Windows ME lifespan?

[BILL S]

My first computer was bought with Windows ME, and it has worked pretty much for a long time, recently I was discussing my PC attack by malware (Spyware, virus and trojan) It cost a total of $140 to clear them.
Prior to that happening this year, I had surfed the WWW since I got it and never bothered with the expense of virus software/Firewalls due to the expense of all the software. It seems I was pretty lucky for that time, but recent research shows that's part of the problem a large number of novices aid virus spreading from that perspective, among other things as well of course.

Today a guy told me everyone he knows has hated WinME and said to dump it like a hot patato, yet mine has not been a problem... instead, lack of memory expansion was. Since remedied.
This is mostly background of course, but due to that conversation, I'm wondering about WIN ME's time on the market and why it was seen as a problem iteration of Windows.... What would cause the negative experiences? I found Win 98 2nd ed to be less then expected, as far as working with digital images, and ME offers me thumbnails and more pic type (file extentions) recognition, for example.
BILL

[ShaneMcP]

Windows ME is dead for the most part. It was how do you say something Microsoft doesn't like to talk about lol. I'm pretty sure they have stopped doing security updates for it, if they haven't thats likely to come about soon. Something like after 7 years they stop supporting an OS. Anyways your real problem is problem Spyware/Adware, not viruses. There are some pretty cheap Anti-virus programs out there (Zone Alarm, etc). But most decent Anti-spyware/adaware programs are free. Try downloading spybot and adaware, both very good programs for removing spyware and adware. Make sure you update them often though.

Program Recommendations: Spybot, Adaware, Zone Alarm

Hope this helps

Shane McP

[BILL S]

Well, I think I mentioned the guy I talked with saying he heard only bad things... What went wrong with ME's development over 98 SE? I found having the thumbnails for my pic folders one of the most needed advances from that OS. I never really had a problem until early in the year when I got the infected Spyware... however, earlier there were shutoffs from dialup and some small strange quirks I can't recall specifically, however, nothing like the Spyware/Trojan that shut my PC down to the point I had to take it in to get at my harddrive programs and get it to boot to the desktop properly. Geek Squad did the work for me and told me it was a rather new Trojan, but they were amazed as well I had been using AOL for several years without an anti-virus program. Seems as of late, the threats are ever-present.
I recently updated my new XP computer that was never used until I got it, a year after it came out, so things needed some updating. I noted they had updates still available for Win ME and 98 until June 2006. How often should I log to do this for these two systems, etc?
I am a bit new at anything concerning tweaking the computers' default specs, but it's certainly useful to know

BILL

[ShaneMcP]

I would check for updates every month (or even every week if you want), most likely there are not very many people working on this, so there won't be many updates.

You may want to switch to a newer operating system (if your machine can support it), the newer ones have many more security measures, plus software is getting to the point, or will eventually get to the point, where they won't be supported by operating systems earlier than 2000. I know for a fact that Microsoft Anti-spyware won't run on windows 98, and probably won't run on any of your operating systems. The best and most recent software is always available for newer operating systems. This is unfortunate, but important to be aware of.

About ME, I'm pretty sure they rushed it out when it wasn't completely ready, which is why they released windows 2000 later. ME = millenium edition, 2000 = the new millenium lol. Not a coincidence there

[BILL S]

Thanks to this info, I'm looking at upgrading it upon updating for now (while online at Microsofts' site). I am thinking of selling this (700Mhz Celeron w/ 30Gig HDD) but one thing I've found is the eMachine Restore discs for WinME with included programs will/would not boot up when I had my problems with Malware/Spyware.
It says it has expired and requires an update, online I imagine, with the newer OSes
Any ideas on the case behind this?
Bill

[ShaneMcP]

I would imagine the bootup discs wouldn't require any updates because they came with the PC when you got it. In other words, you had no updates. Also those discs should probably be booted to, not just inserted while in windows. Restart your computer and change the boot order so that cdrom is the number 1 item. Then, when given the option, boot to the cdrom.

FYI: Normally a computer boots to the hard drive and loads the OS and such, when installing an OS or recovering you usually boot to the CDROM or floppy.

You could try to cell the pc, you could upgrade to XP if you have it available. It would run moderatly well on a 733, although a celeron im not sure. You could always put the hard drive into your main machine. 30 gigs is quite useful.

