Do you Like Vista? [Archive] - Digital Video Forums

MilesAhead

27 May 2007, 03:24 AM

Is anyone satisfied with Windows Vista? Have you upgraded? Have you downgraded back to XP? From what I heard Vista is not worth it, so I plan to stick with XP.

I bought an HP Pavilion w/AMD duo 64 processor and Vista Home
Premium about 2 months ago. I don't think I'd try to
upgrade my Pentium D machine. You'd want to buy a fast
machine with at least 2 GB Ram and Vista preinstalled.
So far it seems pretty stable.

The main annoyances for me were 1) Stuff scheduled to run that
you don't want such as network file caching, file indexing,
mobile device syncing etc. that just causes HD thrashing, and
2) they shuffled all the settings around in Control Panel making
it difficult to shut most of the crap in 1) off!!! The easiest way
is just to google for everything you want to disable and chances
are you'll find a Vista tweak that shows how to get to that setting.

After you spend some time tweaking then it's not so bad. By default
it waits 20 seconds for running services and processes to quit, making
shutdown seem like it takes forever. But I found the registry setting
online and changed it to 8 seconds. Not so bad.

My 2-machine Lan seems to run better now that I have Vista on one
of the machines. I don't get an access violation every time I try to
drag & drop a file across the Lan.

I think when the next generation of 64 bit PCs come out then it will
be less noticible what a resource hog it is. :)

petsbug

27 May 2007, 05:29 PM

Chewy

27 May 2007, 07:17 PM

the more you tweak the more problems down the line as you put more and more crap on the system.

could you elaborate on this part?, my experience is the opposite

jm1647

27 May 2007, 09:37 PM

Dell resorting back to XP as an option in their new machines as per customer demand. I have no complaints so far and not attempted to tweak my system. I learned my lessons the more you tweak the more problems down the line as you put more and more crap on the system.

I think it is the "more problems down the line as you put more crap on the system" that causes problems. Adding decent programs shouldn't be a problem.

From what I have heard about Vista, the free upgrade I got to Vista Home Basic is still in the envleope Compaq sent it in, I'm sticking with XP Home for now :toast: :beer:

petsbug

28 May 2007, 03:07 AM

could you elaborate on this part?, my experience is the opposite

I know you do cos you're a geek and i am a novice:toast:
What i mean is that there were times that you needed a little application to improve something then that something affected something you ended up removing that something ...... :smashead:

Chewy

28 May 2007, 03:22 AM

What i mean is that there were times that you needed a little application to improve something then that something affected something you ended up removing that something ....

it's better to go slow with tweaks till you kind of understand them

those auto tweak programs are too dangerous

davidt1

28 May 2007, 08:12 AM

Is anyone satisfied with Windows Vista? Have you upgraded? Have you downgraded back to XP? From what I heard Vista is not worth it, so I plan to stick with XP.

No, I don't like Vista. Laptop came with it. Installed XP for dual boot. Use XP 90% of the time.

doctorhardware

28 May 2007, 12:13 PM

It is a PIA to setup some computers take 45 minutes to 1 hour and a half to get to the desktop to do anything to the computer. Stay with XP as long as you can. IMHO.

Chewy

28 May 2007, 05:16 PM

quad core, 4 gigs of ram, 512 megs of vid and you'll be all set to go with vista when they get the bugs out

photo_angel2004

28 May 2007, 10:13 PM

I have herd nothing good about Vista and I dont plan to get it ever unless it gets better not to mention all of my NONE of my programs are compatable with it except for maybe a few new ones. I would have to upgrade $$$$$$ programs to upgrade to Vista and thats just not worth it for me.
XP has been working fine for me. Heck I still have windows 98 SE on one of my computers. LOL

I have seen all of the new computers sold in the stores all have that Vista installed to them though they dont seem to sell Pre made computers with XP any more. Good luck to all those buying a new pc.

petsbug

29 May 2007, 02:44 AM

You people seem married to XP! Get a a mistress named Vista and you'll love it! Well, I am never qualified to judge Vista I am no geek I am a mechanical engineer but I have good experience so far. I think its just a matter of getting used to its functions, where things are as always hard to become disconnected to what you're in love with and got used to. Its stable for me not a single freeze or crash since I got it.

MilesAhead

29 May 2007, 06:43 AM

I think its just a matter of getting used to its functions, where things are as always hard to become disconnected to what you're in love with and got used to. Its stable for me not a single freeze or crash since I got it.

Upgrading an existing machine seems to be the source of most frustration.
I think the migration is much easier if you buy a machine with it preinstalled
and add it to a running network. Even if the "network" is only one other
machine with a router. Then if the apps you need aren't compatible you
can still run 'em on the XP machine until Vista versions of the apps come out.

I agree on the stability. As long as you don't disable the wrong service you
should be okay. I think they created a lot of unnecessary hostility when
they shuffled the settings around in Control Panel. Nobody enjoys hunting
for hidden check boxes when stuff is broken. :fan2:

doctorhardware

29 May 2007, 08:05 AM

photo_angel2004

29 May 2007, 10:40 AM

The main problem is that small businesses can't afford to purchase new software in order to use Vista. If you are a large corporation then that is no problem. Had a small business owner purchase a top of the line HP and when he found out that none of his business apps would run he returned the computer and all services that he had purchased that day. This happened maybe 2 months ago. He was not very happy.

Your not kidding there some companies are still using windows 98 LOL

The company I work for was bought out about 2 years ago by a bigger company and they finally upgraded to windows XP about a month befor I started working there. With that in mind I am thinking the thought of them upgrading to Vista aint gunna happen. LOL

The also use the microsoft office 2000 version LOL :toast: (which kinda through me off as I am used to the 2002 and 2003 versions LOL )

anonymez

29 May 2007, 10:55 AM

Office 2007 Ultimate is an improvement. Australian university students (me) got it at a ridiculously low price, $75 ($USD 60)-- something like a 95% discount. http://www.itsnotcheating.com.au

Maybe they realized the University already supplies us with Office in their workstations as well as a discounted version, or maybe that many students use OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org/).

photo_angel2004

29 May 2007, 11:19 AM

@anonymez,

I am suprized to see that the univerity students have to buy it at all.

I have a friend back in school again and she got the office 2003 pro for free with her tuition to school.

I have not seen that 2007 version yet not even at best buy. I guess we are a bit behind here. LOL

The $75.00 is still a good deal though concidering how much that program costs.

When I used to work for Spalding (which I wish I still work there ) any ways they had contract agreements with Mocrosoft for all Employees that use the office programs to be able to purchase 1 copy for $17.00 shipped. Of course I jumped on that but you would be real surprized at how many employees did not take them up on that offer. At that time it sold for $499.99 in the stores.

I would love to check out the 2007 version just to see the changes in it.

anonymez

29 May 2007, 11:29 AM

I would love to check out the 2007 version just to see the changes in it

MS offers a trial version I think. Just some nice UI improvements as far as I'm concerned:

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/3403/clipboard1in6.th.png (http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/3403/clipboard1in6.png)

photo_angel2004

29 May 2007, 11:34 AM

MS offers a trial version I think. Just some nice UI improvements as far as I'm concerned:

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/3403/clipboard1in6.th.png (http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/3403/clipboard1in6.png)

Ya those trail versions yet ya hooked and then you have to buy. LOL

I guess for me for now the office suite pro 2003 will have to do.
If they ever upgrade at work to the new one I will most likely upgrade it. But for now I am already upgraded at home from what they use at work. LOL

:toast:

petsbug

29 May 2007, 03:29 PM

I am using the MS office 2007 interprise since NOV. when first came out for business. Don't ask me how I got it and how much though.
An absolute beauty, very easy to use though what annoys me was the old Office function of "right click >delete" this one haven't got it you have to use the "go back" function. So if you are pasting something and reposition 3 times you have to go back three times that's the crap part. I still prefer it than the Office 2003 prof'l I used to have.

MilesAhead

30 May 2007, 07:32 AM

The main problem is that small businesses can't afford to purchase new software in order to use Vista.

That's not uncommon. I knew a guy who had a convenience store and
he was going to stay with his 286 machine until it died!!! I guess an
individual programmer wrote his business management software and
the guy never wrote something for 386 and higher processors!!! :deadhorse

Another big culprit is unrealistic "minimum system configuration" information.
Customers are rightly pissed when they can't even install the OS on a machine
that exceeds the minimum system specs. They should tell you what you
need to usefully run the thing.

Chewy

30 May 2007, 07:42 AM

new OS's for newer hardware only, 98 was an exception as it ran just as fast as 95, ME was a mistake

what made xp stable is what made it slow

same goes for vista, people are in love with "bells and whistles", that comes with a price

doctorhardware

30 May 2007, 11:26 AM

Amen Chewy!!!:smashead:

MilesAhead

31 May 2007, 04:23 AM

new OS's for newer hardware only

If the PC doesn't come with the OS I want already running
I don't want to buy it. I just wanna' push the button and
watch everything come up unbroken. It's bad enough you
have to tweak a zillion stupid settings and shut off kitchen
sink services. They should configure 'em minimally and then
have a big script for a desktop icon that says OEM Trash

If you really can't live without the OEM Trash, just double-click!! :evilidea:

petsbug

31 May 2007, 05:06 AM

new OS's for newer hardware only,

It surely holds true with Vista due to compatibility issues.
And besides its a matter of "Match" ... speed for speed.

classfour

2 Jun 2007, 02:37 PM

I really tried to give Vista a chance (Dell E521, upgraded with 80/160GB SATA HDDs, Plextor 712SA [in hand], Sony Optiarc 18X, 2GB RAM): Finally gave up - after speeding the thing to XP speeds (removed crapware) when I simply could not get DVD Rebuilder to function in a Vista environment.

I just couldn't wait for jdobbs to create DVDRB ver 1.60 Vista!!!

Some proggys you just gotta have.

I may re-install later if compatibility comes along, just not now.

XP Pro rules! (Win 2K would, except for the gaming thing)

drfsupercenter

2 Jun 2007, 11:51 PM

When I used to work for Spalding (which I wish I still work there ) any ways they had contract agreements with Mocrosoft for all Employees that use the office programs to be able to purchase 1 copy for $17.00 shipped. Of course I jumped on that but you would be real surprized at how many employees did not take them up on that offer. At that time it sold for $499.99 in the stores.

