Do some research and find out why ME was such a bad OS. What were some of the problems with Windows Millennium Edition?
PC World listed it as the 4th worst product on their 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time article published May 26, 2006, by Dan Tynan. The sub title of the article is “These products are so bad, they belong in the high-tech hall of shame”.
It seems that ME was hard to install, hard to run, and difficult to shut down. There were complaints about installation, software and hardware incompatibilities, excessive error messages, and disk defragmenting problems. There was trouble with the way ME handled its memory, if the memory was too busy, the computer would freeze, necessitating a reboot. It seems to have had trouble with anti-virus programs, third party software, and drivers. ME may stop installing when it detects an incompatible third-party program, hardware device drivers, or utilities. ME may stop the installation process when it encounters these conflicts, and tells you that you can't proceed.
Microsoft was trying to make ME boot faster by removing real mode MS-DOS. I think that Windows was attempting to hide the programming so the user could not modify the software. But between the problems with system restore and no access to DOS , I think this actually made the OS worse.
Microsoft has posted some information on its site to help you with the most common ME problems. There is information about what to do when your PC mysteriously crashes and how to deal with a stubborn installation wizard that refuses to accept your valid ME identification number.
Microsoft quit supporting ME on July 11, 2006.
Windows Millennium Edition Solution Center
http://support.microsoft.com/ph/6519
A few of the problems covered by Microsoft Solution Center
-- MS-DOS Versions of DriveImage Cannot Operate on Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition. When DriveImage (1.0, 2.0, 3.0) is launched on Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), the computer either stops responding with a black screen and blinking cursor in the upper left corner, or you receive an error message.
-- Policy That Disables MS-DOS Prompt Disables All MS-DOS Programs. When you double-click an MS-DOS-based program, you may receive the following error message: This program cannot be run due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator.
-- Switching Between an MS-DOS Window and Full Screen May Cause Computer to Hang. When you press ALT+ENTER to switch between an MS-DOS prompt window and a full-screen window, the computer may stop responding (hang).
-- ALT+ENTER Does Not Resize the MS-DOS Prompt Window on Some HP Computers.
-- Cannot Configure Expanded Memory Support for an MS-DOS-Based Program. You may experience any of the following symptoms: An MS-DOS-based program that requires expanded (EMS) memory may not run in Windows Millennium Edition (Me). The expanded (EMS) memory option is unavailable on the Memory tab when you right-click the...
-- How to Increase Available File Handles for MS-DOS-Based Programs in Windows Millennium Edition. Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) only parses the Config.sys file for environment variables; therefore, settings used by MS-DOS-based programs running in Windows Me are not set inside the Config.sys file.
-- Cannot Type Characters in an MS-DOS Prompt Window Using a Hewlett-Packard Multimedia Keyboard. When you use a Hewlett-Packard (HP) Multimedia keyboard, you may not be able to type characters in an MS-DOS prompt window.
-- MS-DOS-Based Programs Unable to Initialize COM Ports on Computers with ACPI Support.
-- "Invalid Switch" Error Message When Attempting to Use "Xcopy" or "Xcopy32" in MS-DOS Mode.
-- MS-DOS-Based Versions of PartitionMagic Do Not Run on Windows Millennium Edition. When you start an MS-DOS-based version of PartitionMagic (from PowerQuest) on a Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition-based computer, the computer may stop responding and display either a black screen or an error message.
-- Troubleshooting MS-DOS Compatibility Mode on Hard Disks.
-- "Restart Computer in MS-DOS Mode" Option Is Not Available in the Shutdown Dialog Box. In Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), when you click Start , and then click Shutdown , the option is not available.
-- Error Messages Appear Citing 'Old Disk Utility' When You Try to Start CrypKey Instant Version 4.3.
-- The "Unable to control A20 Line" error message.
-- The A20 line is the start of the first 64K of extended memory, known as the high memory area (HMA). The HIMEM.SYS device driver must control the A20 line to manage extended memory.
-- Norton AntiVirus 7.0 Corporate Edition Prevents Upgrade.
-- You receive the "Out of environment space" error message when you execute the Vcvars32.bat batch file.
-- WordPerfect 6.0 Does Not Start from a PIF File in Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition. Err Msg: The Following File Is Missing or Corrupt...
-- When you start your computer, you may receive the following error message: The following file is missing or corrupt: COMMAND.COM. Type the name of the Command Interpreter. This problem can occur if you install Windows 98 or Windows Millennium...
-- Screen Saver Does Not Start Even Though System Is Idle
-- Dinosaur Adventure 3.0 Does Not Run Properly on Windows Millennium Edition. When you run Dinosaur Adventure version 3.0 by using the Dino.bat file, your computer may stop responding (hang) or shut down.
-- "SUWIN caused a general protection fault in module verx.dll" error message when you try to reinstall Windows Me.
-- Computer Hangs After You Install Windows Me on a Computer with Creative Labs Sound Blaster Device.
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