Vista got me and it's back in the box until SP1.

What a joke of an operating system. I installed Vista Ultimate on my new T60 which shipped with XP, loaded all my programs and everything was running great. I go to do a Disk Cleanup while Avast was running, my mistake.

It showed two error dump entries of 58.3GB each. Keep in mind my HD is only 160GB so I say what and let me clean out the HD. When disk cleanup was finished it removed every single program and all of my data. When I tried to reboot I got the message that Windows Vista could not start and I needed to repair it.

This turds going back in the box and i'm going back to XP until Microsoft brings this thing out of beta. It's a good thing I had multiple backups of my data or I would be crying over my keyboard right now.

 

yikes..another vista horror story. another reason to wait for vista sp1...thats what im doing

 

There was an issue in which one of the Vista beta versions would nuke its own install...I wonder if somehow you triggered it despite MS thinking it was fixed.

Don't worry...Vista told me that I was running a pirated copy. It disabled my computer within two weeks of my installing Vista! MS was no help, and I'm now back to XP. Probably for another one to three years, and maybe more than a service pack later for Vista.

 

My experience is the total oppposite of yours. It's great!
Except for 2 minor compatiblilty problems, everything is smooth as silk.Of course i'd rather wait for SP1, but then i'd like everything i use to be the latest and the greatest.

 

Ask yourself these two questions:

1) Do I have a spanky, modern, and cool notebook?*1
2) Do I have a spanky, modern, and cool software collection?*2

I replaced my XP Professional with Vista Business and I really like it!! Also installed Office 2007. Never turning back to XP.

Technology changes, so why not enjoy it whilst it is new? I prefer to have hot pancakes and get the occassional burns, than to wait until they are cold enough to eat. Because I like it fresh.

*1 Then you are probably making the most with the dollars you have spent.
*2 Obviously, if your notebook is not designed to run Vista or other latest software then that is a separate issue. Or if you purposedly never going to go for the latest and do not care a bit about why you went for the latest notebook when you bought it then this leaves you out of the equation.

 

I recently recieved my T60 with XP Pro. I went ahead and purchased Vista Ultimate OEM for the laptop. I also purchased Office 2007, Money 2007 and Streets and Trips 2007. I know my laptop can easily run Vista and I added another 1 gig of (Mushkin) ram to it.

I was copying all of my data fom my previous laptop over to the T60. I'm glad I kept my original laptop as my primary computer in service. Like I mentioned I downloaded my updates no problem and the computer was running great. I went to check 'Disk Cleanup' and noticed 2 system error dumps at 58.3GB each and my drive is only 160GB so that got my attention quick. I went to 'My Computer' and the drive showed it had 137GB remaining of 149GB.

So I went back to Disk Cleanup and I purged both error dumps. When I did that I noticed all of my desktop icons disappeared. I freaked, so I checked for all of my installed programs and they were gone, poof, disappeared. I went back to 'My Computer' and now I gained 5GB from all the programs that were destroyed.

I rebooted the laptop and Windows gave me a message that the OS needed to be repaired put the original disk back in. I'm sorry but apparently i'm not the only something like this has happened to. It's a good thing I had multiple backups of data. One of the mods had Vista accuse him of piracy and Microsoft was unable to help him figure it out, so now he's back to XP.

I'll wait for SP1 then i'll go back to Vista. For the mean time it's back to the tried and true XP Pro.

 

What if there is no SP1?

 

Then there will be a lot of people moving to Linux.

 

Xp pro for me now and Xp pro for my next one... dont need an OS taking up half of my ram when i need it most

 

or OSX

 

Idk, I have a THINKPAD T30

Runing a intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 Mobile CPU 1.60GHz Memory (RAM) of 1023MB

And let me tell you it runs good for me,

 

**Update**

I finally figured out what blew out my operating system. PC Tools "Registry Mechanic 6.0" blew out my registry when I told it to do a deep scan to find and clean errors in the registry. I was able to duplicate the problem. That's what generated two 58.3GB system dump files.

I've switched to ccleaner and no problems, plus it's free.

 

Rodknee,

So you are migrating to Vista?

 

Yeah, typically bad things happen when you mess with a registry...

 

Sorry to hear about your problem. I installed Ultimate on my HP dv2000z w/ 2gb RAM and it's running great. The first time I installed it some of my programs didn't work specially Notebook Hardware Control, had BSOD, went back to WXP. Now I re-installed it again and it's great again. NHC is now Vista compatable but actually haven't been using it because Vista does okay with it's own power control. I've been running Ultimate now for 3 weeks and hadn't fizzled yet. New drivers are coming out and am happy. Even Maple Global runs on it!

