Cold Hard Fact

  • Thread starter Thread starter Grant
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Grant

Vista is too complicated for the average home user who wants to transfer
files and folders email and IE settings from an XP machine, and just do
mundane word processing and basic photo manipulation etc.

Any one agree or disagree with this and is there a simple way other than
installing XP to get vista to work for a senior citizen aged person.
 
I will disagree 100% that this is cold hard fact, all it is is your opinion.
Everything being said about Vista now was said about XP when it was
released, and it will be said about the next version of Windows as well.
You haven't provided any specific info on problems your having, so no
solutions can be suggested.
Vista has the same "mundane" word processing apps as XP, notepad and
wordpad, have they gotten that complicated?

--
 
Dave B. said:
I will disagree 100% that this is cold hard fact, all it is is your
opinion. Everything being said about Vista now was said about XP when it
was released, and it will be said about the next version of Windows as
well.
You haven't provided any specific info on problems your having, so no
solutions can be suggested.
Vista has the same "mundane" word processing apps as XP, notepad and
wordpad, have they gotten that complicated?
Click to expand...
Please explain how an octogenarian familiar with the workings of XP can
transfer settings and documents including OE6 files and folders to a vista
machine. And not be baffled and confused by UAC access denial nags. Vista
Home Premium. And do it in a way that a 70 year old will understand.Thank you.
 
Turn off UAC and you won't be nagged.
Grant said:
Please explain how an octogenarian familiar with the workings of XP can
transfer settings and documents including OE6 files and folders to a vista
machine. And not be baffled and confused by UAC access denial nags. Vista
Home Premium. And do it in a way that a 70 year old will understand.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
 
The fact that you are 70 yrs old is irrelevant, the only thing that is
relevant is that you have a limited understanding of each OS and don't have
the knowledge to do what you want to do, most average PC users fall into
your category, they just want to use it, could care less about such things,
just like most drivers, they don't care how the car works, that's what
mechanics are for.
Documents can easily be transferred using a USB drive or CD burner, as far
as your email, see if this helps.
http://www.iopus.com/guides/free-oe-backup.htm

--
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Vista is too complicated for the average home user who wants to transfer
files and folders email and IE settings from an XP machine, and just do
mundane word processing and basic photo manipulation etc.

Any one agree or disagree with this and is there a simple way other than
installing XP to get vista to work for a senior citizen aged person.
Click to expand...

Well take it from another senior who's been around the block a few
times. You can safely do a install in place (meaning you just upgrade)
don't do a "clean" install which means you can have Vista without
having to replace XP so you don't lose any of your installed
applications or settings. I've done it, and I have anything but a
simple system. I've got almost 2 TB filled with close to a million
files and didn't have a problem.

1. I can't stress enough BACKUP all you one of a kind files first then
get them (the copies) off your primary partition that you intend to
install Vista on. That can simply mean copying them to another
hard drive, burning some DVD's, or moving to some exteranl drive.

You do this for your insurance policy in case something goes wrong.
if nothing does go wrong all your files will remain where they
were unharmed and automatically 'imaged" by Vista and restored.

This does not mean you need to copy all your applications, you just
need to copy your data files all your applications create. Of
course you have the original install CD's for all your applications
just in case something bad happens. Ditto for any applications you
downloaded from the Internet.

2. Run the Vista Upgrade Advisor, disable or remove EVERYTHING it
mentions not absolutely necessary to install Vista. If it nags
about something you need to have running then you must resolve
whatever the issue is BEFORE trying to install Vista. That may
mean finding a new driver.

3. Go to BIOS turn off any fancy features. Writing down how things
were as you go so you can restore AFTER Vista is up and running.

4. While still running XP, be sure the file
system is ok, good idea to defrag your C drive.

5. Turn all applications off including anti-virus, anything that runs
in the background. Turn off and/or disconnect any external devices,
like printers, scanners, USB toys.

