Common Windows XP Myths
This article lists the most common Windows XP myths and also shows why they are just that… myths.
When I sneeze Windows XP crashes...
Yes, a lot of the naysayers who say Windows XP crashes a lot are actually over-zealous Apple/Linux users. These people like to scare unsuspecting people that worry their Windows XP will crash at anytime. So, let’s clear this myth up. Instead of babbling for hours about why I and a million others have never seen a Windows XP blue screen, complete crash needing a reboot, etc., let’s do this:
For those who claim blue screens and crashes are frequent in Windows XP, send me an e-mail of a video of that happening and I will gladly put those videos right here on this page. Now is your chance to really back up your claims.
NTFS is slower than FAT32…
Yes, NTFS is slower IF you use the default program Windows XP uses to format your hard drive. You know what would make NTFS even faster than FAT32 for you? Remember that shiny CD that came with your hard drive? There is a reason they include that CD with your hard drive. These CDs will format or partition your hard drive AND include special optimizations that will make NTFS on Windows XP faster than FAT32. If you lost the CD that came with your hard drive, just go to the company’s website and they should have it for download. I know, I know, it sounds crazy. Read the booklet that came with your hard drive, and if you can’t find what I said in the booklet, go online and look on their web site. If you still can’t find what I just said on their site, e-mail them and I guarantee you they will say what I just said. Of course, some people might have cheap hard drives that do not include these tools, so I say to them: DON’T BE CHEAP AND SPEND THE EXTRA 10 BUCKS FOR A BETTER HARD DRIVE!
Windows XP needs 1 gig of RAM to run smooth…
…FOR PEOPLE WHO PLAY MODERN PC GAMES. All around the web, I see people say, “you need 1 gig of RAM for Windows XP”. I see people asking questions about their computer on forums and they get replies like “you need a gig of RAM or more”.
These people who “help” on forums forget one important thing: Not everyone plays modern PC games or is a graphics artist. For people who say, surf the web, read e-mail, play light computer games (flash games etc.), having 512mb of RAM is more then plenty. Of course, when Windows Vista comes out, you might need a gig of RAM for it to run smooth, but that’s thinking a little ahead. Plus, many people will be using Windows XP for years to come, just like people still use Windows 98.
Windows XP is not secure at all…
Windows XP sure can be a dangerous thing to use, but only if you’re looking for trouble!
I’m going to make this short and to the point. If you update Windows XP regularly and you don’t download everything you see, you won’t have a problem! Here’s how to surf the web and read e-mail virus/spyware free:
- Use Firefox. You can pretty much go to ANY web site with Firefox and not worry about getting spyware. Yes, even the sleazy ones who try to install spyware on your PC. Firefox (as of right now) is immune to almost anything you can think of. The main reason for this is that Firefox is not integrated into Windows XP like Internet Explorer, meaning people can’t hack Firefox like they can Internet Explorer, gaining access to your Windows XP and harming it. Another reason is due to Firefox not being as popular as Internet Explorer. If Firefox does become more popular, it will be interesting to see how Mozilla handles the security aspect when and if Firefox becomes as popular as Internet Explorer. It is possible that, in the the future, we might have the same problems with Firefox that we have with Internet Explorer. Nonetheless, this is not the case right now, so use Firefox.
- Check your e-mail online with something like mail2web. Did you find something that looks suspicious? Delete it online THEN use your normal e-mail program (thunderbird, outlook) to download your e-mail.
- Pay attention to what you do!
The default Windows XP Disk Defragmenter is not good enough…
I’m sure you have seen all those ads on sites that say a certain defragmenter program (name ends with “keeper”) is better then the default Windows XP one. Here’s something to think about:
1. They are a company who, of course, want to sell you their product! They might have a lot of fancy studies that try and back up their claims, but, again, they are a company who wants you to buy their product! How can they possibly not be biased?
2. Some of these companies have affiliate programs, meaning you might go to a site where they are saying keeper is better. This might be a site that is very trustworthy, but can you still trust what these sites say about keeper? NO! They get a commission from keeper if someone clicks a keeper link on their site and purchases it.
The real truth: did you know that the default defragmenter for Windows XP is a lite version of keeper? Also, why on earth do you need all those options that keeper offers with its defrag program? Sure, if you work for or own a company, the extra options might be necessary. However, if you are just a normal home user? No way.
I hope this article has cleared up some Windows XP myths for you from a non-biased source who is not trying to sell you anything. I also hope that it has given you some tips about Windows XP that you might not have known about.
Generally a good article. But some of the statements regarding NTFS are simply nonsense.
NTFS is faster and superior to FAT32 in virtually every respect. FAT32 is marginally faster than NTFS in a few operations but this will have no real impact on overall performance.
There is no need or benefit in special optimizations. No one understands NTFS better than Microsoft. The format done during XP installation is in no way inferior to any other.
Larry Miller
Microsoft MCSA