 

I've been considering it. I like the stability of XP but i'm drawn to the newness of Vista.

 

Rodknee: I recommend CCleaner. Its registry cleaner is far less aggressive, and it prompts you to back up your registry before you fix any registry issues.

 

Vista uses more RAM to run than XP, however it uses it more efficiently and better than XP. I was never going to upgrade to Vista myself, til I bought my new laptop with it installed. After using it for a while, I have had no problems whatsoever and in fact I bought a copy of Ultimate for my desktop as well. It runs great, in fact I left XP on my desktop in a dual boot configuration so that I could use XP for games, but after trying a few in Vista they run just as well if not better in Vista. Yeah my system uses more memory while playing, but it is more effectivly using the entire amount of RAM.

I have Linux installed on one of our machines and quite frankly other than the fact that it's free I see zero reasons to run it. In fact, installing Linux was a nightmare for me, one problem after another. I would rather pay for a OS that works than have to learn a programming language just to install a driver. Add to the fact that none of my business aps and none of my games will run on Linux (except maybe some with that emulator, and then very poorly) and I threw my Linux Disk in the trash.

 

Well im glad you like it as lots also do
But my keys words were... "... for me... + ...when i need it most"
Im a photoshop user and anyone who uses PS extensively will know that PS allows you to customize resources like RAM.
Ive got my ram within PS maxed out and my scratch disk moved to D drive for max space. When im batch converting i dont need an OS like Vista to choke or slow down the one thing that makes me money

 

call me crazy but in my opinion...

Vista > XP.

Apparently there is a bug with disk cleanup though. So don't use it.

 

Yup I had mentioned that earlier in the thread when PC Tools destroyed my registry. That's not the first time PC Tools has angered me, back in 1991 I was defraging my HDD in Win 3.1 and I lost have of the drives content. No more PC Tool products for me.

 

I'm not trying to argue with you, I know absolutly nothing of PS. However, and I'm not trying to say it will or it won't run more effectivly for you, but I'm not so sure that Vista would underperform XP in your case. It seems that even in its early release (while driver issues and slow-downs were,and are still, an issue) Vista outperformed XP in multi-threading aps and for more power-hungry aps. Now, I'm no MS lover, in fact up til about two weeks ago I was a Vista hater. I was on the gamers bandwagon that saw some of the early benchmarks that saw XP outperforming Vista in almost every area. I am now pretty much sold on Vista's being able to outperform XP in exactly the situation you described:handling of memory efficiently. I think as drivers mature Vista will soon be the OS to have, but who knows til we see it? So far though, I'm liking Vista. It does seem to run my aps as good or better than XP, and some aps seem to run much faster.

 

no, im not thinking ur arguing at all.
i ws just getting to my point as straight forward as possible i guess.
Also, from what your describing it sounds like youre more less describing processor ability (Core 2Duo vs core duo)

 

Omg, thanks for enlightening me! I love MapleStory. I always thought it wasn't compatible, so I didn't upgrade yet! =D

 

Hello all

I have SZ360 and it came preinstall Windows XP. Window XP ran flawlessly with no problem. Every since I got my Vista Upgrade, everything gone wrong. My battery life decrease, the Windows Power Management sucks, the Sleep / Hibernate is very buggy, the Camera doesn't work and my iPod only works on 1 of the 2 USB slot I have.

Windows XP > Vista

 

Ch28Kid - check if your notebook is fully compatible with Vista.

I have some reasons to believe that computers that come with XP either have compatibility problems with Vista and/or a it was a business decision to get them off the inventory ASAP with whatever O/S they have preinstalled/packaged with.

Just because something does not work on Vista does not mean Vista is worse than XP. Ever considered looking at it this way and asking yourself, "Was my hardware/software designed to run Vista?" Maybe it could well be the designers/manufacturers decision to save cost and make something not fully Vista compatible?

Now who threw away their CD copy of Linux? Shame on you

 

Also, blame your manufacturer Sony for even offering an express upgrade to their NB without providing proper driver support. It's not just your OS that is causing these problems, it's also the drivers that you are using.

For many of us Vista is working just fine.

 

Ask yourself this question:
Did I remember to read the thread?
The T60 is a fairly spanky, modern and cool notebook. Certainly it should be new enough to handle Vista.
The software collection seems completely irrelevant, since the problems mentioned here were with Vista itself.

And Vista deciding that your legal copy must be pirated isn't a problem with any 3rd party software either. It's a problem with Vista.

Perhaps you should *read* what people say when they criticise Vista, before jumping to its defense?

Again, if you'd read what these people complained about, you might notice that there isn't much to enjoy.

Also, how exactly do you think software "cools down" over time?
Pancakes and software are fundamentally different. Software does not get worse over time. Dos works as great today as it did those 15 years ago. XP works as good as it did when it came out. Vista will work as great (or better) in 5 years time.
So what is there to lose by waiting?

Funny, I'd say that is *precisely* what it means.
If XP can do something that Vista can't, then in my little naive world, it means XP is better than Vista. Now both OS'es have things they do better, so you just have to add them up and see which ones matter the most to you.

But again, let's return to the actual problems mentioned in this thread. They were not about "software/hardware not working with Vista". they were about Vista itself not working. Vista's own disk cleanup is a bit overzealous, deleting actual data. And Vista's copy protection is completely paranoid, labelling a third of all legal copies invalid.

Now, Vista certainly has some advantages over XP. I'm just tired of seeing blind kneejerk reactions when people talk about the problems they experienced with Vista. I'm tired of seeing automatic responses like "It must be caused by incompatible hardware/software, and it CAN NOT be Microsoft's fault!
I'm tired of seeing people who didn't actually develop the OS believe that they're qualified to determine where the blame lays, whether or not the OS is at fault for the (horrific) problems some people experience with it.

 

Vista has bugs...that is all there is too it. Jalf's got some really good points here...

Wait, Vista declared about 1/3rd of all copies pirated? Do you have a story on that backing that info up? I find it believable...but reading the actual story would make my day right now.

I had issues with the disk management on Vista. I deleted several GBs of info, info disappeared but I didn't get my space back (until I copied all my info to a different disk and reformatted that partition). That's a Vista problem for sure...

 

Still using XP

My mate bought a new Acer with Premium on it. Can run it fine (C2D, 2gb, 160gb). From my using it (while he was in hospital Yes, this is broken arm guy), the only difference I can tell is that it looks cooler, the way windows fade in and out when opening folders and whatnot. Other than that, I am not sure what one gets for their mo-nay. In fact its more niggly, though I do not know how to streamline Vista yet. Little things that annoy me, like an extra security window warning me or it scanning my usb drive for errors before then opening it for me. Takes longer to transfer files on and off the drive too

(Words in italics key words here )

Maybe I need to explore it further but right now and incidentally the guy who uses Vista now day in day out prefers XP. And I still want to know what you get for your money (remember Vista costs 2x US price in UK!)

 

What I get from Vista?

I get the ability to run the latest Microsoft O/S on a fairly new notebook. Why should I wait until my notebook is old and then run Vista? Would that not have depreciated in value? If I were to wait until the majority of consumers are running Vista, what point would it be for me to have bought a decent computer?

My point about asking yourself the questions are to be taken as it.
1) Do I have a spanky, modern, and cool notebook?*1
2) Do I have a spanky, modern, and cool software collection?*2

It is to draw to yourself the attention of reality. Nothing is perfect, but to give thoughts to the money you have spent in purchasing your notebook. Each day you delay using Vista then you really lose out because you have afterall paid money to use a new/current technology. So experience it whilst it is new/current. That is where the premium of your money has gone to. As such, I prefer to eat the pancake whilst it is hot, despite getting the occassional burn. For me, I benefit more from experiencing the newer technology before it matures. What fun is there once it has matured? Seriously... nothing to gripe about. Nothing to be excited about.

VISTA = EXCITEMENT.
NEW NOTEBOOK = EXCITEMENT.

VISTA + NEW NOTEBOOK = HEAPS OF EXCITEMENT

People go for the latest game don't they? And when a game has matured, it does lose its original sense of appeal.

Sadly, I think Jalf has really missed my point. Try to look at my point outside the square box. And my pancake meant both my notebook and software. It is about the experience of puting new things together. Synergy. Do you think you will have as much excitement with your current rig when something better comes along? Unless you are an archaeologist or a historian.

And quote me for good, I have never once said Vista was perfect. Just that Vista is better than XP. And if you think I am wrong, just wait until 2 years from now, and you will most likely be using a PC running Vista. Inevitably things change for the better and people move to it.

