Windows XP or Vista?

[thedrainman]

I have had serious problems with Vista, having to rewrite my main software package to cope with the new 'features'. This took ages! To be fair to Micro$oft (not easy), this rewrite forced me to do things in the correct way that I should have done in the forst place.

The first thing to turn off is UAC, then get it as close to XP as you can by turning off all the unnecessary gimicks.

I am interested that there are some Linux users here - anybody used Codeweaver?

Are there any other programmers lurking around?

 

[silvertriumph2]

THANKS, Mem.....
After Thanksgiving, I will get my computer friend to check out all of the advice
from all of you, and see if he can help me get things going....

 

[Phil Ayesho]

I forgot......
the Windows Word program which I had been using for years, liked and
had become very comfortable using, was not recognized by Vista and I was
told by HP it was something else not compatable with Vista.
I was told by HP that I would have to purchase a new, Vista compatible version
of Windows Word. :banghead2:

I am the secretary of a national organization and use it constantly. Now I have to
buy and get used to using a new program. I am beginning to like Microsoft less and
less.

Get a mac- for $80 buy Pages and Keynote. Will open any word or powerpoint document and save in word or powerpoint format.


And they will always work, even when Apple comes out with dramatically new systems, because apple always includes an emulation method so that new systems are backwards compatible with your older software.

Oh, and without ANY antivirus software at all, you will still never ever get another virus. Open any email with impunity and laugh as the hidden exe. files bounce off like so many rubber balls.

 

[silvertriumph2]

I just spent $1,400 for my new HP Laptop....can't afford to buy a MAC too.
The way things are going ecomony wise now, I'm going to hoard my money
for a while and try not to spend anything more if I can help it. But, I do
have to get what I have at present ...working, so I can do the jobs that
I need to do.

At least it hasn't interferred with my visiting and enjoying lpsg...:wink:

I don't have a clue what "Pages and Keynote" is/are but will bring it up with
my computer friend after Thanksgiving.

THANKS, Phil

 

[Mr. Snakey]

I had an HP all in one Print/scan/copier and it did not work when I lost the drier with an XP computer. Vista found the driver and downloaded it automatically.

I now use Windows Photo Gallery to scan.

Yes that's what i like about Vista. Anything you plug in it finds the driver and downloads it automaticlly. It's plug and play.

 

[nay-nay]

i honestly don't see why people don't like vista. i bought my gateway laptop in june of last year and i've had no problems with it at all.

before i bought this one, i went through 2 acers in 2 days.

the first one, i was in the middle of setting it up and it just shut off and would not turn back on. so i took it back, got another one. same thing happened after i got the setup done.

so i just took it back, got my money back and went to best buy and bought a gateway. i have no complaints about vista at all.

 

[Mr. Snakey]

Vista works ok for me...never had problems. HOWEVER, if you upgrade from XP to Vista..thats where all the problems are. If you're not installing on a clean hard drive...then i'd say stay with XP but if its a new computer or system...go with Vista. I have Vista Professional and it's never been a problem.

Yes you have to do a clean erase of the drive before you upgrade. If you dont there will be problems.

 

[B_stanmarsh14]

Absolutaly hated Vista with a vengance.

Purchased an Advent Laptop (Which was a mistake in itself, power supply has just failed this past week), and like near enough all PC's then, it had a flavour of Vista on it (Prem edition).

With the exception of Vista Basic, not one comp I have serviced with Vista, as any of the users gotten on well with it, mostaly down to the fact the unit was just not powerful enough to run all the added on crap.

My advice would be, though some what in a gray area, is to save the licence sticker you have on your old comp (Which I assume is XP / Media Center of some type), and try the many sources on the net for an OEM version of XP, which will work with this licence, and also make your Vista backup media, just in case you want to go back to using Vista sometime, which you should do first BEFORE you do anything with the comp.

Dispite what many manus say, there will be XP drivers available, but before you change the operating system, run and print off a system stats report using the following: Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit This will ID the various parts on your PC, so you know what drivers you need.

If you need help tracking down the OEM version of XP / Media Center, then give me a quick PM, as I doubt the mods / admins would not apprecated links in public to software with a gray background :wink:

before i bought this one, i went through 2 acers in 2 days.

The bain of my b'stard life ACER's. Even worse build quality than Advents (Made by Quanta Computer, for many OEM's throughout the world, in this case, PC World / DSG Group in the UK), mostaly issues with DC jacks, Display Drivers, and big issues with overheating.

If you want a quality laptop that is built to last, can not go far wrong with a Toshiba or HP / Compaq, or if you know how to fix em, Dell are good due to the easy availability of 3rd party / non OEM parts and general good build quality.