6. Put the Vista DVD in your DVD drive and follow the prompts to do
a install in place. Do NOT do a clean install, that wipes out
everything including your data you may have on the same partition
you're installing Vista to.

With just a bit of luck in about a hour you should have Vista up and
running and won't have lost anything you had under XP. Now restore
your devices you rememoved one by one doing a reboot after each so it
case something goes wrong you know which bit of hardware likely caused
the problem.

There are several points in a normal install where it appears that the
installer is hung. It probably isn't. Just wait. Some reboots will
happen. I counted mine, and had seven. A couple lasted several minutes
before anything changed on screen. So don't freak over seeing a
totally black screen or the final blank desktop. Just wait a
reasonable time before concluding something bad happened. A reasonable
time is measured in minutes, not hours.

If you are unlucky enough to catch a BSOD during install don't panic.
Most are recoverable from and Vista probably stumbled on a driver you
didn't disable or update. Depending on how far along you got in the
install process Vista should most times allow you to get back to your
old XP setup so you can fix the problem, then try again. If you need
to do this, FIRST locate the typically 3 folders on your root drive
that Vista is using to install itself. These should have a $ in front
of them. Rename by adding a x in front of each so Vista doesn't try to
pick up where it left off if it hangs after retrying a couple times.
Then try again to install from scratch, again doing a install in
place.

While all of the above sounds a little complicated it isn't really if
you go slow and approach it in a logical manner.
 
Yes, I disagree whole heartedly. I am working on lesson plans to teach a
small senior class on the basics of Windows Vista. The two folks I have that
are helping me (kind of give me an idea of the technical abilities, etc.)
really like Vista, and are looking forward to the class. The class is aimed
at teaching the new features, as they already know XP and just want to get
updated.

XP is a great OS, but I find Vista much easier after learning it (just as I
did with XP and 2000 before that).
 
Most of us techies have a hard time explaining things to seniors, but I am
working on it! ;) Of course, the 70 year olds only use it for email and word
processing, so once the PC is set up UAC shouldn't be much of a problem. And
it's not really that hard to explain it (the right click was pretty
difficult, though! )

--
Dustin Harper
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.vistarip.com

--
 
Not a fact at all and you have presented NOTHING to support it as
fact.
It is merely your opinion.
Like any other change in life, there is a learning curve going from
windows XP to Windows Vista.
The simple way is to learn by doing.
Learn more about security of the computer.
Learn why instead of simply getting annoyed over something not
understood.

If the 70 year old you refer is unwilling or unable learn with the
changes, stay with Windows XP.
Why is this person considering upgrading to Windows Vista?
From what little you describe Windows XP will do very well.
Windows XP will be supported for several more years so a new operating
system available is not a good enough reason by itself to upgrade.

Also see:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/instvista.htm
 
Maybe VISTA is working well for you.
But I am a very experienced PC user, since DOS days, and I am really
appalled at how cumbersome, slow, and buggy VISTA is. Even the "mundane"
bundled software from MS, such as WORKS spreadsheets, will not print
correctly.
Yes, I turned off all the UAC and optimized the viewing environment for
"performance". That basically takes me back to an XP-like interface.

I still get a lot of very odd error messages and long delays at certain
points that I can't explain. Sometimes it is fast, and other times it just
sits there and I watch the circle go around for an uncomfortably long period.

It is not a "senior citizen issue"; it is a bloated, buggy cumbersome op
system issue. I am sorry to say that my solution was simply to return the
new computer. I realized that my old 233 MHz system, running WIN98 was just
not that bad. :)
 
Grant said:
Vista is too complicated for the average home user who wants to transfer
files and folders email and IE settings from an XP machine, and just do
"mundane word processing and basic photo manipulation etc."

Any one agree or disagree with this and is there a simple way other than
installing XP to get vista to work for a senior citizen aged person.
Click to expand...