My dad's office has something similar, for $12 I think. Not sure what version it is, I should ask him to get me one!

I have Office 2000, but TBH I hate anything past that, I like the old look to it.

rdrksmith

29 Jun 2007, 03:05 PM

Vista is not that bad. Actually the Graphics are pure Eye Candy. I Remember those same thoughts when XP was first released. Roll with it. When all of the drivers and such were ready for all my stuff that is when I upgraded. I haven't looked back... Yet.
Rob

doctorhardware

30 Jun 2007, 11:21 AM

ElemonGW

30 Jun 2007, 08:39 PM

Windows Vista is one of the crappiest operating systems that computers have seen. UBUNTU FTW!!!

uufta

2 Jul 2007, 12:56 AM

Has anybody here ever Googled "buy vista" :) sorry, just found it comical.

jm1647

2 Jul 2007, 01:09 AM

Well, if you are a small business you can't afford to purchase all new software just so you have vista. Many small business that I have dealt with, have returned the computer purchased several days before. So if it is not that bad why return the computer. :smashead:

A big part of the problem with PC manufacturers is they will advertise/sell/ship a Vista PC/laptop with 512MB of RAM :( even with Vista Home basic this is a joke :toast: :beer:

Dan

2 Jul 2007, 01:13 AM

Has anybody here ever Googled "buy vista" :) sorry, just found it comical.

I just did, thanks for the chuckle uufta,lol. I see what you mean. :)

doctorhardware

2 Jul 2007, 04:21 AM

That is done purposely in order for the retailers to stick it to the consumers for memory and then a hardware install of $39.00 to open up the computer and put the memory stick in.

jm1647

2 Jul 2007, 07:21 AM

That is done purposely in order for the retailers to stick it to the consumers for memory and then a hardware install of $39.00 to open up the computer and put the memory stick in.

I just had both my daughters install their own RAM in their puters, They did it without a hitch :thumbs_up Made me proud, they even remembered lefty loosey, righty tighty :D I'm still working on the wife to reset the clock on the VCR when the power goes out :rotfl:

The price to install RAM at the puter stores is insane and you also have the hassle of taking off the all cables, lugging the puter to the store and hooking everything up again when ya get it home. :toast: :beer:

doctorhardware

2 Jul 2007, 07:33 AM

My wife and son do most of there hardware installs. Then my wife will do software troubleshooting also. But she is having latency problems on WOW. I have installed a new wireless nic but is still having problems. Also I know this is a little off topic.

soup

29 Jul 2007, 05:42 AM

Well I haven't got rid of XP, but I have just started trying Vista out but I have them on seperate drives. Now if I can just find a step by step guide on how to run VistaBootPRO 3.3, I can have dual boot instead of having to go in to BIOS all the time & change the drives around.

Chewy

29 Jul 2007, 06:35 AM

vista 32 bit has one big problem, the os takes a gig to even get going, with 2 gigs you have enough for heavy duty apps, however it will only see 3 gigs if you have 4 gigs installed

since all newer computers run in dual channel, you have to waste a gig when you go to 4 gigs

soup

29 Jul 2007, 07:27 AM

I just happen to have 4, but what's a gig between friends & isn't Microsoft our friend? It does affect XP as well as Vista 32 bit.

Chewy

29 Jul 2007, 07:33 AM

I just happen to have 4, but what's a gig between friends & isn't Microsoft our friend? It does affect XP as well as Vista 32 bit.

yes but how many gigs are left to use(available) for other programs?

xp's footprint is smaller, I would assume xp with 2 gigs is almost as fast as vista with 4, if not faster

another factor is a computer is usually faster with only 2 sticks instead of 4

soup

29 Jul 2007, 08:33 AM

Well I am just starting out on Vista so I can't make an informed comment just yet until I see if certain programs I want to work on it, actually do work. Only time will tell. With dual boot, I will always have a choice, for a while anyway.

Chewy

29 Jul 2007, 08:52 AM

what's the difference in ram available with the 2 OS's?

soup

29 Jul 2007, 10:00 AM

Is this what you mean? This is from XP, wouldn't I have to do the same for Vista?

13332

soup

29 Jul 2007, 10:33 AM

XP:

13333

Vista:

13334

soup

3 Aug 2007, 01:29 PM

MilesAhead

9 Aug 2007, 08:16 AM

Well crossing my fingers & touching a whole pile of wood, every program I have tried in Vista, I have had no problem with it, except what I mentioned in my other thread. Firefox, Thunderbird, gmail, ImgBurn, PhotoFiltre, Nero7, etc, etc & etc.

I've been wonderin' if it would be a good idea to have a Works With Vista thread? Or does most of the stuff work and it might be easier to say which stuff seems to be broken? Only thing I noticed with those kinds of threads though, is there's no auto-indexing. Once the thread covers a bunch of pages you end up reading through forever and there's a lot of repetition.
Anyway that seems to be the most concern other than drivers is what apps will and won't work. I'm curious what you think. :)

AFA browsers, I read someplace that the new version of Opera was having some problems. Good old Opera 8.5 build 7700 runs great. One proviso, I don't use mouse gestures. Please don't blame me if you do and it crashes!!
:smashead:

soup

9 Aug 2007, 09:04 AM

I think it is a good idea, but I seem to remember that somebody posted a link entitled what programs work with Vista, around here somewhere.

gonwk

10 Aug 2007, 11:19 AM

Hi guys,

Since the darn laptops come with Vista preloaded ... has any of you guys try baking up the Vista OS off of their laptop and then unistall it and load up XP on it!?!?

G!:fan2:

MilesAhead

11 Aug 2007, 03:44 AM

Hi guys,

Since the darn laptops come with Vista preloaded ... has any of you guys try baking up the Vista OS off of their laptop and then unistall it and load up XP on it!?!?

G!:fan2:

Hmmm I'd check out the policy AFA wiping the install and running the restore set vis a vis being able to return the machine. If things get hosed the restocking fee could be nasty. Granted the preinstall restore stuff works a lot better than it used to but you never know when you'll get burned. A safer test might be to put XP on as dual boot if you have the disk space.. and try it out for a while. I'd try to talk to someone with the exact same machine AFA drivers for both OS etc.. to avoid headaches.

doctorhardware

11 Aug 2007, 12:49 PM

Most of the major retailers just take the computer back as long it is within the stated return policy. Usually 15 day from the date of purchase.

gonwk

12 Aug 2007, 05:24 AM

Hi folks,

Miles & Doc ... Thanks for the feedback ... got it.

G!:)

jm1647

12 Aug 2007, 10:22 AM

By this link Vista can mess with HD video and a $100 video card can perform better then a $1000 video card?? My Vista Home upgrade is still in the envelope it came in and I'm still running XP Home on my laptop.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,135814-pg,1/article.html

:toast: :beer:

Trespasser

23 Aug 2007, 11:41 AM

I personally like Vista. It's a lot more secure than XP. Reminds me a lot of Ubuntu Linux in that respect.

Hey, jm1647.

Hey, Blutach.

cjdaden

25 Aug 2007, 09:24 AM

Vista is a lil less crappy than XP, and a lil more crappy than the next coming... Like it's always been and always will be with windows.

Next time I get Linux.

Sorayna

29 Aug 2007, 09:23 PM

I think people got used to XP and it's very difficult to change it....to get used with something else....

RFBurns

5 Sep 2007, 04:12 AM

Well I bit the bullet and bought a Vista OS pc about two weeks ago. It seems to run fine and with most of my programs I have on the old workhorse pc.

About the only thing I dont like is the consistant asking of do I want to continue pop ups. Its like ok..here I am trying to install something, I am the full admin owner of this pc, and as far as I know, have set everything so that I can do whatever as the admin. Yet this thing will pop up asking me if I want to continue when installing something or even simply moving a file or making a new folder.

It becomes quite frustrating. But what is most frustrating is all the pre-loaded stuff popping up reminding me to go online with it and check for virus defs and so forth. What I would like to do is turn off all that stuff since I dont intend to put this particular pc online at all except to update the OS or drivers.

It once interrupted a game I was playing (FreeLancer) and right in the middle of a heated space combat scenario, a "reminder" pop up interrupted my game!!! Needless to say I had to repeat that level because the pop up reminder took me to the desktop while I was trying to outmanuver incomming missiles!!! When I went back to the game, I was nothing more than pieces of space debris floating about. LOL!!!

Oh well, whats life these days without some sort of pop up!! ;)

:toast:

doctorhardware

5 Sep 2007, 10:44 AM

Try installing a linksys wireless nick card on a computer with vista. Can you spell a real PIA.:smashead::smashead::smashead::fan2::fan2: There is no vista drivers on the disk yet, and it never install the same way twice. I wasted over 3 1/2 hours at work trying to install that stupid card.

Chewy

5 Sep 2007, 11:07 AM

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_CASupport_C1&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1166859840888&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&lid=4088837314B06

doctorhardware

5 Sep 2007, 11:13 AM

Chewy,

That is where I have downloaded the vista drivers, The card currently has 4 different drivers for the different four card revisions.

Chewy

5 Sep 2007, 11:30 AM

yep, probably got 4 xp drivers for the revisions

wireless, like vista is not quite ready for prime time

sometime they'll get it right, maybe in our lifetime even

samzr2

11 Sep 2007, 02:31 PM

I have had no problems with Vista,I think its just a matter of getting used to all the new stuff,seems pretty stable,some programs aren't yet compatible but there are less and less of them,I was skeptical at first,but when I got my new dell computer I had no choice as it came installed and have been using it since,so far so good,keeping my fingers crossed.

gonwk

12 Sep 2007, 04:55 AM

Hi folks,

@ Samz ... have you used any of the "Freeware" DVD Proggies with Vista? And do all of them work?

Thanks,
G!:cry2:

Hillary Clinton

12 Sep 2007, 10:25 AM

Do any of you guys have any experience with Zone Alarm and Vista 32 bits?

Or is the Windows firewall good enough?

soup

12 Sep 2007, 10:43 AM

Haven't run in to any problems so far on the Vista side using Windows firewall & ClamWin as the anti-virus.

MilesAhead

13 Sep 2007, 07:00 AM

Hi folks,

@ Samz ... have you used any of the "Freeware" DVD Proggies with Vista? And do all of them work?

