Windows 2000

[Fox5]

I use a virtualized win2000 on my linux install for some windows only apps. It's the most modern windows without activations, so it avoids a lot of issues, plus it's fairly resource light.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: orangat
Are there going to be a security issues (if they are plugged to the net) since there aren't going to be any patches anymore from Microsoft?

Um...

Security patches are ALL MS is providing these days, and on a near-monthly basis, I might add!

W2K, properly patched and up to date, isn't gonna cause you any grief!

It's the antiquated, end-of-life, and unpatched ancillary programs, that cause security problems...

Secunia PSI will take care of all that, if you really care about such things - but it WILL require some effort on YOUR part!

If you like W2K, it's worth it...

 

[crisscross]

I would still be with Win2k if it weren't for cleartype

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: crisscross
I would still be with Win2k if it weren't for cleartype

Display Properties -> Effects -> Smooth edges of screen fonts - works just fine for me!

Screen shot (W2K Pro, ATI 9800 Pro, WordPad)

I don't see any jaggies... how about you?

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: VinDSL

Originally posted by: crisscross
I would still be with Win2k if it weren't for cleartype

Display Properties -> Effects -> Smooth edges of screen fonts - works just fine for me!

Screen shot (W2K Pro, ATI 9800 Pro, WordPad)

I don't see any jaggies... how about you?

A screen cap -especially viewed on a diff'rent display, shan't effectively demonstrate the effect.

But indeed, ClearType and Hyper-Threading were the primary reasons I bothered switching from 5.0 to 5.1. With HT having gone MIA for a generation I actually considered going back but then decided to skip it and now HT is returning with the new architecture (Nehalem).

 

[conorvansmack]

I still run it on my old Gateway notebook (Celeron 500). I don't think it could run XP effectively. I keep it around for the times that XP takes a dump. The company I work for is in the process of transitioning to new PCs with XP on them, but we've been running 2K happily for a while.

 

[Ken90630]

I still use it on a "guinea pig" machine I have. Throw on the free ZA firewall (if you don't have a router), add msconfig functionality, and you're good to go!

It's ridiculously stable. Love it. I think a lot of people, myself included, have sort of a sentimental attachment to it 'cuz it was the first OS that didn't suck , and computers could actually be fun and useful without all the frustrations associated with Win95 and 98. "This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down :evil:" -- you guys remember those? Dang, I hated those messages!

Sadly, W2K's days are numbered because more & more software now will only run on XP and Vista. I just bought Acronis True Image 2009, and it won't run on anything pre-XP. Oh well, nothing lasts forever.

Five-seven years from now there'll be threads titled "Is anyone still using Vista"?

 

[lxskllr]

I got rid of 2kpro on my bedroom computer last week. I replaced it with Ubuntu, and so far I'm fairly pleased. I've had some booting issues with regards to usb devices, but it's nice having a modern gui, and O/S to use.

 

[MadRat]

Originally posted by: Ken90630
Five-seven months from now there'll be threads titled "Is anyone still using Vista"?

fixed for ya

 

[Ken90630]

Originally posted by: MadRat

Originally posted by: Ken90630
Five-seven months from now there'll be threads titled "Is anyone still using Vista"?

fixed for ya

Heh heh ... so you're pretty confident about Windows 7 then?

 

[alexruiz]

I absolutely loved 2k. With the exception of the slower boot time, it always felt faster than XP. However, as applications increasingly refused to run on 2K, I eventually moved to XP. It wasn't even that long ago, just in 2007. My next move is to Vista AMD64, now that win7 is coming

 

[Red Squirrel]

Win2k was my favorite OS. The only reason I ever upgraded to XP was lot of stuff I wanted to do was starting to not be supported by win2k. Other then that, it's the best designed OS MS ever put out. They should of followed that trend and just add all the support for new stuff in it. By today's standards XP is not too bad either mind you, like as far as resource usage.

 

[MovingTarget]

I still run w2k pro on my home server. It is mainly used as an HTPC and FTP server, crunching Einstein@home during idle periods. I wanted to run vista, but getting the SATA controller working was a b*tch as the board/controller isn't officially supported beyond XP. Besides, as old as my equipment is, running W2k is much better due to resource use... Maybe I'll try 7 as supposedly it is less resource intensive...

