Please Help - Should I Buy Vista

MEL40 · May 7, 2007

Hi

I am thinking of buying a new pc that has vista on it. Is this a good move and what is the difference between vista and xp? Also will Office XP run on it?

Thanks guys.

Mel

BILLMCC66 · May 7, 2007

If you look around on the forums you will see lots for and lots against.

my personal view is i am going to wait maybe a year and let them iron out all the bugs.

another reason is this laptop is just 7 months old and came with XP SP2 and i am happy with it:wave

DavidGP · May 7, 2007

For me Vista is fine and with a new PC all the hardware should be Vista compatible so on that score you'll be fine.

However the issues you may have are in compatible software, some of your favoured software may not work ever or may just need updates for compatability, you'd need to check with the makers sites for Vista compatability.

Office XP and Vista, well some have gotten it to install fine and some have had issues with it, main issues are the Office Installer file is not fully compatible with Vista and users who install Outlook have had troubles, but not installing Outlook then many have had Office XP running fine.... its one of those times when you just have to try and see, you will also need to install the SP3 for office XP also as it will bring it as much upto date as possible.

Office XP is now not supported by Microsoft so will not gain updates, for full compatability if Office XP doesnt work for you, then you would have to upgrade to Office 2003 or 2007 ( sadly not cheap options unless your place of work subsidises it or your student ) the alternative thats free is Open Office, works similar to office and opens office files ok.

If you use office alot and dont wish to upgrade or find alternative options, then maybe worth asking the supplier of the PC if Windows XP will be an install option ( some will and many wont offer this downgrade option unless its already got XP installed ), However this on some PCs has also brought its own pitfalls in as some hardware makers and especially OEMs ( the one you buy in shop or online ) have gone with some hardware, Audio and Graphics mainly that do not have Windows XP drivers for their Vista build PCs.

On a personal note: I like Vista and yes its different to XP, but give it a month at least and you will find it fine and to some degree easier to use than XP, plus all newer software is being written with Vista in mind, but I have only come across a few applications that didnt work for me, many gained updates and soem I just had to find alternatives for.

MellowMan · May 7, 2007

if you like to play older games don't do it, and some of the newer ones won't even work that well-it's kind of hit and miss when you go shopping...

Bugballou · May 7, 2007

Like it or no Vista is the future for Windows. I took a hiatus from the pc when Windows 95 came out, and didn't return until XP. I am also of the opinion to wait until the first service pack, (or whatever Microsoft will call it), comes out before contemplating a change. I am not so interested in the eye candy Vista has to offer either, I'll trade that for performance every time. Have Microsoft Office for Windows 95 running on this XP computer, so I would hope you could run Office XP on a Vista machine. If you are buying a new computer in the near future, go for it.

DavidGP · May 7, 2007

Bugballou said: ↑

I am not so interested in the eye candy Vista has to offer either, I'll trade that for performance every time
Click to expand...

Everyone said same of XP when it was first released, said it looked like kids gone wild with crayons, then they ventured past the skin and dug deeper and now many herald XP as one of Microsofts best OSes, I do not think Vista will hit that mark at all, its good but not as good as they could have made it, which is why big efforts are being made in feeback on Vista for Vienna.

Yes it will not be to the liking of some, but a its very user orientated you can turn off or make default many things, like set the layout to look as if your using Windows 2000/98 etc, turn off the visual effects for max performance or let windows decide based on your PCs specs.

For me Vista has been very very stable and I have not had any crashes or major issues in the 4 months its been on this PC ( self build ) and 6 months its been on my laptop, not had to re-install yet.

Networking options which were a pain for many are now laid out easier to work out, including option to test your network and internet for issues.

Help and Support is now much better and written so many can easily understand how to fix issues, even guides you through many steps.

Reliability Monitor is good for helping trace that crashing application as well as the Problem Reports and Solutions for having notice on udpates or fixes for any application thats not fully compatible.

Major Attitude · May 7, 2007

Eye candy is just that, candy. You don't have to use it, I disabled a lot of sidebars, etc. Frankly, I feel the drivers are still mainly beta and run Vista on a spare machine as well as dual boot it and rarely use it. It is a step forward, but imho, a step backwards in that it was released way too soon for what is available for it.

bigbazza · May 7, 2007

I've been reading up on Vista. Its' for and againsts.

Can some Vista guru comment on running Microsoft Virtual PC (either version 2004 or 2007).

From what I have read this seems to be the simplest and best solution.

You don't need to dual boot. You need the other OS (OS's) CD (CD's) that you want to run alongside XP, or Vista.

You can create / run multiple Os's such as Windows 95, 98 and XP (at least).

Minimum requirements are listed as XP Pro or Windows 2000 and an appropriately spekked machine. The reviewer has run it with XP Home adequately.

All of this can be installed without disturbing your existing Windows configuration.

It is easy to swop OS's, just click on the windows for the alternative OS (OS's).
No need to alter BIOS, or reboot.

Remember each OS is separate so you will need Firewalls and AV's in each OS if you visit the Net in that OS.

Virtual PC 2004 is a FREE download from www.microsoft.com/windows/virtualpc
For more info on Virtual 2007 check out the same link.

The above summarised from PCUtilities mag, Issue 81, pp70/71.

I haven't tried it, so use it at your own risk. Make sure you have a FULL backup of everything on your PC before embarking on this experiment.

Anyone using this, please comment. Bazza

Adrynalyne · May 7, 2007

Vista has enough issues with performance on middle to low end machines...imagine running it under an emulator. Its going to be crap.

bigbazza · May 7, 2007

You are correct, Adrynalyne, as usual.

What I should have suggested in running others OS's from a Vista spekked PC, not the other way around. Bazza

===

Adrynalyne said: ↑

Vista has enough issues with performance on middle to low end machines...imagine running it under an emulator. Its going to be crap.
Click to expand...

MEL40 · May 9, 2007

Well I've took the plunge and new pc with Vista is being delivered next week. Lets hope I don't regret it.

Thanks for all your comments.

Mel

Bugballou · May 9, 2007

I think you will be happy with it, especially since you bought it preinstalled. And who knows, maybe someday I will take the plunge too. Keep us up to date, I am guessing you got a desktop...
confused
Bug

DavidGP · May 9, 2007

MEL40 said: ↑

Well I've took the plunge and new pc with Vista is being delivered next week. Lets hope I don't regret it.

Thanks for all your comments.

Mel
Click to expand...

Cool, what PC did you go for, do you have a link to it maybe?

But if you have any issues with software then post away Mel, their are work-arounds and alternatives for most things

mozfan11 · Jun 25, 2007

WAIT if you can. I had a Dell desktop delivered Feb 1 with Vista pre-loaded. Was not compatible with keyboard/mouse (even with Vista driver downloads), would not stay connected to wireless network--could detect but wouldn't connect to internet (again even with Vista drivers), Firefox was completely shut out of connecting to the internet--for which no Dell tech could tell me why. Spent hours on the phone with my router support (belkin--very helpful), tried to chat with M$ online--too difficult to explain issue to.

Long story short--shipped the whole system back to Dell Friday and should get my refund by end of July.

I bought a new HP system and am having better luck so far. If this fails, then I will become a Mac user.

The frustration mostly arose from the Windows updates. Windows would install a "critical" update and then things would stop working.

Keep XP for as long as you can.

Moz

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Please Help - Should I Buy Vista

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