!@$*&%$(+)~?<>_ VISTA

I gave up on trying to set up a dual boot XP/Vista machine this summer. Vista was to have its own private boot drive. Unfortunately, it takes about an hour to go from one screen to the next in setup. Product support advice was to start removing hardware (my guess is that the RAID controller is screwing it). This is a 100% new machine with all post-Vista hardware. A seach turns up people with a similar situation (one guy has a machine that takes 8 to 10 HOURS to boot).

This explains it all:

http://tinyurl.com/28yfmh

- Tom

 

Idea #1:

Uninstall Vista and install a real OS on your hardware. You'll do nothing but fight Vista and hate every minute of it. XP Pro is stable... Linux is even better if you can find a config that suits your needs.

 

wow, that sucks. yeah, xp pro has never given me trouble. i tried and tried and tried to install our local network printer on my coworker's vista machine and it hated me every step of the way. eventually i gave up.

 

Yeah, but how much money did you save buying a Dell instead of a mac?

 

Idea #2:

Return the Dell, buy an Apple.

but in all seriousness, I would go back to XP if you must have Windows - it's much more stable and compatible with everything out there. Wait until Microsoft releases SP1 (maybe even SP2) for Vista before upgrading...

 

Buying the new Microsoft OS is like buying a new GM car, let the army of unpaid quality control experts (customers) uncover all of the problems first and then in a few years, maybe it'll be worth your while. Buying Dell is like buying a GM car and KNOWING that it's a piece of junk. I've been there, I'm not a Mac head from the get go. I've had plenty of my time wasted by Microsoft and their latest piece of crap OS version. I'm keeping XP for as long as possible because it's pretty stable and almost as good as Mac's OS 10 but I have absolutely no interest in speaking to customer service reps in India on how to fix a pretty piece of junk. I won't buy proprietary systems like Dell anyway. I have a local computer builder who is really good and their computers never break down or even wear out. I have no idea how Dell got to be so popular.

 

I have two machines side by side. One is about a year old and runs XP. It has one gig memory and works very well. The other is about three weeks old and runs Vista Premium. It has two gigs of memory and works every bit as well as the first one. You really do need at least two gigs for vista. I also have a Toshiba lap top that runs vista, but it only has one gig memory and runs slower. I haven't had any trouble with vista. The only hard part is figuring out the new wording on a lot of their commands.

 

Return it if possible. My GF got XP instead of Vista on her Dell precisely to avoid this sort of nonsense.

 

I bought an HP machine with VISTA on July 1, and I, too, was talking with support regularly (mostly via online messaging, once by phone) when I wasn't waiting for my computer to recover from its last crash. One problem was fairly quickly resolved (after my third online support request) with an optional Microsoft update - that was because the wireless desktop interfered with the screen saver settings.

Another problem took far more calls - USB2 ports running at USB1 speeds - and much installing of new drivers and other options. None of the options seemed to work. But another call about a different problem began with the service tech insisting I retry connecting my USB hard drive to my HP computer, and lo and behold, this time it ran at the proper speed, and it's worked properly since then.

Another problem was that it wouldn't recognize a firewire external hard drive. After many calls, HP wanted me to send it back for repair. Fortunately, Circuit City let me exchange my 'defective' unit even though I'd had it 3 more days than the 14 days allowed for exchange.

Of course, the 'brand new' one didn't recognize the firewire drive, either. Eventually, I found a reference to a Microsoft note that said some firewire devices aren't recognized by Vista but you could edit the registry to fix the problem. The note did not have 'firewire' as one of the search terms so you could find it. I sent the note to HP so they could stop telling people to send their machines in for repair.

My machine still had frequent problems - most times any reboot would take me into an hours long 'windows couldn't boot - wait while we try to fix it' routine. So anytime I'd want to reboot, I'd first boot into SAFE mode, then do a regular reboot from safe mode.

About a month later, I decided to risk just rebooting my machine without taking a side trip into SAFE mode - and I haven't had a problem in the last 2 months!

 

double posted

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hyo silver @ Nov 5 2007, 02:39 PM) [snapback]535015[/snapback]</div>

now, now, be nice. Mac users are a lot like Prius driver (get the feeling I'm really in to analogies? :lol: ) in that we just seem superior but deep inside we're all the same now aren't we?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ Nov 5 2007, 03:07 PM) [snapback]535061[/snapback]</div>

Yea,

But this was the guy a few months ago asking why us Mac users "pay more" for Macs.

http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=37771

 

I upgraded my laptop from 2K to XP.
I won't touch Vista.
I'll go Mac first.

Heck, maybe I'll go Mac, anyway.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(n8kwx @ Nov 5 2007, 06:48 PM) [snapback]535149[/snapback]</div>

Ah yes, I remember that one. Well, some people will never go the route that's more expensive up front. They'll always take the cheaper one. Always. Those are the ones who won't buy a Ford Escape hybrid because it costs a few thousand more than the gas-only version (taking the tax credit in to account, of course). I like cheapskates, they're funny.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tom_06 @ Nov 5 2007, 09:33 AM) [snapback]535009[/snapback]</div>

How true! Thank you for that link.

To the OP I say, if you really cannot switch to the Mac for whatever reason, go back to XP. It's fairly stable, it works okay, sort of, if you can live with the choice of inadequate security software or bloated security software. But really, if you want an OS that works, go to OS X or Linux. (Caveat: Linux requires sophisticated systems-level computer savvy.)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Nov 5 2007, 07:55 PM) [snapback]535177[/snapback]</div>

Despite its ever-improving GUI desktop, Linux has remained the command-line OS favored by those with the programming abilities to tweak their OS and make real changes to it. I've seen command-line types work and it's something to behold. I got a copy of Ubuntu a couple of years ago and meant to put it on one of my older wintels but never got around to it, alas.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(n8kwx @ 2007 11 05 16:48 PM) [snapback]535149[/snapback]</div>

Precisely. I was being nice.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hycamguy07 @ Nov 5 2007, 01:07 PM) [snapback]534995[/snapback]</div>

Buy an Apple.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(n8kwx @ Nov 5 2007, 07:48 PM) [snapback]535149[/snapback]</div>

Holy carp, I had forgot that! Thanks for reminding me! :lol: