128MB RAM bare minimum for Win2K?

resteves:<P>You've asked this several times already.<P><ol><BR><LI>The 9x management guys managed to eke out a mandate for a final project from billg.<BR><LI>W2K isn't quite as consumer friendly as it could be. Imagine explaining file permissions, disk compression, logins, kerberos, administrators, event logs, service packs and so on to grannies who can barely remember their grandchildrens' phone numbers, much less their secure thirteen character alphanumeric password with half uppercase and half lowercase<BR></ol><P>And yes, I know that a nice'n friendly FAT32, auto-logon enabled, self-updating, easy-to-use version of W2K is only a few man-years away. That's what Neptune is all about. But it ain't here yet.

<BR>I realize I have asked similar questions, but I keep getting different answers. People keep saying that W2k is the be-all OS, and has no drawbacks.<P>

W2K is (probably) twice as expensive as Millennium? W2K has features that are useless for home use? Would you buy a $5,000 network-enabled departmental color laser printer that can do 30 page per minute to print, in your home, a greeting card to your grandma?

Well, resteves, if simplicity is greatly appealing to you, then Win2K might not be your favorite OS. But for the power user who isn't fond of Linux or the BeOS, it really is the ultimate platform.

<B>Windows 2000 has recommended 64MB of RAM, not 128. Here's a cut from the ACTUAL windows 2000 professional CD-ROM</B><P><I>**********************************************************************<BR> Release Notes for Setup, <BR> Part 1<BR> Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional <BR>**********************************************************************<P> (c) 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.<P>When installing a new operating system, you need to make several<BR>choices. The Windows 2000 Setup wizard and this readme series guide<BR>you through these choices. You also learn how to connect your computer<BR>to a network. <P>======================================================================<BR>Before You Begin<BR>======================================================================<P>When you set up Windows 2000, you have to provide information about<BR>how you want to install the operating system. The procedures in this<BR>readme series help you provide necessary information. To ensure a<BR>successful installation, you should complete the following tasks-which<BR>are described in the sections that follow-before you install <BR>Windows 2000:<P> * Make sure your hardware components meet the minimum requirements.<BR> * Obtain Windows 2000-compatible hardware and software, such as<BR> upgrade packs, new drivers, and so on.<BR> * Obtain network information.<BR> * Back up your current files before upgrading, in case you need to<BR> restore your current operating system.<BR> * Determine whether you want to perform an upgrade or install a new<BR> copy of Windows.<BR> * If you're installing a new copy, identify and plan for any<BR> advanced Setup options you might want.<P>Important: Before you begin, you should also read the file<BR>Read1st.txt, which is on the Windows 2000 Professional CD. This file<BR>contains late-breaking information that was unavailable when this book<BR>and Windows 2000 Help were written, including preinstallation notes<BR>vital to the success of your installation.<P>This readme series describes how to run Setup and install <BR>Windows 2000 on a single computer. Alternative methods for <BR>installing Windows 2000 are detailed in the resources below.<P>For more information about the deployment process and automated<BR>installation tools, see the Windows 2000 Professional Resource Kit. <P>----------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>Meeting Hardware Requirements<BR>----------------------------------------------------------------------<P>Before you install Windows 2000, make sure your computer meets the<BR>following minimum hardware requirements:<P> * 133 MHz Pentium or higher microprocessor (or equivalent).<BR> Windows 2000 Professional supports up to two processors<BR> on a single computer.<BR> * 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM recommended minimum. <BR> 32 MB of RAM is the minimum supported. 4 gigabytes (GB) of <BR> RAM is the maximum.<BR> * A 2 GB hard disk with 650 MB of free space. <BR> If you're installing over a network, more free hard disk <BR> space is required.<BR> * VGA or higher resolution monitor.<BR> * Keyboard.<BR> * Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device (optional).<P>For CD-ROM installation:<P> * A CD-ROM or DVD drive.<BR> * High-density 3.5-inch disk drive, unless your CD-ROM drive is<BR> bootable and supports starting the Setup program from a CD.<P>For network installation:<P> * Windows 2000-compatible network adapter card and related cable<BR> (see the Hardware Compatibility List, Hcl.txt, in the<BR> Support folder on the Windows 2000 Professional CD).<BR> * Access to the network share that contains the Setup files.<BR></I><P><BR>There... now quit bickering about how much RAM MS will suggest people use.... they already made their decision a while ago.<P><BR><B>CoM</B>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>If W2k is so cool, and stable, and better than 98 in every way.<BR>Why make Millenium?<P>Why isn't W2k the end of the line?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>While Win2K is very "cool" and stable, it is not a consumer OS. It is more expensive and much more complex. Millenium *is* a consumer OS, and is supposed to be even easier to use than Win98 (and will probably be a good bit cheaper)