Thanks,
G!:cry2:

gonwk, about the only media converter freeware that I can't get to work on Vista is SUPER.

Some freeware apps I've been using:
FAVC 1.04, DVD Flick 1.2.2.0 beta, AviDemux 2.4, Gui4ffmpeg 2.21,
Ad-Aware newest version officially supports Vista 32 bit now.
AntiVir PE Classic, CCleaner.

I just installed the old freeware jv16 Power Tools.
All I'm using is the Registry Cleaner tool. Seems to work fine.
Auslogics Disk Defrag free version 1.1.

For a good guide on Vista Services Settings I'd go here:
http://www.blackviper.com/index.html

dazuk1972

13 Sep 2007, 09:14 AM

I don't like Windows Vista at all. It's a stain. When Windows XP came out, Microsoft made sure any software below that wouldn't install or it would make Windows XP unstable. The same is happening with Windows Vista with software that goes as high as Windows XP. I thought Microsoft would have thought of that and sorted things out to make the software universal. This is why I don't want Windows Vista otherwise I'll have to buy a lot of software again and I'll be stuck from my games that don't get an upgrade for Windows Vista. When I got Windows XP I lost out on a lot of great Windows 98 games. I don't want to go through all that again all because we can't trust Microsoft to sugar a cup of coffee at least. When I ordered a new PC recently I aimed for one with Windows XP again and no-way to Windows Vista.

gonwk

13 Sep 2007, 11:19 AM

dazuk1972

13 Sep 2007, 11:52 AM

Hi folks,:)

@ Miles ... dude ... nice to hear from you ... you are right SUPER is not so Super with Vista ... but I am sure next update the Authors might fix it and may be even "Speed Up" the conversion speed!!!

@ Hillary ... talk about being "Original" ... funny Handle & Loc ID.

@ dazuk ... I thought Dell was the last hold-out for Laptops with XP ... but last time I checked they don't offer that anymore. Where are you getting your desktop or laptop!?!

G!:angeldev2

My new PC is a Desktop made by Zoostorm. I also hate the makes of Dell and Packard Bell. One of my brothers used to work for a courier and they always got Dell computers back as faulty and then the news said the Dell Laptops had a problem where the batteries got so hot they caught fire. I read the fire news on the news itself. Dell might have sorted that blunder out now, I don't know. I hate Packard Bell as well because two of my brothers bought a Packard Bell each and they had to keep formatting for some reason. I've used a Q-Tech for years and hardly had any problems and my Zoostorm Pc is fine as well except for a problem I have with a game but that has nothing to do with Zoostorm.

Darren.

Chewy

13 Sep 2007, 07:46 PM

@ dazuk

When I got Windows XP I lost out on a lot of great Windows 98 games.

that's a shame because windows xp's compatibility mode enabled someone to almost use all earlier programs/games etc, some things like isa hardware or parrallel port scanners were not supported fully

I had one deluxe game called 9, that never would play on windows 98, I paid 40$ for it at wallyworld, it came out just before windows 98 did,
we couldn't find a patch or anything, but after xp came out and I learned to use "compatibility mode" I dug the game out and it played beautifully

dazuk1972

14 Sep 2007, 01:41 PM

@ dazuk

that's a shame because windows xp's compatibility mode enabled someone to almost use all earlier programs/games etc, some things like isa hardware or parrallel port scanners were not supported fully

I had one deluxe game called 9, that never would play on windows 98, I paid 40$ for it at wallyworld, it came out just before windows 98 did,
we couldn't find a patch or anything, but after xp came out and I learned to use "compatibility mode" I dug the game out and it played beautifully

Many thanks for that tip. I'll look around and see if there's any patches for my old games.

What I also miss is the games for the Commodore 64 and there is a web site at: www.64.com (http://www.64.com) The site has changed a bit. The games are free to download but they download under a strange file type that requires MS-DOS but I never fiddle with that because I'm not sure about going through MS-DOS encase I crash my PC. I tried the Emulator but it didn't work for me.

I love the Mastertronic games like Big Mac, Mr. Puniverse, Fingers Malone, Squirm and many more from Mastertronic.

Mastertronic never made these but I love playing Monty On The Run, Berks (and the rest of the series), Dorks (and the rest of that series) and Ocean made a lot of good games. The only problem with some Ocean games, they only had three levels.

I still have my Commodore 64 and some of the games but the data cassette is broken.

Darren.

Chewy

14 Sep 2007, 05:29 PM

dazuk

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/appcompat.mspx

RFBurns

14 Sep 2007, 11:25 PM

Hi folks,

@ Samz ... have you used any of the "Freeware" DVD Proggies with Vista? And do all of them work?

Thanks,
G!:cry2:

The freebie DVD player proggie that came with my pc seems to be more buggy than anything else. Barely gets past its own startup logo and whap!....just vanishes like as if it wasnt even started...or it gets to its player skin and if I attempt to play a DVD...whap!....just vanishes as if it wasnt even started.

So I installed my Power DVD player from a disc that came with a DVD burner I bought for my 98SE machine!!! Works like a champ!

:toast:

WooK

18 Sep 2007, 07:56 PM

well my scanner and modem don't work with vista

also voice doesn't work in yahoo chatrooms with vista. Yahoo has been advertising a vista version of yahoo messenger for at least 8 months now and not even a beta version has appeared. I got a security update to yahoo messenger last week and now I have audio in the chatrooms but you can't mute or adjust volume or talk. It's a joke. Don't know what the hold up is.

WooK

18 Sep 2007, 07:59 PM

Many thanks for that tip. I'll look around and see if there's any patches for my old games.

What I also miss is the games for the Commodore 64 and there is a web site at: www.64.com (http://www.64.com) The site has changed a bit. The games are free to download but they download under a strange file type that requires MS-DOS but I never fiddle with that because I'm not sure about going through MS-DOS encase I crash my PC. I tried the Emulator but it didn't work for me.

I love the Mastertronic games like Big Mac, Mr. Puniverse, Fingers Malone, Squirm and many more from Mastertronic.

Mastertronic never made these but I love playing Monty On The Run, Berks (and the rest of the series), Dorks (and the rest of that series) and Ocean made a lot of good games. The only problem with some Ocean games, they only had three levels.

I still have my Commodore 64 and some of the games but the data cassette is broken.

Darren.

I have an emulator and games for 64 that i used on XP but havent tried in Vista yet. If it don't work I'll bet theres a vista version emulator out there or comin soon

whitesnake70

19 Sep 2007, 11:06 AM

maybe microsoft will make the next OS comming out in 2010 backwards compatible like 98,ME,XP.

dazuk1972

20 Sep 2007, 06:59 AM

I have an emulator and games for 64 that i used on XP but havent tried in Vista yet. If it don't work I'll bet theres a vista version emulator out there or comin soon

Just put it this way. No matter what block we get from whatever, somebody always writers a program to by-pass that problem. There is an example I would like to mention but I can't because of rule 19 but there are bound to be people that will create a patch to make Windows XP software work with Windows Vista.

Even though a lot of the C64 game have bad graphics and the games are basic-kind these days now, I'd still love to get them back in action. When I was a kid I loved the C16 and C64 games. I remember buying a game for £1.99 and then they went up to £2.99. It was annoying at one point because my joystick broke and most of the games I wanted to buy at one point were for joystick only. My joystick broke because of having to violently flap it from left to right non-stop during a sports game. I had to do that with the joystick to make Daley Thompson run fast.

Darren.

jm1647

21 Sep 2007, 07:32 AM

WooK

21 Sep 2007, 11:12 PM

Microsoft gives up on Vista?????
According to sources Vista SP1 will rewrite the OS to Windows XP?
See more here: http://www.bbspot.com/News/2007/09/microsoft-reveals-windows-vista-sp1-will-install-xp.html :) :toast: :beer:

thought it was real till i read the last sentence

'Elston also added that if people complain too much they'll just revert to Windows ME'

MilesAhead

26 Sep 2007, 08:14 AM

Hmmmmmmm I just tried Double Driver on my Vista machine and it seems to work just as well as it does on XP.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Info/Double-Driver.shtml

:shocked:

MilesAhead

28 Sep 2007, 10:21 AM

NightbladeXX

29 Sep 2007, 02:09 AM

Well its been over a month now since i did the ol upgrade to vista as it was time for the bi-annual reinstall XP

So this time I decided I'd make the ol reinstall twice as fun and install Vista too.

So far I have not got around to reinstalling XP Pro

I like Vista besides the damn security BS pop ups which I disabled my system
AMD 5000, 2GB Corsair Ram, XFX 8800GTS 320, SB X-Fi Gamer Extreme, MSI K9 Diamond, Apevia 680W PSU, Samsung DVD/RW, and 6 HDs and a Antec 900 case custom painted black interior ncie case little loud but vents well, although I have a Koolance Exos as well

Vista is running like a champ with one glitch after installing Nero 7, Im haveing the same problem I did with XP, cant play the songs I downloaded thru Urge on WMP, of course MTV (Urge) blames MS, MS blames Creative, and Creative blames MTV, which is amusing as it all worked upto the install of Nero 7, so I think something in Nero 7 tweaked Urge's DRM BS, of course I tried telling em all of this but as usual no one listens

After a month I have to say I like Vista, I think most peeps prob is we re used to XP for SOOOO long, 6+ years, so change is hard.