 

[Mem]

I just spent $1,400 for my new HP Laptop....can't afford to buy a MAC too.
The way things are going ecomony wise now, I'm going to hoard my money
for a while and try not to spend anything more if I can help it. But, I do
have to get what I have at present ...working, so I can do the jobs that
I need to do.

At least it hasn't interferred with my visiting and enjoying lpsg...:wink:

I don't have a clue what "Pages and Keynote" is/are but will bring it up with
my computer friend after Thanksgiving.

THANKS, Phil

That's a lot of money for a laptop. I got a Gateway for about $550 about 2 years ago with Vista Home Premium and I use it as my main computer.

 

[Phil Ayesho]

you can buy the cheapest mac laptop for $1,000....

But, for what I do with a computer...a laptop of any type is simply not powerful enough

 

[silvertriumph2]

you can buy the cheapest mac laptop for $1,000....

But, for what I do with a computer...a laptop of any type is simply not powerful enough

Maybe so (I should have taken some friends advice and bought a mac..), but I've
already bought the HP now....too late........unless I win the lottery.

 

[Captain Elephant]

Well, I work with music so we're all on Macs here. But Ben, my tech guy, just gave me this little laptop that runs on Linux, and, man, it's rock steady.

 

[Deno]

Vista is not expensive, you can buy the home basic for 99 dollars and install in on a newly formatted hard drive without proof of a previous OS. That makes it cheaper then what there still charging for XP Sp2. I don't get the Vista haters at all. I am not a huge genius at computing and I am not a dumbie user either. I have no problem with Vista at all. There are very easy ways to shut off stuff you don't want or need. Its easy to change any of the security settings. I did buy my system in parts so I got what I wanted and in so knew what to buy for the OS. Maybe thats why I don't have issues. I would totally suggest not upgrading to vista but to do a format and new installation. And then take the time to install the some 50 to 60 updates that have been issued since its release.

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

you can buy the cheapest mac laptop for $1,000....

But, for what I do with a computer...a laptop of any type is simply not powerful enough

Not even some of the desktop replacements, like the Dell XPS M1730?

 

[Honey123]

Thanks njqt..

The problem is that Vista will not recognize the HP Product Key for my old computer.

I contacted HP and they gave me a connection through HP to do it, but Vista still
refused to recognize my old HP Printer's Product Key. When I contacted HP the next
day I was if that didn't work nothing would, and suggested buying a new printer.

I went to Circuit City, where I bought the computer, knowing there was always an
HP representative on the selling floor. He gave me the same baloney about having
to buy a new printer that would be recognized by Vista.

I am not a computer person, even though I try real hard to become one, one day.
I have a good friend who works with computers, so I will try to get him to try your
suggestion.

Thanks again....your help was much appreciated

I had the same problem. I actually spent just over 2 hours on the phone with the HP serice rep (who snuck into my trash can at one point while on my PC and saw my deleted porn and pissed me off). I installed, uninstalled, reinstalled and reconfigured the software several times before I even called the help desk and they basically did the same thing I'd already done. He researched everything he could think of and could not find a resolution. Then he went back to the beginning and asked me all the serial numbers and looked them up on another database - that's when he found that it was made in China 2 months before that facility became Vista compliant (Vista was already out). I did find one configuration where my 4-in-1 printer could print so I left it there. When I was able to get the XP box set up again I just plugged it in to the old PC and it's worked without an issue since.

There are hundreds of thousands of people with HP multifunctional printers that were not Vista compliant. The HP support site has lots of comments from users. The Vista drivers do NOT resolve the issue and actually caused my printer to not work at all.

I have found that the fewer options used on the Vista box the better - like no wallpaper because that messed something up.

 

[silvertriumph2]

Thanks Honey123...

I decided in the mean time to check and see if I could get my old Gatway
PC with XP to run again. It had been giving be so much trouble, that's why
I threw my hands up in the air and bought the new HP Laptop.

My old Toshiba Laptop (ca 1995/6) with MS'95, was so old it didn't support
aquat, and couldn't be upgraded. I needed something that I could carry
with me, so instead of getting a new PC I decided on the HP Laptop which
came with Vista.