But obviously, if you have already planned never to upgrade to Vista for your current notebook or rig, then that is a totally different situation.

 

So you're saying, run Vista because it's new and shiny? That's what the drug pushers down at the corner say, too. Vista treats the people who "own" it like criminals just for using their computer. That in itself is more than enough to drive me away. I don't care how flashy it is.

But to each his own. If you don't mind that, so be it. But don't pretend that someone that sees it differently is somehow misinformed. Knowing what I do about the forums here, Jalf is definitely one of the more knowledgeable members. I'd trust his opinion if I were you.

 

...*And breathe!* I'm sure a single sentence; "A new shiny OS is exciting" would have sufficed

Will it become wine or vinegar? Ain't that the other $64,000 question (rep if you get film ref)

I do not believe the hot food analogy works - you should eat pancakes hot (with ice cream) as that is when they are at their best. It cannot be applied to an OS. It may well be excitement if that is your thing. I never said Vista does not work. On the contrary it is perfectly OK out of the box. But is it worth the premium for a flashy shell? Not for a 3 figure sum it isn't imo when the substance hasn't majorly departed from the predecessor!

I am also not sure you understand how Microsoft's business model works. An uptake of a windows OS has just as much to do with having no alternative than with a similarity built up over nearly 2 decades. Soon no systems with XP pre-installed will be available. Widespread Vista use in 2 years doesn't mean much

 

Yup, I am saying that I am running Vista because it is new and shiny. I don't know what the drug pushers said to you, and I careless to ask you about that.

I understand that everyone has their own view, and I never mentioned anyone was misinformed. That is something you construed about me through your misunderstanding.

What I am saying is about making best use of technology by using the latest where it is affordable. Nothing is perfect. XP was not perfect when it began. I wished I could have jumped straight onto it when it was released but I had a dual Pentium Pro computer then and it could barely run Windows 2000. And yet, I did not have any gripes because I knew its limitation. And when I did manage to get to run XP Professional, it had already been quite mature and the expensive notebook it came on didn't really impress me much. I actually got more satisfaction with the notebook by installing the latest Linux Distro when it just came out, despite it not being 100% compatible with the notebook.

Jalf has his own opinion and reasons, as I have mine. And if you have a look at what I had written for Jalf, it never discredited him, but to rather explain to him that he simply misunderstood my previous posting as his response to what I had written was wrong.

And just because I am a new member here does not mean that I lack the experience. As a little introduction, I have a degree in Computing Science and another degree in Business.

Anyway, I just don't think that we should give so much flak to Microsoft for everything that goes wrong associating with their O/S. Like give them a break. If things were so perfect for every company then half of the current business world would be unemployed.

All I know is that Vista and my computer are working well together, and am enjoying my computing. If you are using non-Vista and am enjoying your computing then great news to you too. But why criticise so much about Microsoft if you cannot or do not want to run Vista?

If it wasn't for Microsoft, it would be harder for companies in complying to certain standards. Thus, ironically, Microsoft helped to make better compatibility amongst computers.

 

Microsoft has a history of problems, that is why we have issues. Remember when WGA phoned home a little too often? - Yup, consumer outcry led to that "feature" being removed. Vista, and the large number of people who have had issues, have a right to complain about their problems.

Using the newest and shiniest technology is nice, but when you have problems you need to just go back to what works. In this case XP.

Some have issues, some don't. That's what happens when a new OS comes out. For those who don't, they wait.

 

1) Just because it's new doesn't mean it's good. Microsoft has add a lot of shiny widgets to their new OS, but they also submarined in a lot of stuff that's bad for the consumer. I don't begrudge them a profit, I begrudge them abusing their position as a monopoly to further screw over consumers. No technical reasons for those limitations, it's all political.

2) Microsoft has more resources than any other company, and continually delivers software that doesn't even work as well as free software.

3) I also a degree in Mathematics, emphasis on Computer Science. That doesn't mean you're an expert. You should give flak to Microsoft for things that go wrong with their OS that are entirely artificial in nature, such as the excessive intertwining of DRM with the system, one in five people are falsely accused of criminal possession of Windows (Vista or XP), and other such things that go along with the "Vista Experience". I criticize Vista and Microsoft because what they do is WRONG. I don't care how shiny and nice-looking something is if it's bad for people's rights in general, and it's even worse because people don't know any better, and they are being abused by a company in a position of trust.

