Windows 98 shuts down

USB is 'hot plug' technology, not plug and play

plug and play refers to the ability of inserting a card in the computer with the power off. you then install the drivers. after that windows configures the devices interupts and other resources. there are no manual switch settings.

USB is where you can plug in a device with the power on, windows detects the device and configures it without having to restart

 

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug_and_play
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_plug
He's right you know. I didn't know that.

 

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I released something a little earier based upon another Microsoft project. Some years ago Microsoft developed an Online Multiplayer game called "Allegiance".

The game itself was released with bugs, there was no real one player version (what one it had the AI sucked) and it really was meant to be the dawning of multiplayer gaming. The problem was at the time that people just weren't as connected to the internet as they are now.

In the end Microsoft pulled selling the game or even supporting it, it was hidden away as a failure. Well those that played the game continued to play it and out of the community of people that played it, they started to enquire to Microsoft about access to the source code. Eventually Microsoft freely gave the sourcecode to the community which then allowed the community to fix the bugs and start modifying the game, which still is played today.

More accurate explaination to the the games history can be found at www.freeallegiance.org

The reason I mention the game is that Microsoft created its Windows95/98 and ME editions of OS and they have stated they are closing the Support for it. However it doesn't stop a community of people that potentially use or continue to want to use the OS's to ask very nicely if the source could be made available in the future, then the potential for support/debugging and upgrading could continue without Microsoft having to pay for it.

 

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Good catch, I always use those phrases interchangeably, I gotta stop that.

However, it does not invalidate my point. The 98s are obsolete :bugeye:

 

But that would in this case go against the interests of Microsoft. They would like to sell their new OS on new shiny machines. Would it be therefore likely that this would happen in this particular case?

 

Possible? Yeah, I could see it as a serious consideration. MS could stand to gain in publicity allowing for community support for their withdrawn OS.

Likely? Who knows how profiteering the board members would be? Were it up to Bill alone he may have allowed it being the hardcore programmer that he is. The management engine of MS is another story though.

 

i've been reading some stuff about XP activation and i have decided that it's a bad idea.
this is my understanding of the activation:
first you install windows XP then enter the key

then you must contact microsoft to get it validated. at which time microsoft scans your machine and determines what hardware you have along with their ID numbers. then you are given an activation code based on this scan.

now comes the crappy part
if you are like me you like to upgrade and try new stuff.
with XP you are allowed 3 changes to your hardware after which XP thinks it's on a different computer. then you must contact microsoft again this time by phone and request another activation code.

as i see it this setup only hurts the board makers and the hardware makers in general.

needless to say i will NEVER run XP on any computer i own, even if microsoft gave me a lifetime of activation codes.

 

Just run the pirated corporate edition like all the rest of the sane. It has no such restrictions.
At any case I run Linux, so

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i heard there is a way to get passed the activation.
i'm still looking around the web for a solution.

 

Leopold, if you don't take Avatar's advice (which is the easier way for a techie to get around the activation) and you'd rather own a legal copy of an OS:

1. There's a corporate version which has no activation (which you can buy lol)

2. The activation sequence is VERY painless. Your description makes it sound worse than it is. When you install the OS, the activation code is generated based on three hardware IDs, in order to facilitate a unique number. The OS then simply contacts the activation server through your internet connection to verify that your OS is indeed authentic, and activates it. The entire activation sequence takes maybe what 15 seconds or something. YOU do not need to contact MS for anything.

And of course, since there is no personal information about the user on a new installation (since you are not required to put in any true information...or any for that matter), it is impossible that it is a way to track YOU the user.

Changing hardware: The three pieces of hardware Windows uses for its activation are the processor, board and hard drive. You can change your video card, your sound card, your NIC, your TV card, your opticals, your power supply, your processor fan, your memory 100 times and Windows won't care. On top of which, you can change your processor many times if you like. The problem you are reading about is if you changed all THREE (which constitutes a new computer).

In such a case, simply reactivate Windows. The same way. 11 seconds. If it happens not to work and you need to call MS, their helpdesk is also painless. I had to once when one of my office's IBM original machines (with XP preloaded) would not activate. I called MS to get a phone activation code and it took all of 2 minutes. Oh...just to put it in perspective...I called from the Caribbean. Toll free. And finished in two minutes.

