The XP plunge. Any advice?

doctorfish wrote on 11/29/2002, 6:36 PM

I'm thinking about upgrading our studio computer to WinXP and am wondering
how this has gone for people. I've seen mostly good reports about the stability
and speed for DAW use but what about other things. Namely, registration and
Microsft security and anti-piracy schemes. My partner who handles more of
the business functions of our studio is very doubtful, almost fearful, of
it. He's heard of people having trouble copying CD's and files, transfering
them to and from other computers.

Plus, our studio computer is not connected to the internet. How does this affect
registration? Can the service packs be downloaded to a separate computer
and then transferred to the studio? I've tried this with no luck for the
updates for Win 98SE.

I know there are some other sites with XP specific information, and I will
check them out. But still, any information I can get will be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave

Comments

ibliss wrote on 11/29/2002, 7:43 PM

"I'm thinking about upgrading our studio computer to WinXP"
I think you'll love it when you're there!

"Namely, registration and Microsft security and anti-piracy schemes."

Windows Product Activation should not cause you any problems, unless you in the habit of changing hardware components every day...but since you seem to be taking cautious steps towards the OS upgrade (quite rightly) I'm guessing this won't be the case. There have been many articles written about how it works, so I won't repeat.

"Plus, our studio computer is not connected to the internet. How does this affect
registration?"
You need to make a single phone call to activate Windows (you have 30 days before you have to do this). It should be a free number, and is automated, assuming you have a touch-tone phone. You are prompted to dial in your XP serial, and then given an activation code back, which you type in. The numbers are the only thing you disclose - no personal details are required. It takes about 10 minutes max. If you have any problems then you have the option of speaking to a person instead.

"Can the service packs be downloaded to a separate computer
and then transferred to the studio? I've tried this with no luck for the
updates for Win 98SE."
I think you can send for an SP1 CD, but you have to pay a small fee to cover the costs of disc+postage etc.

The only problems I've had installing XP were on a machine that had a bad stick of memory which had to be changed before XP would install. The other issue was having to turn off on-board LAN on my motherboard to install XP; after installation I could turn LAN back on with no problems.

If you are going to have any troubles, they will most likely be hardware related, but only really if you are using older PC hardware. The best thing you can do is have a look on the web to see if XP or Win2000 drivers are available for all of your various hardware components (graphics card, sound card, modem, etc).

Mike K

Geoff_Wood wrote on 11/30/2002, 12:07 AM

Check out :
http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm
http://www.musicxp.net/installing_tips.htm
http://www.nemesysmusic.com/support/W2k_XP_Optimize.pdf
http://www.musicxp.net/installing_tips.htm

I have found XP to be very stable, and it fixed some MOTU problems I'd been having with 98SE.

Install as 'Standard PC', not ACPI.

geoff

doctorfish wrote on 11/30/2002, 6:03 PM

Thanks for the information.
And there's plenty more at those websites to keep me
reading for a while.

I noticed already that the musicXP site said that installing
in ACPI mode may actually be better than Standard PC,
especially with some newer motherboards. This surprised me
because most of the other information I've seen indicates that for DAW
use, Standard PC is the way to go because of the IRQ sharing
issue.

Has the ACPI mode really been that problematic for people?
I don't remember who it was but I saw in one post here that
one user missed the prompt for F6 and so installed ACPI mode.
Can the mode be changed after it's installed or does one have
to completely reinstall XP?

Dave

ibliss wrote on 11/30/2002, 6:25 PM

Dave

ACPI - check this link:

ACPI yes or no thread on Sound On Sound PC forums

For what it's worth, I've always installed XP in ACPI mode, with no problems.

Mike K