 

No one has talked about that except for you What does that have to do with anything?

Every member on this here forum is entitled to comment on Vista. We are all consumers and as such, Microsoft for one care

That's a wee bit different to your original post above Anyway, I am not talking so much about affordability, more value for money. I personally would happily drop £ on a product - provided it justifies it. That is the crux of my argument above. Buying a new OS might well be exciting as a new experience - but then once that goes you want it to work and work well. As I said Vista is fine, but its niggles grate and then when you take a step back you ask "what do I have?" I for one after my Vista experience felt decidedly underwhelmed

 

The way I see it there's a lot of FUD caused by unfamiliarty w/ Vista and subsequent blame on Vista because of that. A lot of misplaced blame of Microsoft for issues that can easily be attributed to something other than the OS (just like this very thread, it started out with "Vista killed my computer" and ended with "Registry Mechanic killed my computer", which can happen on any Windows machine). Not all PC problems can be attributed directly to Vista -- it's also user error. I see a lot of this here.

Also, too many people saying "Vista sucks" and not enough "why". I respect opinions from posters like Pitabred, LFC and Jalf because they explain why they do not like Vista and give valid arguments. Unfortunately not enough posters do this.

This is the one thing that irks me, as a Vista user who has run it seamlessly since I installed it, and am satisfied with the experience. People who drop the "V-bomb" and don't qualify it.

 

i have spent the time to read the E.U.A of Vista.and your PC dosn't belong to you.
if you buy a car and you was told you can't drive it on friday's.or the radio could only be tuned to one station would you complain.

so why do you let someone else tell you how you can use your pc,and what you can load onto it.and if you load the wrong stuff.it all goes pop and stops running.
microsoft wants to make you sing its tune.no thanks.
vista can stay in the box.

 

To qualify my stance, truth be told, I would take Vista in its present form if Microsoft charged me a fifth of the going rate. Then in my mind that would balance out the cost>value for money scale. Microsoft have taken steps forward and I can see where they have made progress, especially with security (though I do hope they offer an update where the system is not paranoid about a well known software!) but currently I either want more for my money or for a lower cost due to what I said previously. Does it feel like XP SP3? Yes! OK perhaps SP4 as the fade in/out to open windows is cool. More evolution than revolution. Nothing wrong with that... but the problem then is it can be a while for the benefits to be apparent!

As for the rights issue, it is the delicate balance between perceiving to own a product (and either having carte blanche or at least restricted in areas) and 'renting' the right to use the product. Seems to be internet traffic thing of mentioning the EULA of Vista? Though I have not read it so do not know the terms

And isn't Vista meant to be a 10 year project?

 

You hit the nail on the head with this , I couldn't put it any better.

Why use the latest and greatest when it has been shown that vista right now is more trouble than it is worth! I have seen nothing new in vista besides massive crushing DRM infections, unacceptable license terms, bloated hardware requirements, and a list of cut features long enough to paper your bathroom, so is this what those people at Microsoft spent all these years of constant delays and empty promises to bring us? Isn't the whole fact of technology moving forward to mean that is should have been an OS revolution and not just IMHO warmed over XP?

Yet silver_horse claims that "vista = excitement"!!? what are you seeing that is so exciting or perhaps you are using a secret version of vista that none of us have access to? IMHO Microsoft has run out of ideas for their OS and don't know where to go in the future so what do they do, they start to steal ideas from others i.e widgets and all of those flashy new icons as well as window transparency (which they pedal as "windows WOW" give me a break puh-leeze)

As I have said before vista is windows ME II, until Microsoft fixes a lot of the current issues with vista it will remain that way and no one can convince me otherwise, don't let Microsoft do to you like Pitabred said and be like a drug pusher and you blindly buy into their sales pitch of "just because it is new it is better".

 

To practically put it, right now I am running Vista on a relatively new notebook. I am experiencing today's newest mainstream software technology on a relatively new hardware technology.

In just about 2 years from now, my notebook will be relatively quite slow but I will know that this 2 years I have been experiencing the latest technology.

Sure I may come across some bugs and all, but hey, nothing is perfect. But I know that I am pushing my notebook to the extreme (since Vista is more resource demanding). I rather let my memory and CPU grunt more than seeing it idle half the time, if that happens to be the case. That is where my money went to, so that is where Intel and Co should show how good their products are. Not just Microsoft's Vista.

