Vista, Microsoft are avin a larf.

[Pommie]

Having now persevered with vista for 2 weeks, I have finally given up.

Has anyone managed to get this joke that MS call an operating system working with any software more than 6 months old.

My experience,
It's slow, so so slow, on a Athlon 3800 with 1 gig ram.
Network printing just doesn't work. You get a "not enough memory" error trying to install the drivers! Even when you get Vista drivers it still doesn't work.
It's painfully slow.
Autocad (2004) doesn't install correctly - can't find various files.
Help (*.hlp files) doesn't work on all software prior to vista!!
Trying to transfer files over the network from my laptop, I got "path too long" error!!
It's so slow that you click something and a minute latter when nothing has happened and there is no disk activity, you decide you miss clicked and click again. Wrong, Vista spends a full minute evaluating your mouse click before it does anything. Worse of all is that these minute long mouse clicks randomly happen in all software.

Anyone into stock trading should seriously think about shorting MS. Their profits are going down the toilet. Plop.

Mike.

 

[dknguyen]

Well...yeah...who didn't know this? If you have any engineering software at all just go with XP- 1 gig of RAM is a bit low though for Vista. I asked for my new comp to come with XP. Works fine.

 

[Pommie]

I'd heard the rumours but thought that it couldn't be that bad.

My problem now is finding a copy of XP pro and making sure that I can get drivers for everything.

Mike.

 

[picasm]

Having now persevered with vista for 2 weeks, I have finally given up.

Two weeks! - That is perseverance! - it only lasted a few days on a brand new PC here that came with a free vista upgrade.
Problem was that we had replaced the onboard sound with a Creative Labs Audigy2 card (for digital surround sound) which worked fine with XP but was reduced to only very basic stereo functionality in Vista.

Apparently, Microsoft made changes that made it not work fully with all but the very latest (and expensive) Creative labs sound card and according to the forums, there is still no sign of any drivers yet.

I will wait until a service pack is released and all the manufacturers have got their act together and updated their drivers before seriously considering a Vista "upgrade" again.

 

[3v0]

No personal experiance here. None of my machines are fast enough to run it. No hurry to go there either.

Have you tried turning off all the bells and whistles on Vista ? I have been told that if you do it will run almost as well as XP.

 

[Styx]

No personal experiance here. None of my machines are fast enough to run it. No hurry to go there either.

Have you tried turning off all the bells and whistles on Vista ? I have been told that if you do it will run almost as well as XP.

makes no difference if the programs he wants/needs won't work


Seriously unless you a MS-OS enthusiast or need it for work there really is no need to get it atm, far to many issues.
There were some MAJOR changes to the core of the OS that breaks compatability with hardware (in as far as driver models) and Software. Either wait for SP1 (due near of this year) or don't get at all

If you look at the history of MS's OS's there was a general trend
They caused an increase is system overhead causing increased hardware spec just to carry on doing what you were doing previous
They added less and less.

From a Business point of view Microsoft peaked with Windows-2000. It was a FANTASTIC OS!!, works really well on low-specced hardware, not bad memory management and so forth. The next release was XP... what did that bring? increase system spec some bells and whisles and a few niceties. Vista? again increased system spec, more bells and whistles.
Businesses really don't like upping their spec, I mean for a long time I was working on a system with 256MEg of RAM with Win2000, IT went and upped all OS's to Win-XP to better integrate with their desiion to goto Server-2003. XP didn't like that machine and idling I was using 300Meg or Memory (ie swap), and I used that machine for matlab sims (resorted in logging into home PC remotely and running the models there)

From a home persective 98 was ok (forget ME) but had some design issues (VXD drivers...). XP came out and it was a MASSIVE short in the arm for the home user (for those that didn't have win-2000, again their peak).
XP basically does what ppl want, they can run their app's on it. YET MS needs to make money so they come out with Vista and have started their usual underhand techniques to force upgrade (include DX10 in vista only, make games vista-only...) and it aint working. Vista isn't selling (to the end-user) and developers arn't liking it

stay away for now UNLESS you really have to

little plug for linux mind

 

[3v0]

makes no difference if the programs he wants/needs won't work

I never made that claim. It was more in the line of a question.

Is every post required to answer every aspect of every problem put forward by the OP?

Obviously you did not read my signature.

 

[Pommie]

The biggest problem here in Aus is that all the retailers are only offering Vista.

The latest setback.
Being unable to print a schematic in Eagle, I wanted to copy it to my other machine. When I look for the file it isn't there!!

Here is a screen shot.
Top left is the control panel in Eagle showing the path to my schematic.
Top right is that same folder shown by Vista.
Bottom is a search window that shows a shortcut to my file but no file. The shortcut properties have the same path as Eagle.

Go figure.

Another "feature" appeared in paint when I was capturing this screen shot. In "saveas" the dropdown file box contained my MRU from IE instead of the file system. I've attached another image to explain what I mean. Edit, this appears to be the norm in all file dialogs. How do you select a USB drive without typing manually?

Mike.

 

[justDIY]

Athlon (64?) 3800 isn't exactly a fast processor these days. vista on the Core 2 Duo is pretty awesome - hrmm, Microsoft and Intel, what a coincidence :/

looks like you've got some of the "visual effects" turned on too, transparent 'crystal' windows, etc. those features need a high end video card (dx9 at least, dx10 best) to preform well

vista is not a good fit for a low-end to mid range computer, just as XP was not a good fit for the low to mid range of what was out in 2002-2003. xp runs so well on todays computer because even the cheapies far outstrip what it was designed for back in 2002

 

[theinfamousbob]

Microsoft did it again with Vista. They screwed everybody over just to make a buck. I tried to get networking working for half an hour before finding that I would need to patch XP to SP2 AND download another driver, because my friend's computer with Vista Home (can't remember if it's Premium or Basic) doesn't support ANY of the older networking protocols. After working out how to transfer files (AOL Instant Messenger direct connect through a LAN), I installed Call of Duty 2 directly from the original CDs. No luck -- It goes to a black screen and stops responding. The only way I'd get Vista is if I got Ultimate, and even then it'd have to be less than $150 for me to even consider it.

