Life With Me: First 100 Days

Stable, but Incompatible

Similar incompatibilities cause other "no-run" situations. Windows Me's System File Protection feature makes the OS more stable by monitoring key system files in real time to ensure that no one--and no program--changes them. Several applications that want to change those files therefore can't run under Windows Me. The vendors of most such apps have released Windows Me-compatible upgrades, but typically you must pay for the new versions.

Finally, some readers report that Windows Me failed to identify and install drivers for several of Microsoft's own mice and keyboards. This problem extends to the company's software, too. For example, although he was satisfied overall with Windows Me, reader Troy Clarke reports that his keyboard began to malfunction after he installed Microsoft's Internet Explorer 5.5 Service Pack 1.

Healing the Hurt

Clarke was undaunted by the update snafu with Internet Explorer 5.5, however. In previous versions of Windows, attempting to remove an Internet Explorer version upgrade or service pack didn't always succeed--the bugs checked in, but they didn't check out.

This time around, instead of uninstalling Service Pack 1, Clarke simply rolled the system back to its pre-SP1 state, using Windows Me's new System Restore feature. Dozens of readers lauded System Restore's ability to undo buggy software installations.

"System Restore alone is worth the price of the upgrade," writes Douglas Emerick of Langhorne, Pennsylvania. When an application that he installed somehow disabled his computer's USB ports, Emerick says, System Restore saved him hours of troubleshooting.

But not everyone in our informal survey had a good experience with System Restore. "It didn't work," reports Gene Adamski of St. Augustine, Florida, adding that a dialog box simply announced that the system could not be restored, providing no further explanation. Other users say that they had to disable System Restore because it demanded too much space on their hard disk.

In addition, many of the readers grouse about Windows Media Player 7, calling it a slow, crash-prone memory hog that has proved to be no match for such leaner, meaner players as MusicMatch Jukebox, RealPlayer, and Winamp--or even for previous versions of Media Player itself.

Likewise, readers report little interest in the limited Movie Maker video-editing software, with many objecting to the fact that the operating system installs it by default. Others grumbled about how it saves video only in a proprietary Microsoft file format.

As if software incompatibilities and lackluster extras were not enough, Windows Me's reduced MS-DOS support angers other readers. Many of them express confusion over the details: You can still run DOS programs, open a DOS prompt Window, and issue certain commands, but you cannot boot the computer directly to a DOS prompt (except from a start-up floppy disk that you can make from within Me), and you cannot reboot in MS-DOS Mode.

Doesn't Do DOS

Windows experts who were accustomed to using DOS text commands for backing up, editing, and restoring the Windows Registry in previous versions can do so no more.

And those are not the only command-line tools that won't work in a DOS box under Windows. Many of the existing antivirus, disk-maintenance, and hardware-configuration utilities won't function with Windows Me either.

Upgrade Resistant

For some readers, such fundamental changes are reason enough not to upgrade. Donald Matschull, business manager for a church in Plano, Texas, says he's not interested in Me because it means training people to use and support a new OS.

Matschull says he'll resist replacing his aging Windows 95A- and 98A-based machines as long as new computers are available only with Windows Me or Windows 2000 preinstalled. He resents the way the industry abandons old OSs when new ones come along. "I question the efficiency of new technology that forces workers to relearn procedures they already know," he comments.

With readers reporting such a broad range of experiences, it's hard to offer definitive advice to prospective upgraders. At the very minimum, you should take a careful look at Microsoft's step-by-step upgrade guide before you buy Windows Me. In particular, visit the hardware compatibility guide. In addition, be sure to download and install the latest Windows Me-compatible drivers for your hardware, if they are available.

Caution: Don't Burn Your Bridges

If you do decide to perform the upgrade, be careful not to skip the steps that enable you to return to your current version. More than one respondent to the PC World survey lived to regret their failure to back up the old configuration and drivers before performing a clean install.