Is Vista Worth it?

[Coldkilla]

Vista Sucks.

My Internet Don't Work when it did perfectly with XP. I have to wait 15 minutes before the internet works.

WMP11's "Burner" doesn't allow me to drag files into it, so I cannot burn anything.

All the sound drivers do not install for me, they give me errors.

Nero 7 doesn't even work. It's "incompatible"

 

[kaioshade]

yea, new operating systems tend to do the whole incompatibility thing from time to time.

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

If you want more than half of your old software to not be compatible, have firefox take 30 seconds to load, small zip files to take minutes to unzip and poor performance in games, GO FOR IT!

 

[SimMike2]

I got a free version of Vista Business and installed as an upgrade of my XP install (after backing up my XP install to a perfect Ghost image.) My first impression is that is is a POS. Lots of hardware and software incompatibility. I had to uninstall my favorite buring program, Nero 6, before the upgrade would even proceed. So if I was to stick with Vista, I would probably need to buy burning software, which I really don't want to do. Also had problems with the Aero interface. While the text in MS Word, Explorer and other programs looked like normal sharp LCD text, other programs, like Quicken, the text looked soft and fuzzy, exactly like your text looks when you are running your LCD resolution at non-native format. Probably turning off Aero will fix this, but annoying none-the-less.

I kept in on my computer all of one hour, fighting to get some programs and hardware working correctly, they reinstalled my trusty XP install from the image file.

Thankfully I didn't pay for this program. Maybe I'll install in the future when I know all my programs and hardware will work.

 

[Markbnj]

Quinton's name next to a post in a Vista thread is an excellent reason to skip down to the next post.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: BehindEnemyLines

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: BehindEnemyLines
I have the same laptop with similar configuration except for 768MB instead. I was debating whether to install it and replace my XP completely. How well does it work on your 700m without the 1GB SD for ReadyBoost? My former experience with RC2 was slow and sluggish.

Pulled the SD card...it's a little poky, but my no means unusable. Right now WMP is populating my music library from a network share, I have 4 IE tabs open and am transferring some files I had backed up from a network share and nothing feels laggy. I don't use this machine for much more than remote admin and web browsing, so I don't expect a lot of problems. I'll probably put the SD card back in and grab that 1gb memory stick back from my boss to bump up to 1.25gb just to see what sort of difference is made.

I primarily use it to run (from most frequent to least): Web browsing, MATLAB (numerical algebra), PSPICE (circuit simulation), and LabView (graphical data acquisition). Just one at a time, but I am wondering how well Vista would handle on the limited 700m. Which 1GB SD do you use brand/model? Thanks.

I would verify that all of your software is compatible with Vista before anything! Especially any school or research related software.

My SD card is an el-cheapo Ritek 1GB 66x card from Newegg.

Here's another tip, if you have the Dell 1350 WLAN card, nix the Broadcom driver Vista installs, it was disconnecting like crazy whenever I downloaded lots of/large files...drove me nuts. Installed the latest XP driver from Dell and everything is working great.

 

[Coldkilla]

Simply Put: Wait for Vista until SP1. Otherwise a waste of money and time.. and just adds to everyday stress levels.

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

Originally posted by: SimMike2
I got a free version of Vista Business and installed as an upgrade of my XP install (after backing up my XP install to a perfect Ghost image.) My first impression is that is is a POS. Lots of hardware and software incompatibility. I had to uninstall my favorite buring program, Nero 6, before the upgrade would even proceed. So if I was to stick with Vista, I would probably need to buy burning software, which I really don't want to do. Also had problems with the Aero interface. While the text in MS Word, Explorer and other programs looked like normal sharp LCD text, other programs, like Quicken, the text looked soft and fuzzy, exactly like your text looks when you are running your LCD resolution at non-native format. Probably turning off Aero will fix this, but annoying none-the-less.

I kept in on my computer all of one hour, fighting to get some programs and hardware working correctly, they reinstalled my trusty XP install from the image file.

Thankfully I didn't pay for this program. Maybe I'll install in the future when I know all my programs and hardware will work.

Why install it as an upgrade since you already made an image of XP? Copy the XP image to a portable hd (I believe Ghost can read/restore from usb hd). Upgrading Windows isn't usually the best choice especially from XP to Vista. Maybe try a clean installation and see what happens?

