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Windows Me Review

Company: Microsoft
Website: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/
Estimated Street Price: $89.99, $49.99 for Registered Windows 98 users
System Requirements
Review By: Arie Slob

Microsoft insists that this is the last version of the Windows 9.* code. The next version (currently in beta testing, and listening to the code name "Whistler") should merge the Windows 9.* code with the Windows NT (now Windows 2000 code), and "kill" the underlying MS-DOS once and for all.

Upgrade?

Microsoft decided to make Windows Me available for users as an upgrade to their Windows 9.* systems. My personal opinion is that Microsoft decided to make Windows Me available as an upgrade, because of the flack they received when they didn't make the OSR upgrades available to existing Windows 95 users in the past.

Does this mean that you might want to upgrade?

Again, my personal advice would be not to upgrade, unless your PC is less than 6 months old. If you upgrade an older machine, you will notice a considerable slowdown of your computing experience.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Microsoft decided to make a special offer for Windows 98 and 98 Second Edition users, whereby you can upgrade to Windows Me for a discounted price of $59.95. This offer will be available till 15 January 2001.

If you are getting a new computer, I advise you to make sure it ships with Windows Me, or that your hardware vendor will give you a free upgrade once Me is out.

Clean install or Update

As you may know, I always advise to do a clean install whenever possible. Windows Me is an exception. If you have older hardware, you may find that Me doesn't have the right drivers for you. Upgrading a previous Windows 9.x install will preserve your drivers, so it gives you an advantage. Depending on your level of experience, I'd suggest an update of Windows 9.x.

Running Windows Me Setup

When you run the Windows Me setup, this time, do not skip the part where you are asked to create a start-up disk. Since Me does away with real-mode MS-DOS, you will need to have a start-up disk.

You should expect the set-up program to take around 45 minutes, depending on your CPU speed.

When Windows Me boots for the first time, you will notice a decreased boot-up time. Windows Me no longer processes either Autoexec.bat nor Config.sys, thus reducing the boot time. On a new system, where Me is installed by the OEM, Me can boot in under 30 seconds.

Once you arrive at the Desktop, you will notice that it resembles the Windows 2000 desktop in many ways. Color scheme & Icons are shared by both OS'es.

No more DOS?

Microsoft decided to do away with MS-DOS as much as possible. This decreases boot and shutdown times, and reduces overall problems (you should see less of the so-called "blue screens of death").

But MS-DOS is still there. If you have old software that needs to run in an MS-DOS window, you can do so. Real mode DOS (rebooting and choosing MS-DOS mode) is not available however.

You can still make a bootable floppy disk, even if others want you to believe otherwise. Just format a disk, navigate to the \Windows\Command\Ebd folder, and copy IO.SYS and COMMAND.COM to your floppy.

This way you can easily update your BIOS, although the major motherboard manufacturers are currently developing ways to let you update the BIOS from within Windows itself.

A New GUI (Graphical User Interface)

As stated above, Windows Me "borrowed" many Windows 2000 functions/enhancements.

Some of the more obvious ones (except the color scheme & icons) are:

Internet Explorer

Windows Me ships with Internet Explorer 5.5 tightly integrated with the OS. IE 5.5's advantages over previous versions are an optimized HTML engine (this should speed-up the display of Web pages), and a Print-Preview feature, which lets you preview how a document will be printed.

Then there are a number of additions which are mainly used by HTML developers, such as updated DHTML and CSS support.

Outlook Express (Windows' mail client) now includes a "read receipt" feature, which can alert you when an email you've sent has been read by its recipient

Windows also includes MSN Messenger Service 2.2, a tool that enables users to see which friends are online and chat instantly with them by exchanging instant messages.

System Enhancements

Windows Me offers a few enhancements which could make an appealing case to upgrade.

The most important is the System Restore function. With System Restore, you can "roll back" your system to a previous date, when you're sure that your system was working properly. This would allow you to restore your system if you installed a new piece of software, and after a day or two, you find out that it interferes with the way your system operates.

Improved Power Management. A new "hibernate" feature offers you to hibernate your computer quickly. Using hibernate, your computer's memory will be saved on the hard disk and the computer will shut down; turning on your computer will restore your windows desktop and the software you were running in a few seconds.

Auto update. The Auto update feature silently detects available updates for the system when you are connected to the Internet and alerts you to let you decide if you want to download them. Windows Me also features the same driver-signing feature as Windows 2000, which ensures that the drivers you're trying to install were tested and certified by Microsoft for Windows Me compliancy.

System File Protection. The system files of Windows Me are protected so vital files cannot be deleted or corrupted at all. For example, if an applications setup procedure does overwrite one of these files with its own copy, SFP will simply restore the correct version.

PCHealth. Windows Me comes with a new 'help & support' center that allows users to get answers to their problems by consulting the online help through a user-friendly interface. It is also possible to submit a technical problem directly to a Microsoft Tech support engineer through the net and get answers directly through this applet.

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Last Updated: August 22, 2000