I have to ask you WHY you want to upgrade if all you do is
"mundane word processing and basic photo manipulation etc."
XP is perfectly fine for those things. If you're happy with XP,
don't install Vista. If you're not happy with XP, you probably won't
like Vista either. I actively discourage people from upgrading older
systems. I think people should get Vista with new systems (as if
we have much choice!) since it IS the wave of the future but I see
just too many problems trying to get older hardware to work with it.
I know many people here will say, "I upgraded and it works fine!"
but they probably have more experience with PCs than the average user.

Tom Lake
 
As with XP, Vista is going to get allot of criticism from the average, not
very PC knowledgeable user BECAUSE they went out and bought a cheap OEM PC
from their local Best Buy, or CC. These machines are probably the worst
representative of Vista as mfgs like HP, Compaq, Sony, and Dell load no end
of crapware on their systems, most having some portion of themselves in
system startup, which suck CPU time, uses RAM, and causes poor system
performance and random crashes. Joe Blow the PC user get's one, it runs like
crap, and he assumes, because he doesn't know any better, that Vista is the
cause, been that way for years.

--
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Crosspost, do not multipost http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm
How to ask a question http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375
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http://www.db-pc.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Dave B. said:
The fact that you are 70 yrs old is irrelevant, the only thing that is
relevant is that you have a limited understanding of each OS and don't
have the knowledge to do what you want to do, most average PC users fall
into your category, they just want to use it, could care less about such
things, just like most drivers, they don't care how the car works, that's
what mechanics are for.
Documents can easily be transferred using a USB drive or CD burner, as
far as your email, see if this helps.
http://www.iopus.com/guides/free-oe-backup.htm

--
Click to expand...

If only the European Computer Driving License was genuinely a licence that
was required to use a computer... :)
 
Grant said:
Please explain how an octogenarian familiar with the workings of
XP can transfer settings and documents including OE6 files and
folders to a vista machine. And not be baffled and confused by UAC
access denial nags. Vista Home Premium. And do it in a way that a
70 year old will understand.
Click to expand...

Are you an octogenarian or are you a septuagenarian? No fair lying
about your age, I wanna know if I'm talking to an old fart (over 71) or
a young stud (71 or under)!

I didn't have many problems transferring things from XP to Vista 64 bit
but mostly I started fresh and only transferred documents. Of course,
I'm only a kid, I won't even be 72 until June. I *REALLY* don't see
what age has to do with it, I don't think I'm any less able to learn a
new OS than I was when I was younger.

The UAC is generally a good thing as it helps protect your computer but
if you're having problems why not turn it off until you've got
everything setup and running? There's several ways but here's the
easiest: Click Start/Help and Support and type UAC into the search box,
select "Turn User Account Control on and off" and follow the
directions.

To transfer documents, I'd recommend doing it the easiest possible way,
copy your documents to a CD or flash drive or USB Hard Drive on the old
computer and then copy them to the new computer.
 
David said:
Are you an octogenarian or are you a septuagenarian? No fair lying
about your age, I wanna know if I'm talking to an old fart (over 71) or
a young stud (71 or under)!

I didn't have many problems transferring things from XP to Vista 64 bit
but mostly I started fresh and only transferred documents. Of course,
I'm only a kid, I won't even be 72 until June. I *REALLY* don't see
what age has to do with it, I don't think I'm any less able to learn a
new OS than I was when I was younger.
Click to expand...

LOL! Thanks for making my day.

Alias
 
Dave B. said:
As with XP, Vista is going to get allot of criticism from the average, not
very PC knowledgeable user BECAUSE they went out and bought a cheap OEM PC
from their local Best Buy, or CC. These machines are probably the worst
representative of Vista as mfgs like HP, Compaq, Sony, and Dell load no end
of crapware on their systems, .......
Click to expand...

Except that my 12 year old "cheap OEM PC, loaded with crapware" runs just
fine, if a bit slow ! :)

It dosn't seem like a valid defense of VISTA. Like only computer experts
who don't run programs like WORKS or print to home oriented printers are
qualified to use VISTA ? That is just another reason for most of us to not
buy it.
 
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