XP Pro in classic mode is very similar to win2K pro. There are quirks, but then windows has always been quirky. You just learn them and learn to work around them. It is VERY stable. I have crashed almost not at all (except when my hubby is programming and testing on my 'puter but that's his programming and not XP)
You do need to make sure you keep all your drivers updated to keep things from slowing down. Also there are a load of crappy advice windows like clickpimp says. "You have unused icons on your desktop" blah blah blah. I think you can turn this option off but I've never bothered looking. Also the fact that MSN is automatically installed is a bastard but if you use this Trillian thing you can just turn off regular MSN after startup and turn on Trillian.
There are worse operating systems to be had.