I'm not sure if you are trying to say if your spyware problem is fixed. Are you spyware free?

ShaneMcP

[BILL S]

I had just downloaded a Win ME update off the official site, then when restarted, my computer boots to the desktop pic but nothing further. I'm told ME has crashed by Geek Squad and could be reinstalled at a price, over $100, or reinstall a new OS, likely losing all data on the HDD.
At present, I'm likely to shelve this among other items needing money to fix. Was hoping to sell after I saved my data I wanted to keep off the HDD.
BILL

[ShaneMcP]

You can easily backup your data if you buy something like a :

Adaptec USB 2.0 Hard Drive Enclosure Kit

You can get these from newegg.com or even bestbuy. You just plug your windows ME harddrive into it and plug it into your other computer. Then you can just copy and paste the data yourself. Itll save you some money for sure. Plus its really cool and good to have

Goodluck

Shane

[BILL S]

You can easily backup your data if you buy something like a :

Adaptec USB 2.0 Hard Drive Enclosure Kit

you can just copy and paste the data yourself. Itll save you some money for sure. Plus its really cool and good to have

Goodluck

Shane

Not much 'good luck' for me. I recently bought a DL NEC DVD RW drive that came enclosed in a 'generic' Mass Storage IDE drive 2.0 case. I swapped the drive for my 20GB HDD, hooked to my new PC, it presented the orange triangle exclamation point in the Device Manager. Made a couple attempts to load drivers from the disc (booted to directory only, mentioned driver found already was adaquite. I them rebooted in case that was the problem, The DM then said it could read the USB connection as Mass Storage, but it didn't show up in my list of drives, via My Computer.
I have since reloaded ME on my first computer, clearing all previous files and updates, sadly (and MADly haha) and have had more problems with my second PC using Win98SE, that was a wrongly set FSB error adding to a previous error listed as Explorer.exe, or some DLL file corrupted!

I've had to download a trial version of the photo editor I was using before, and likely have to buy to replace. Also JUST bought a Windows XP Pro full OS package off eBay, but the seller responds in poor english and has me a bit worried. Hopefully no more costly problems ensue
BILL

[Rueful Rogue]

For what it's worth, I've been using Win Me since October 2000. I've kept it updated manually (and by auto update), kept updated AV software and a firewall (both Norton). I use Spybot S&D, AdAware, and Spyware Blaster as well. I typically run the spyware stuff a few times per month and the AV weekly. I'm still using Win Me even though I don't like it. It often refuses to release my RAM and causes me to have to reboot. ("Not enough memory to run this program" error.) I only have 384MB RAM. Reason I'm still using Me is that my Dell computer will not support XP and I'm now waiting for Vista to come out before buying a new one. I want to be sure that every piece of hardware will support Vista.

If you are running your PC on a wideband ISP hookup (cable, DSL, wireless, etc.) you should have a personal firewall of some sort in addition to AV protection. A slow running or crashing PC often indicates a bug and they come in via hackers using Trojans. The firewall will stealth your PC's ports and protect you. The AV and spyware will assure you are clean if updated before every use and used regularily. They are really easy to use and you won't have to pay someone to clean up your PC.

One other comment, I'd be wary of purchasing any software from private individuals over the Internet. You could be getting a pirated copy and when you attempt to upgrade it or ask for assistance, MS will not support it. Rather, they could take legal action. (When you go to Windows Update, the MS web site scans your PC to identify your OS. It also looks at the registration key codes and compares that against it's database.)

[BILL S]

It often refuses to release my RAM and causes me to have to reboot. ("Not enough memory to run this program" error.) I only have 384MB RAM. Reason I'm still using Me is that my Dell computer will not support XP

Is it a laptop? That seems odd, coming from Dell. I like to keep my HDD free of most clutter, and my own ME came with my new eMachine at the time. Until I was attacked by a new trojan & spyware, I'd been surfing with the same computer for literally years without any thought of lost data or unstable OS problems. I actually like ME's layout graphically, and improvement over 95 and 98. I can see thumbnails and use MovieMaker that I can't with earlier versions, so I was happy for some time. Now, under AOL's 9.0, the McAfee service seems even better then it was initially and has caught some problems in the pipeline already. I can't afford a security subscription to numerous services, but Norton is good as well.
I can only expand to 256MB, so I'm worried in just that context of using WinXP, but I think I may update to XP anyway, I have the software upgrade version ALSO got off eBay for only $65!! Not bad. Got XP Pro auction at $70, the full version

