Windows Vista

[rake60]

I have a great new computer here.
It has one MAJOR problem.
That problem is Windows Vista!!!

I honestly believed that Windows ME would be the worst operating system they would ever release.
I was wrong.
They have far exceeded that level of incompetence with the Vista OS.

Try this:

Kid: Mom can I have a cookie?

Mom: Did you just ask for a cookie?

Kid: Yes I did...

Mom: You've just asked for a cookie. Would you like to allow or disallow me to give you a cookie?

Add to that the fact that 70% of the perifials made for PC's are not compatible with Vista, and I'm
ready to get out the 20 pound hammer. I am slowly figuring out ways to trick the system into accepting
the programs and hardware I want to run on it, but there is no good reason to be forced to do that.

I've never been a MAC fan, but Microsoft is certainly doing their level best to change that opinion.

If you happen to be in the market for a new PC Dell still offers a few models with Windows XP
At least it works without making you jump through hoops every step of the way.

Rick

 

[1Kenny]

Been going through that too with Vista. You are right, it can be tricked. Just got my new computer couple a of weeks ago. Haven't tried my infrared software on it yet. Can't wait to see what an upgrade to Vista runs for it.

 

[rake60]

Microsoft does offer an upgrade for Vista from Vista Premium to Vista Ultimate for $159

A 20 pound hammer costs only $30

Rick

 

[Cedge]

Rick
Could you be a bit more specific about the 70% problem? I've just had my first crack at Vista this evening on a borrowed computer. I loaded a 3D graphics program last made in 1994 that is still a very usable powerhouse, but a real challenge to system resources. I'm rendering the most horrendously large project file I ever created using the program and its' running it like a top. The program has a tendency to dominate resources as it crunches tons of calculations, with some renders having taken not just hours, but multiple days to complete.

The increase in system speed of this new computer is about double what my old one is, as is the RAM load, so most of the boost in performance is from the hardware, not the OS. I have a SCSI scanner that I'd need to add to any system I bought and the 70% comment gives me reason to pause.

I've heard rumbles of nasty problems, but I'm not current on the state of the art these days. This computer has proven to have enough of a jump in performance that I'm getting an itch to upgrade while I have a few bucks available. After years of being content with Win2K-pro I sure don't want to go back to the bad old days of the Win ME blues. Anyone one else have good or bad input?

Steve

 

[rake60]

Rick
Could you be a bit more specific about the 70% problem? .
Steve

Well for one thing, I had to buy a new printer.
I emailed Lexmark to ask if a Vista compatible driver was available for the printer I had.
Their reply was, Vista is a 32bit operating system that was incompatible with any available drivers for my printer.

The computer I bought is a Compaq/HP It came with a 19" flat panel LCD monitor. Guess what! The driver
for that monitor is incompatible with Vista.

I better leave this alone for now.
I'm just pizzin myself off even more! LOL

Rick

 

[shred]

Vista is a pain in the rear. If you get it on a new PC and only want to do new-PC things with it, like you have no old software or hardware, it works pretty well-- there are some cool features.

But it's a big hog as well-- it's not happy with less than 2GB of RAM..

Windows 95 would run nicely off a 2GB hard drive and have room left for Office!

 

[Powder keg]

I can't seem to figure out how to enlarge my text size, permanently? I can make the text in each window bigger, but when I open a new window the text is small again? I'm not blind, I just like to sit back and relax when I'm surfing:O)

 

[Powder keg]

I forgot, I have a new puter to:O) Way better than my old Dell Dimension 450. I ended up with a HP Pavilion a6257c. It has 2048megs of ram and a 320 gig HD. Did I say that I like the 22" monitor? Me likes:O)

Me

 

[Cedge]

Spent a bit of time this evening reading Vista reviews, both pro and con. I don't like what I'm reading, especially since I have plenty of legacy hardware and vintage software that I'm not willing to replace. Gates might need to add another billion to his bottom line, but his sharing that thrill with industry buddies is not my idea of being fairly served.

The good news is Moore's Law has advanced enough to tempt me to part with my dollars again. The little HP I've just tortured is a swift little creature and it easily crunched what once would have been a minimum 19 hour rendering session down to 3 hours, 38 minutes and 24 seconds. Reason enough to grab some new gusto in this neck of the woods.

Bottom line for now is that it's probably going to be a new dual core system, in the high 2's or low 3 Ghz, maxed with RAM and running WinXP pro. I'll go with my favored local vendor instead of the big box stores, in order to get XP pro installed as OEM. Yeah... I could build it myself, but I prefer to avoid dealing with hardware, if possible..... and the owner has kids to feed.

Steve

 

[wareagle]

I just bought a new Dell not too long ago. Got XP Pro on it as I wasn't about to go down the Vista road with all of the issues noted. I, too, have perifrials that do not need replacing, and I am not going to put a fortune into a bunch of equipment because Billy Boy didn't want to provide a decent product for his customers. Microsoft is getting too big for their own good!

The thing I really got mad about was the fact that Dell is trying to "push" Vista off on their customers. The salesperson I dealt with kept trying to persuade me into getting Vista, and I finally told her that if she mentioned Vista one more time, I would walk away. Guess she got the point as she made the sale.

Mac may be the way to go in the future.

 

[shred]

Microsoft gives the big OEMs like HP and Dell money for pushing Vista-- check out the 'we recommend Vista' tags on their web sites. Those aren't free, neither are the 'Intel Inside' or 'AMD Live' logos plastered everywhere.

Anyway, for my parents, when they say "I want a PC", then I'll set them up with a Vista box-- somewhat more secure, nicer looking and it is easier to find stuff if you haven't got years of practice expecting it to be somewhere else.

Somebody that's used one for a while I'll steer to XP unless they really need some Vista feature. People that want Linux don't bother to ask my opinion..

 

[jagwinn]

There is a soution to Vista.

Go to a 'Mom & Pop' computer store (like Calvin's Computers in Burgaw) and have Windows XP Professional installed for $89 (price here).

A large part of his business this Christmas was 'fixing' new computers purchased for Christmas gifts.

 

[gilessim]

Vista is still a little baby, give it a year maybe, or get xp installed, I have a mac (no problems there, except that I have to use my old pc for Marv's programmes!) but my wife has a new laptop with vista and I must agree that it's not ready yet (vista that is!)....get a mac...Giles

 

[Bogstandard]

Between my little machining exercises I occasionally build and repair computers, just as a bit of mental exercise.
A couple of months back I copied my hard drive onto a spare and put the spare into the computer I am using now, downloaded and run the program from here

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx

This told me I had a few software issues, the main one was with Nero but another was with my Vcom Systemsuite package (firewall, anti virus, utilities etc), plus a couple of easily fixed ones. So duly downloaded Vista compatible updates and installed.

Then I installed top of the range OEM Vista over the top of my XP Prof.

All went well, and I 'tried it' for a few hours.

What a pile of unadulterated canine excrement.

Swapped back my drives to run XP again.
I will get back to it in a couple of years when they get it right, just like I did with XP.

If I had bought a boxed computer I would have taken it back and told the saleman to bend over.

I have a friend who bought a laptop with it on, and she was so disappointed with it that when she phoned up to complain, they told her a manufacturers code of installation for the discs supplied with it, to install XP instead of Vista, so they must have expected problems in the first place.

John

 

[Cedge]

John
After last evening's marathon session of reading Vista pros and cons, I gave my friendly corporate IT guy a call today and said "Hey Nelson.... whats the scoop on Vista?" One of the things he gave me was enlightening. Dell, HP and Gateway signed contracts that all new computers were to have Vista on them. Nothing strange there, but then their return rates jumped to 35% of gross orders (not just computers). Needless to say they went screaming back to Microsoft who had to back up and allow them to offer XP installs but only "if the customer demanded... not requested them". They are allowed to send out WinXP install discs only if the customer "demands them"... not "requests them".

This guy has always maintained his company's equipment at the highest bleeding technical edge in both hardware and software. He stated that the earliest he's advised the company to even consider Vista usage on his systems would be sometime after 2009. Apparently 90% of the test systems sent out to corporations (including his) failed to perform with either existing equipment or legacy software. As he said.... You can't deal with that when all your critical sensors are checking on volatile chemicals with lots of potential to go BOOM!!

Steve
Who priced a new customized Win XP system today.

 

[b.lindsey]

It's been a few week since this thread began so I will add my 2 cents. I just got a new Dell XPS 420 with Vista Home Premium and after 2 weeks of using it I am very happy with it. It does like memory...2 MB minimum, 3 preferred but thus far I haven't found the "warning" pop-ups overly invasive.

I checked on updated drivers for both the software (AutoCad 2007LT, Office) and hardware (HP Laser Printer) before ordering and found them readily available and encountered no problems in getting them to run. I will admit that the external hard drive and additional external DVD R/RW drive I added after purchase were labeled as Vista compatible and also installed with no problem.

I have issues with Microsoft at times too, but in this case I find Vista a more capable and even stable platform, at least so far. The security issues that have given rise to all the pop-up warnings, etc. are a fact of life now, just like airport security. Its sad, but I can't blame Microsoft for that.

I just couldn't see shelling out the money for new hardware and going with an older OS...XP has had its share of problems too!

Just my opinion though...

 

[AllThumbs]

My wife and I just got two new laptops, a dell and a sony. Both with Vista. I don't mind it at all. Takes a bit of getting used to where everything is now but it seems stable enough.

The security popups are annoying, but oh well. I imagine somewhere I could change a setting to fix those anyways. I haven't bothered to research it.

Eric

 

[rake60]

My wife and I just got two new laptops, a dell and a sony. Both with Vista. I don't mind it at all. Takes a bit of getting used to where everything is now but it seems stable enough.

The security popups are annoying, but oh well. I imagine somewhere I could change a setting to fix those anyways. I haven't bothered to research it.

Eric

Eric
The permissions pop ups are generated by the User Account Control (UAC)
You can turn it off in the Control Panel.

Start > Control Panel > User Accounts
In the User Accounts window you will see "Turn User Account Control on or off"

Click that option then remove the check from the box.
It will prompt you to Restart your computer.
When the computer reboots it will show a warning that your computer is at risk because
the UAC has been turned off.
Choose "Don't show this message again" to remove that pop up.

Rick

 

[AllThumbs]

Thanks for that.

E

 

[deere_x475guy]

I just bought a new HP dv9720us with Vista Home Premium and expected the worse and was prepared to install my version of XP Pro on it. I have used it constantly for over a week now and have had zero problems with it. I do have 3 gig of ram. The OS and hardware are rock solid.