Vegas 5 does NOT have WinXP as one of its requirements. It DOES require Win2K, WinXP or anything newer. You'll need to get rid of Win98 to use Vegas 5. Win98se and WinME are no longer allowable options.

> I'm not interested in upgrading my operating system

You must understand that Microsoft no longer supports your operating system. Software developers cannot get their drivers certified anymore, and Microsoft won’t help if they have issues. You are on your own!

I would strongly recommend that you upgrade your computer to a supported Microsoft operating system or watch more and more software leave you behind. Blame Microsoft, not Sony. I appreciate the fact that it may require you to upgrade your hardware as well, but look at it this way, if your PC can’t run XP, it wasn’t gonna run Vegas 5 on Win98SE either!

~jr

I don't believe it is just because they do not want to - network rendering requires more security than win98 can offer.

Thanks for the answers. Your points are well-taken.

It should be noted that Microsoft has extended support for Win98, so I am still able to get support, though I acknowledge that developers have different considerations.

My real problem is a bunch of legacy hardware (not software) that may or may not work properly after an OS upgrade. Add that risk to the replacement costs and the potential downtime, and the equation for upgrade doesn't work just yet.

As you probably know, getting your production system just the way you want it -- and with everything working -- is a delicate process. I can't afford (time or money) to upset that balance right now. So I guess it means I'll stick with VV3, which still meets all of my essential needs.

Thanks for the help!

Rick
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I would suggest that you get the upgrade to Vegas 4.0. The color correction tools are worth it. That has been the biggest improvement I can think of since Vegas 3.0. Usable improvements from version 3.0 to 4.0 are better than 4.0 to 5.0 IMO so save your money. I would buy DVDA 2.0 if I could, but of course to get that program you have to buy Vegas 5.0 and spend the money uograding your hardware and OS, etc. Not worth it.

John

My real problem is a bunch of legacy hardware (not software) that may or may not work properly after an OS upgrade. Add that risk to the replacement costs and the potential downtime, and the equation for upgrade doesn't work just yet.

XP Pro has much better support for hardware then most poeple think.

If you do make the change to XP do not install over win98, you should do a full/clean install. You will much better results this way.
Also if can swing it, I would suggest a new hard drive for XP that way you could fall back or dual boot.
Or you could just go get a new G5 and FCP ..... (hehe)

Hunter

Come on in to the 21st century - don't be scared - it's not as bad as you might think!

Win 98 is crap, dog-doodo, horse manure, the preverbial unsayable "S" word - believe me you NEED XP. Multi-media works faster and better and the interface is much improved over 98, ME, 2000 etc.

Don't be shy - go for it.

Come on in to the 21st century - don't be scared - it's not as bad as you might think!

Win 98 is crap, dog-doodo, horse manure, the preverbial unsayable "S" word - believe me you NEED XP. Multi-media works faster and better and the interface is much improved over 98, ME, 2000 etc.

Don't be shy - go for it.
===================
W98SE uses less resources. It also is much less crash prone than Windows XP. Windows XP is also NOT faster clock for clock. I don't know where you got your opinions of W98 unless if and when you had W98, you had a computer which was "crap or dog-doodo or the unsayable "S" word".
If the original poster does not want to "upgrade" his OS and his hardware, yet wants an improvement over Vegas 3.0 without spending a lot of money I believe my recommendation to upgrade to Vegas 4.0 is a sound one. The improvements from Vegas 3.0 to 4.0 were more useful to the "average "videographer than 4.0 to 5.0 would be. Moreover, Vegas has always done a seamless job of stitching together multiple 4GB video files.
Reading all the posts here lately confirms this for me so I would feel remiss in badgering the poster to spend all that money when I don't think he will reap any great benefit.

However, if he were to describe his needs in much greater detail, then your rather "eloquent" argument MIGHT be a sound one.

John

It [Win 98 SE] also is much less crash prone than Windows XP.

I had Win 98 SE crash on an almost regular basis. I've had Win XP Pro since it's release and it has never crashed. It's a far more stable OS than Win 98 SE ever was, at least in my expreince!

J--

Moving from Win98SE to 2000 on my uber-computer (at that time a P4-1500) led to a very noticeable performance increase with no hardware changes; moving the same PC to XP caused a tiny performance hit over 2000 until I added memory, which brought it back to the same level as 2000. My rough rule of thumb has become: if your computer has at least a 400 MHz processor, upgrading from Win98SE to 256MB of RAM and Windows XP will cause a noticeable performance improvement--if you can get Windows 2000, the boost can be had with only 128MB. And the improvement in stability with either is more than worth the cost of the upgrade, both hardware and software.

If you're experiencing crashes on a regular basis with XP or 2000, it is definitely a hardware (or third-party software) issue, because these operating systems are rock-solid even under heavy stress. The only occurrence of a blue screen I've had under XP was traced to a bad stick of RDRAM; when I replaced the RAM, the errors disappeared.

Bottom line: as long as you can get drivers for your legacy hardware (and MS has an upgrade compatibility wizard that will point out any potential trouble spots before you proceed), the upgrade to XP/2000 is worth it.

And if you CAN'T get drivers for some device, chances are even the ones you're using on 98 are obsolete...

Thanks for the discussion. Some responses...

"Come on in to the 21st century - don't be scared - it's not as bad as you might think!"

No fear here, just pure practicality. Down time means money, and I upgrade whenever it's appropriate and affordable (hence my original question). My defnition of "appropriate" and "affordable" will differ from yours. $149 for Vegas 5 looked pretty good until I realized I would need at minimum a new OS, and at maximum a new system and a bunch of replacement gear.

"Win 98 is crap, dog-doodo, horse manure, the preverbial unsayable "S" word - believe me you NEED XP."

If my system were crashing on even a semi-regular basis, of if it were maddeningly slow, I would dump Win98 in a heartbeat. The great thing (or problem, depending on your point of view) is that my system simply NEVER crashes. Not ever. This is the most stable configuration I've ever owned. It runs for days and days without a reboot. You can understand why I might hesitate to upset that.

"Moving from Win98SE to 2000 on my uber-computer (at that time a P4-1500) led to a very noticeable performance increase with no hardware changes;"

This is interesting, and I will look into it.

"And if you CAN'T get drivers for some device, chances are even the ones you're using on 98 are obsolete..."

Not only are they obsolete, some of the companies are long gone. I'm replacing stuff as my budget and work schedule allow, but it's a slow process.

Thanks again!

Rick
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here's a solution with the best of all workds......

1. But a new computer with XP.

2. Network it to your old computer so you can still use your old peripherals.

3. Try moving the old things to the new system as time permits. If and when they all play on the Xp system (or you replace them with new hardware) you cna then shut down the old '98 system.

Sorry - I just realized that your asking about 98, not ME. 98SE is so old I wouldn't touch it. I believe Microsoft has stopped supporting it.

I'll leave my original post up - just in case you were thinking about ME ;-)

Never tried running Vegas on ME, but I don't think it would be a good idea.

WinME was and still is a nightmare for video work. The boys up in Redmond
tried to pack the OS with all kinds of multimedia goodies and automatic
features. These mutimedia features would constantly conflict with drivers
for video capture cards. I can't begin to tell you how often we would get
tech support calls from folks who finally got their system going, only to
have ME install new drivers over it.

Do not use WinME if you plan on doing video editing or DVD production. Go
with XP. If you are parnoid about XP "spying" on you, then get Win2K.

Gary
Videoguys.com