I've been using vista since beta last year.. Since I've been using the retail copy of Home premium, I've noticed something odd.

First, my startup sounds have disappeared. The music doesn't play on start up, and most of the actions that had sounds, no longer do. Now, the sounds are still in the default folder, but I notice on my sound configuration page, not all options are listed.. Whats with that?


And about firefox, I've been using this browser for a few years now, never had this problem until switching to the retail of Vista. My extra menu buttons, bookmarks, and my extensions all disappear on occasion. Everytime I start to rebuild them, they get wiped again. Im not wiping them with a 3rd party program either.


Anyone else have problems with these 2?

Re the Firefox problem. Several of the add-in may not have been upgraded for Vista. Try opening Mozilla Firefox (Safe Mode). Click Start | All programs | Mozilla Firefox | Mozilla Firefox (Safe mode). In this mode all add-ins are disabled. If you experience no problems, activate one add-in and test. Repeat until you get a failure. Look for a new version of that add-in.

I thank you for a quick response, but I've done that. The only extension or (add on), as some call it, I had was for 4chan. It comes and goes as it pleases it seems. And they said it was compatible with vista.. But what about the sound issue?

Try http://www.driveragent.com to find out the drivers that it says are outdated. It's free and you don't have to pay for their service.

I'd first suspect that your audio drivers are corrupted, then the next thing is the compatibility of your mobo with Vista (and the chipset drivers).

Thanks Usasma, wont be the first time i've worked with you. I was under the impression that everything I had was atleast capable of Vista, but we're only human. I'll check this when I get home, Im in class.

by the way, when you mentioned my drivers, it made me think back to when I got them.. I think it was about a week ago, maybe 2 weeks, and it was through windows update.. But would a corrupted driver really change the sound scheme? seems like it would make it stop working all together.

Before Vista was released, there was a website that listed stuff as -

Works well with Vista
Works sometimes with Vista
Doesn't work with Vista

Microsoft has sorta legitimatized this on this page: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933305 with their "certified for Vista" and "works with Vista" categories.

Until software writers catch on to how Vista is different from XP - there will be conflicts that we've gotta deal with.

Unfortunately for those of us who build our own systems, it leaves us with the task of ensuring that each driver will work with Vista. We can force things to work - but the price of that forcing is probably costing us a bit of stability.

'nuff said 'bout that!

As for the sound drivers, it sounds like something has corrupted them. This can happen with the next operation of the system after you install them - or it can take a while - or it may never happen.

FWIW, I don't get drivers from Windows update. I had a really severe problem with them back in 2002 or 2003 and swore off them at that time.

The incident was a HP 750n computer that needed video drivers. I got them from HP and they froze the computer. Then I got them from Windows Update and they did the same thing. So I went to the manufacturer of the video chipset (nVidia) and got them there - problem solved.

I suspect it was an HP problem, but Microsoft didn't catch it, so I went with the least common denominator (the maker of the chipset) and it's worked quite well for me in the subsequent years.

Lesson learned. MS needs to stick to their own things..

But still, you'd think that they'd take care of the consumer... HAH!


EDIT:

I hate to bring this back up.. But it seems Vista has a problem reverting programs back to their default state.. Not only did I lose my bookmarks, and add ons in firefox, my instant messaging services, and my music settings all defaulted..

Not only that, I dont use IE, at all, unless I really need to.. The icon appeared on my desktop ala Post-format..


Also, My network and media sharing options disappeared.. Everything is back to normal now, but its just a matter of time until they disappear again.


Whats going on? There seems to be a very big problem..

What process did you use to "revert"? Is this associate with reinstalling the audio drivers?

You can hide the IE icon fairly easily. I did it when I first installed this copy of Vista (but I can't remember how!)

See, I didnt "revert" anything.. Bad choice of wording. Things went back to the default state, and These things were happening before I installed the drivers.. Things really got out of hand after words though. My Windows Vista Sound scheme was completely erased, the only option I had was [modified], which had a few sounds here and there. I decided to reformat (not that big of a deal for me since all my files are backed up) and now everything is back to normal.. I'm thinking that its one of the Windows Update files that sends things back to the way they were, or something within the OS itself that is triggered by them, causing a default state. Does that make sense?

Yes, it makes sense - but I've got no clue about what caused it. As long as things work - that's what counts!

Indeed, thanks!