Maybe my notebook will grunt to a halt or maybe it won't. But if it does, then I know which manufacturers to stay away from when purchasing my next notebook.

Ever thought about experience the new and unexpected? Like step out of the warm water. But obviously this is not the case if you are running mission critical tasks.

 

Have you actually tried using Vista?

I was not ready to upgrade myself, XP was working fine for me. However when I got my new notebook it came preinstalled with Vista. I was ready for the worst, and was planning to wipe the HD and install XP. After using it for a week or so, I was more and more impressed until I decided to keep it.

After using Vista and enjoying it on my laptop I just could not take the fact that my desktop was still using ugly old XP so I decided to upgrade it as well. I installed Vista Ultimate on it on a seperate HD in a dual-boot configuration. This way I have been able to compare XP to Vista on the same machine. I have had ZERO compatibality problems, ZERO software problems, and I plan to do away with XP entirely as soon as ZoneAlarm releases it's firewall for Vista (it is in beta ATM).

"Bloated hardware requirements'??? My laptop has a weak integrated ATI Radeon 200m , and it runs Vista like a champ with Aero on. If your PC is older than a 200m vintage then why would you be upgrading its OS anyway? I love the Aero interface, why should people running decent hardware have to be comprimised so that someone can run Aero on some old relic?

"Crushing DRM infections"..?? If you want to play pirated HD content your Video card may not run it in Vista. If you consider that crushing, well then I don't know what to say. Personally I think pirates should be punished, and people running pirated software are nothing more than common thieves.

So far Vista has exceeded my expectations. It is not only a pretty looking OS, it has also ran everything as good or better than XP. XP was a great OS, but like anything else it's time has come and gone. Bye-bye XP, hello clean,crisp, pretty Vista!

 

Yeah zarono I have... if you are one of those who use their computer for "normal" everyday computing task then vista or any other recent OS will work just perfectly. Now answer the question I posed what are you doing in vista now that you couldn't do in XP? You say you have an X200m so direct X10 (to me the biggest draw for vista IMO) won't work with that You said you got tired of looking at "ugly XP" so did you go to vista just to see aero's transparency? I had aero running on my XP (using windows blinds) up to a few months ago therefore you don't need vista for that! Also recent test have shown that Vista's security at the core is not much (if any) better than XP. The crushing DRM infections I speak of are a fact of DRM in general, if you have ever used any DRM protected product I am sure it has bitten you already. DRM is supposed to help stop pirates but to legitimate owners it has been shown to be a pain .

So after all of this I again ask where is the WOW Microsoft has supposedly put into vista what was so fancy about it that you saw the need to abandon the "veteran battle hardened" XP Perhaps you have done like Pitabred said and have fallen prey to the Microsoft drug pushers...but seriously in the end to each his own if you like vista at its current state then so be it.

Consider yourself lucky you have not seen some of the issues I saw or that others have reported here. I may use vista eventually but not until I see some improvement i.e some service packs !

 

So? That is neither good nor bad in itself.

Newest, yes, but some of us are more interested in quality than age.
I'd argue it's not todays *best* OS, even though it's the newest.

Whereas I'll know that these 2 years I have been experiencing the *best* technology. Wanna trade places? Cos I won't.

I don't understand why you assume that "new" equals "better". It's just not (necessarily) true, and you're kidding yourself.

What? So you think that it is a goal in itself to burden your computer? Do you also create random files containing garbage data just to get more use from your harddrive?

You are not making *any* sense.
What matters in a computer is how much use *you* get out of it. It doesn't matter what fraction of the time the CPU was idle (Or in fact I'd argue that the more time it's idle, while still doing what you need, the better.)
How can you seriously say that the more resources it takes, the better it is? Not because it actually serves its purpose better, but because it uses more resources, as if that in itself was a goal?

And that has what, exactly, to do with Vista?

That's the problem I have with Vista. Yes, there are unexpected *problems*, and yes, there are new *problems*. There isn't anything new that's actually worth experiencing. It's an OS, it's not some kind of adventure, and I rate an OS on how well it serves OS-related tasks.
I'm sorry, but if I'm going to spend money on new and exciting adventures, I think I can find better places to look than in the OS market.

No, you make best use of technology by using the best where it is affordable. Quite often the "latest" is crap. The first draft N wireless cards and routers were crap. The first revisions of DirectX were crap. Early versions of Windows (such as 3.1) were crap. It took years and years for digital cameras or LCD screens to stop being crap. Early Vista is crap.
The vast majority of new technology is crap just when it comes out. Always buying the latest *solely because it's the latest* is just about the worst thing you can do. Buy the latest when it's also the best. If older technology is superior, buy that.

