Does Windows ME cause problems?
2 May 2006 15:03:48 UTC
Topic 191166
(moderation:
Is anyone successfully running BOINC on Windows ME?
I got my hands on a CeleronD motherboard and CPU (2.93 GHz). Not the greatest CPU but I thought it would make a great BOINC box. So I put it in an old case, plug in 256 megs of RAM, hook up an old hard drive and install a spare license of Windows ME. I download/install the latest motherboard drivers and install BOINC. Everything worked... for a while.
I checked on it a few hours later and the PC was totally locked up. It's reproducible, it keeps happening after running BOINC for a few hours. It's not heat. The case is wide open and the CPU doesn't get above 38 degrees.
I've run BOINC successfully on many PCs running XP and 98se but this is my first attempt with Windows ME. Am I right to suspect ME? Or is there another possible cause?
Does Windows ME cause problems?
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With ME's support being pulled so long ago, it may be the problem. Not many updates to help with the newer hardware, etc.
Microsoft admitted that ME was a mistake, and they killed the support, etc. for it pretty quickly. 98 was supported longer because of this.
Run test programs (Prime95 and Memtest86+ both come to mind), and see if there is any stability issues, but my money is on ME being the issue.
RE: Am I right to suspect
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Windoze ME IS a problem! It's the likely origin of the comment "Windows is the only virus you pay for". I had it a long time ago, but not for long, due to an average time between crashes of about 36 hours! A classic example of getting the users to do product testing...... :-(
Cheers, Mike.
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
Alright, I found the problem.
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Alright, I found the problem. It was caused by a combination of Windows ME, BOINC, and AVG. After uninstalling AVG the problem went away. Now I'll have to dig up my Norton CD though. The combination of BOINC and AVG never caused me problems on other Windows versions.
I know ME was perhaps the worst of the Windows versions but I'm all out of XP licenses and had an ME disk lying around... Must keep things legal after all.
Instead of norton, you might
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Instead of norton, you might want to try avast. Its free, and IMO much less flakey than AVGs become.
Also, if you have a win98 cd available, you are allowed to downgrade oses. The winME licence will also allow you to run 95 or 98. IIRC 2k and xp allow downgrading across the 9x and nt kernels to 95/NT4. xp64 cannot be downgraded to a 32bit os though. I'm not sure why, considering the alpha/nonexistant state of win64 drivers for lots of hardware you're more likely to have an issue with it than with any win32 version.
RE: ....if you have a win98
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If you have the option, then try the "OEM R2" version of Win98. It was the most stable in my experience....
Cheers, Mike.
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
RE: RE: Am I right to
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Ehm, i'm running ME and i have no problems with this OS. ;)
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