Anyway, the old Gateway with XP, I discovered works for the present :shrug:
and I found I can still use my old M/S Works and HP All-in-One Printer/Scanner.
Now if it starts working again, and there was no real reason to buy a new
computer.....I am going to be a bit angry that I spent all the money when I
didn't need to!!!
But, I needed a computer to carry around with me and had put it off for too
long.
In the mean time, I at least I have my XP and printer back!! :smile:

 

[Mem]

I've seen all in one printers as cheap as $50 at Walmart. Sometimes it's cheaper to replace the printer. Many times when my printer runs out of ink I just buy a new cheap one. By then they are faster and print more pixels, and it costs less than buying new ink cartridges.

 

[B_stanmarsh14]

Here is the bitch for you all, especaly those who are in the US.

In the UK, you can find / source 3rd party carts for Epson printers for as cheep as £1 / $1.50 us.

Many a time my mate in NY is hopping mad at cart prices, and see's me with these dam cheep carts.

Thank god the EU laws have done something good for once, and basicaly forbids the OEM lockdown on cheep compatable carts.

 

[EagleCowboy]

Buy the Mac. Beautiful... WELL MADE and well supported...
And ONE intel mac can be partitioned and run Mac OSx, Windows NT, PRo, or XP, Vista, AND Linux...

All on one platform. Oh, c'mon!! Linux can do all that in it's sleep!! And it's FREE!!

I run XP64 when I need to run a windows app like Freeform... I run Mac to run Final Cut pro, adobe suite, or FormZ I run XP32 to run Zbrush or Modo. Linux can do all that and even run many Windoze programs from inside Linux!!

And I ONLY go online via the Mac OS... and thus NEVER get a virus. Same with Linux. (yawn)

All on one machine.

Then, absolutely, right away... buy an iMac or Mac Laptop.
Thewy are the most user friendly and intuitive computers on the market.
In fact, nearly EVERYTHING windows XP or Vista TRIES to be, is copied from the Mac. And they all try to copy Linux. Did you know that Micro$oft tried to BUY all of Linux?? What does that say about their software vs. Linux?? Notice they didn't go after the other guys? Why is that?

You will never feel frustrated by your computer again. Only if you're running Linux.

Get a mac- for $80 buy Pages and Keynote. Will open any word or powerpoint document and save in word or powerpoint format. Open Office/Star office has it beat. Plus, they're FREE!!


And they will always work, even when Apple comes out with dramatically new systems, because apple always includes an emulation method so that new systems are backwards compatible with your older software.

Oh, and without ANY antivirus software at all, you will still never ever get another virus. Open any email with impunity and laugh as the hidden exe. files bounce off like so many rubber balls. Always been the case with Linux. LOL

Linux can do all that stuff. Easily. And it's FREE. Why buy something that's substandard when something superior is FREE?? It just makes no sense.
Linux comes in many flavors to suit what you need, it's FREE, Never crashes, it's FREE, it's the ONLY true multitasking OS out there, it's FREE, and I don't know anyone that's running Linux to have ever gotten a virus, trojan, or even had their identity or credit cards stolen using Linux. (having your life/money stolen with Windoze is all too easy) Did I mention it's FREE?

I work with music a lot. Linux is better at it than any Mac or Windoze. I can surf hacker and government websites without them even knowing I'm there. Try that with a Mac!! And with Linux friendly routers/wireless routers, you can make your system ultra secure and keep people from mooching off your high speed internet from down the street.

Linux comes in many flavors, ranging from super easy to WTF???, is superior to anything out there, best of all, it's FREE people!!

But for those of you that are scared to try something new, several flavors of Linux can be had that run strictly off a CD on any OS so you can get a feel for it. Eject the CD and it goes away without disturbing that OS. It's really cool. Can you do that with Windoze or other OSes? I think not.

 

[Phil Ayesho]

I think you missed that I was talking about the MACHINE.

Linux doesn't run on your fingers... it runs on a computer.

Mac OS 10 is actually based on the linux kernal... and you can use the command line interface if you prefer... Just hit a hotkey and up it comes... your in linux, baby.

But, sorry... I find linux itself kind of awkward compared to the mac OS.

But really- I was pointing out that you can run ALL of the major operating System on the Mac... and you can run some of them CONCURRENLTY...

Build quality on the mac is much better than any PC which are forever mucking around with components trying to undercut each other's price.
Just open a Power Mac and you can SEE the difference in build quality.


Unfortunately... for those of us who have to USE software other than the basics... most professional software is not compiled to run directly on linux.

Saying its free is like saying you can have a free toaster... when what you are needing to make is a pizza.


Freeform only runs under windows... me being no coder and the software not being open source, I am stuck with that fact.

But speaking as a guy who has to run several different platforms and operating systems.

Right now my top pick is Mac OS running on an Intel Mac platform.

My second best pick would be XP64 running on an intel Mac platform.