Microsoft Windows Question??

Question

I currently have a windows XP operating system (on my desktop computer). I am buying a new laptop in december, maybe january. It will be brand new from Circuit City. I will try and get one with good memory. Most of the laptops you buy new now have the Windows vista Operating System. I've heard some bad things about VISTA. I have had some problems with XP too though...I have had some hand on experience with Vista and had issues with it too. I'm sooo confused...should i downgrade whatever laptop I choose to an XP or keep the vista...which one do you think is better...what are the flaws in Vista? HELP Please...opinions are wanted too!!

Answer 1

I bought my wife a state of the art computer with Vista installed, right after it was released. She asks me all the time to put XP on it, because Vista has so many problems. It is a resource hog and not ready for primetime. At least wait until Vista SP1 comes out to make a decision.

Answer 2

There arent many flaws with Vista, really everything I have ever used my computer for works. Basically the flaws with Vista were all when the operating system first came out. Over the last couple months they have fixed all he bugs in the system. But I agree with the other answer, NEVER downgrade after you buy a system. If you would want XP just buy a system with it on already, suprisingly they make a good amount of systems with XP Preinstalled because not very many people like Vista.

Answer 3

NEVER buy a Vista system if you plan to downgrade to XP.
Some systems simply can't be downgraded. Others can be, but it is extremely difficult and might void the warranty. Rebuilding notebooks is even harder than desktops as they ofen use proprietary drivers. Just choose Vista or XP--and the system you need. Remember that it's (usually) possible to upgrade to Vista later. Just remember to get a system that has enough CPU and Video power for Vista and can be expanded to at LEAST 2GB of RAM.

Most new versions of Windows seem to get a lot of bad reviews when they first come out--Vista is no different. However, the systems get better over time as MS works out the bugs.

Answer 4

I just got a laptop with vista and personally I love it! I heard so many things about it- oh the security is too tight and it pops up every five seconds- personally i haven't adjusted any of the settings and yeah it comes up when something wants to downloads but it's maybe once every three times i have my computer on- basically not annoying at all. There are so many perks to Vista that i love- the sidebar where you can keep the time and whatever else you want to see. Also, just having everything look different is awesome- and you know there's no way everyone is going to have XP in three years. It will be Vista and it upgrades itself so I would personally go with it.

Good luck with your decision!

Answer 5

Vista runs fine if you know what you're doing. If you can't get used to the UAC prompting, you can disable it as long as you actually disable UAC itself as well - else you'll have to continue remembering to run everything in administrator mode.

The only other major issue with Vista is DRM for those that like to copy music. Though, if your music isn't copy protected in the first place you won't notice any difference. I have gigs and gigs of MP3s and haven't had a problem.

The driver support issue is almost non-existant at this point. Of course, compatibility is still a problem with some software - but most manufacturers have released patches and updates by now. Of course, not everything will work - just as some things STILL don't work with XP that did on older versions of Windows - 98/SE in particular.

Vista uses a lot of your memory - true. But you have to understand that this is for a reason and is actually a good thing. That's what the memory is there for - to be used. Vista attempts to fill your memory by pre-caching (through a service called Superfetch) all of the programs that you run most often. It continues to learn the more you use the system - therefore, it essentially becomes faster as time goes by (as long as you don't delete the contents of the pre-fetch folder).

However, Vista still does use a significant amount of resources for certain features such as the Aero theme (which will only be available on hardware capable of utilizing it). My system is more than capable of using it, but I really find no reason for it, so I disable it to free up a bit of resources.

The service configuration is quite bloated when you initially install - which is the norm (because MS can't possibly predict what type of system each copy of it's OS will be installed on - it needs to have some sort of pre-configuration with a wide array of options already enabled). You can generally go to Start > Search OR Start > Run (if the run command is available in the start menu - since you can remove it) and type "services.msc" (no quotation marks). Then look up a service name in any search engine to see what it does (though, I have to warn you that not many sites are very comprehensive). Even though it's incomplete, this is the best list I've found so far:
http://itsvista.com/topic/services/

Once you've exhausted that list, you can find more info here:
http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/servicecfg.htm
http://www.vernalex.com/tools/services/

If you're going to disable a service, first stop it and see if there are any adverse effects (such as internet connection goes offline). Then, if none that you can see, select disabled in the drop-down box. Just be very careful with your services. Having some of them disabled, although they are basically no use to you, can cause error messages in the event viewer.

You'll notice after disabling services and tweaking the configuration that your system runs faster. The svchost.exe processes in task manager have decreased in the amount of memory they use.

Anyway, I think after a few days to a week (maybe two depending on how much you use your computer), you'll find that all the negative hype about Vista is un-warranted. It runs fine.

Answer 6

You can do what I did with my new laptop. I made it a Dual System P.C. You can have XP and Vista running off the same laptop. I have used it that away and have had no problems. So if there are somethings you like about XP and Vista you have both to systems available to you.

Answer 7

I would stick with Vista unless your a gamer. Vista has a good deal of eye candy versus XP, plus its a more secure OS than XP. If you are a 3D gamer, then I would downgrade to XP. Some games will give you an openGL error saying the driver components are mis-matched when you try to load using Vista

Answer 8

I have vista and it seems like the world just was'nt ready for it,things that used to work with XP no longer work with Vista.
I recently bought a new gameing computer with out an OS for my GranDaughter.
I wanted her to have the best so installed my XP os in hers and i kept the Vista os.
I cant even upgrade to the new verision of quick time,I've tried and each time the upgrade failed.
My blue tooth no longer works,my printer works some times allthough i found vista compatable drivers for it.
My photo program wont work with Vista and i could go on and on but if i were you i would stay with XP.

Answer 9

Vista irritates me because everything you do on it has to be approved. Delete a file you have to click OK, Open a file click OK. Games that worked on my previous laptop can only be played at there lowest settings on Vista. trying to find drivers for everything you plug into it sucks. I have installed drivers 3 times that have crashed my system. All software you install will immediately need to be upgraded with Vista drivers and then still might not work properly.

Answer 10

You should not downgrade. Keep Vista, it actually runs pretty good. I'm running Vista Ultimate x64 right now actually.