With so many windows available in the market, decide the right one based on your actual requirement. I have tried to figure out a usage based list considering the hardware in which you are going to run also, so that you get some kind of a clear picture.
Hardware : Pentium 3 and Below with atleast 64MB Ram
Gaming : Windows 98 with Directx 9 and a separate AGP Card
Business : Windows ME with Office 2000 and Browser addons
Education : Windows ME with a lots and lots of Hard Disk space
Mobile : Windows ME with powersaver and Compact option
Basic File Server (5 to 10 Clients) : Windows NT4.0 with Service Pack 4
Dedicated Server (100+ Clients) : Not Suggested (Try a lighter flavour of Linux)
Hardware : Pentium 3 and above with atleast 128MB RAM
Gaming : Windows ME/Windows XP Home Dual Boot with Directx 9 and a separate 3D Accelerator Card
Business : Windows XP Pro or Windows 2000 Pro with Office xp with Media Pack and Browser addons
Education : Windows XP Pro/Windows Me with a lots and lots of Hard Disk space
Mobile : Windows XP Home with powersaver and Compact option
Basic File Server ( 5 to 10 Clients) : Windows 2000 Server with Service Pack 4
Dedicated File Server (100+ Clients) : Windows 2000 Advanced Server with Service Pack 4.
This is just a suggestion only. Kindly have a look at the suggestions below which are quite common to every Windows OS.
- Never use a pirated CD. For a proof try this.
a. get a OEM pack win98se cd
b. make a copy of it in your cd burner
c. use the copied version to install a pc.
d. install all software
e. create a NAV boot diskette
f. Boot to Dos with the NAV boot disk and do a complete scan of C:g. all files in windows folder will be infected with CIH.
As for as win2k is concerned without the security patches never get on to the net
This is also for Win2k. Fix the IIS Vulnerability patch before starting your Web Services
Win98 is much stabler than win me
Win XP is a beautiful operating system, provided you tweak it properly for your exact application otherwise, it will bog down your system resources for sure