BILL

[Rueful Rogue]

The Dell PC is a Dimension XPS B1000 running at 1.0 GHz (P3) with 384MB RDRAM. At the time of purchase, it was the biggest baddest box they offered. Just 12 months later, Window XP was offered and I purchased the upgrade, but my PC would not take it. I had numerous problems. After about 3 weeks of talking to Dell, I found out that the main issue was my BIOS would not support XP. I also had problems with my sound and modem cards (I had a dialup ISP at that time). All were OEM, so upgrades to the BIOS and drivers had to come from Dell. Dell told me they were not going to provide any upgrades and that I should buy another PC if I wanted to go to XP (I have all this in writing from them). Needless to say, I was frustrated having just purchased the PC a year before with a 3 year extended warranty. So I've just limped by since Oct 2000. The computer performs fairly well, except for the RAM problem. I think that is related to the Win Me OS. I've heard others complain about it too. I often have multiple applications open at one time (my e-mail client, IE, MS Word, MS Excel, and perhaps MS Publisher). They seem to work OK, but if I close them, and then later reopen them, I start to run into the RAM problems. I've had this problem with all applications closed and then trying to re-open my e-mail client. So the RAM is not being released after use. Rebooting is the only solution. My HDD is also free of clutter. I have a 40 GB drive with about 50% free. I use Norton System Works regularily to clean up not only the HD but also the registry, and the OS which often is cluttered with bad shortcuts, etc. I defrag regularily and run a B/Up to an external 300 GB HD also regularily. Being a retired engineer, I like things in order and I'm fairly literate when it comes to PC's. My RAM will expand up to 512MB but I don't want to spend the money since I'm planning on replacing the PC next year. RDRAM comes at a price and I'll have to dump a 128MB stick and buy a 256MB stick to replace it, to get there (only 2 banks). The next PC I buy will be capable of at least 4MB of RAM (8MB if I can find one) and I will fill it up at purchase.

I've been watching this forum for information on hardware requirements for the new Vista OS, and I subscribe to 3 PC magazines and a technical IT newspaper. My plan is to determine the best possible configuration and build a white box PC (no name brands). That way I'll be sure that I have one that is fully upgradeable (hardware & software). I definitely will not buy another Dell. Next time around, I'll get exactly what I want.

By the way, I've heard that Microsoft will continue to support Windows Me for about another year and then drop support for it also. (no upgrades, no patches, ect.) You'll still find all the old documentation on their help & support site, but they will not be adding any new info after that period.

[Lightninghawk]

Windows ME. Why don't people upgrade or degrade? Why doesn't Microsoft take it off the shelf and act like it never exsisted? I mean after all of the problems and gliches and user complaints and everything, it's almost an embarrassment to Microsoft. Yet I walked into a computer store here just the other day and there sat ME on the shelf :S?

:::::

On another note. Dell Has always treated me fairly well. and I have to deal with them a lot. I am basically the tech support for the college I attend, and all they use is dell's so I'm constantly going around having to call dell and get things straighted out. (some teachers can be sooo... hmm.. dumb.. sometimes.)

And the computer I have at the house is a dell. The only real problem I've had with any dell product is the beautiful 21" monitor at home that gives out on me :(

[Rueful Rogue]

I agree with you (Lightninghawk) on Win Me. As you read in my post above, I wanted to go to XP, but would have had to spend more money on another PC. The Dell package I purchased just 12 months before XP came out cost me over $4,000. I sure as heck was not prepared to buy another one at that point. Then XP had mucho problems, so I waited. When SP2 came out, I almost made a move, and then I heard about Longhorn (now Vista), so I went back to waiting. After all, 64 bit technology is much better than 32 bit and there will be a lot of improvements and new products out by the time Vista hits the shelves. I expect to see 512MB graphics cards, 10K RPM hard drives, DDR3 memory sticks, and more to become part of off the shelve PC by the end of next year. Now that's what I'm talking about!!!!!!

[just_a_nobody]

You forgot to mention microsoft's 200+ updates that are sure to come with the new system.