 

[fraquar]

This is hilarious - a link of 16 reasons why you should switch to Vista
16 Reasons You Should Switch to Vista

If those are 16 valid "can't miss" reasons to switch to Vista I have some swampland in Yuma, AZ for sale.

Here's a summary of my favorites from that list - as I had a hard time controlling my laughter after reaching 6:

1. The start button in Windows Vista does not include the word ?Start?.
----------Theres innovation for you.
2. New Amazing graphics: With Windows Vista, Microsoft has surpassed MAC OS in terms of graphics. It is for the first time, Microsoft offers a great deal of high graphics features including 3D effects. This will help to boost programs meant for 3D games and is code named ?Avalon?. There is one more new feature called ?Aero? which gives 3D renderation to the open Windows.
----------translation, you need to switch if you are a gamer because DirectX10 will not be supported in XP.
3. Live Taskbar thumbnails: enable one to view a small view of the applications that are on the task bar.
----------Like you don't already know whats on your task bar to begin with.......
4. Improved Search make use of Indexing services, which makes searching faster than ever before.
----------If you don't know what you have on your system? BTW, isn't this the feature that virtually everybody disables as a speed tweak?
5. Security: As far as security is concerned, the older versions of Windows, had lot of security problems. It is the hackers who invade the system, sitting miles away from the system, and take the data that they need, such as personal information, banking details, that one might have stored in the computer. The default browser Internet Explorer has been upgraded to 7.0. It contains lot of security features like, Protected Mode Browsing, Antiphishing, Outbound and Inbound firewall, Standard user account functionality, User Account Control, Windows Defender, and Parental Controls.
----------translation, like every web browser before it in the IE line - it will be outdated by the time you install the OS or at the very least a very short time later. Isn't this an APPLICATION? surely not an OS feature.
6. Faster startup, new sleep mode, fast shut down: Vista has got fast startup and shutdown processes which completes within 5 to 10 seconds.
----------ummm, my Windows 2000 system already boots up in about 5-10 seconds (or less). Amazing how fast that system is when you gut all the CRAP from it - i.e Internet Explorer, WMP, Indexing Service, etc.

If I'm gonna switch from Windows 2000 it's gonna take more than playing games for me to switch (as I don't play games anyway). If I wanted to do that I'd get a game console. This is more of the same with the Windows 2000 to Windows XP switch - no reason to. Eye candy and mostly useless features and improved (so they say) applications that I already have proven and trusted applications to do the job with anyway.

 

[SimMike2]

Why install it as an upgrade since you already made an image of XP? Copy the XP image to a portable hd (I believe Ghost can read/restore from usb hd). Upgrading Windows isn't usually the best choice especially from XP to Vista. Maybe try a clean installation and see what happens?

I might or might not try that. BTW, I have two hard drives with 3 partitions each, so I image my main boot partition to one of the secondary drive partitions, which I can access from a Ghost floppy or CD.

The reason I prefer to upgrade is because it will take me days if not weeks to reinistall all my programs.

In addition, I thought the first good test of Vista would be an upgrade. Every other version of Windows worked excellent in upgrade mode. Win 3.1 to Win95. Win95 to Win98. Win98 to ME. Win98 (ME was trash and I never used it permanently) to Win2000. Win98 to XP. All worked excellent in upgrade mode.

While the upgrade of XP to Vista went OK, it did take at least two hours to finish. After it was done, it seemed bloated and slow, although the new interface certainly did look pretty.

What I will probably do is keep track of my troublesome hardware and software programs driver updates, and wait for another time and try a clean install after I know certain drivers are available. Right now I don't have the time for this. Slow, bloated and overrated are my first impressions.

My computer: Opteron dual core running at 2.5Ghz. 3GB of DDR. Two fast SATA hard drives. ATI XL800 video card with 256MB. So you see, my computer is not a slug by any definition. Not top of the line, but probably way faster than average computers upgrading to Vista.

 

[ShawnD1]

Originally posted by: SimMike2
While the text in MS Word, Explorer and other programs looked like normal sharp LCD text, other programs, like Quicken, the text looked soft and fuzzy, exactly like your text looks when you are running your LCD resolution at non-native format. Probably turning off Aero will fix this, but annoying none-the-less.

