Possible Freak of Nature

Hello Fellow AO's

As I am aware by now most people hate M$ Operating systems as they are general very unreliable! Everyone can agree even die-hard fans of m$ cannot say they haven't had a occasional BSOD.

However I have a story that most of you won't believe!

At the company I work for we have old Compaq Proliant Server running Windows NT Server with SP6a it is 10 years old! The amazing thing is it has lasted 10 years and still has the original Operating System! To my knowledge this Server has never had a BSOD or had a os reinstalling! It has a faulty disk once that years ago and was just replaced, as it is a raid system! Sam database occasional can be slow to update. That is once in a blue moon! It also is only ever shutdown if we are doing maintenance in the computer room out of precaution.

The system is just a 200Mhz Pro system, it is our primary domain server to this day! It must be 9 possibly 10 years old! Soon it will have a planned decommissioning! Instead of the usual m$ system just dieing and getting replaced!

As well as been our PDC
It has been a file and print server
Running Lotus Domino to this date!
Fax software
Central updates for Anti-Virus
Maintenance Software!
Others which I can't remember!


Do you guys think this is amazing bearing in mind most nix's fans believe m$ systems are not reliable, or am I just living in the Twilight zone!

I will provide proof if necessary, to confirm I am not lieing or have gone insane!

Quote:

---

Originally posted here by Zorolord
As I am aware by now most people hate M$ Operating systems as they are general very unreliable! Everyone can agree even die-hard fans of m$ cannot say they haven't had a occasional BSOD.

---

Badly programmed applications and/or device drivers are usually the cause, NOT the OS.
FWIW I don't hate windows, I just don't like it.

Quote:

---

At the company I work for we have old Compaq Proliant Server running Windows NT Server with SP6a it is 10 years old!

---

Quote:

---

It also is only ever shutdown if we are doing maintenance in the computer room out of precaution.

---

SP6a was released around februari 2004.

Shoot.. Cannot... delete... bad... post... :confused:

Quote:

---

As I am aware by now most people hate M$ Operating systems as they are general very unreliable! Everyone can agree even die-hard fans of m$ cannot say they haven't had a occasional BSOD.

---

In my experience

Most BSODs are caused by improper configuration, malware and\or cheap faulty hardware.

and I havent seen a BSOD on a server unless the hardware is failing..so your statement of MS OSes being unreliable is totally unfounded....probably due to lack of experience....

I still have several NT 4 SP 6a machines...humming along....very task specific mind you...and not used for critical operations

They get replaced when they start to BSOD.....due to 8- 10 year old hardware failing....

so my point is...any OS is unreliable with faulty hardware....improper configuration...or a malware infection :rolleyes:

MLF

edit> Sir Dice...no SP6 was out way before that...not sure of the date...of to find my SP6a disk

edit> copyright is 1999

Orginally it was running just Windows NT 4 Server, since then I applied all the necessary patches and sp's - Hence why it is running SP6a just to clear that up!

Quote:

---

Orginally it was running just Windows NT 4 Server, since then I applied all the necessary patches and sp's - Hence why it is running SP6a just to clear that up!

---

and your point is?????

MLF

Well sirdice, said SP6 was released in 2004 it was before that! I am just making clear that I have updated since it was first installed before my time though!

I agree with what you are saying morganlefay cheap hardware and bad drivers etc, however there are a small percentage of people on this forum, who believe m$ systems cannot go beyond 6 months with a reinstall! I didn't mean me I have no problems with NT4 Servers and 2000 and XP desktop Systems work a dream for me!

Hmmm............

Don't worry SirDice I am sure that nobody took offence :D

I have a copy in front of me right now, the CD says 1998 for the OS and 1999 for the SP5. I believe that SP 6.0 came out just after the Y2K "debacle" and that 6.0a was about four weeks after? due to the almighty **** up that SP 6.0 came out to be................. hell I really should archive all this stuff and make another school/college donation..............?

Then maybe my Wife will let me go and get her a new Mac? Well 8.2 isn't exactly the latest release is it? Anyway, joking apart, I would say that SP6a was around November 2000?

I guess I will go check in the loft at home, given that I am prone to nostalgia?

I actually got on well with NT 4.0 as I do believe that it was quite "advanced for MS" in it's day........I am now looking at RedHat Linux distro 5.2 in original cover............

Old stuff isn't always bad (in an attempt to answer your question Morgana~ )........... I set up a x386 for a mate in London about 10 years ago just to automatically handle the FAX machine............... yes I knowthat sounds silly, but they were commodity brokers, and it was some foreign legal thingy that faxes were "legal" and e-mails were not?????????

Oh!............the little stuff I wrote ran under DOS 5.0 :eek:

I have revisited the " cache" and found RedHat 6.1, S.u.S.E 6.2, Linux Pro 5.4 (a workstation server of its day).................ah yes, all around 1999 which is about when I date Win 4.0 SP5.0............. might be interesting to do a comparison folks (Gore! where are you when I need you mate?)

I have linux failures as much as Windows Servers. With one exception. Exchange. That is a beast. Mostly related to poor programming in version 5 and 2k.

Other than that they run forever. Unless you are a shitty admin.

Quote:

---

With one exception. Exchange. That is a beast.

---

I totally agree

All my support calls to MS have been due to restoring recovering Exchange 5 and up.

So far 2003 hasnt acted up...yet...


Definately worth the 245.00 USD call ;)

MLF

I fixed exchange once, rebuilding databases. It took 9 hours in the middle of the night. Next time 245 while a tech fixed it and I had some coffee.

:D Cheap!

I will have to remember that one Road....for when Exchange 2003 starts to misbehave

That new remote assistance works well...... ;)

MLF