I was planning to reinstall XP just for gaming, but everything except my old scanner works on Vista, so I ve been too lazy too

Used to love ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall, but they didnt have a Vista version of the Pro, so I tried Bit-Defender Total Security 2008, liked the AV and Firewall of it but the rest was buggy, so Im trying Kaspersky Internet Security, I like it and plan to buy it but might try a couple others

With running Vista, Kaspersky, and using Sandboxie (http://www.sandboxie.com/) (a must have program)
Im just using IE7 to surf the web now with absolutely ZERO spyware bs problems thansk to sandboxie, its amazing how many legit sites have spyware attached to em, just scan ur sandbox, after a surfing session its funny

Im a hard core multi-tasker as Im always running Office 2007 Pro, Nero 7, using my Lexmark 7300 MFC scanning and printing tons, and tons of other apps, and games so I push Vista hard and with only 1 fatal error to date, still not sure why, but I was getting a bunch in XP, which I think is due to having 4 - 512MB RAM sticks, never been a big fan of running 4 DIMMS in a system

Bioshock (DX10) at 1680x1050 with stuff cranked up i was getting 32 - 60+ FPS

Lost Planet was the same

The DirectX 10 games are just truely amazing

Stuck in a 2 GB Flash Drive to use the Ready boost, now after 10 restarts im saving 11 seconds on Power on to FULLY ready (every started) at 43 seconds, which is alot better than my tweaded XP with bootvis at 1:31

Vista handles my OC'ing better
Vista running at FSB at 220 stable, Video card is a little higher too (too lazy to look up, sry)

XP ran at 210

Now mind you my XP install was over 8 months old and fully bloated as Im always trying out new programs, as computers are my business so I try everything

Vista handles Networking better than XP by default although not sure with XP Pro set up properly with Users assigned

Vista recognized my Buffale Link Station Live 500GB like buttah and setting it up as my media server was buttah too, where I havta fiddle with XP on my other systems

Im upgrading my Sony Vaio Laptop once I get 2 GBs of Ram for it

I will not be upgrading my older but still a tank IBM Thinkpad A31 as it only handles 1 GB of RAM

I do NOT recommend Vista for older machines adn do NOT try Vista with minimum specs, you need at least 2 GBs of RAM, an AMD 3500+ or better and get a new Video Card

My old ATI 850XT got a 4.x rating where my 8800GTS is getting a 5.9

Windows rates my system at 5.1

CPU (AMD X2 5000) at 5.1 no OC 5.3 OC'd

Memory (2GBs Corsair 4-4-4-12 @ 400 mHz) at 5.2 OC'd 5.5 (880mHz DDR2 - FSB 440mHz)

Graphics (XFX 8800 GTS 320MB (Base model not OC'd model) 5.9 - 6.0 OC'd

Gaming Graphics same rating as this is a DirectX 10 card with the ATI in is was lower than the 4.x Graphics was at

Hard Drive Performance (WD 160GB SATA 300) at 5.4 my raptor 36GB was 5.9

Those stats just to give u an idear where u run at some systems I've built for customers running in the 4's Vista aint too happy with. So in my generic opinion you want to get at least a 5 in everything which aint too expensive anymore for Vista Home Premium to run smoothly.

One other thing that I think turns off peeps right away is how Vista places everything kinda sucky at first but the u learn their (RPN) logic and it makes more sense

So as of 9/26/2007 I am happier with Vista Home Premium than XP Pro

MilesAhead

29 Sep 2007, 05:45 AM

I just found this freebie TeraCopy. Gets rid of the hanging dialog when you drag a large file to another folder on the same drive in Vista. It replaces the Shell copy. Also it has a cool little slider thingy so you can adjust the size of file buffers during file copy. Seems to work well across the Lan and copying to USB drive. Here's the link:

http://www.codesector.com/teracopy.asp

After a day of using this on both my XP and Vista machines I
really like it. There's an Options.ini file in the application's data
folder where you can set the default buffer sizes. Play around
with the slider during large file copies
and the optimal buffer size is easy to notice. Change the .ini
settings and forget it.

Also after the copy there's a Test button to calculate a CRC32
on source and destination files if you want to verify no bits got
dropped across a network or whatever.

The only glitch I've found so far is on Vista. If you right
click a folder or whatever and then select "tera copy" it gives a
fatal error. It works fine on XP. On either OS I haven't seen any
problem doing drag & drop copy or move using the right mouse button
though. No more watching that Vista dialog telling you it's going to
calculate how long it's going to take to move a file to another
folder on the same drive!!! It just does it!!

:aerobics:

MilesAhead

1 Oct 2007, 05:23 AM

Found another good System Utility freebie that works with Vista. System Information for Windows. After running SIW I did get a dialog squawking about not having MSVCP50.DLL but I copied it from my XP machine to C:\Windows\System32 and now it doesn't complain.

The nice thing is it can output a log of this system info including your services with descriptions running state etc.. Also it needs no install so you can run it off a key drive or whatever(I guess in that case you should make sure that DLL is on there too.)

http://www.gtopala.com/

MilesAhead

24 Oct 2007, 06:28 AM

Having just made a backup of my Vista system I
thought it might be a good time to experiment. On some
other forums I noticed people claiming they had no
problems running Vista without a swap file. So I tried it.

A few things I noticed right away... when I click
on a folder the Explorer window snaps up there!! When
I drag a folder with large files and move it
to another folder on the same partition, instead
of getting a dialogue saying that stuff about calculating
how long the operation will take, the icon is moved nearly
instantly just like in XP!

So far using my PC the way I usually do, I haven't
run over 50% Ram usage. It looks like the system will
just dump that stuff it's caching if you need more
ram to load a program.

The other really big change, instead of taking 20
or 30 seconds to shut down Vista, it takes less than
10!! Looks like most of the lag time is sorting through
the swap file to do whatever it does before shutting down.

Before attempting to run with no swap and only 2
GB ram I'd suggest doing various tweaks so that your
system doesn't overload itself. Stuff like turning off
automatic defrag, making sure mobsync.exe doesn't run,
and of course having a current backup in case there's
a problem.

I've been running with no swap for about 1/2 a day
now and Vista is really snappy!!! It feels like XP only
with some UI effects.

:party:

atifsh

26 Oct 2007, 10:18 PM

NightbladeXX
some systems I've built for customers running in the 4's Vista aint too happy with. So in my generic opinion you want to get at least a 5 in everything

dont agree here, my vista score 4.2 .......(cpu 4.2, graphics 4.4, gaming 4.7, ram 5.2 & harddisk 5.6)

im prety happy with the system, dont have any problems and thats before i get sp1.

my system is not officially vista ready [P4 3.0 Ghz on intel 915 [optiplex gx280]]
my new laptop has similar score dell vostro c2d 1.6 but just 1 gb for now is even better, and it renders in half time then this system :)

bakura82

27 Oct 2007, 01:34 AM

Do you Like Vista?No. Nothing but trouble. Wait until SP2 if you can.

soup

27 Oct 2007, 08:37 AM

I just found out today that VLC works in Vista.

MilesAhead

31 Oct 2007, 03:37 AM

Baleno_E

31 Oct 2007, 03:22 PM

I prefer Xp, almost all the programs are compatibl with xp.

hello people

1 Nov 2007, 11:26 PM

I just bought a laptop...of course it has Vista on it. I like it...no troubles yet. I have not tried to install much of my PC software which is running on XP. Anyway, I think it's going well. Set everything to Windows Classic view, just the way I like it. Got rid of the sidebar and all the rest of the crap.

MilesAhead

7 Nov 2007, 10:19 AM

In the Works With Vista category I'll add Paragon Drive Backup Personal 8.51.
I had occasion to test out the restore a few days ago. Worked as advertised. The only thing I haven't done on Vista is make the hidden disk partition for the backup. I'm using an external drive. I've heard things about Vista being testy about partition resizing so I didn't want to take the chance. Anyway, I laid the entire C: partition back on and all seems good. :)

RFBurns

14 Nov 2007, 05:08 PM

Well so far I have had very good results with this new Vista PC. Especially after upgrading the memory on it.

I have had only one problem with software, a racing game that wont see the 3d card correctly (nascar sim racing and its cube3d configuration program).

Otherwise its been a very good PC (knocks on wood and peers over his left at his win98SE machine still running just fine!).

:toast:

ulTRAX

15 Nov 2007, 11:58 AM

I had to get a new PC when the HD on my old XP PC fried. The old PC wasn't worth the investement in a new IDE drive. By day 2 of owning the new Vista PC I was ready to scream.

I detest with a passion the new file management system. When I want to move files between drives I want to MOVE them not copy them. But I can't find any move option between drives. So when I moved 5400 recovered eml email files to my C drive I had to then delete the originals THEN delete them again from trash. It's idiotic. Why didn't they just keep the move to/copy to icons??? No they eliminated them. I'm looking for Win Explorer replacements like PowerDesk.

Scandalous are the program incompatibilities. In those first two days as I was reinstalling key software I found the following would not work:

Nero 7
Zone Alarm Pro
WS_FTP Pro 2007
System Mechanic 6
Ghost Recon
PeerGuardian2

plus some problems with some less known programs. I was ready to go back to XP in a heartbeat... and may still.

ulTRAX

16 Nov 2007, 09:17 AM

The only thing I haven't done on Vista is make the hidden disk partition for the backup. I'm using an external drive.

You're better off using a separate drive for backup. Don't want all your eggs in one basket. In fact besides my external... formally my second drive in my old PC... I also have a few portable drives... and when I backup files to one I keep it stored in a different location. What good are two drives at home if the house burns down LOL.

MilesAhead

16 Nov 2007, 12:47 PM

ulTRAX on the Vista file move thing, you might want to give TeraCopy a try.
It's one of the few programs that seems to work better in Vista than XP. (I only use it
on XP to copy over the network. For some reason moves to another folder the destination doesn't always show up... might be because it's a shared folder or something.) Anyway, what I like about it is there's a slider you can use to adjust the file buffer. When you find the optimal setting, change the "Options.ini" file and make it default. Here's the link:

http://www.codesector.com/teracopy.asp

Saqib Din

20 Nov 2007, 06:01 AM

Vista is wicked but only if u have it preinstalled

wiki_fox

21 Nov 2007, 10:01 PM

I dislike Windows explorer. Besides there is a number of well done gadgets :)

kass

25 Nov 2007, 07:05 AM

I just bought my first laptop which has Vista. I had heard from a number of people in electronics before I bought it to try and stay away from Vista do to incompatibility issues. I ended up with Vista because according to the salesman, you can't buy hardware without the latest version of Windows. Unfortunately, I have found that the warnings were warranted. I am limited to what I can do because of Vista, which defeats the purpose of buying the laptop in the first place, which was not cheap. Now I have to figure out how to downgrade to XP. I'm a complete newbie and don't know what I'm doing.

Can anyone advise on how you do this safely without losing Vista altogether?

MilesAhead

26 Nov 2007, 02:12 AM

The best bet might be to run SIW a freeware you can download here:
http://www.gtopala.com/

to get a list of your hardware and the installed drivers. If there are
XP drivers for all the hardware then you stand a good chance somebody
can add XP to your system(you'll come up to a boot screen that will
ask you to choose to boot Vista or XP.)

