Alan Justice said:All my programs are starting to screw up (PC with Win 98, OE6, IE6). I
have
little confidence in my ability to trouble shoot (my PhD is not in
computers), so I may just buy a new computer. I have XP on my other
computer (although the hard drive did crash once), and have heard that
Vista
has too many bugs. Where can I get an unbiased review? (I only need
minimal configuration, for internet, and no network. My other computer is
the workhorse.)
Previously said:Hello.. you will get the best unbiased view from me.
Listen Vista indeed was terrible before SP1... I was the biggest vista
basher of the galaxy!
It was slow, unstable and well the total experience was not good.
But now I got my hands on SP1 (service pack 1) and I have installed
vista and I can say that
its a nice experience... It works only slightly slower than XP now...
but apart from that its ok.
What you will have to know before you decide to get Vista:
1) I would suggest you reasearch and get Vista Ultimate or buisness from
a seller that gives DEGRADE rights from Vista to XP.
What is this? Well if you get one of the versions I mentioned above,
then you also have the right to install XP for free.
This gives you much flexibility.
2) Check and reasearch if the printers or scanners or other peripherals
you may want to use from the OLD system have drivers for Vista,
or if the XP ones work with Vista, or if vista has built in drivers for
these
3) Have in mind that you will probably lose some time (and money) if you
have old versions of programs that will not work well with vista.
And most of all you will get a computer that has vista WITH SP1!!!!
Without SP1 Vista is horrible!
I hope this helps a bit, and if you need any clarification ask and I
will help you.
Alan Justice said:All my programs are starting to screw up (PC with Win 98, OE6, IE6).
I have
little confidence in my ability to trouble shoot (my PhD is not in
computers), so I may just buy a new computer. I have XP on my other
computer (although the hard drive did crash once), and have heard that
Vista
has too many bugs. Where can I get an unbiased review? (I only need
minimal configuration, for internet, and no network. My other
computer is
the workhorse.)
I bought a new Compaq with Vista Home on it and have had quite a bit of
problems with my existing software that I had installed on my (now) dead
XP Pro laptop.
I put Office 2003 Pro and most programs work except when saving files to
a different directory than the default causes a 30 second delay that
seems like everything is locked up. Then it frees up and the directory
will change. I am still trying to figure out where my outbox emails go
when I send email from Outlook.
I spent a day and a half trying to get Motorola Phone Tools installed
only to give up and go to my XP Pro desktop.
I had to buy a new antivirus because the Norton V10.2 would not run on
Vista, I needed Norton 10.4 and it was a cost to upgrade.
I would be happy to go back to XP Pro if I had known about the DEGRADE
capability or for that matter is the DEGRADE capability built in and
just has to be purchased? Or can I purchase XP Pro and have it install
over the top of Vista?
Is the SP1 going to have more software compatability than the original
or is it more for stability, security and speed?
TIA, GWB
All my programs are starting to screw up (PC with Win 98, OE6, IE6). I
have little confidence in my ability to trouble shoot (my PhD is not in
computers), so I may just buy a new computer. I have XP on my other
computer (although the hard drive did crash once), and have heard that
Vista has too many bugs. Where can I get an unbiased review? (I only
need minimal configuration, for internet, and no network. My other
computer is the workhorse.)
Go with Vista...it's more secure and why buy old technology?Alan said:All my programs are starting to screw up (PC with Win 98, OE6, IE6). I have
little confidence in my ability to trouble shoot (my PhD is not in
computers), so I may just buy a new computer. I have XP on my other
computer (although the hard drive did crash once), and have heard that Vista
has too many bugs. Where can I get an unbiased review? (I only need
minimal configuration, for internet, and no network. My other computer is
the workhorse.)
Is the SP1 going to have more software compatability than the original or
is it more for stability, security and speed?
George W. Barrowcliff said:I would be happy to go back to XP Pro if I had known about the DEGRADE
capability or for that matter is the DEGRADE capability built in and just has
to be purchased? Or can I purchase XP Pro and have it install over the top of
Vista?
All my programs are starting to screw up (PC with Win 98, OE6, IE6). I have
little confidence in my ability to trouble shoot (my PhD is not in
computers), so I may just buy a new computer.
I have XP on my other
computer (although the hard drive did crash once), and have heard that Vista
has too many bugs. Where can I get an unbiased review?
(I only need
minimal configuration, for internet, and no network. My other computer is
the workhorse.)
Neither, Just FYI. My Operating System's Of Choice Is: Either Microsoft
Windows Server 2008 RTM, Or Open Source Linux Ubuntu 7.10 RTW, Just FYI. I
Am Very Proud To Call Myself Alias Number 2, Just FYI.
