[PCWorld]

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[cfischer83]

Why is it that all the so-called 'professionals' have so many problems with Vista but normal folks can't seem to break it? ;)

My dad just bought a new computer with Vista, and besides it being compatible with his 5 year old scanner, 4 year old printer and 4 year old camera, it doesn't have any problems. I've had this laptop with Vista for the past half year and it has the least problems of any computer I've ever used. 22 second boot time.

I really don't understand your comment about XP getting worse with age. With more RAM and faster processors coming out every day, with people making their computers XP compatible, how did you come to that conclusion?

Do you really want to compare the problems people had with Windows 95 to the non-problems they are having with Vista?

Lets get real!

[Alphabool]

cfischer83 said:

Why is it that all the so-called 'professionals' have so many problems with Vista but normal folks can't seem to break it? ;)

This statement is completely ridiculous. Vista has been introduced into the consumer market with far too many hardware and software incompatabilities, and hordes of bugs. PC World is a technology magazine. Naturally, technology editors covering Vista will want to help out with any problems. People helping out with tech problems will share tips that they think might help readers. Do you really think that the staff at PC World is drowning in Vista? If tech magazines didn't cover Vista because the experts were able to work around the bugs, but didn't share their knowledge, there would be no technology magazines!

[rkinne01]

I have said before and I'll say it again: if a company doesn't release software or hardware that works with Vista it is NOT Microsoft's fault. It simply amazes me that people don't look before they leap, check for compatibility BEFORE you upgrade. How hard is that? This is like blaming Ford for a third party company not making its products to fit in Ford cars. Would you just run out and buy a car stereo without seeing if it would fit in your car?

Vista is just like Mac OSX Leopard and Unbuntu, flawed. An awful lot of people aren't thrilled with Leopard (see the articles right here on PC World). Unbuntu isn't anywhere near the quality of Vista or OSX.

[beeteep]

One thing you forget to mention about the run command in windows vista is that the search box will actually function as the run box too. Try typing msconfig or something in it and press enter...it works exactly the same.

[mecurtis]

cfischer83 ... couldn't agree with you more. The horror stories did not plague me even though my peripherals are old and some legacy. Some software did not work but that was logitechs fault for not providing upgrade drivers for my keyboard. This is a mixed bag. Many of the incompatibilites are the fault of the software poeple not getting up to speed. At least it is not as bad as seeing "mac version to be released soon" whihc is more ubiquitous than the windows upgrades issues I have had. Vista runs BETTER than XP ever did. I feel they got something right and I am a heavy user with commercial applications as well. I am just "pea pickin' pleased!"

[dprozzo]

I agree. Last December I bought a laptop with Windows XP, but with a free Vista upgrade. After waiting some months until there were Vista compatible versions of the software that I use and for my printer - and after reading many negative Vista reviews - I bit the bullet. The Vista upgrade was smooth and flawless. The companion disc that Gateway sent that upgraded the laptops drivers worked as well. My computer runs FASTER with Vista and I have had no problems.

That some have problems getting old software or hardware to run on Vista is no fault of Microsoft. Palm is particularly noteworthy. They didn't have a Vista compatible version until July.

[joker1231978]

I still don't get Vista. Someone tell me what Vista has that XP doesn't....that I actually NEED.

[dprozzo]

Aside from the fact that for some of us our computer runs better, there may be nothing. There are some features that I like, such as the Gadget Bar, preview windows, different Start Menu, that may mean nothing to you. I am sure that you can find articles and reviews that describe differences between XP and Vista.

IMHO, if your computer does what you want it to do, stay put. If you like XP but decide to upgrade anyway just for the heck of it, and you run into ANY problems or encounter ANY features that require changes to your established habits you may be back here or elsewhere griping.

I'm not saying this to be mean, belittling or sarcastic. :-) In the end, your satisfaction will depend a great deal on your expectations, about which you are the best judge.

[mecurtis]

dprozzo is correct. If you are happy with XP stay there. But if you finally decide to explore Vista ... I did and am NOT looking back ..there is nothing back there for me. My apps actually run faster ... the whole system is faster including boot up time. There may be a idiosyncrasy or two but nothing catastropic. I am happy. So ... as dprozzo says ...why talk me out of Vista ..I won;t talk you out of XP if you are happy. If you feel like exploring Vista I would probably encourage you with a warning that everything involves risk ..be it MAC, Linux, or Vista.

[NoSmokingBandit]

I went Vista on my machine a week ago and i love it. I have a fairly old pc (1.8ghz intel p4, 768mb 133mhz ram, geforce 6200 256mb) but vista runs just as smooth as xp. I had 2 major problems with it; one was that accessing my shared files on another computer required them to type in a password, but i had no password set so i couldnt figure it out then i realized that i overlooked the "password protect shared files" setting in the network config window. Second i couldnt get my network printer to work, but that was fixed by an update after i rebooted. The visual fx dont slow down anything at all and 90% of my programs work and the ones that dont are really old programs that i should have replaced anyway. For me, vista works great. I have to agree though, if xp works perfect for you, there is no need to upgrade. If its not broke, dont fix it.

[rkinne01]

1. Better security.

2. Snipping tool.

3. Shadow copies

4. Better graphics rendering

5. DirectX 10

6. Readyboost

7. Sidebar

8. A much improved Media Center.

I could go on and on and on and on.....just a small sample

[NoSmokingBandit]

^^Shodow Copy has been around since XP Sp2, its just more prevalent in Vista. Readyboost is a life saver for me, i only have 2 ram slots in my pc so i need extra juice whnever possible.

[Jared360]

Heres a tool i found to speed my system up, especially the startup. I disalbed the scheduled windows defrag and use jk defrag, a freeware utility that works better than the windows defrager. heres a link http://www.kessels.com/JkDefrag/

[dusty1]

dont want to sound stupid but where is the "windows" button you refer to?

[mphenterprises]

Hi Dusty. The Windows Key is between the left Ctrl & Alt keys on your keyboard......two keys to the left of the spacebar. It may have the word "Start" on it.

[coastie65]

To rkinne01, You're right people should look before they leap. That is why I am staying with XP MCE. coastie65

[ribloom]

On page 101 of the January issue of PCWorld, there is an article entitled "Manage Files from your right click" that says to create a file, save the file and then right click on it and choose "Merge". I have Windows XP Pro and there is no option to merge on it and I checked with a friend who has Vista and that also has no such choice on a right click.

Is there any way to get a clarification on this?

[sebas90]

I would like to know If someone has actually got this to work. I've tried two times it doesn't work.

[ribloom]

I got it to work. The instructions were very poor on page 101 of the January issue. The are no dashes between thewords "system" and "objects" and the file must be saved with the extension ".reg"
When I did it that way "merge" showed up when I right clicked on the saved file and the results were as promised.

Try it again.

riblook