Not that I'm ranting about M$ or anything...

 

[Pommie]

Athlon (64?) 3800 isn't exactly a fast processor these days. vista on the Core 2 Duo is pretty awesome - hrmm, Microsoft and Intel, what a coincidence :/

looks like you've got some of the "visual effects" turned on too, transparent 'crystal' windows, etc. those features need a high end video card (dx9 at least, dx10 best) to preform well

vista is not a good fit for a low-end to mid range computer, just as XP was not a good fit for the low to mid range of what was out in 2002-2003. xp runs so well on todays computer because even the cheapies far outstrip what it was designed for back in 2002

So, what exactly is it doing when I click on something and there is no response whatsoever - no HD activity - nothing. If it was lack of ram then it would be paging to HD.

I tried turning off all the video stuff and there was no discernible difference.

BTW, where exactly are my files? I managed to transfer them by saving as in Eagle. They still haven't appeared in the projects folder.

Mike.

 

[j.p.bill]

Thanks for the warning about Vista. Other than from paid sources, I have yet to hear anything at all positive about the OS. The backwards incompatibility issue has to be deliberate - by now there is simply no excuse or reason to not accomodate existing hardware/software. Unless they (MS) threw away the calls into the kernal (the API), functionality should be the same

BTW, it's interesting to see my wife's computer labor harder and harder with every round of "updates" from MS. Sometimes I think the slowdown is calculated to make you want to get a new computer. Wish Linux would get a bit serious and become a realistic alternative to MS. I got the Kubuntu release, but there always seems to be a new version about to be posted. Too much busywork in that, plus there is the ridiculous matter of having to mount my drives. If I'm running an IBM360 with 24 CDC tape drives, that's a valid thing to do - especially in batch processing. But on my desktop?!? It's simply obnoxious.

 

[HarveyH42]

Really hate a new Windows release. I started in the mess on a DOS only machine. Windows 3.11 worked, barely took up a lot of HD space and RAM, and was painfully slow compared to DOS. But little choice, many of the software titles I wanted to use, weren't coming out in DOS versions. So needed to get a new computer. Running DOS programs from Windows, or booting in DOS was a pain and a lot of waiting. So, everything DOS, became junk, and then comes a new Windows... Takes up twice the resources as the previous version (need a new computer). Not everything would run, so again the dual boot option, or loose the old software and upgrade...

Basically, with Microsoft, they tell you when it's time to throw out your old stuff, and start off fresh. You can fight and resist, but they will win in the end. I've never like the Windows concept from the beginning. Most people don't even use even 10% of what is wasting space and resources.

Fortunately, I'm pretty well set on software tools, haven't been any major advancements begging me to upgrade in a while. The stuff I have, works well enough. I just scares the hell out of me that, eventually there will be no avoiding it. Maybe the internet provider will decide to do something the won't work on XP anymore. Just some small thing will cost me a new computer. new Windows hassles, all the old software the works well needs replacing, my old work will need to be redone... sux.

 

[Styx]

BTW, it's interesting to see my wife's computer labor harder and harder with every round of "updates" from MS. Sometimes I think the slowdown is calculated to make you want to get a new computer. Wish Linux would get a bit serious and become a realistic alternative to MS. I got the Kubuntu release, but there always seems to be a new version about to be posted. Too much busywork in that, plus there is the ridiculous matter of having to mount my drives. If I'm running an IBM360 with 24 CDC tape drives, that's a valid thing to do - especially in batch processing. But on my desktop?!? It's simply obnoxious.

You don't have to download a new release every time it comes out. Ubuntu (and all its flavours) will actuall do it automatically for you, replacing the system files it needs to via downloading off the new. Plus drive mounting is pretty automatic now

 

[Gaston]

I'm still running win 2000. i don't Care for xp

 

[Hero999]

Well I'm currently running Mandriva Linux on a 1.8GHz machine with only 256MB of RAM and it's fast enough.

WINE runs LTSPICE (the only Windows program I'm bothered about) and DOSEmu which is much better than DOSBox runs most old DOS games that won't work with XP and it even runs Windows 3.1!

I do still have Windows on my computer though but that's only for the other people in my familly, when I move out I hope to be 100% on Linux.

 

[Nicksan]

I have given up on Windows, about 3 years ago.
I run 3 Linux machines, all slackware, an XP machine for gaming and a 98 machine for robotics. I cant imagine ever installing Vista, unless I get back into gaming.

 

[Hero999]

Lol my computer is in Windows mode at the moment but that's only bacause someone else was using the computer before me and I couldn't be bothered to reboot to Linux.

 

[Gaston]

i realy want to get started with linux but the last time i tried i couldn't get anywhere with it

 

[Hero999]

What went wrong?

Linux isn't as easy as Windows but it's not that hard. I did read up a bit before I installed it, I learnt about repartitioning my hard drive and had to edit fstab a bit but after that it was pretty plain sailing. Installing software was a challange at first but I soon figured out how to manaually add icons to my desktop as some packages don't do it for you but that wasn't too hard.