BleepingComputer.com: Windows Vista

Hi All

I recently installed windows vista.

Im not to clued up on this pc stuff but i've only noticed a few small changes to my system like the logon screen and the sidebar on my desktop.
Is there anything else that vista does?

If i dont like it after a few days can i just uninstall it and go back to using xp or do i have to install xp again.


Cheers

Craig

It depends on how you installed it if you'll have to install XP again. If you went the upgrade route, you will have to reinstall XP.

Remember that it's still in beta. There's significant differences in the problems from the different beta versions - including RC1 and RC2. This is not a finished OS yet - so it will be a bit rough around the edges.

Vista has a lot of new features that XP doesn't have. It's also easier for a novice user to work with (but getting used to it after XP is a bit of a chore).

I just installed RC2 and think that it's stable enough to use as the primary OS on my system (I'm also upgrading my system soon)

Vista will run on many systems - even if it's not a particularly speedy system. Just set the Display options to minimum and the Performance options to Adjust for Best Performance and it will run well on a laptop (I've installed it several times on my Toshiba M45 laptop without problems).

But, after using it for a while now, I find that it feels like XP with a bunch of new stuff added onto it. Due to the pressure to get it out the door, Microsoft has dropped a lot of the good stuff from it (for example: WinFS). But the new tools and procedures make it safer to use, and if it does break down it'll be easier to fix.

In particular, the driver installation is much smoother. It is able to identify and install drivers for hardware without you doing much anything. With my Hauppage PVR-250 TV card Vista detected it, went out and got the drivers, and installed them without having to bother me.

The troubleshooting tools are also beefed up - so if there's an error lurking on your system it'll be easier to find it and solve the problem.

User Access Control is a genuine PITA - but that's it's intent (unfortunately). For those of us running XP with Administrator credentials the switch to Vista will cause us to look for ways to shut it off. But, the point is that it's actually the system protecting you from potentially threatening programs - and forcing you to run in the Limited User mode unless you specifically need Administrator permissions to do something.

In short, it's making you safer since it runs in Limited User mode most of the time - it makes it much harder for viruses and spyware to do damage to your system (that's why my kids have Limited User accounts!).

Thanks for the quick reply Usasma

I dont know what you mean by by what route it took to get vista.

i really am usless at this kind of stuff.

It was a friend at work that told me to get vista because of how great it is.

Craig

I suspect that you upgraded your installation (and will have to reinstall XP to get back to the way it was if you decide to remove Vista). The "route" is which option that you picked early on in the installation process. There were 2 choices - Upgrade or Custom. If you picked the Upgrade it will replace your XP system files with Vista system files. If you picked Custom, then it would let you change things like which drive you installed it on. On my system I installed it on another partition on a separate hard drive - that way I can keep my XP and run Vista.

I've been working with Vista for quite a while now (at least 12 different "builds" of it). Vista is good, there's no doubt in my mind about that - but there's really no overpowering need to go out and get it right away.

And, there are drawbacks to it that many are complaining about. These mainly revolve around the increased security, the automatic reporting to Microsoft, and the anti-piracy measures. These don't affect me as much as most users because:
1) I can circumvent the security if I need to
2) I select what leaves my computer and what doesn't
3) I am firmly committed to being "legal" with my software and haven't had any significant problems since I started being "legal".
4) I need Vista because I'm committed to providing assistance on forums like these. With Vista coming out soon, people will need help with it - and I hope to be in a position to offer that help.

So, if you've just gotta have the new technology - go for it! But if you're concerned about other things - then it won't hurt to wait. Remember the issues with SP2 for XP? Can we expect something similar for Vista?

I've got an older friend whose daughter keeps insisting that he upgrade to XP (from 98) - because "it's better". I went to his house and looked at his system, then we talked about what he does with his computer.

He checks his email at his dialup ISP, and surfs to exactly 3 websites. He only sends text emails and doesn't want to add anything special to what he does on the computer. His only concern was that his Win98 installation has "slowed down a bit" in the years that he's had it.

So, I did a few performance tweaks on it, gave him a few additional security programs (free of course) and he's been happy with this for the last year or so.

Hi usasma

Thanks once again for your reply.

After i posted my last reply i couldn't connect to the internet and then my pc froze and wouldn't switch back on.

So i've reinstalled XP and everything is back to normal now.

Thank you for your information on this, it's much appreciated.

Craig