posted
Just got my Omega 1.54 service pack #1 yesterday. The cd is dated Sept. 18, 2001 and mentions every windows version except XP in the install instructions.
The spec sheet that came with it dated Nov 1, 2001 says at the bottom...
quote:Also, we are currently evaluating Windows XP for use with Omega and will make an announcement about it at a future date.
Maybe you already had this info. but thought I'd pass it along.
posted
I print to a Docu Color 4 in the office and was getting some black bands on different graphic files. I got the Xerox tech to come out yesterday. What we learned was that XP has not been tested for Adobe PostScript. There was some discussion on not tested as opposed to not supported. There is not driver for XP. Sorry to get off topic, but I wanted to get this in front of XP users.
posted
folks...1st question you need to ask..is do i need XP.....and why? not being a kiljoy but if your present computer o/s is running your programs and equipment......and no problems....THEN WHY DO YOU NEED SOMETHING THAT WILL CAUSE PROBLEMS????? sheezzee....ive said this to another post...GET REMOVABLE HARD DRIVES!! this is a no brainer, you buy it and it comes in 2 pieces, a frame which you install in a 5 1/4 bay, and an insert, in which you place your h/d, the cable that you hooked to your h/d now connects to the frame, the h/d goes into the insert. wala..all you do now is pop in insert, hit DELETE key to go into bios, arrow key over to HARD DRIVE DETECTION, FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS.... and your all set. now get another insert, get h/d and load XP ON IT....and play to your hearts content...then when you got it all workin(in about a year) like your old h/d then you can say its ..good!!!
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
I got brave, largely because I had two extra mirrored hard drives, and installed XP. Everything had been working fine but I did get occasional lockups, blue screens, etc., like many Windows users. I had an early edition of 98 so I thought I would go for it and see what XP was all about.
I found out that XP is more limited in its hardware support. My scanner wouldn't work and my video card caused problems. I could have found this out by going to the MS hardware compatibility site, but like I said I was just going for it and besides, where's the challenge in that ?
I decided to upgrade the hardware and keep XP. The new scanner is much faster and the new video card was only 50 bucks and has three times the memory so I can run at a higher resolution.
So the bottom line is how compatable your system is and would replacing any unsupported hardware be worth it. Obviously if your software won't run and there isn't a compatable version it's a no brainer. Signlab required an updated hasp driver, which was my only software problem.
It was worth it to me because the system is now very stable and robust. I haven't had a lockup or blue screen since and the memory system resource limitations are a thing of the past. Bootup is much faster, which so far has only been necessary for some driver or software updates, requiring only 30 seconds instead of several minutes.
-------------------- Jim Upchurch Artworks Olympia WA
Posts: 797 | From: Olympia, WA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
It's not a case of XP being able to support your hardware or software. The hardware/software manufacturers should be proving new drivers and updates to support newer and better operating systems. That's why almost everything being introduced today supports XP. The operating system is just the foundation, so everything should be built around it, not the other way around.
You can't really live by the "If it works, don't fix it" creed. If you did that, you'd still be watching your black and white TV. Your Windows 95 may work just fine, but over time, your gonna get left behind.
-------------------- Bruce Evans Crown Graphics Chino, CA graphics@westcoach.net
Posts: 913 | From: Chino, CA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
get left behind????? where???? and how???? i design and cut vinyl in corel draw 7.467(the most stable version of corel to date)i use windows 95B&IE 4.0(looks and behaves like 98a)(which work better with the older roland driver)and since ram has gotten so cheap 95B with 128 megs of ram....SCREAMS! and i got this loaded on a 6 gig 7200 rpm W/D hard drive....so it also is a movin right along. this is my work h/d...only the program nessecary to production of signs and my business need to be on it. so its not cluttered up with a bunch of unused stuff! my scanner is a scussi version and is of a lot better quality then then what you will get today for $150.00. so i wont change it untill it dies... the modem is a 56k, and no operating system is gona make any faster. so all in all for the job i do all day long...iam working faster today with win 95 then i did when it came out....and i have other hard drives to play on...got xp, win 2000, need to try linux, and i got my 30 gig 7200 rpm with 98A.....my laptop has 98A....so....i dont think ill be left behind....and i may be ahead of the people who load an unknow and untryed system and then try to do there daily work.....
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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Back to your original question.... Yes, we run Windows XP and Omega on the same machine.
Windows XP solved a few problems that we were having with our system but did seem to create one problem with our software. When outputting some files from Omega to out Edge 1 we had the occasional problem. Tech support blamed it on XP but did offer a soluntion to try which seems to have worked.
When sending a file to the Edge from GSPlot the Edge would have a communication error occasionally. This happened sometimes at the very begining of a print, but at it's worse it shut down on the 4th foil pass of a 30' wide print. We use a USB dongle and the thought was that it was still trying to comminicate through the parallel port, which created a communication interupt. The Solution that seems to have worked for us so far is to edit one line in the GSPlot.ini file. Where it says "Gerber Edge = 999" (or something along that line) we changed the last "9" to a "4". As I said, so far it seems to have resolved the issue.
On a different note, I don't really believe in the saying "if it ain't broke don't fix it". We upgraded 2 of our systems and it has improved both of them in different ways. Yes, we may have got by without upgrading, but we would still have those problems. For us it worked well.
Steve
-------------------- Night Owl Graphics Calgary, ALberta Canada
posted
Bruce, It *is* a question of hardware/software support for many people. Microtek wasn't likely to provide an updated driver for the scanner because it will not be supported in XP. Same with the video card, except that they are not in business anymore so an updated driver is even less likely. One of the reasons that XP is faster and more stable is that it isn't supporting everything under the sun.
-------------------- Jim Upchurch Artworks Olympia WA Posts: 797 | From: Olympia, WA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
now there is a great idea, create a new operating system.....THAT DOSENT SUPPORT EVERYTHING....HEHEHEHEHEH
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
I'm with Jim Upchurch on this - it *is* a question of hard/soft ware support.
Before moving to 2000, XP or whatever, make sure you can get drivers and updates for your mission critical peripherals and applications BEFORE updating the OS.
Older products aren't likely to be updated, because everyone wants to benefit from new Windows releases. The software guys hope you'll be forced to buy their updates. And the hardware guys hope you'll buy new equipment, or add memory or something. "Energizing the marketplace" simply means "Selling more product to existing customers."
It can get REALLY expensive to doll up the way your file menus and buttons look ... especially when clicking the options doesn't do anything new. XP is sexy, no doubt. But it won't make the products you use funtion any better.
My $.02,
Jim
-------------------- Jim Doggett General Manager, USA Yellotools, Ltd www.yellotools.com
Posts: 500 | From: Sherman, TX USA | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
So i'm wrong in my thinking that software makers need to make their software work within XP,the operating system... and Microsoft needs to make their operating system work with every piece of software, hardware and shareware on the planet?? Doesn't quite seem like reality to me. If you own a piece of software or hardware that has gone out of business....there's a good reason for that. What are you gonna do when it breaks?
-------------------- Bruce Evans Crown Graphics Chino, CA graphics@westcoach.net Posts: 913 | From: Chino, CA | Registered: Nov 1998
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