3. Linux. There's a version of Linux designed to handle Win98/ME programs

4. I submit again though: feel free to remain with WinME...it's legally your copy of the OS and you have your applications already.

 

There are. However if you download the wrong file or the file has a virus or something on it, then life sucks for you. Sometimes they come with the pirated version and you have to run the file in safemode.

However try to go legit anyway.

 

There is a way. My friend was just telling me the other day about how he did it. I don't remember any details though. But there is also a way to keep changing your CD key (or maybe it was the activation code) to fool microsoft and make it much harder to get caught. After all, if it thinks it's a different copy of windows every few days, there's no easy way to trace it back to a single person.

 

i'm not too worried about it, i have my copy of winme and a copy of windows 2000 pro.
i also recently downloaded all 5 cd's of fedora 5.
i also have freeBSD.
i guess when it comes time to get my feet wet i'll just jump in and probably drown. blub . . . blub . . . blub

 

by what i understand of the activation you can upgrade your computer till you run out of money and microsoft will continue to give you activation codes.
for example if you have 5 computers and you put the same copy of XP on all of them you can get them all activated if you spread it out over a couple of weeks

 

I've never tried that...hmm. That sounds iffy though, since the algorithm that generates your activation # partly originates from your Product Key. Which means it'll be flagged as already used.

Then if you don't have the same processor, hard drive AND motherboard...all in the same machine, you'd have a problem. That part I would agree is tiresome in such events as for example a power catastrophe where your last PC may have been destroyed.

Get your feet wet! That's part of the fun...You feel triumphant when your Linux installation works

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Qe? Imho, for example Mandriva Linux installation is easier than Windblows.

 

The latest MacOS installer is the easiest I ever saw. It required minimal user intervention (just name and that stuff) and required no driver disks. Caveat: I only installed 2 Macs. Ever. G5s.

The latest WindowsXP installation takes longer than the Mac but it only requires driver disks for unusual hardware items (like TV cards). I see nothing complex or difficult about the WindowsXP installation.

WindowsXP is the best OS that MS has developed and a lot of MS bashers can't swallow it. It's 90%+ world marketshare speaks for itself (yes it attracts viruses/attacks; but wouldn't Linux also were it installed on 700 million PCs?). I've installed countless Windows PCs from 3.1 straight to XP SP2. It's somewhere in hundreds.

I haven't tried Mandriva, BUT the older Linux versions i tried were b*tch*s for drivers. I really dislike searching for an hour for a working NIC driver on my perfectly functional WinXP machine. However Avatar, I'll try Mandriva sometime, I like to keep up with Linux and see what it offers. Number of Linux installations...maybe about 20.

 

I myself use Fedora Core (Red Hat).
Here's a step by step Mandriva install (with pics): http://www.mandrake.tips.4.free.fr/installmdv2006.html

 

The Mandriva steps look almost exactly like WinXP (the steps not the GUI). Mandriva of course has one or two odd choices that WinXP won't have (like CUPS), but it looks simple enough.

Avatar...when last did you install WinXP? It's just as simple, might be even more so. But I think I'll get me a copy of Mandriva to try out soon, it looks like it'll be less of a headache than previous "Linuxes"

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For one the WinXP bootloader is shit, you can't configure it during the install (and after),
the built in partition manager and format options are like from a stone age, I can not set up my system from it and I can't install it along an already existing Linux installation. It's very primitive and limited, besides to add salt to injury it doesn't recognize non-windows filesystems and has trouble correctly detecting large hard drives.

Also the install doesn't allow me to configure a firewall during install too, so upon booting the system is defenceless (if the network cable is inserted). And the driver support is lacking too, imo nowadays Linux has a lot better driver support with some exceptions due to restricted code.

Windows XP install is very complicated if you want to install something other than the most basic and default preset configuration.

I last installed Windows XP last year for a friend and some two and a half years ago for myself.

p.s. The new Anaconda installer for Fedora Core is sweet too.