If your laptop has a large hard drive then you might be okay.. depending on
what apps you run and how much data you keep on the HD etc..

Chewy

26 Nov 2007, 02:24 AM

kass,

you might request a full refund, you can still order laptops with xp if you look hard enough online, or add more ram and upgrade to programs that like vista

gonwk

26 Nov 2007, 04:13 AM

Hi folks,

@ Miles ... where in the world you find these "goodies" programs ... THANKS! BTW, I wonder if someone has written a step-by-step guide for installing WindowsXP on a pre-installed Vista ... you know the way you mentioned ... so a person can boot-up to whatever version he/she wants.

Also, Wishing ALL of you folks a Healthy & Happy Holiday Season!

G!:angelgrin

Chewy

26 Nov 2007, 05:20 AM

I wouldn't think it was a safe proposition to install windows xp to the same partition/hard drive as Vista.

MilesAhead

26 Nov 2007, 08:06 AM

gonwk I haven't done the multi-boot thing in a while
so I can't recommend any sites from first-hand experience.

I've noticed some XP/Vista dual boot threads on this forum:
http://thevistaforums.com/index.php?

I have seen some mention that Vista can be touchy about
resizing partitions. I probably wouldn't risk it unless

a) you have a restore-tested working Vista image backup
so you can put your HD back together if things go sour.

or

b) it's your clunky old "test stuff out" PC and if it
breaks you'll just put it out with the trash. :)

gonwk

26 Nov 2007, 08:18 AM

Hi Guys,:)

I think I am going to listen to both of you folks ... Chewy & Miles ... and leave things as stand ... Vista on one, and good old XP on the other.

Thanks guys,

G!:angelgrin

MilesAhead

26 Nov 2007, 08:30 AM

gonwk it's not that setting up dual boot is so complicated.
I've done it serveral times and had stable systems. The frustrating
part, and what converted me to the "use what came preinstalled"
religion, is that even if you do everything right, that particular
flavor of OS might not like something about that particular PC.
Sometimes you can get stuck in an endless reinstall loop that's
very boring. :)

But it was a while ago and the cheap image backup software that's
available now wasn't around then. So if you feel adventurous
and have a backup you know will work, you might have some
fun messing with it. It's sort of "been there, done that"
for me. I guess that's why I watch other people play
tennis instead of getting out there myself. Old, fat
and lazy. :)

soup

6 Dec 2007, 03:30 PM

I just thought I would let you know that I am no longer going to use Vista as one of my OSs. It's not because I ever found anything wrong with Vista, except for my SS8 2-way firewall. Everything that I do, I could do in Vista just as I could in XP. I am going to attempt within the next couple of days an install on the ex Vista drive of XPPro X64. Never did an install before so we will see how it goes.

NightbladeXX

7 Dec 2007, 05:52 PM

NightbladeXX I'm just curious. When you installed both OS I take it you had XP on then added Vista? How did it go? I'm wondering because I've seen some stuff that if you have Vista to start, then put on XP you have to mess with Vista bootup files to get it bootable again. I'm thinking when I get the next machine I might add XP to this Vista machine so it doesn't seem so slow compared to the next(hopefully quad core) PC. :)

I had XP but blew it off the HD then installed a fresh copy of Vista HP

just did an upgrade from XP Home to Vista HP and man what a frickn PITA

mental note: never buy an upgrade edition of Vista, buy an OEM Full Version

then I went back and installed XP Pro on another HD using Acronis Disk Director I adjusted the Boot files

Now I have installed Ubuntu on another HD as well and its a triple boot

if you re worried about the boot files theres alot of inof out there about dual booting even on MS' site, thats where I started looking first

dr_ml422

8 Dec 2007, 06:36 AM

Chewy

8 Dec 2007, 07:14 AM

hi fellas. i know several guys really into computing, and a lot of the other material that's covered here. some just finished building some really hi-tech pcs w/upgrades to verizon fios, and the one mistake they told me they made was putting vista in. seems like it's an individual preference based on one's hardware etc...

personally i'm staying away from it. let microsoft work out all those bugs,more or less, and even then think twice about it.

There's always been several advantages to building your own computer, microsoft just furnished another one when they released Vista and all the major maunfacturers quit offering windows xp as a choice.

:smashead:

dr_ml422

8 Dec 2007, 12:09 PM

hear you loud and clear chewy. my friend told me it was literally hell w/vista. he had some parts shipped from japan and europe, and had to take everything out and start all over.

thought he was pulling my leg about how fast and clear that fios is. minutes to download a flic. seconds to burn a cd. had to run it by someone else who confirmed it.

the build is coming.

MilesAhead

8 Dec 2007, 01:41 PM

NightbladeXX thanks for the input. I'm sort of dangling 'til I see
what AMD comes out with in the way of quad core. So I have to
keep myself occupied with software for a while. :)

Jensen

11 Dec 2007, 08:13 AM

I heard the AMD quad core is supposed to have the same amount of pins as the duo. Which makes for an easy swap. This is just what I heard from a sales guy.

Chewy

11 Dec 2007, 08:39 AM

I heard the AMD quad core is supposed to have the same amount of pins as the duo. Which makes for an easy swap. This is just what I heard from a sales guy.

they just came out and looking at the reviews they require an am2+ mobo,
of which newegg has a grand total of 5 available

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200022+1070930149&name=AM2%2b%2fAM2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103226

I'm putting an end to all this talk about it being good and bad. It requires an AM2+ socket to put into. If your motherboard doesn't have it, either don't buy it, or don't write a review on it.

salesmen??????????????

:please::axe:

MilesAhead

12 Dec 2007, 06:33 AM

Looks like they missed the boat for desktop machines by
Christmas. I'm lookin' forward to reading reviews of off the
shelf systems. Chewy do you know if this technology is essentially
the same as they were using in servers? IOW, it's already
essentially field tested? Or is it still untried stuff?

Chewy

12 Dec 2007, 07:27 AM

the server chips have been out a few months, the only big difference is the server chips
support 2 or more per motherboard

they have tested well, beating the xeon clock for clock, as they should since they are a true quad core and the cores communicate faster, also they use less power, make less heat, but they are running at lower clock speed

so they really only compete at the entry and mid level

intel quad cores have not really been tested in my opinion, let's see how they fare after a year at higher temps

A lot of P4's and amd xp's burned up running too hot

Single core amd64's are probably going to outlast everything

MilesAhead

12 Dec 2007, 08:31 AM

That sounds very interesting to me since I like to get price/performance
point around the $1000 ballpark. If I can get an AMD quad off the shelf for
under $1200 I'll prolly go for it.

dr_ml422

12 Dec 2007, 02:28 PM

and to think i started a thread on quad cores so as not to side track this one w/a different one. go figure.

wow. i had no idea that a core whether single, duo, or quad would cost that much.

what would be a good ballpark figure 4 a really decent build? might as well have something to work w/as of now.

Chewy

12 Dec 2007, 02:36 PM

well 2 years ago the amd64 X2 3800 was over 300$
today it's under 60$

several months ago the intel quad cores were almost 1000$, they are around 300$ now

I like the 60$ price myself

dr_ml422

13 Dec 2007, 12:12 AM

thnx. chewy. that's good to know, and since you suggested the amd's were going to outlast most anyway, i'm staying w/this pointer 4 now until i begin to build.

no saying what might happen till then as change in the computer world is constant. my resolution now and 4 the upcoming year ahead is to be less hard headed, and take the suggestions of more experienced people. bottom line is i end up doing what was suggested in the 1st place.

vectorizer

8 Jan 2008, 02:03 PM

Apparently in a minority, but I like Vista. Not good enough to upgrade an existing XP, but I did install Home Premium OEM in (my first) self-assembled desktop. Maybe it helps that I could do a pure install without bloatware?

Biggest pluses for me:
1) UAC. Significant security improvement. UAC may be annoying, but it's a big help to run as non-admin but not have to log all the way in to do admin tasks.
2) Media Center. I think this is a terrific app, with a really nice interface. I can control my STB, have a local guide, view live or time-shifted TV, and record (standard def). It worked with my 4-year-old video capture card, without loading drivers.
3) Responsiveness. I haven't really compared with XP on the same machine, but my impression is that interactive usage is much snappier while the system is doing hard work (encoding a video). Maybe the newer processor helps (a lot), though my old system has a dual core too.
4) Built-in parental controls.
5) Easier and more precise control over file & printer sharing in the Network and Sharing Center

Biggest minus:
No Remote Desktop access inbound (I have XP Pro in the rest of the house). Since I want both Remote Desktop and Media Center, I should have gotten Ultimate -- but that's big price difference for just Remote Desktop. :-(

MilesAhead

10 Jan 2008, 11:39 AM

that's big price difference for just Remote Desktop

Likewise I'm watching as the new Media Center PCs roll out. I'm seeing machines coming stock with 3 GB that can hold 8 GB 'cept they give you a 32 bit OS!! I watched a little video from the HP booth at some trade show and the guy was showing one of the new HP PCs but it had 64 bit Vista just so you could see all of the 4 GB ram installed!! Just for chuckles I tried pricing it out at the hp.com store and to get that extra GB and 64 bit
OS brings the price of the machine close to $2000 instead of around $1200!! Sheesh!!

doctorhardware

10 Jan 2008, 11:43 AM

Better to build your own, with memory prices for DDR2 memory, I saw 1GIG for $19.99.

MilesAhead

11 Jan 2008, 03:02 AM

Better to build your own, with memory prices for DDR2 memory, I saw 1GIG for $19.99.

I had a feeling that would be suggested. :) Been there, done that. I'm through with all things mechanical having done it for a living. Now I pull the item out of the box and plug it in. Should work as is. It's fine for those who enjoy putting stuff together but in my experience one is dependent on the parts supplier. Garbage in, garbage out, as they say. :)

It just seems lame to have 8 GB hardware and have 32 bit OS preinstalled when it's just as easy to install the 64 bit en masse.

dr_ml422

11 Jan 2008, 03:30 AM

hi guys. $2000 4 an hp. i don't think so. especially now that they're coming w/vista, and how as yet there's so many bugs to iron out. depending on what you do, 4 that kind of money i'd throw some more in and get an apple. can't go wrong w/those solid monsters. hardly ever will get a virus, and w/some tinkering here, and there can put xp 4 those who need it. only thing is that 4 video work it might cost a lil more. not 2 sure about this, but i've heard it needs some extra goodies. i hear you though on being at the mercy of the vendors w/a build. the service contracts w/some of the leading brands aren't expensive at all, and do come in handy. if something's bad it's bad anyway, and must b replaced no matter what. that's time, and aside from the service contracts w/warranties time still is time, and almost always is money. i can definitely agree on you about not wanting to build bcause of you building w/e 4 a while. i use to paint housing developments, and apts. etc.. believe me i'm not painting another thing again. lol...

