i'm buying my first laptop soon and don't know whether to get XP or Vista, are there any drawbacks to Vista?

Question

in my college all the computers use XP and i'm wondering would that cause problems when trying to transfer work, also i heard it is difficult to setup wireless internet on Vista

Answer 1

I have Vista Ultimate and it is awesome, especially for media.
But to answer your question, as no one else has, yes there are drawbacks. Your peripherals like printer, scanner must be vista certified. Allot of older ones will not work because the Mfrs don't want to write new drivers for old stuff-they want you to buy a new printer. And, be aware that most older software will not work with Vista, It too has to be compatible. You will find that software such as Vista Office is very expensive.
As for transferring files, it can be a pain because Vista office
files are not compatible with older versions of word or office.
There are however some shareware programs that will convert the files. The wireless network can be tricky, but not that hard. You will need to install a patch from Microsoft on your other computers on the network using XP. It was not that hard to set up once that is done.
Eventually, Vista will catch up and you will be ahead of the game if you get it now. Personally, I have Both OS on 2 different drives on my computer so I can use whichever one I want. I admit that I use XP Pro more than Vista, but whenever I use my media files, Vista is the bomb hands down.

Answer 2

A lot of people are whining about Vista but it's a great operating system as long as you have plenty of ram and newer hardware. Make sure you upgrade the memory in your laptop. Also make sure you get a premium version of Vista too because the home basic doesn't run Aero which is really nice. Vista networks easily with XP. Biggest problem with Vista is that's its a baby and a lot of people have no business putting in a brand new operating system. When XP first came out it was a LOT worse! Anyone too cheap to add memory to get the real advantages out of Vista should not be using it. XP is yesterday's news.

Answer 3

Hey. I would deff. recommend XP because Vista was just made and there are probably still some kinks in the system. You might wanna wait a year or so before spending all the money on Vista andthen find out it doesn't even work properly.

Answer 4

Operating systems are normally a little unstable just after they come out. Wait for another 2 years until you get Vista. Your computer will also run faster with XP.

Answer 5

There are still a lot of bugs with Vista and also certain applications that you could be running on XP that won't run on it. I'd go with XP for at least another year.

Answer 6

There are certain things you should take into consideration, yes. For example there have been alot of hardware clashes reported when people have upgraded. They have had difficulty in updating the drivers, or have had to go out and purchase more in some cases.

It is best to buy vista pre-installed on a new pc, which is what your intentions are anyway. WinXP is available until early 2008 I believe.

Answer 7

Do NOT get vista. I just bought a new laptop and it has vista. Problem after problem. i am now going to install XP.

Answer 8

yes it is they have yet to figure all the bugs out. keep with xp until next year, hopefully they will have all the patches. You will probably pick up a xp computer pretty cheap because all computers are coming preloaded with vista.

Answer 9

Xp is a safer bet n also a stable one..
All works well with Xp- the basic stuff..
But u can face problems with some Software n also some drivers...

So be safe n opt for XP

:)

Answer 10

I use Vista and like it. Of course it is still new and it doesn have sme problems but so did XP when it first came out.