All my programs are starting to screw up (PC with Win 98, OE6, IE6). I have
little confidence in my ability to trouble shoot (my PhD is not in
computers), so I may just buy a new computer. I have XP on my other
computer (although the hard drive did crash once), and have heard that Vista
has too many bugs. Where can I get an unbiased review? (I only need
minimal configuration, for internet, and no network. My other computer is
the workhorse.)
Ken Blake said:All my programs are starting to screw up (PC with Win 98, OE6, IE6). I have
little confidence in my ability to trouble shoot (my PhD is not in
computers), so I may just buy a new computer.
Why? It would seem that if "all [your] programs are starting to screw
up," worst case, you could solve the problems without any
troubleshooting by reinstalling Windows and all your programs. Why do
you need a new computer?
I'm not trying to talk you out of buying a new computer if that's what
you want, but that reason makes no sense to me.
I have XP on my other
computer (although the hard drive did crash once), and have heard that Vista
has too many bugs. Where can I get an unbiased review?
Here's my view:
1. If you're reading about problems *here* for example, in the
newsgroups, this is where people come with their problems, not with
their successes. You get a very distorted view of what's going on in
the real world here; as someone once said, "hang around a transmission
shop and you will think that all cars have transmission problems."
2. Most problems, by far, that people report have nothing to do with
defects in the software. They result from people's ignorance, from bad
or inadequate hardware, from old drivers, from viruses, from spyware,
and so on. And except for very rare situations, they always get a fix
for their problems, and in most cases, that fix is a very simple one
to implement.
You may not think my view is unbiased, but I run Vista here and am
very happy with it. I have no problems with it at all. I know many
others who have experiences similar to mine.
(I only need
minimal configuration, for internet, and no network. My other computer is
the workhorse.)
Then if you get a new computer I see no reason for you not to get
Vista. But note two things:
1. make sure you get a powerful enough machine. In particular, I would
get 2GB of RAM
2. Vista is different in many ways from XP, and it will undoubtedly
take you some time to learn and get accustomed to the differences.
That experience can be frustrating at first.
All good points. But tell me: To reinstall all the programs, won't I lose
what's on the computer now?
Not everything is saved in "my documents," so I
may not even be able to find it all to back it up.
Or will reinstallation
leave that all alone?
--
- Alan Justice
Ken Blake said:All my programs are starting to screw up (PC with Win 98, OE6, IE6). I have
little confidence in my ability to trouble shoot (my PhD is not in
computers), so I may just buy a new computer.
Why? It would seem that if "all [your] programs are starting to screw
up," worst case, you could solve the problems without any
troubleshooting by reinstalling Windows and all your programs. Why do
you need a new computer?
I'm not trying to talk you out of buying a new computer if that's what
you want, but that reason makes no sense to me.
I have XP on my other
computer (although the hard drive did crash once), and have heard that Vista
has too many bugs. Where can I get an unbiased review?
Here's my view:
1. If you're reading about problems *here* for example, in the
newsgroups, this is where people come with their problems, not with
their successes. You get a very distorted view of what's going on in
the real world here; as someone once said, "hang around a transmission
shop and you will think that all cars have transmission problems."
2. Most problems, by far, that people report have nothing to do with
defects in the software. They result from people's ignorance, from bad
or inadequate hardware, from old drivers, from viruses, from spyware,
and so on. And except for very rare situations, they always get a fix
for their problems, and in most cases, that fix is a very simple one
to implement.
You may not think my view is unbiased, but I run Vista here and am
very happy with it. I have no problems with it at all. I know many
others who have experiences similar to mine.
(I only need
minimal configuration, for internet, and no network. My other computer is
the workhorse.)
Then if you get a new computer I see no reason for you not to get
Vista. But note two things:
1. make sure you get a powerful enough machine. In particular, I would
get 2GB of RAM
2. Vista is different in many ways from XP, and it will undoubtedly
take you some time to learn and get accustomed to the differences.
That experience can be frustrating at first.
Ken Blake said:All good points. But tell me: To reinstall all the programs, won't I lose
what's on the computer now?
If you reinstall Windows cleanly, yes, you will lose everything that's
on the computer.
But that's no different than if you buy a new computer. That won't
have what was on the old computer either.
Not everything is saved in "my documents," so I
may not even be able to find it all to back it up.
Then that's a very serious issue that you need to address. But again,
you have that problem whether you reinstall Windows on the old
computer or buy a new one.
And most important, you need to be aware of the need to *always* have
a current backup of anything that you can't afford to lose. That need
doesn't suddenly appear when you are considering reinstalling or
changing computers. You are always vulnerable to the loss of
everything on your drive, for a wide variety of reasons.