MilesAhead

11 Jan 2008, 08:48 AM

Heh. I like the Pavilion machines... but then again I haven't had an
opportunity to sample other PCs in a while. It's not that I think the
Pavilion is horrible the way it comes stock, but I just wish they would demo
the shipping configuration in these shows. It would be like
test driving a new sports car and the thing goes 0..60 in like 7
seconds.. then when you take delivery, your car takes 12 seconds to get there.
You look under the hood and instead of computer-controlled fuel injection
you have a 2 barrel carb with a governor!! :) Like, Hey Salesman!! This
ain't the same car I drove when I decided to buy this model!! :)

doctorhardware

11 Jan 2008, 12:32 PM

The bait and switch routine.

dr_ml422

11 Jan 2008, 01:13 PM

yep. i'm going 2 put my own engine in my own car fellas. that along w/the gps, leather seats, and a few other goodies. just enough to satisfy me, and a lil more just in case. i'm a lil 2 much of an old soldier 2 b craving anything w/all the bells and whistles.

my new year resolution is still in effect. i'm going to stick w/the suggestions of the more experienced warriors here, you guys included of course, and chewy. i end up doing what you guys suggest anyway after i pull a Sinatra and try 2 do it my way. the build is coming.

Chewy

11 Jan 2008, 01:56 PM

I don't know what hp, compaq, gateway and dell are doing when they build a computer, time and time again I see no balance in the force. I took an old Dell in on trade 4 years ago, I started analying it, it had an ok pentium chip/133 fsb and a 133 fsb mobo and 100MGHz ram. Back then computers didn't run worth a darn with cpu and ram out of sync.
And I have seen the opposite often too.

Since then we have had several people come thru here with really unbalanced systems.
amd64 cpu's and crappy slow ram. I would expect that out of a noob building a computer who doesn't know any better, but a major company.

MilesAhead

12 Jan 2008, 05:37 AM

It is kind of weird Chewy. Makes you think that the purchasing dept. makes the engineering design decisions(there's a special on crap ram this month so we can save $.52 per unit ...)

One reason I guess I never got into messing with ram upgrades and that type of stuff was paranoia from seeing all the support calls from mismatched memory. People with perfectly running systems would add some ram and get into endless reboot cycles etc.. Like anything else if I got into it I'd learn after hitting myself in the head with a 2x4 repeatedly. Just right now it's not convenient to set up a work bench and mess around.
It might be kinda' fun though. Maybe if I rearrange the furniture in the future. :)

gonwk

15 Jan 2008, 11:51 AM

Hi folks,:)

@ Vectorizer ... Hi there ... if you have a 4 year old, how in the world do you have the time to mess around with computers and chat on this forum. hehehe ... just kidding :bglaugh2: ... just wanted to drop you a line and say I "LIKED" your Pros & Cons listing for Vista.:toast:

Happy New Year Fellas!

G!:angelgrin

POTCjedi

20 Jan 2008, 08:46 AM

I have had so many problems with Vista. I hate it! Here is a list of just some of the many annoying problems with Vista:

1. It randomly assigns pictures in my pictures folder to various folders.
2. Any video and audio runs very slow and skips.
3. It asks my thousands of times if I'm sure I want to copy a file somewhere else.
4. When I open a folder, it takes forever to load a view of all the contents.
5. When I open a folder, it loads the contents of another random folder before it shows me the contents of the right folder.

jblitz277

20 Jan 2008, 09:46 AM

Sounds to me you don't have sufficient hardware.I have problems but little annoying things and drivers.The problems with speed audio and video you have sound like insufficient ram/ processor to me.

dr_ml422

20 Jan 2008, 12:18 PM

hi pot. i'm sticking to my guns on taking the suggestions of the more experienced members, and not having to bang my head w/a hammer for not doing so. maybe you got vista before reading this thread, but if you didn't and went ahead and put it in your system, well then welcome to the issues of vista. i was lucky to have heard through the grapevine by way of some friends, the internet, and finally this thread that vista was problematic period.

like chewy said,"Bill Gates just gave us another reason to build our own." that being said try to eliminate the obvious through trouble shooting w/the suggestions provided like that of jblitz, and the rest of the fellas, and see what happens. my suggestion would b to do a clean uninstall of vista, and install xp if you could, after of course you've tried to fix your issues first to see if in fact it is a hardware problem.

jblitz277

20 Jan 2008, 01:23 PM

I have XP around but,I'm trying to make Vista work.My buddy had Vista Ultimate 32 bit and didn't like it at all and gave it to me to experiment.I've had it 4-5 days and everyday I hit a roadblock and with the exception of certain older hardware of mine and there drivers if I google it 100 ways and ask around I've figured most of it out.XP was so easy and straight forward after SP2 so I'm hoping when 2nd edition Vista hits they will have made adjustments.Besides Ultimate is like $400 and I got it free,I'm now obligated to give it a go.

Edit hey doc hows that Sammy burner in your sig?I'm in the market for fisrt sata burner and that's one of my finalists.

dr_ml422

21 Jan 2008, 03:41 AM

hi jblitz. believe me when i say that it's been definitely on the money. the leadin takes a bit, but a lot of burners do. that aside it'll burn anything, both cds, and dvds w/no problem. also important to me is that it'll burn quote, unquote, b rated media like sony, and maxell which i haven't had any problems w/whatsoever. unless it arrives doa from newegg, or wherever you choose to get 1, i'd suggest snatching it up, especially now that it's been out 4 a while , and truly has proven itself. also great buys, might have free shipping w/discount.

gonwk

26 Oct 2008, 02:09 PM

Hi guys,

Has anyone been able to make the darn FAVC to work with VISTA SP-1 64-bit OS?

I have tried FAVC 1.04, 1.05, 1.06, and 1.07 and no luck!

Q: Do I need any External Codecs besides the 2 requirements of AviSynth 2.57+ and dotnet requirements.

Thanks,

G!:)

doctorhardware

26 Oct 2008, 02:59 PM

I just asking, is there a way to run the program in a compatibility mode to get it to run.

MilesAhead

26 Oct 2008, 04:44 PM

Hi guys,

HNas anyone been able to make the darn FAVC to work with VISTA SP-1 64-bit OS?

I have tried FAVC 1.04, 1.05, 1.06, and 1.07 and no luck!

Q: Do I need any External Codecs besides the 2 requirements of AviSynth 2.57+ and dotnet requirements.

Thanks,

G!:)

Are you trying the 32 bit FAVC or the 64 bit version?

http://favcfavc.googlepages.com/home

gonwk

27 Oct 2008, 04:21 AM

Hey guys,

I have tried 32-bit & 64-bit in Compatibility Mode and also as Admin ... no go ...

I have even begged folks on Doom ... where Mr_Odwin parks ... and no luck ... I don't blame him ... a Free Program and someone like me bugging him.

Anyway ... I am crossing my fingers ... may be feels "sorry" for the poor slob (me) and tell me what to do ...

BUT ... for the GOOD News ... DVD Flick works JUST FINE.

I hardly convert AVI's to DVD ... but I just like messing around with different programs for the heck of it.

G!:)

doctorhardware

27 Oct 2008, 04:43 AM

Ok we know tha you have vista, what version 64 bit or 32 bit. How much memory and what cpu do you have.

gonwk

27 Oct 2008, 05:23 AM

Ok we know tha you have vista, what version 64 bit or 32 bit. How much memory and what cpu do you have.

Gateway M-6862, Vista 64-bit SP1 (which I wished suckers ahd put 32-bit or even XP PRO), 4GB RAM, T-5750 (2.0GHz), ATI Radeon 2600HT with 512MB DDR3 memory, Wirless Intel 4965 A/B/G, I added Bluetooth Card myself, 1.3MP Vid Camera, 250GB HDD, DVD Player, 15.4" Glossy Screen.

This is a heck of laptop and my motherboard can handle CPU upgrade all the way up to T7800 and even higher.

And the BEST part I got it on SALE for out of the door for $435 (a $800 laptop for that much).

G!:)

doctorhardware

27 Oct 2008, 08:40 AM

Well at least it does not have the Nvida video chip set. It is a damm good price.

gonwk

27 Oct 2008, 08:47 AM

Well at least it does not have the Nvida video chip set. It is a damm good price.

Hi Doc,

That is exactly why I bought this laptop. When I started looking for a laptop I "Specifically" stayed away from NVIDIA GPUs since they all have been having HEATing problems ... bad packaging material ... and there was a lot of problems and HP, DELL, SONY, ... etc. keep putting out BIOS upgrades to push the CPU FAN to start sooner than it is supposed to ... in order to keep GPU from cooking up and damaging the MOBO.

G!:)

dr_ml422

27 Oct 2008, 09:16 AM

You're lucky it's a laptop and that the monitor came glued to it. I have the same GPU on my new build, not vista, and probably faster as it's the turbo version, but I got stuck w/a new monitor I just bought a bit back that won't let me enjoy the digital signal. Looks like I'm stuck w/VGA at a high resolution unless by some miracle I can get Acer to either refund me or credit and exchange for a operable one at digital even if it costs more.

doctorhardware

27 Oct 2008, 01:22 PM

So new egg is not going to issue a RMA for your new monitor. I would call Acer and see what their position on the problems that you are having.

atifsh

27 Oct 2008, 02:06 PM

dr_ml422

27 Oct 2008, 02:47 PM

So new egg is not going to issue a RMA for your new monitor. I would call Acer and see what their position on the problems that you are having.
I'm covering all the bases as I write. The monitor's at Acer's site in TX. Should be back soon hopefully. They're suggesting some options including safe boot and then changing display settings, and of course they're pushing to use the VGA connector and see if that works. Of course that works, but I'll be sure if the issues pop up in VGA mode also when I get it back.

