NIGEL said:
I have used every MS operating system since Windows 3.1, I have Beta tested
three versions. Last week I installed VISTA, to be completely honest it is
HORRIBLE,...
"Horrible" in what way? The new interface didn't suit your taste?
What did you expect? Why would Microsoft bother releasing a new
operating system if it were going to look and act just like its
predecessors? As you dislike the Vista interface, and as that is the
single most conspicuous difference between Vista and earlier versions of
Windows, why did you even buy it? Anyway, if you do dislike the default
interface, have you even tried customizing it to meet your tastes? Why
not use the "Windows Classic" theme?
Although, judging from your comment below about WinXP being more
stable, I'd have to conclude that the computer on which you installed
Vista wasn't Vista-capable and/or you didn't have the correct
Vista-specific device drivers, as provided by the computer components'
respective manufacturers, installed. Vista works exceedingly well on
fully capable and compatible hardware with compatible applications and
device drivers installed.
the only way to get rid of it short of shooting the computer was to
reformat the harddrive and UPGRADE to XP Professional and this is much more
stable.
Not necessarily. If you upgraded to Vista from WinXP and preserved the
Windows.Old folder when prompted:
How to go back to Windows XP after you have upgraded a Windows XP-based
computer to Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933170/en-us
How to restore a computer to a previous Windows installation after you
install Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933168/en-us
Otherwise, yes. The only way back would be to format the partition
and perform a clean installation of WinXP. This is pretty much standard
when downgrading any OS.
The problem is that when I installed XP I lost my documents and settings
folder, how can I get it back.
Well, since you formatted the hard drive, the normal way to retrieve
the contents of that folder would be to restore them from the backups
that you made before formatting the hard drive. If you neglected to
back up the files, you erased them when you formatted the partition, and
then rendered them irretrievable, for all practical purposes, by
installing a new OS over the top of them. A professional data recovery
service might still be able to recover something from the currently
unused portions of the partition, but you'd have to stop using the hard
drive immediately and be prepared to pay thousands of dollars for the
service.
Also with automatic updates turned on there is no way of knowing what it is
dumping into my computer, it keeps trying to force IE7 on me and I much
prefer IE6
So, turn off Automatic Updates. Set Windows Update to just notify you
when updates are available, and then pick and choose which ones you want
to install.
I really don't like to see people use the Automatic Updates, unless
they take precautions to ensure that no patches get installed without
the user's express permission, given only after he/she has researched
each individual patch to ensure that it applies and is necessary. Due
to the nearly infinite number of possible combinations of hardware,
device drivers, and applications on any given PC, it's impossible to
guarantee that all patches will be 100% harmless. In a very small
number of cases, patches and hotfixes can cause conflicts or other
problems. So, as with all changes to an OS, caution is advised.
--
Bruce Chambers
Help us help you:
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin
Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell
The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
