Last updated on: April 14, 2007
Windows XP Original Release
Operating System Issues
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PROBLEM LIST Last update 8/15/04
Listed below are problems we have found. Click on each to see how I fixed or got around it.
- IOMEGA ZIP Drive - Parallel Port Does not work (3/26/02)
- SCSI Scanner
- Formatting Floppy Discs (2/22/02)
- File Sharing and Permissions in XP (click refresh)
Office XP Issues
OUTLOOK 2002
On our Windows 98 machine we used either the INBOX or Outlook 97 for our e-mail and FAX Client. INBOX and Microsoft FAX are GONE in XP.
Outlook 2002 is nearly identical to Outlook Express, which is nothing like Outlook 97. Click here for detailed instructions on how to setup BOTH e-mail and FAX with XP. Other items discussed are:
- IMPORTing your E-mail Addresses & FAX
Telephone numbers (a life saver!)
- Creating E-mail Accounts
- Setting up a Scanner for FAXing
Corrupted "Add-ins" can cause Outlook to crash. I took me a year to find a soultion to this problem and Microsoft was no help. Click here for the details.
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WORKING WITH MS WORD 2002
- Better turn on "Word 97 Compatibility." WORD 2002 "fights with you." MS has the audacity to dictate what you need to do, so they have the soft- ware automatically try to read YOUR mind as interpreted by a "geek!" It is another loss of produc- tivity restoring what the software changes.
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IT RUNS DIFFERENTLY:
XP runs your software differently! ALL 32-bit programs can independently and pre-emptively schedule XP resouces. They run pretty good.
All 16-bit applications are treated as one 32-bit program, share that resource, and run with a 32-bit emulator. Their behavior is more sluggish and 16-drivers can be horrible.
When running DOS programs, XP shuts down everything else and gives them the whole machine. This action can be a disaster if your machine is a Server. It STOPS Serving!
The New XP Desktop is inefficient. If you want perform-ance switch "Themes" to "Classic" Windows Desktop.
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WORKING WITH MS EXCEL 2002
- Does not save files using DB4 formatting in the identical manner as 97: cannot setup Numeric fields. If you use Character Column header you will always get a Character Field.
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DISABLE UNWANTED XP Services
There is a lot of crap in XP that really slows things done. To get a recommended litst of what/how to remove them click here.
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Microsoft SPY ware
Microsoft added features to XP that report info about you or you activities to centralized databases. 11 of these programs are described in a white paper.
For example, Windows Media Payer reports evert DVD movie you play and how you play it.
This info is sent when you log onto the Internet. You need to use a stronger firewall than that provided in XP (wolf watching the sheep). Try Zone Alarm.
Microsoft's Trojan horse is SvcHost.exe
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REPAIRING A CORRUPTED PRINT DRIVER
Problem: No DOS programs would print, whereas Windows programs printed fine. Uninstalling and re-installing Printer Ports and Software would not fix the problem. We had dive into the REGISTRY.
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COMPATIBILITY Last update 8/15/06
Listed below are problems we have found.
- ProComm - nothing is compatible.
- PC Anywhere - only V10.5 & later work.
- Lantastic - V8.01 runs but is not fully compatible.
- Business Works can not print to non-DOS capa-
ble printers, unless you set the DOS printer as
the default printer.