See sig for machine specs...

 

[loup garou]

I've been using w2k in VMs for client BES's since earlier versions of BES weren't officially supported under 64bit OSes. Good use of old w2k licenses banging around in a drawer somewhere. Even though the latest SP of BES brought official 64 bit support to it, I've become quite comfortable with this setup and will probably continue doing so for clients that have extra w2k licenses.

What I really wish is that RIM would come up with some kind of VMWare appliance for BES I could just easily plug into a host. Probably could never happen though because of the way BES has to hook into Exchange & AD.

 

[skyking]

I have clients with about 20 win2k workstations in mixed 2k/xp pro environments. I find them easy to keep up with all the mature tools available.

 

[Madwand1]

Originally posted by: Madwand1 on 12/06/2007
I'm still running my main computer on Windows 2000...

Where'd the time go? I'm still running W2K on my primary desktop. I've sort of cheated though -- I have "secondary" machines running Vista for stuff that won't run on this aged but still working platform.

I just tried installing Chrome with a W2K hack. Too bad that didn't work. That even Google doesn't give a hoot about W2K sort of puts the nail on the coffin, except for us necros of course.

 

[Raincity]

Without IE 7 and DEP, I would be afraid to surf on a Win2K machine even fully patched.

 

[alexruiz]

Originally posted by: Raincity
Without IE 7 and DEP, I would be afraid to surf on a Win2K machine even fully patched.

I would be afraid of browsing in any OS with IE
Opera 9.64 FTW

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: Raincity
Without IE 7 and DEP, I would be afraid to surf on a Win2K machine even fully patched.

Speaking of Win2K and fully patched:

I'm on a fully patched W2K Pro machine right now!

Here's a snappy of the only proggie you'll need to be successful...

http://VinDSL.com/images/Fully_Patched.png

Absolutely amazing, it is! You can tell from the "Historic Development", how often proggies need to be patched.

Um...

And this 'patching' regimen should apply to ALL APPS and ALL OSs, not just W2K!

Because of it's age and length of service, it took me months to fully patch this machine, but it's as secure anything out there now - probably more!

EDIT: BTW, the one 'end-of-life' proggie you see listed is iTunes 7.x

My wife needs that for her iPod. If I deleted iTunes 7.x it would mark the end-of-my-life!

 

[Madwand1]

Yeah, if you've been running the same OS since around 2000 and haven't yet had a massive virus infiltration, it's certain that you're going to get infected tomorrow, the moment you open your browser. Or maybe the next day.

 

[Engineer]

Still running on my work laptop. Have no need (currently) to "upgrade" (if it is one) to XP.

 

[amddude]

Originally posted by: pcslookout
Windows 2000 was the best and most stable Microsoft OS ever. I wish Microsoft would create another os with such a small footprint because a os doesn't need to be over 1 GB. I know you can slim down xp and vista but it seems to cause more problems than its worth. I rather it just be something Microsoft does.

You need to read up on how aero saves ram.

Edit: Holy thread resurrection batman!

 

[Excelsior]

I just reinstalled Windows 2000 on an old laptop that originally came with Me, then it ran 2000, then XP. I am very glad I put 2000 back on there because it runs fairly well considering its 700MHz Celeron with 192MB ram.

 

[Texun]

I'm not using it now but I usually run it on my spare PC. I have W7 on the spare right now and 2000 will go back on when the demo is over - maybe sooner. I upped the memory to 4 gigs to try W7 but I'm also using the IPG and it's not a real speedy machine.

 

[Raincity]

Originally posted by: Raincity
Without IE 7 and DEP, I would be afraid to surf on a Win2K machine even fully patched.

My comment was made out my ignorance that IE 6 was still full of holes unpatched by MS. After reading the current IE 6 stats at Secunia it seems that IE 6 and 7 about par with each other on vulnerabilities.

VinDSL not sure what your point is. You have kept a good score like most of us have by keeping up with OS/browser/ Software updates. That still does not make you invulnerable to 0 day exploits or OS exploits that have not surfaced to vulnerability assessment firms.