It's not that easy to GET 100% compatibility, even if you start
Okay, I must ask. Why is it so difficult to get 100% vista compatible
hardware in a new system?
Short answer: Pre-alpha drivers released too early as "beta" or even
"stable" releases.
Even some major component manufacturers are guilty of this (are you
listening, nvidia?)
Yes, they can advertise vista compatibility. Indeed, the hardware is fully
vista compatible. Too bad the vista drivers suck ass.
I just looked at the adds and believed them when they told me that the
product was vista compatible.
Well you weren't misled...not exactly. Once the driver issues are all
straightened out, you should be good to go. Oh, you wanted the drivers to
be vista compatible, also? So sorry...
I must admit that I've been mislead by some software - e.g., our software
is vista compatible in large print, while the fine print says something
about a required driver only being available for XP, but I have not yet
had any hardware issues. ...and what is there other than a vista
compatible video card?
Jeff
The video card is a major component, but it's not the only component in the
system. There are many other issues to deal with. Many mainboards (some
released AFTER vista, btw) require a BIOS flash before vista will install.
It's been a while since I looked at the sound card issue, but last I
checked, only Creative was even TRYING to support vista, and even then only
with their very latest hardware, of course.
Bottom line, if you've got an older system (say something that was built
more than a few weeks ago, ha ha), good luck getting that puppy up and
running on vista. AS A MINIMUM, you'd better check and double-check that
all the following are available before trying to install Vista:
- NON-BETA labelled vista drivers for the bit level you will be running (32
or 64) for mainboard chipset
- NON-BETA labelled vista drivers for the bit level you will be running (32
or 64) for mainboard ethernet adapter, if using built-in
- NON-BETA labelled vista drivers for the bit level you will be running (32
or 64) for mainboard USB ports, if separate from chipset driver
- NON-BETA labelled vista drivers for the bit level you will be running (32
or 64) for video card chipset (even then, you might have a problem, but I'm
listing minimum requirements here, before you even attempt it)
- NON-BETA labelled vista drivers for the bit level you will be running (32
or 64) for sound card, whether built into mainboard or not
- NON-BETA labelled vista drivers for the bit level you will be running (32
or 64) for printer
- NON-BETA labelled vista drivers for the bit level you will be running (32
or 64) for any other component you absolutely need. For example, if you are
still stuck using dial-up, then you will need modem driver, obviously. If
you want to use a TV Tuner, then get the drivers for that, too. Etc.
If you can download all that and burn it to a CD, then you MIGHT possibly be
ready to try to install vista.
Another thing to check for is a recent
release of BIOS for your mainboard, even if the mainboard is brand new. You
might need that. -Dave