Too late for RMA from Newegg, so hadto send to Acer. Newegg just gave me $30 credit towards next purchase which just about covered what it costs to send the monitor to Acer. I already used the credit for a Netgear switch for my 2 pcs. Will be here tomorrow.

If after I test the monitor every which way but loose and in VGA mode and it still acts up then I'll have to go into persistence mode and try getting refund or better one. If I'm stuck w/it working correctly then fine. If working correctly but only in VGA mode then sooner or later I'll get a newer and better monitor if Acer doesn't replace/credit me. Live n learn.

P.S. excuse the quick hostage situation Gonwk. I'm not really into hijacking. :)

atifsh

27 Oct 2008, 03:43 PM

P.S. excuse the quick hostage situation Gonwk. I'm not really into hijacking. :)

theres always the first time:evilidea:

dr_ml422

27 Oct 2008, 04:03 PM

theres always the first time:evilidea:

Should we hold him for a while. They might not negotiate w/terrorists here on the forum either. :angeldevi

atifsh

28 Oct 2008, 04:58 AM

where that we comes from buddy, who are u do i know you ;)

gonwk

28 Oct 2008, 06:58 AM

with 4 gb or more u will get 64bit only... should have bought3 gb to get 32 bit with optional 64bit upgrade most companies provide.

thats a good machine u have. what battery life ur getting outof it.

Yo atifsh,

Is your Q directed to me or what ... if so, with my Moniotr & everything set to MAX I get easily 2 hours and 30 minutes out of the Battery ... with Normal Setting on Battery get about 3+ hours ... haven't really paid attention to it in this mode. But the darn LG Battery gets Hotter than dickens ... I never seen a Laptop or External Drive AC Charger get so HOT ... almost like is cooking up inside!

G!:)

gonwk

28 Oct 2008, 07:01 AM

Should we hold him for a while. They might not negotiate w/terrorists here on the forum either. :angeldevi

Hi dr_ml,

Dude ... are you trying to get me in a jam ... :D :p

G! :toast:

doctorhardware

28 Oct 2008, 07:31 AM

The battery in my Acer Aspire gets very hot too. I only get around 45 minutes out of my battery. So I leave the laptop connected to the power supply all the time.

atifsh

28 Oct 2008, 04:59 PM

Yo atifsh,

Is your Q directed to me or what ... if so, with my Moniotr & everything set to MAX I get easily 2 hours and 30 minutes out of the Battery ... with Normal Setting on Battery get about 3+ hours ... haven't really paid attention to it in this mode. But the darn LG Battery gets Hotter than dickens ... I never seen a Laptop or External Drive AC Charger get so HOT ... almost like is cooking up inside!

G!:)

that is impressive for standard battery that i think u have right? u dont have extended battery?

cant say bout battery but seen acer adapter getting so hot that starts a hissing sound, maybe charger/afdapter problem, dell and sony i use battery/charger gets hot as they should be nothing tobe alarmed bout.

doctorhardware

29 Oct 2008, 03:09 AM

If the ac adapt is getting so hot it starts hissing. It could be that adapt, or the battery has a short causing the adapt to draw more current. If the battery is totally drained, then the adapter will get hot due that the battery Will draw more current during the charging phase.

jwo62

31 Oct 2008, 01:48 AM

do i like vista?

yes,i love it. 64 bit too.

my only issue has been the non compatability of 16 bit programs.

MilesAhead

31 Oct 2008, 01:55 AM

do i like vista?

yes,i love it. 64 bit too.

my only issue has been the non compatability of 16 bit programs.

How's the new PC workin' out so far? I almost had my mind made up to spring for it, then Best Buy "outleted" it and now none of the new PC
seem to come with Q6700 anymore. All new fangled CPUs with 8 GB ram.

gonwk

31 Oct 2008, 03:38 AM

that is impressive for standard battery that i think u have right? u dont have extended battery?

cant say bout battery but seen acer adapter getting so hot that starts a hissing sound, maybe charger/afdapter problem, dell and sony i use battery/charger gets hot as they should be nothing tobe alarmed bout.

Hi atifsh,

Yes ... it is is just a Standard Battery ... I am surprisingly happy ... but I am always next to a Wall outlet anyway ... but since I have been reading about "Prolonging Battery Life" ... I unplug my AC anytime I see my laptop battery charged to 100% and then run it down to about 20% and plug back in.

BTW, I am too crazy about the Standard Program that Gateway has for ALERTing me on Battery going down ... I wish they had a SOUND ALARM that would come on to alert me ... I only get teh Stupid little Alarm in my TRAYBAR ... which if I am not looking at my laptop I will miss it and the darn laptop goes into shut-down.

Q: Does anyone know of a FREEWARE that can have SOUND ALARM for Battery Condition?

BTW, my AC Charger on this Gateway get spretty darn HOT & TOASTY ... I am pretty worried!!!

Thanks,

G!:)

gonwk

31 Oct 2008, 03:40 AM

do i like vista?

yes,i love it. 64 bit too.

my only issue has been the non compatability of 16 bit programs.

Hi jwo,

Q: How have you been getting around that!?!?

To me that is a MAJOR problem ... especially with all the Freewares that we use for DVD and Video stuff!

Thanks!

G!:)

atifsh

31 Oct 2008, 04:38 PM

gonwk

i have a friend who have a very unusual way of using his laptop, what he does is remove the battery while he uses laptop at home / bed / desk.

gonwk

1 Nov 2008, 01:20 AM

i have a friend who have a very unusual way of using his laptop, what he does is remove the battery while he uses laptop at home / bed / desk.

Hi atifsh,

From my readings ... actually that is a good practice for making your Battery last a bit Longer. But most people don't like the hassle. Basically if the battery is not charging and discharging you are saving some life on it. But if you are pullin your battery out make sure is at 40% charge level. They say that is the ideal level to leave it at when not being used or "stored".

G!:)

jwo62

1 Nov 2008, 07:01 AM

How's the new PC workin' out so far? I almost had my mind made up to spring for it, then Best Buy "outleted" it and now none of the new PC
seem to come with Q6700 anymore. All new fangled CPUs with 8 GB ram.

no serious problems yet.

i have to admit,i dont realy see the speed i thought i would see. moving up from a 1.4 ghz/640mb ram pc to a 2.66ghz quad core with 6 gb. ram,i expected to see dramatic increase in speed. only the ability to burn dvds at higher speeds. but i still keep it down to 8x. but i am now capable of 22x.

but our favorite programs ..like dvd2one etc,seem about the same. this may be partly due to them not using all of the cores correctly.

i got around the 16 bit program issue by keeping my old pc next to my new one. i actually really like this. ik can play on one pc,and work on the other simultaneously.

MilesAhead

1 Nov 2008, 08:51 AM

@jwo62 thanks for the info. I would check out FAVC and see how it
does. It will launch encoders for each core. Really maxes them out. Also
DVD Rebuilder Pro runs great on my dual core. With 2 copies of HC running
Core Temp shows both my cores at 100%. I bet both those apps would scream
on your machine. I have to get a quad machine pretty soon. One limiting
factor though is I'm determined to get 10/100/1000 RJ45 ethernet so I'm
not stuck forever at 100 Mbit/sec Lan. Seems all the 8 GB PCs come
with. Dell is priced right but I'm leery of the legendary Dell
Incompatibilities(tm). Oh well, someday I'll make up my mind. :)

dr_ml422

3 Nov 2008, 01:04 PM

@gonwk. Nah no jam just kidding on the direction of the thread there w/atifsh.

@atifsh. Know you from here. That avatar's enough to keep anyone at bay. Lol...

@jwo62. Do you have your new pc loaded w/a lot of apps. yet? Just curious because I noticed that w/my upraded Dell w/2gbs of ram and stronger psu it's zipping pretty quick, especially when I have lots of videos on there ready to be burned. Only 80gb HD, and it might or might not ring true, but I think the more stuff on the pc up to a certain point the faster the response time. Guess it's like it's really using its full power on a larger load and not having too much empty space to work with.

My new build is way faster, but I have 2 sata hds. 1 250gb and the other 1 500gb. I haven't seen that much of a faster speed and I have 2gbs of ram there too. I do see more speed when I load my 500gb hd w/about 80 or more gbs of video work ready to be burned. I'm thinking maybe just use the 250gb hd as it seems enough and then see if there's a way bigger difference in speed.

Maybe Miles can give us some input on this as he's more knowledgeable about the inner workings of computers. My theory is that it's like having mad energy, but not expending it on anything, hence there's like a vacuum of empty space which is not being used.

Oh yeah, and my new build takes longer to boot than my dell. although I do have to log in on my new build. Don't know if that slows the boot time. Miles or anyone can post on this. My dell boots in about 7 seconds. The new build in about 10 seconds.

Something different that I started doing is plugging my monitor straight into the wall socket instead of into a surge protector. The modem, computer, and speakers I kept on the surge protector. My new netgear 1gb transfer switch port is plugged str8 into the wall also.

atifsh

3 Nov 2008, 06:49 PM

no serious problems yet.

i have to admit,i dont realy see the speed i thought i would see. moving up from a 1.4 ghz/640mb ram pc to a 2.66ghz quad core with 6 gb..

what did u expected, it will boost u tothe moon ? :bat:

actually i think u should have seen performance gain regarding overall system responsivness, programs starting faster..... and oh now u can scan ur disk for viruses and play music and browse without been troubled :thumbs_up

MilesAhead

4 Nov 2008, 01:02 PM

MilesAhead

4 Nov 2008, 01:02 PM

dr_ml422

4 Nov 2008, 01:37 PM

@jwo62 it does seem kind of odd that a machine like that doesn't feel like it's kicking ass. My AMD dual core with 2 GB and 500 LB gorilla Vista still seems a lot snappier than my Pentium 4 w 1 GB ram and XP Pro. I'd keep an eye out for disk read retries and make sure that "slow down syndrome" isn't sneaking up on you.

@dr_ml422 I don't understand your nervous energy theory but if one of the facets is that bigger HDs are faster then Chewy could tell you that the more data you can squeeze into the same form factor then the drive head arm doesn't have to move so far to get it.. so it should be faster as well as being able to store more. Although I may be misunderstanding what you are asking.