Windows XP has a similar problem. You make it go away by disabling "clear type". I think it's enabled by default, but I can't understand why since it strains the hell out of my eyes whenever it's on.

This sounds a lot like the introduction of Windows XP. When XP came out, legions of people claimed it was bloated, slow, ugly, and overall sucked. Eventually the bugs were fixed, websites became devoted to removing bloat, and the whole thing got better over time. I can't wait until Vista is good.

 

[InlineFive]

Originally posted by: Quinton McLeod
Don't listen to people when they blabber on about SuperFetch and the like. SuperFetch is nothing more than technology that has been given an upgrade from all the previous versions of Windows. It simply loads programs you normally use in Memory based on the time you normally load them. This is simply for LOADING programs. Not running them! ReadyBoost is a technology that places the page file on your USB flash disk. This is infact SLOWER because you're now running virtual memory on a slower bus than your actual HDD with runs MUCH MUCH faster. This can also kill your USB drive because your memory cells can only be refresh so many times before they die.

So, be careful. If you don't need to spend the money, then stick with Windows XP. If you just don't care, go ahead with Vista.

SuperFetch - although evolutionary - should be given much more credit then you do. It provides very neat functionality that many of us really like. People want a more responsive computer system, and if you have RAM to burn why not use it?

ReadyBoost is also much smarter then you believe. With a solid flash memory device it's much faster than a hard drive for many, small reads/writes. For larger files that are better off being read sequentially ReadyBoost turns to the hard disk because that is what it does better.

Have you actually done any light reading on here about these topics?

 

[ScythedBlade]

dude, he is right though. The SATA does give you better bandwidth, and the USB ports are also pretty shaky with the speeds. That's why we have eSATA nowadays instead of USB.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: ScythedBlade
dude, he is right though. The SATA does give you better bandwidth, and the USB ports are also pretty shaky with the speeds. That's why we have eSATA nowadays instead of USB.

Dude, what he said was right in one area, but that area had nothing to do with ReadyBoost, which is what he was trying to put down. So he's still utterly wrong, as always. High-performance USB flash drives have decent transfer rates for highly random access patterns, as opposed to hard disks, which perform worse for such load patterns.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: loup garou
Here's another tip, if you have the Dell 1350 WLAN card, nix the Broadcom driver Vista installs, it was disconnecting like crazy whenever I downloaded lots of/large files...drove me nuts. Installed the latest XP driver from Dell and everything is working great.

Ok, so I'm using this thread as my own little running personal Vista story, but I figured since it was started and visited by other 700m users, these tips might help.

My latest issue was that on startup, I'd get an unsigned executable alert for my Synaptics touchpad startup tray icon. Well, I'd disabled the icon, no biggie right? Wrong. If I killed its startup in regedit, I'd lose the advanced features of my touchpad, of which, the scrolling area I cannot live without! This frustrated me a bit since the Synaptics Vista drivers are supposed to be signed -- guess the drivers are but the helper executable is not...smooth. Anyways, after trying unchecking the box for it to ask every time, clicking unblock in the file properties, etc I had no luck, still got the warning. Google searches were fruitless as well.

Here's what works though, if you run the executable (syntpenh.exe), then track it down in the running processes in Task Manager, click the properties THERE and select unblock, you won't get the security warning on bootup again. Phew. Kind of silly, but honestly my last annoyance to fix. Everything else is still running like a champ and the XP wireless drivers I installed yesterday are more stable than they were....running in XP. Weird.

 

[blackangst1]

hmm I dont know. My ultimate install took 1/3 the time XP takes...the only driver I needed other than Vista's is for my graphics card...most of my proggies worked right away. In fact now that I think about it the only one that didnt work was a file encryption program, which Vista's encryption can replace. Most of my hardware is less than 2 years old, except my main OS drive which is a legacy SCSI drive...which Vista played happy with.

Overall Im very happy, and most of my tasks are done faster. Maybe Im the exception, but I think Vista is a great upgrade.

