[Charles]

The aesthetics of Vista is great! But sadly I ran into a lot of problems.

1st...DRIVERS This is always an issue. I can't get any programs to run on my machine that I regularly use. I am in the process of reinstalling XP on my machine right now

2nd Memory Hog! This OS uses tooooo much memory. Whenever I would look at the stats of my machine it was constantly working harder than it should.

3rd User Account Control is annoying! Everytime you click on something, Vista asks you if you want to open that item. Well DUH!?!? Isn't that why I clicked on it in the first place?

Overall..PITA. Stick to XP

Scottie,

I think that Vista will ultimately change computing for all of us. Unfortunately, it seems to have been ahead of its time. Kind of like the Edsel maybe?!?!? :shrug: :lol: :lol: :shrug:

My wife and I celebrated the introduction of Vista by purchasing an iMac. It was by far the easiest computer we have ever set up and used.

I agree with your assertion that you will be much happier with Windows XP.

 

[Charles]

It may be a tad off-topic but if you are running the latest iteration of Mac OS, Leopard, you can use a built-in utility called Boot Camp to set up a partition of your Mac hard drive to run Windows XP or Windows Vista or any other operating system you can think of.

It runs a wicked Win XP. I hear it does wonders for Vista as well.

Just a thought... :yes:

Now :topic:

 

[Charles]

I was bored yesterday. I decided (for whatever reason I am not sure) to upgrade my Win XP based laptop to Vista Home Premium. I followed the instructions explicitly provided by my laptop manufacturer Toshiba.

For the most part, the install went well. As part of preparing for installing Vista, all of the utilities that were XP-based were uninstalled. The DVD burning software was uninstalled. When it was removed, Windows XP decided I didn't have a DVD drive anymore. I even lost reference to the drive letter :shrug: .

It took about 3 hours to figure out a workaround. :wall: :wall:

They say a Vista install takes from 3 to 6 hours. Including my adventures with the stupid DVD drive letter, I spent between 8 and 10 hours installing this new OS.

I did figure out how to turn off the User Account Control.

There are several methods to do this. I chose to use the Registry Editor.

Using Registry Editor

1. Run Registry Editor by typing "regedit" in Start Search or command prompt.
2. In Registry Editor, navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\System

3. Locate the following DWORD registry subkey in the right pane:
EnableLUA

4. Right click and choose modify or double click on EnableLUA to modify the setting. On valud prompt, set the new value to 0.
5. Exit from Registry Editor.
6. Restart the computer.

To enable the UAC again, simply change back the value of EnableLUA to 1.

 

[Charles]

My wife and I were talking to one of the talking heads at Best Buy. You can not purchase an XP computer in stores. You would have to get it custom built or order direct from say hp, toshiba, and the like.

It may be cheaper but if you can't put your hands on it..... :angel:

 

[Charles]

Why go thru all that? I just turn it off. Control Panel/Administrative Tools/User Accounts/On or Off

That is what I do also (about five minutes after I finish the install......)

~John

I figured that out later on. Just had to do things the hard way.

BTW, that laptop died this morning. I am not sure if it was Vista that killed it or not.

So I got a new laptop today. :woohoo:

Just got back online and updated. God, what a pain!!!!!!!

 

[Charles]

I did figure out how to turn off the User Account Control.

There are several methods to do this. I chose to use the Registry Editor.

Using Registry Editor

1. Run Registry Editor by typing "regedit" in Start Search or command prompt.
2. In Registry Editor, navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\System

3. Locate the following DWORD registry subkey in the right pane:
EnableLUA

4. Right click and choose modify or double click on EnableLUA to modify the setting. On valud prompt, set the new value to 0.
5. Exit from Registry Editor.
6. Restart the computer.

To enable the UAC again, simply change back the value of EnableLUA to 1.

Why go thru all that? I just turn it off. Control Panel/Administrative Tools/User Accounts/On or Off

The reason was to choose the most difficult way to turn off the darn UAC!!! ;-|

 

[Charles]

What kind did you have? What kind did you get?

Sorry to take so long to answer. I missed your query.

I had a Toshiba A105-S3674. I found out later that it didn't die. It was just unable to get past the POST screen. It wouldn't even go into BIOS setup mode. After about 6 hours of being unplugged, it decided to wake up.

I ended up purchasing a Toshiba L355-S7812 with 3 GB of memory, 17 inch screen, and Vista Home Premium pre-installed. :yahoo:

 

[Charles]

That is now my "Lounging in front of the TV in the BarcaLounger" laptop.. :shades: :hyst:

We have 3 laptops, a desktop made from spare parts, 2 network printers, and a Dell laptop which I use exclusively for work. :tease:

 

[Charles]

I do have 1 desktop. Darn thing is VERY loud when it is turned on!!! :bang:

Actually, it is not that bad a computer. It has an MSI P4N Diamond motherboard with Intel Pentium D 820 processor and 2 GB of DDR2 RAM. It also has an PCI Express nVidia 6800 video card, an Antec 550 W Power Supply and 4 120 GB SATA hard drives.

My goal (if I can find a quieter case fan) is to make this unit my backup storage PC. After all, it has 4 120 GB hard drives and next thing you dogs and cats are laying down together and....... :bill: