2000 I used but can't find

> > in

> > 2007. I bought Outlook 2007 because Active Sync occasionally would

> > complain

> > about Outlook 2000. Hasn't been a good buy, IMO.

> >

> > If I do buy XP Pro, I'd also look for Office 2003 Professional, and

> > basically start from scratch.

> >

> > 4. Buy and install one of the Linux OS's out there. At least the

> > software

> > is reasonably priced. And from what I've learned so far, a lot of the

> > Linux

> > software has the ability to read and write MS file formats as well as

> > being

> > almost as powerful as current Windows stuff. Still a lot to learn here.

> >

> > 5. Buy a new off the shelf computer. My inclination here is, it would be

> > a

> > Mac. As posted earlier, I'll only buy a new off the shelf Windows

> > computer

> > if I need one for a job.

> >

> > 6. Take the existing computer, make it a dual boot computer and play with

> > XP Black as a separate installation.

> >

> > 7. For no more computer needs than I have now, and the lessened interest

> > in

> > computers due to the Windows issues of software with useless features for

> > me, continuing growth of program and filesizes that require more

> > horsepower,

> > viruses, spam, spyware, I may just blow off XP and go back to Win98 on my

> > 400 mhz Pentium II Dell. For what I do now, it gets the job done a lot

> > faster. I will stipulate that if I reinstall XP and install all the

> > updates, the XP computer will probably run my older MS software faster.

> > But........ I don't think most of the virus writers out there are

> > targeting Win98. :-) There are some antivirus program available that

> > still support Win98 where the "big boys" won't give you the time of day.

> >

> > And possibly some variation of any of the above.

> >

> > At the moment, my preferred alternative is to buy a Mac.

> >

> > So I've made no decision as yet. :-)

> <snip>

>

>

[Guest Daave]

Re: Just what is XP Black???????

 

"Ken Springer" <wordworks.nospam@greeleynet.com> wrote in message

news:38228287-CB58-4516-BF84-DA04D3A91F53@microsoft.com...

> Hi, Daave,

>

> Actually, I didn't. For me that's part of alternative #2. By the

> time I

> finally discover everything that's a problem I could reinstall

> everything.

 

Usually, it's faster and easier to just fix the problem.

> Besides, I haven't got the knowledge to discover the problems I don't

> know

> are there.

 

I wouldn't worry about discovering problems you don't know are there.

But, again, if there are actual problems, it's generally not too

difficult to solve them. And posting here is an exccellent way to find

out how to solve them.

> True, I already have an XP licensed, but in my case XP is not on it's

> own

> set of disks.

 

Yes, I know. That is why I posted the link to how to create your own

installation disk.

> It's all part of the recovery disks that came with the

> computer and includes the preinstalled software. There's

> no way to separate out what you want and don't want for

> my computer.

 

Your choice is to use the recovery disks and then go to Add or Remove

Programs in Control Panel or use an installation disk as I mentioned.

You can either create your own or you could even borrow (if you are able

to) a generic OEM installation disk. Just use the product key on your

COA sticker.

> Thanks for those links. I'll check them out before making any kind of

> rash

> decision.

 

You're welcome.

 

> Ken

>

> "Daave" wrote:

>

>> You forgot:

>>

>> 7. Address what is currently wrong with your PC and fix it.

>>

>> For starters, have a look at "Slow Computer":

>> http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/slowcom.htm

>>

>> If you still have questions/issues, simply post them here. I am

>> confident one of us will be able to assist you.

>>

>> Also know that it is possible to create your own installation disk as

>> long as you have access to the i386 directory:

>>

>> http://www.howtohaven.com/system/createwindowssetupdisk.shtml

>>

>> Very useful for repairs! And then you could always perform a clean

>> install if the mood strikes you (then again, clean installs are

>> almost

>> always unnecessary), and you wouldn't have to deal with any

>> pre-installed bloatware.

>>

>> There is no reason whatsoever you should buy a new XP disk; you

>> already

>> have the license! Pro, in your situation, probably won't provide any

>> advantages over Home. However, MS Office will need to be purchased if

>> you want to install it. Then again, Sun provides an excellent *free*

>> alternative suite:

>>

>> http://www.openoffice.org/

>>

>> Or you could just buy a Mac. ;-)

>>

>>

>> "Ken Springer" <wordworks.nospam@greeleynet.com> wrote in message

>> news:8EBC8249-E942-406F-8167-5FDA3F396D5F@microsoft.com...

>> > Good Morning, PA Bear,

>> >

>> > I've actually not made any decision on what to do. I'm still

>> > mulling

>> > over

>> > my alternatives.

>> >

>> > My XP based computer is old and slow. At least 6 years old. And

>> > over

>> > the

>> > years, I've tried enough pieces of legitimate software that there's

>> > lots of

>> > "leftovers" scattered about that really seem to have had a negative

>> > cumulative effect.

>> >

>> > One thing I don't like about the restore/reinstall disks on the XP

>> > computer

>> > is they are simply a disk image or back up files of the original

>> > machine. So

>> > it's going to install the drivers for hardware that no longer

>> > exists

>> > in the

>> > machine (modem and hard drive come to mind at the moment), as well

>> > as

>> > software I don't want. One advantage of this type of system is

>> > it's

>> > good for

>> > the less knowledgeable user who finds himself/herself needing to

>> > start

>> > from

>> > scratch.

>> >

>> > At the moment, I've just got this list of alternatives:

>> >

>> > 1. The good old "do nothing" alternative, and just live with the

>> > way

>> > it is

>> > in order to avoid the work. LOL

>> >

>> > 2. Reinstall the original software and try to get things removed

>> > that

>> > I

>> > don't want. I've never been able to remove all the stuff

>> > associated

>> > with the

>> > original modem. It continues to show up in the add/remove control

>> > panel even

>> > though the modem went to the landfill many years ago. But this

>> > issue

>> > may be

>> > associated with the new modem and the vendor forgot to change a

>> > word

>> > or two

>> > in the coding for the current modem. The software disk for the

>> > current modem

>> > contains file references to the name of the original modem.

>> >

>> > 3. Buy a stand alone copy of XP, if I can still find one, and

>> > install

>> > it.

>> > I'd probably buy XP Pro. I've got Outlook 2007 installed now (I've

>> > got a

>> > cell phone with Windows Mobile 6 and I sync the phone to the

>> > computer)

>> > and

>> > Outlook 2007 spends so much time being pretty it takes forever to

>> > display new

>> > screens. And I've not found a single feature in it that didn't

>> > exist

>> > in

>> > Outlook 2000. In fact, there's one feature in 2000 I used but

>> > can't

>> > find in

>> > 2007. I bought Outlook 2007 because Active Sync occasionally would

>> > complain

>> > about Outlook 2000. Hasn't been a good buy, IMO.

>> >

>> > If I do buy XP Pro, I'd also look for Office 2003 Professional, and

>> > basically start from scratch.

>> >

>> > 4. Buy and install one of the Linux OS's out there. At least the

>> > software

>> > is reasonably priced. And from what I've learned so far, a lot of

>> > the

>> > Linux

>> > software has the ability to read and write MS file formats as well

>> > as

>> > being

>> > almost as powerful as current Windows stuff. Still a lot to learn

>> > here.

>> >

>> > 5. Buy a new off the shelf computer. My inclination here is, it

>> > would be a

>> > Mac. As posted earlier, I'll only buy a new off the shelf Windows

>> > computer

>> > if I need one for a job.

>> >

>> > 6. Take the existing computer, make it a dual boot computer and

>> > play

>> > with

>> > XP Black as a separate installation.

>> >

>> > 7. For no more computer needs than I have now, and the lessened

>> > interest in

>> > computers due to the Windows issues of software with useless

>> > features

>> > for me,

>> > continuing growth of program and filesizes that require more

>> > horsepower,

>> > viruses, spam, spyware, I may just blow off XP and go back to Win98

>> > on

>> > my 400

>> > mhz Pentium II Dell. For what I do now, it gets the job done a lot

>> > faster.

>> > I will stipulate that if I reinstall XP and install all the

>> > updates,

>> > the XP

>> > computer will probably run my older MS software faster.

>> > But........

>> > I don't

>> > think most of the virus writers out there are targeting Win98.

>> > :-)

>> > There

>> > are some antivirus program available that still support Win98 where

>> > the "big

>> > boys" won't give you the time of day.

>> >

>> > And possibly some variation of any of the above.

>> >

>> > At the moment, my preferred alternative is to buy a Mac.

>> >

>> > So I've made no decision as yet. :-)

>>

>>

>>