(No I dont work for MS lol)

 

[SwamiJi]

So...basically they spent $6B and 5 years to remove the start button and improve GUI and some search functionality...It may be worth it later, but I think I'm gonna take advice from the majority and wait for SP1. Thanks for the feedback...it's been an interesting read! Oh and Quinton...no worries, you made it fun.

 

[gizbug]

Yup

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: loup garou
Here's another tip, if you have the Dell 1350 WLAN card, nix the Broadcom driver Vista installs, it was disconnecting like crazy whenever I downloaded lots of/large files...drove me nuts. Installed the latest XP driver from Dell and everything is working great.

I'm still having problems with the Dell 1350 card. First off, in beta, Vista picked it up and installed it just fine, even though i did have disconnection issues i think (i was wired 99% of the time, so hard for me to remember). But in the RTM, Vista doesn't even install the Broadcom drivers. I had to use the XP drivers, which gets the card working, but i think i'm suffering from the disconnection issues as well now.

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: SwamiJi
So...basically they spent $6B and 5 years to remove the start button and improve GUI and some search functionality...It may be worth it later, but I think I'm gonna take advice from the majority and wait for SP1. Thanks for the feedback...it's been an interesting read! Oh and Quinton...no worries, you made it fun.

What is it exactly you were looking for? For MS to finally create a system where manufacturers can put a rubber vagina on the side of the computer so you can bang it whenever you feel the urge?

It's got:

Better security than XP.
Better networking than XP.
Better GUI than XP.
Better memory capability than XP.
Better performance than XP.
Better search and indexing than XP.

Really, what is it about Vista that failed your expectations?

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: Looney

Originally posted by: loup garou
Here's another tip, if you have the Dell 1350 WLAN card, nix the Broadcom driver Vista installs, it was disconnecting like crazy whenever I downloaded lots of/large files...drove me nuts. Installed the latest XP driver from Dell and everything is working great.

I'm still having problems with the Dell 1350 card. First off, in beta, Vista picked it up and installed it just fine, even though i did have disconnection issues i think (i was wired 99% of the time, so hard for me to remember). But in the RTM, Vista doesn't even install the Broadcom drivers. I had to use the XP drivers, which gets the card working, but i think i'm suffering from the disconnection issues as well now.

Damn, that sucks, mine has been totally solid...not sure what to say. I wish I had found those drivers when I was running XP, I had regular disconnect problems then as well! I was ready to buy an Atheros or Intel card off of eBay to replace it.

 

[blackangst1]

Originally posted by: SwamiJi
So...basically they spent $6B and 5 years to remove the start button and improve GUI and some search functionality...It may be worth it later, but I think I'm gonna take advice from the majority and wait for SP1. Thanks for the feedback...it's been an interesting read! Oh and Quinton...no worries, you made it fun.

uh no.

Let me explain one of the biggest improvements over XP - the use of memory and cache. Vista, by itself, doesnt really use more memory to run than XP; however, with Vista you WILL notice that occasionally you will see your memory usage at 90+%. At first blush you would think its the OS or something, but its actually a feature called Superfetch. Basically it remembers which programs or files you access the most and loads the exe in memory. So, the longer you use Vista, the faster normal operations will be, because it will index what you do the most.

This is the reason most people recommend 2gigs of memory. Not because the OS itself needs it, but in order to take advantage of superfetch, you need memory.

There are a few other things, but for the average user, this feature is huge-

 

[ron2368]

I have tried Vista biz out for the last week. The ATI AIW Catalyst drivers crashed it and it could not be repaired or booted except in safe mode. had to reinstall. Many of my programs will not work. Granted its nice and modern but really not worth it. All the deeper menu functions seem like the exact same XP menus. Things I like so far are partitioning and a little better speed, but I still do not want to buy the programs I already have just to see them on vista.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I've got vista on 3 of my 4 machines and we love it apart from the lack of certified creative and nvidia drivers.

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: ron2368
I have tried Vista biz out for the last week. The ATI AIW Catalyst drivers crashed it and it could not be repaired or booted except in safe mode. had to reinstall. Many of my programs will not work. Granted its nice and modern but really not worth it. All the deeper menu functions seem like the exact same XP menus. Things I like so far are partitioning and a little better speed, but I still do not want to buy the programs I already have just to see them on vista.

What programs aren't working for you? And have you tried compatibility mode for them?