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Problems with Windows ME (Millennium Edition)
Chances are that if you have Windows ME
installed on your computer you've encountered problems with it. If you've
upgraded from Windows 98 to Windows ME, I'm surprised you made it to this
website!
So what's the Problem?
Windows ME has one big problem. It has what computer scientists call a memory hole. While using Windows ME you may have noticed that after a few hours of usage your system starts running very slowly. Windows may even display a notice informing you that you are running low on memory. Even if you add more memory (RAM) to your system it will not correct this problem, and I'll explain why.
In Windows ME there exists a memory hole that is created whenever you open and close a program. When you close a program after using it, Windows ME does not completely flush out all of the resources that the program was using. When you open another program, it then has to operate on less memory than the previous one. If you exit that program and open another the problem persists. If you can understand that, you can imagine how fast you can run out of memory space if you have several programs open at once.
Ok, I have Windows ME, it Stinks, How do I fix it?
Sorry, but you're going to have to spend some money. Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade (Blue Box) , does an pretty good upgrade from Windows ME to XP. XP has a few glitches here and there, but most are barely noticeable in my opinion, and the memory hole is non-existent in XP since it is based on Windows NT's infrastructure. Windows XP also does a configuration check before it installs, be sure to pay attention to any notes it displays. Also, you may want to visit website of any hardware device that Windows XP detects might be a problem (i.e. if you have a Creative Labs sound card, go to www.creativelabs.com and download the updates, if any. If you use a modem or high speed Internet connection, make sure you have the windows XP compatible drivers for those items as well... because if you're modem doesn't work in XP, it will be easy simply to install the updated driver to bring it back online.) Roxio (Adaptec) Easy CD Creator users will need to upgrade to version 5.0 and download the update to 5.1 from the Roxio website.
---Steve
E-mail me if you have further questions contact Steve Baham here.