(Apart from this, Vista doesn't contain much "new technology". It's a new product, yes, but it's still just XP polished up. It's about as much new technology as the new Office is.)

The problem is that it prevents you from taking backups of your legal content. But perhaps you don't see a problem in restricting *legal* users' rights, as long as we can also inconvenience pirates? Personally, I think that I, as a legal user, should get priority. I don't care what they do to pirates, but if it involves harassing me, then they're reading the wrong manual.
Also, a variant of the DRM infection is that Vista frequently (for several people on this forum, myself included), decides that it must itself be a pirated copy!
Yes, you get your legal copy of Vista, and then it tells you that you must buy a new license cos this one is pirated. (It also adds in small print, that *if* you are sure you're not a pirate, you can call this phone number and try to negotiate with MS.)

That pisses me off. Being treated like a criminal, or being harassed and inconvenienced because I'm not a criminal, that is to me a very good reason to *not* buy the product. (Some might say it's a good reason to become a criminal, because pirates have ways around all these annoyances. I say it's a good reason to stick with a competing product)

Err, yeah, you're waiting for some software to work with Vista, and yet you have had no compatibility problems? Yes, sure...

Funnily enough, the only actual advantage to Vista you can mention is that it looks nicer.
Here's the deal. Mac OSX looks nicer too. It also looks nicer than Vista. Hence, if I want a nice-lookiing OS, I should buy OSX.

 

C'mon Jalf, don't make me have to do this . Vista's features are well documented, you just have to search the Internet a little. Maybe it's due to all the Vista bashing you guys have been busy with your vision's askew, so you haven't even bothered to research it. Do you really think Vista has absolutely nothing to offer over XP? That is silly to assume

Anyway, I'm too lazy to go over this again, so I'll just copy and paste something I posted before. Acknowledged -- the fact that Vista does not have anything mission critical over XP that is a must have or can't be obtained via third-party software, but does have several enhancements that improve upon XP. On a one to one basis, considering two PCs that are error/crash free (which is something that many a Vista user has claimed, and seeing as I am one of them I tend to agree), Vista has additional features above and beyond XP. I don't think this can be argued.

In a nutshell - enhanced security (UAC), more intuitive folder/windows explorer structure, improved speech recognition, live thumbnails, more comprehensive tags (file metadata), more comprehensive Backup and Restore suite, Superfetch, Readyboost, Readydrive, improved power options (Sleep mode), integrated Reliability and Performance reports, integrated Reliability Monitor, Mobility Center, Bitlocker. And some other security/stability stuff.

 

when is vista sp1 suppose to come out? hopefully at the end of the summer?

 

Whatever makes your computer runs is okay. Heck some people are still using W98! No one is right or wrong. It's all a matter of taste.

 

I agree with you all. one person is not the other. My taste is different from the other person. Jalf, Windows XP is not good when it was first released, after a month or two, they have released SP1 and we know why. And majority really never cared about it after a year or so since they stick with their loving Windows 98SE OS.

Apart from the silver_horse shiny thingy... most consumers (not techies) who have most of the population using Windows will eventually get excited with new trends. I therefore cannot blame him for his reasonings. Let's put this into reality. Again, my friend's net cafes debuted some of the PC as Vista equipped. Most of his customers "do" like sitting on these machines other than the others. It's the excitement there. regarless of what's wrong or what's right. In total, he's earning most on those machines equipped with Vista.

Vista's faults to regular consumer is non-large impact. The problem is adjusting. Mostly because majority of these people do less on these machines compared to techies. Sure most techno people will eventually see the shortcomings of each OS. But for the majority of people who's doing spreadsheets, docs and e-mail, they are more than happy with what Vista offers.

The bottom line is, different people differs on their wants. There's no perfect software but surely there is one that is closer to perfection. 92% approximately. I hate it too sometimes. but people will say and use what OS is really "usable".

I am neither a Computer Wiz nor a techie. I'm a Drug Lord. But I'm using Windows Vista to process my transactions. As I say, it has shortcomings too. But luckily I'm able to make solutions out of these because I think and implement first, not talk or rant before doing it. And it works fine for me.

 

That link was a long read, but a good one. People who have time to spare and haven't read it yet, should give it a read.