That's exactly what I was trying to say, just didn't know the technical terms to express it. I just used common sense to figure that if you're using more power then you should have more data so it could work with and transfer especially in proportion to the amount of hd space you have. Like I mentioned I have a 250gb and a 500gb on my build. The 250 is partitioned into 50gb for windows xp home and apps. and the 200gb for w/e. The 500gb is intact. When I load up that 500gb w/about 200 or more gb of video work my pc zips faster, and I'm also burning, on Thunderbird and Google Talk and Firefox. Same thing here. AMD Dual Core and 2 gb of Ram.

I'm thinking soon as these techies send me my Acer Monitor Back I might load up the 500gb w/w/e I deem worth storing and saving and just use the 250 gb alone. I'll bet anything that when I load that 200gb partition w/about 100 or so gb of video work it'll zip like a hot knife through butter.

There's always thrashing to worry about, but I don't think it much of a big deal.

P.S. By form factor you mean hd don't you? Have only 2 fingers to type and post and didn't hit google as I wanted to reply asaic. Lol... :)

Chewy

4 Nov 2008, 02:56 PM

dr_ml422

4 Nov 2008, 04:12 PM

One of the drive companies did some real world tests(long ago and far away)

they were testing raid stripes, smallest drive was a 20 gig, largest an 80

After loading the OS some programs and data the striped 20's were the fastest

Within a family or generation smaller is fastest, as drives increase in size with newer generations desity increases and speed can improve

Very complexe problem

Good to hear from you. Thought the Millenium took you past the point of no return. Lol... :)

So I guess I'm ok w/the 250 being partitioned into 50gb for system and apps. and the other 200gb for data should I go that route. 50gb is very much more than enough for xp home and the apps. I currently have. 200gb is good when I get crazy w/video work.

I'll also be ok if I leave the 500gb hd in as a storage as it being a separate drive won't affect the access time of the os from the inner faster part of the hd to the outer part. When we put the build together the hds were a steal so at the time the price for the two was great.

Is there a way to repartition the 50gb w/the os and apps. to about 30gbs w/out having to do a clean install? This would definitely put an even faster zip into my build. Maybe even 25gb could do. Right now the 200gb partition is not even used as I mostly put my work on the separate 500gb ready to be burned. I never thought about putting all my personal work in that 500gb hd and storing it until I would need it.

P.S. Looks like I got screwed on that Acer Monitor. They're so backed up w/returns and/or repairs they haven't even looked at mine yet. Got there on the 20th of OCT.

Chewy

4 Nov 2008, 10:30 PM

There should be no difference in performance with a 30 or a 50 gig system partition

I keep half a 20 gig partition free, running lean is what impacts performance

dr_ml422

5 Nov 2008, 04:31 AM

There should be no difference in performance with a 30 or a 50 gig system partition

I keep half a 20 gig partition free, running lean is what impacts performance

So if I understand this correctly you have a 20 gig partition and just use 1/2 for w/e and leave the other 1/2 empty for lean performance?

Would the analogy be me leaving 1/2 of the 200 gig partition free and just use the 50 gig system partition w/apps. and 100 gigs of the 200 gig partition for data etc...? Correct? Thnx.

Chewy

5 Nov 2008, 07:42 AM

dr_ml422

5 Nov 2008, 03:55 PM

I keep half my system partition free, which leaves me plenty of room for temp stuff to be transfered or deleted before defrag

My data partition often gets 60-70% full but after that is so fragmented I don't trust it

I got you. I'm good then. I'm going to do xactly what I mentioned. Keep the 250 gig for system n data n fill the 500 gig w/w/e storage I want. Lots to keep learning and lots to expand on. :thumbs_up

dazuk1972

6 Nov 2008, 11:15 AM

Vista sucks. There's so much software that doesn't work for it and that is also software that is supposed to be compatable with Vista.

I know somebody that bought a JVC camcorder and he can't access his video files through it. The folders appear but no video files don't. Not even any music or photo files. I tried the same software on another PC that has Vista and the same thing happened. I tired it with another PC with XP and all was fine. The software is Cyberlink Power Cinema NE For Everio.

I tried help an Uncle of mine with a Samsung camcorder that is an old model but I asked Samsung if they have a driver to update things. They said there is one. When I went to the site it said the driver was suitable for All Windows. When I tried to install it, it back-fired on me and it didn't want to know. Good ole Vista messed up yet again. I'd rather stick to XP. Vista sucks and should be trashed.

dazuk1972

6 Nov 2008, 11:21 AM

I keep half my system partition free, which leaves me plenty of room for temp stuff to be transfered or deleted before defrag

My data partition often gets 60-70% full but after that is so fragmented I don't trust it

What did you mean about keeping half your hard drive partition free over the Temp data to be transfered or deleted data before Defraging? This is interesting to me because one of my brother Defraged his PC one time and it buckled nealry everything where about 70% of his software was partly uninstalled and he had to format his PC to fix it. He couldn't even back-up his data because his burning software was gone and he couldn't re-install it because parts of it remained in his hard drive and he couldn't uninstall the rest of the remains because others were detected in hidden locations. He lost his data over Defraging.

Many thanks.

Chewy

6 Nov 2008, 07:20 PM

He lost his data over Defraging.

When you neglect and abuse a computer long enough, probably time to get a new one.
Not everyone can keep a computer running right or should even own one.

My momma use to say "stupid is as stupid does"

In over ten years the only problem I have had with defrag was when I used another program and tried to speed up boot time and I have had a lot of computers.

dr_ml422

6 Nov 2008, 08:49 PM

Thanx for the tips on the partitions Chewy. My build is buzzing really fast now that I took the 500 gig hd out after transferring what I needed over to the 200 gig partition.

Quick ? Should I get some anti-static bags to store it? Right now it's wrapped in some small bubble wrap.

copyless

7 Nov 2008, 02:39 AM

MilesAhead,

I placed this here because it is where you had mentioned it, but anyway, I saw that Buy.com has an HP M9260F for $699 shipped. It is a refurbished unit, but it does have the Q6700, 4GB ram, 1TB HD (2x500), BD/HD, and a GeForce 8600GT.

I'm not sure how you feel about refurbs, but I have bought a few and have never experienced any problems. As a matter of I still use weekly a Dell Laptop I purchased about 8yrs ago, refurbished. Anyway I thought I would mention this, since you are looking around.

doctorhardware

7 Nov 2008, 08:28 AM

When Vista was first out BestBuy would and still is returning computers with vista that the OS is corrupted. As far as defraging HD I have never had to reinstall the OS due to being corrupted. My son will not defrag his HD, so I have had to reinstall the OS so many times that I do not remember how many times I had to do it.

MilesAhead

7 Nov 2008, 09:32 AM

@copyless I appreciate the heads-up. :)

doctorhardware

8 Nov 2008, 04:52 AM

I would say about 90% of the refurb computers, had to have the OS reinstalled. 5% had cosmetic issues, and the last 5% had actual hardware issues. If a extended warranty was not purchased the computer will be sent to the manufacturer for repair.

scotso2000

6 Jan 2010, 09:43 PM

I inherited vista with my notebook. Hate it. would like to go back to xp for free any thoughts

Junkie_ball

27 Feb 2010, 11:27 AM

Is anyone satisfied with Windows Vista? Have you upgraded? Have you downgraded back to XP? From what I heard Vista is not worth it, so I plan to stick with XP.

Nope had visa installed for all of 5 mins reverted back to XP Pro. Just upgraded to windows 7 seem like the operating systems vista should have been still tetin though!

Linux is a gret alternative though and its free which is a bonus!!

doctorhardware

27 Feb 2010, 12:30 PM

Windows 7 has been rock solid I got the pro version. I preordered it and got it for $99 with free shipping.

MilesAhead

28 Feb 2010, 04:18 AM

Nope had visa installed for all of 5 mins reverted back to XP Pro. Just upgraded to windows 7 seem like the operating systems vista should have been still tetin though!

Linux is a gret alternative though and its free which is a bonus!!

I got a PC with Vista 32 bit before SP1 and it took ages to tweak it and straighten it out. Even after all the messing around the Explorer drag & drop shell copy never worked right. Way slow. I had to use either TeraCopy or KillCopy just to get normal drag & drop copy. But the PC I got after that had Vista 64 bit (Home Premium as they always put on the off the shelf desktops) with SP1. A world of difference. I put W7 on the machine that had Vista 32 bit because no matter what I couldn't get the SP1 to go on.

About the only thing my Vista64 doesn't have is the Taskbar tweak with the jump lists. It runs very smooth. The only thing I would do differently if I bought a new machine or built one is put in 2 HDs. If you are doing a full speed copy or a video mux and the HD is maxed out, trying to load anything off the HD, well forget it. I put Firefox portable on my external USB just to run in those situations. These quad core PCs should really come stock with 2 HDs. One just can't keep up anymore.

Junkie_ball

28 Feb 2010, 09:49 AM

I got a PC with Vista 32 bit before SP1 and it took ages to tweak it and straighten it out. Even after all the messing around the Explorer drag & drop shell copy never worked right. Way slow. I had to use either TeraCopy or KillCopy just to get normal drag & drop copy. But the PC I got after that had Vista 64 bit (Home Premium as they always put on the off the shelf desktops) with SP1. A world of difference. I put W7 on the machine that had Vista 32 bit because no matter what I couldn't get the SP1 to go on.

About the only thing my Vista64 doesn't have is the Taskbar tweak with the jump lists. It runs very smooth. The only thing I would do differently if I bought a new machine or built one is put in 2 HDs. If you are doing a full speed copy or a video mux and the HD is maxed out, trying to load anything off the HD, well forget it. I put Firefox portable on my external USB just to run in those situations. These quad core PCs should really come stock with 2 HDs. One just can't keep up anymore.

Never ventured down the Vista 64 route. I do CAD and when vista first came out the CAD software was so unstable and would fall over all the time hence never bothered testing to much as the saying goes time is money.

Completely agree with the machines needing two HD's now thats have my i have my computers hardware configured 2x 250gb sata drives with the new windows 7 build. Havent managed to crash the new os once yet even whilst running Photoshop, AutoCAD, iTunes, Office and internet and proforming CAD publishing in the background. Very resource demending stuff some of it and still runs completely smooth.