Stability (Do PCs still crash?)

[Mikuro]

I feel sort of silly asking, but I'm honestly wondering: Do PCs running Windows XP still crash frequently?

I just watched Apple's new commercials. When I first saw the one with the freezing, I thought "Stupid Apple! Get with the times! Crashing is a dead issue! It's not 2001 anymore!" But now I wonder, IS it really still an issue?

Now, I got onboard the Mac train with System 7, almost 13 years ago. And my first system didn't have an FPU. So I certainly remember crashes. Even OS 8/9 crashed a few times per week. Back then, crashing was the bane of the computer world. But OS X really never crashes in that sense. Applications unexpectedly quit now and then, sure, but that's a whole world away from a "gotta force-reboot" kind of crash. In regard to OS X, the very term "crash" has been redefined, because the old-world definition just doesn't apply.

In all my time using OS X, I've had to force a restart an average of two or three times per year. It's currently been over 20 days since I rebooted (tip: to see how long it's been for you, launch /Applications/Utilities/Terminal, type "uptime", and hit Return). This is typical; I rarely reboot unless a software update requires it, which tends to happen once a month or so.

I've come to take this stability for granted, and I've just sort of assumed that Windows has come a long way, too, just like the Mac OS has. Have I been giving MS too much credit?

So, for those unfortunate souls who work with Windows, what is your experience? DOES it still crash, even after all these years? And are you laughing at me for even asking such a question?!

[fryke]

PCs with Windows XP _do_ still crash, although I'd say far less frequently than in the days of Windows 3.11, 95 and 98. Basically, Windows 2000 brought the Windows world stability. (I know, Windows NT was, but while Win2K was bought by consumers, too, NT wasn't really...) However: Just remember that worm. What was it: Sasser? Boot your Win XP PC, play for a few seconds, there's a message that says it's shutting down your PC. Erh... While not a crash, the image of the PC falling to the floor certainly fits...

[Rhisiart]

My father's PC has Windows XP. It crashes weekly. I suspect software incompatibility in his case.

The PCs in our hospital (which mostly run XP, with a few exceptions) are 45% reliable according to the latest poll.

I estimate I lose up to one hour a week (2.5% of my productivity) though poor IT&M performance, bearing in mind that patient contact time makes up 70% of my workload.

[Rhisiart]

Submission blip (entry above appeared twice).

[nixgeek]

My Windows PC actually hasn't crashed in a long time. And I mean a LONG time. Of course, the machine is well protected, but even still....it's a rarity in my case. Sometimes it's more of a PEBKAC error than anything else. I know people who would probably be better served with Macs but prefer Windows PCs, and they're always complaining about issues with their computers. Of course, they're also downloading from Limewire and using Internet Explorer on their unpatched computers.

The only problem I've experienced with Windows is the familiar "Windows Arthritis" that tends to affect PCs that have had software installed and removed quite often, and with time the operating system tends to slow down. It's never like it was when Windows was first installed. Of course, I have yet to experience this with my iMac G5 running OS X even after a good number of updates.

[powermac]

My office PC (IBM) with XP Pro crashes frequently. I use psychology programs, that I enter numbers in for calculations. The computer freezes 3-4 out of 5 times. This causes me much frustration as I have to do the same work twice.
What our tech guy does not know is that I burned copies of these programs that have Mac support. These programs run flawlessly on my PB.

[limike28]

My work laptop doesn't crash that often and is running XP. It crashes maybe every couple of weeks. However, the bigger issue is if software crashes, and the only way to recover is to recycle. That is still a major issue.

[JetwingX]

My mom's alienware has been crashing, freezing and randomly shutting down (not a virus) and now the Hard Drive is dead. so IMO it is still a frustrating problem.