OT: Windows vista worth it?

aquaman3680

aquaman3680

Well-Known Member
I got my free upgrade to windows vista today... Is it worth upgrading? I have heard mixed emotions... Any thoughts?

Matt
 
mps9506

mps9506

Well-Known Member
Couldn't help ya. Still on XP and perfectly happy... I just can't throw down $200 to upgrade yet.
 
C

cheeks69

Wannabe Guru
RS STAFF
Free ???
How do I get it :lol:
I would like to upgrade but the problem is all my drivers would also have to be updated and I don't know if they're available yet.
 
aquaman3680

aquaman3680

Well-Known Member
i bought a computer and they said that they would upgrade it for free when it came out! I like xp but im kinda curious about vista!

Matt
 
S

Scouter Steve

Active Member
I just bought a new PC with Vista on it. My old PC crashed and burned. I came from Win2K and It seems to work OK but it does take getting used to. I do know there are driver issues with anything more the a couple years old. My HP printer all in one is running generic drivers so I miss some of the performance. HP says they will be building a driver. Remember the drivers are the responsibility of the hardware manufacture not the OS manufacture.
 
BoomerD

BoomerD

Well-Known Member
I had the opportunity to go to one of Microsoft's "Roll out events" last month in Sacramento. Got to see Vista "up close and personal" so to speak, but on a machine that was optimized for it...I REALLY like some of the "eye candy" improvments they've added to the new OS, as well as some of the new functionality, BUT, I won't make the change for a year or so, to give manufacturers time to get good solid drivers for various hardware. I'm relatively happy with my current system, and am NOT ready to dump $1000 into rebuilding it AGAIN just yet... I spoke to one of the MS reps and he said 6 months minimum, maybe 1 year, and that seems just about right.
Be sure you have LOTS of system memory, as Vista is quite a resource hog...I have 1.5 Gb, and is barely enough...I'd recommend 2 gigs MINIMUM for Vista if you plan on doing anything that is graphically intense. (games, photo editing, graphics design, AutoCad, etc.)
 
sandman3467

sandman3467

Member
I'm one of the lucky few that gets to test software from microsoft....after having installed and used the Beta2 I gave up on the new operating system.There are still so many bugs to work out with this OS.Not to mention that not all your internal cards may work or your printers,scanners and so on until the manufacturer of those items comes out with updated drivers.And if your into games i'm sorry to say most will not work right now even when you set it to run under XP,2000,98 or ME.One thing I do like is the GUI (grafical User Interface) of Vista.Other than that i'd say wait a year before going to vista.
 
Triggerjay

Triggerjay

Well-Known Member
I bought a new pc about a month ago, and it came with vista. It runs fast, but I still think vista is junk. Everything that took me one step before seems to be a 5 step process. For example, with XP I can hook up my digital camera, and copy all the pics, some of the pics, or just one pic... Vista says one pic, or all pics.. not just some. I also still have yet to find the refresh button in the new IE that came with vista. I have also been real busy, and have not really had the tie to sit down and figure it out. It is an operating system of its own. There are very few similarities to XP. So far, my vote is junk.

Jason
 
aquaman3680

aquaman3680

Well-Known Member
ok thanks for the info guys! I have a 200gb computer with 2 gig ram... if i install it would i be able to get it off if i decided i didnt like it?

Matt
 
iluvzigz

iluvzigz

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
hey matt just try and find boomers thread...where he was having trouble with it. Everyone advises against it,at least for a year or so.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Vista has some potential in the long run but right now STAY away from it if you can. If your system comes with it pre-loaded that's one thing but do NOT upgrade to it. Give it at least 8 more months for vendors to make and certify the drivers for Vista. I had 2 TERRIBLE experiences with it just last week. One was resolved by LUCK alone and one I had to be on the with a tech support guy from a vendor company for over an hour till she said, "We don't have VISTA here yet and it will be two more weeks before we do. Once we have it "in-house" we'll start working with it and see what follows!" I ended up getting lucky and creating my own work-around.

Say NO to Vista! :)

Allen
 
wonderloss

wonderloss

Member
I got the free upgrade with a new computer too. I installed to a partition and set the computer up to dual boot, so I still have my choice of XP or Vista. This way, I can still go back. So far, nothing has made me go Wow! but I have not had any issues with the OS either.

If I remember, when I get home from work, I can post a link to some good instructions for doing it.
 
vdituri

vdituri

Well-Known Member
:bugout: They say that if you don't like your upgrade to Vista there is an option to revert back to XP. Don't know if that is a big red panic button on the desktop or a hidden option buried 12 layers into windows. I'm still waiting to upgrade. Too many scary online blogs like this one.
 
wonderloss

wonderloss

Member
How to dual boot Vista

These are the instructions that I used. I used the GParted live CD (recommended in the instructions), and did not have any trouble.

The biggest issue is that you will need to reinstall most programs to run them in Vista. To save space, you can reinstall in the original location, so you only have a single copy. This makes the appropriate changes to the registry for Vista, and the software will run in both OSes. Of course, it may reset things back to defaults for the reinstalled software if you have changed any settings.

You will also have to download new drivers for any video cards, printers, etc.

And, of course, you should always backup anything that you could not bear to lose.
 
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