Larry Davis said:
I've been using Vista Home Edition Premium on a brand new Dell XPS 420
computer since Jan. 10, 2008, and I still rue the day I got a new computer
with Windows on it. If it's such a great improvement then why do I have so
many issues with Vista that I never had with XP?
I have three other computers running XP. I don't have any more problems
with Vista than I do with XP. You can contact Dell for assistance or you can
post to these discussion groups. I would suggest you ask your questions here
instead of going to Dell.
Vista continually stopped recognizing my wireless Microsoft keyboard and
mouse. Even after installing Service Pack 1, I found no improvement, so I
gave up and went with a wired mouse (They've almost stopped making those
it seems.) I couldn't find one made by Microsoft at Office Max so I bought
one made by Logitech, installed it and updated the software. Now after the
computer has been on all day, the mouse tends to resist moving the cursor
across the screen. Also I have been unable to use sleep mode in Vista
because if the computer has been in sleep for more than a couple of hours
it doesn't wake up by using the mouse or keyboard. It did this with wired
or wireless mice. I've had to turn it off at the power button so many
times I've quit even trying to use sleep mode.
I am currently using a Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse. I have
also used my Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse. I have not and do not
have any problems with them. My four computers are Dells and I purchase all
peripherals from Dell, including all my Microsoft hardware. When I have had
problems with Microsoft hardware I call Microsoft. If they cannot solve the
problem they replace the product, no questions asked, regardless of where
you purchase it. You have 90 days of free support for Microsoft hardware
products beginning with the first call you make in relation to that product.
It still stops recognizing the mouse ever so often. I get an "unknown
device attached" error message until I reboot. It's plugged into the USB
port on the back of the computer and unplugging and replugging is another
trick that doesn't work with Vista.
I've never had these problems with Vista.
I have several external hard drives attached and I've had to set up the
view I want on each drive. Setting them on drive C does not set the view
details for the other drives. So you have to chose details and then go to
"Organize/Folder and Search Options/View/Apply to folders" for each drive.
Even then it tends to forget the settings you gave it.
I have two 500GB external hard drives connected. I don't experience any
of these problems.
I don't find anything about Vista to be intuitive. I have to go to the
"help and support" function for almost anything I want to find. Just to
find "system restore" you have to right click 'my
computer'/properties/advance system settings/system protection/system
restore; or you can go through start/programs/accessories/system
tools/system restore. Since system restore is something you should use to
create a new restore point before making almost any changes, including
installing new software, which includes the endless updates from
Microsoft, then it should be located front and center, not buried behind
all those layers of folders.
Right click on System Restore and pin it to your start menu or put a
shortcut to it on your desktop. It's as simple as that.
Ever week brings a new fight with user account control. Since I have a lot
of files that were imported from my XP computer, I often find I can't
delete them when I want to. Turning off UAC doesn't help that in the
least. You have to find a way to "take ownership" of the files and Vista
doesn't give it up easily. Even being the only user of the computer and
always logging in as administrator doesn't end those fights. I'm
constantly dealing with "you don't have permission to do that" messages.
That's when you're ready to throw the whole thing out the window....
I rarely see a UAC prompt anymore. I don't have any problems reading or
deleting a file if I "take ownership" of them. Taking ownership of a file or
folder is easy to accomplish if you know how to do it.
Where Microsoft went so wrong was in designing one operating system for
both business and home use. I think all those levels of security make
sense in a corporate use situation where you don't want every Dilbert
sitting in a cubicle monkeying around with system settings, but for a home
user, they are intolerable.
The security levels are incorporated into Vista for your benefit and
protection. I've never disabled UAC or Protected Mode and they don't cause
me any problems. There are ways to disable UAC for your trusted
applications.
To end on a positive note, Windows Mail is a big improvement over Outlook
Express. At least the built in spam fighter seems to be very efficient. I
still got tripped up there though. When importing email messages from one
computer to another using Outlook Express you don't need the "folders.dbx"
because the program will create a new one anyway. But it's impossible to
import your Outlook Express messages into Windows Mail without having
"folders.dbx" in the folder with your messages. Not knowing that in
advance, and knowing it wasn't needed when going from OE to OE, I deleted
that folder, so I've never been able to import my old messages into
Windows Mail. My work around has been to import them into Mozilla
Thunderbird and then use that app whenever I need to find an old email.
Windows Mail is a dead horse. Microsoft has abandoned it in favor of
Windows Live Mail. You should try WLM and see if it is better for you.
You can overcome your problems if you post the problem to the relevant
newsgroup. There are many knowledgeable people here who volunteer their time
for the purpose of helping you. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. Post
your questions and you will receive their assistance. That is how I overcame
my Vista problems.
I hope you solve all your problems and learn to enjoy Vista.
C.B.