Read this article I recently wrote on backup:
http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=314
Or will reinstallation
leave that all alone?
--
- Alan Justice
IKen Blake said:On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:26:13 -0800, "Alan Justice"
All my programs are starting to screw up (PC with Win 98, OE6, IE6).
havethatlittle confidence in my ability to trouble shoot (my PhD is not in
computers), so I may just buy a new computer.
Why? It would seem that if "all [your] programs are starting to screw
up," worst case, you could solve the problems without any
troubleshooting by reinstalling Windows and all your programs. Why do
you need a new computer?
I'm not trying to talk you out of buying a new computer if that's what
you want, but that reason makes no sense to me.
I have XP on my other
computer (although the hard drive did crash once), and have heard
Vistacomputerhas too many bugs. Where can I get an unbiased review?
Here's my view:
1. If you're reading about problems *here* for example, in the
newsgroups, this is where people come with their problems, not with
their successes. You get a very distorted view of what's going on in
the real world here; as someone once said, "hang around a transmission
shop and you will think that all cars have transmission problems."
2. Most problems, by far, that people report have nothing to do with
defects in the software. They result from people's ignorance, from bad
or inadequate hardware, from old drivers, from viruses, from spyware,
and so on. And except for very rare situations, they always get a fix
for their problems, and in most cases, that fix is a very simple one
to implement.
You may not think my view is unbiased, but I run Vista here and am
very happy with it. I have no problems with it at all. I know many
others who have experiences similar to mine.
(I only need
minimal configuration, for internet, and no network. My other
isthe workhorse.)
Then if you get a new computer I see no reason for you not to get
Vista. But note two things:
1. make sure you get a powerful enough machine. In particular, I would
get 2GB of RAM
2. Vista is different in many ways from XP, and it will undoubtedly
take you some time to learn and get accustomed to the differences.
That experience can be frustrating at first.
Okay, thanks. One more thing. To reinstall, should I first format c:? It
seems that's the only way to be sure to eliminate all the accumulated
viruses and such.
Ken Blake said:All good points. But tell me: To reinstall all the programs, won't I lose
what's on the computer now?
If you reinstall Windows cleanly, yes, you will lose everything that's
on the computer.
But that's no different than if you buy a new computer. That won't
have what was on the old computer either.
Not everything is saved in "my documents," so I
may not even be able to find it all to back it up.
Then that's a very serious issue that you need to address. But again,
you have that problem whether you reinstall Windows on the old
computer or buy a new one.
And most important, you need to be aware of the need to *always* have
a current backup of anything that you can't afford to lose. That need
doesn't suddenly appear when you are considering reinstalling or
changing computers. You are always vulnerable to the loss of
everything on your drive, for a wide variety of reasons.
Read this article I recently wrote on backup:
http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=314
Or will reinstallation
leave that all alone?
--
- Alan Justice
On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:26:13 -0800, "Alan Justice"
All my programs are starting to screw up (PC with Win 98, OE6, IE6). I
have
little confidence in my ability to trouble shoot (my PhD is not in
computers), so I may just buy a new computer.
Why? It would seem that if "all [your] programs are starting to screw
up," worst case, you could solve the problems without any
troubleshooting by reinstalling Windows and all your programs. Why do
you need a new computer?
I'm not trying to talk you out of buying a new computer if that's what
you want, but that reason makes no sense to me.
I have XP on my other
computer (although the hard drive did crash once), and have heard that
Vista
has too many bugs. Where can I get an unbiased review?
Here's my view:
1. If you're reading about problems *here* for example, in the
newsgroups, this is where people come with their problems, not with
their successes. You get a very distorted view of what's going on in
the real world here; as someone once said, "hang around a transmission
shop and you will think that all cars have transmission problems."
2. Most problems, by far, that people report have nothing to do with
defects in the software. They result from people's ignorance, from bad
or inadequate hardware, from old drivers, from viruses, from spyware,
and so on. And except for very rare situations, they always get a fix
for their problems, and in most cases, that fix is a very simple one
to implement.
You may not think my view is unbiased, but I run Vista here and am
very happy with it. I have no problems with it at all. I know many
others who have experiences similar to mine.
(I only need
minimal configuration, for internet, and no network. My other computer
is
the workhorse.)
Then if you get a new computer I see no reason for you not to get
Vista. But note two things:
1. make sure you get a powerful enough machine. In particular, I would
get 2GB of RAM
2. Vista is different in many ways from XP, and it will undoubtedly
take you some time to learn and get accustomed to the differences.
That experience can be frustrating at first.
*False. Office 2000 is perfectly compatible with Vista.*