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Test 1 - Applications
Alright,
so basic Windows functions run fine and dandy, but what about 3rd party
software? For the most part, most software designed for Win9x or
NT 4.0 should work fine on Windows 2000, however there are always going
to be cases where there will be some incompatibilities. One such
case is with Symantec's Norton Antivirus 2000. Those currently
using the Windows 95/98 version need to download an upgrade that will
allow the program to work successfully in Win2k. If you're going
to upgrade, I would check the software maker's website for any
information about Win2k compatibility. Another problem you may
face are with small programs developed by independent authors.
Nifty utilities like HzTool or PS/2 Rate may not work well with the new
operating system, so be careful when trying them out.
As
I said before, I didn't really see any problems with other applications.
Jasc's Paint Shop Pro 6.0 worked flawlessly, as did RealNetwork's
RealPlayer Plus 7. The compression tool I tried, Winzip 7.0,
WinRAR 2.6, and WinAce 1.0 all worked fine as well. It looks like
Microsoft did a good job fixing compatibility problems that NT 4.0 had
with 9x programs, as everything seems to work fine. And would you
believe it, Microsoft's own Office 2000 didn't have any problems either.
Who would have thunk it?
Test
2 - Games - DOS
With
each new release of Windows, it seems Microsoft is trying to get rid of
more and more remnants of the non-graphical era. In fact, the next
version of consumer Windows, called Millennium, is supposed to remove
all support for legacy devices. I decided to see now Windows 2000
faired with some classic DOS games. Windows 2000 no longer has the
option to restart in MS-DOS mode like Windows 98. I'm not sure if
NT 4.0 had that option since I've never used it, but if it was there, it
isn't anymore. This being said, all DOS games were run in a
dos-window. The first game I tried was Origin's Wing Commander
III, using the re-release version from 1997. I first tested the
game in Windows 98 to make sure everything works, which it did. In
Windows 2000, however, I ran into all sorts of problems. First,
the setup program could not detect my video card as VESA 2.0 compliant,
so the game had to be run in VGA rather then SVGA. Also, the game
would not detect my AWE64, so I had to run the game with no sound.
Unlike Win98, Win2k does not load the Blaster variables at start up,
therefore causing the problems. The game did end up running,
although because of the lack of SVGA, it looked horrible.
The
other game I tested is Kings Quest 6. Since this game has both a
Windows version and a DOS version, I decided to use it for my DOS and
Windows 3.1 tests. Just like Wing Commander III, Kings Quest 6
worked, but I could not get sound to work. For the final test I
used a program called Zsnes. Zsnes is a DOS based emulator that
allows you to run backed up Super Nintendo games on your computer.
Again, the program would not detect any VESA 2.0 modes with my video
card, and sound did not work. So it looks like although Windows
2000 will run DOS games fine, it has trouble recognizing VESA 2.0 modes
and playing sounds.
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