Any views on Vista's back-up option?

I got Vista with a new laptop. After so many years of working with Windows XP I had forgotten about the blue screen of death. It took me back to the happy days of Windows 95. Thanks, Bill (warning: may contain irony)

MS should have taken a page from Apple's book. Rather than trying to build on an outdated, over-inflated, that's-so-90's system stack, they should have scrapped the thing, complete rearchitected the system to meet today's needs and security concerns, provided developers support and real incentive to target the new platform, and allowed folks to run XP in a virtual machine. Here's another novel idea: make the basic OS free and let folks buy the bells and whistles à la carte.

I purchased an HP with Vista. The system was quite powerful but Vista still took so long to boot and shut down. It took on average 5 minutes for the system to shut down which I needed to do because it would never wake-up from it's sleep mode. I have never wanted to punch a computer more than when I had Vista. I returned it and am in the process of getting a Dell with XP. It's a shame more PC makers aren't offering XP anymore. Here's a tip - if you see the "This Company Recommends Vista" banner on their website...run or sprint away.

... and here's another quick question: has the user experience with the OS improved anywhere near as much as the resources required to run it have increased? Why does it require so much more powerful a machine just to efficiently run my operating system and basic UI? And here I thought I was adding more computing power and memory to support more intelligent and robust *applications*...

I got a new machine w/vista in august and haven't had any problems. It's faster than my work computer and, while not apple-level pretty, I like the look.

but I'm just a simple user - internet, pictures and music are my primary uses

I have a friend who bought a new laptop with Vista and he immediately hated it because apparently he can't sort by some order he used to use all the time in XP. And it's slow.

I have an old machine that should be replaced soon, but I don't want Vista. Is there anything I can do to get a newish machine with a valid copy of XP?

I was a beta tester for Vista and have been running it for over a year and a half. I installed it on a computer that will be 6 years old in May, however the video card and sound card were upgraded within the past 3 years and when I originally bought it, it came with a fast processor. It has 1GB of memory. It runs acceptably with Vista, even with the Aeroglass interface enabled. More memory would make it better, however it uses RDRAM memory and the cost was prohibitive.

At first I didn't care much for Vista, but the longer I used it and learned its ins and outs the better I liked it. I originally set up the system to dual boot with XP Pro, but haven't started XP since last July. Vista has changed my way of working and when I use my laptop (another 5+ year old computer and not suitable for Vista) I mumble and grumble because it feels clumsy to me.

I took delivery of a new desktop within the last week and, as I did with the old PC, I future proofed it (I hope) by getting plenty of memory and a top line processor (Intel E6850). Vista works great on this computer and I like it even better.

Most of the people I know that complain about Vista haven't used it for very long or learned to use it well (one quick tip here: use the search to start programs and forget about desktop icons and the All Programs menu). And of course there are those that haven't even used it and believe everything they read and hear--but feel free to badmouth it. It is necessary to have a decent video card and enough memory; trying to get by with a bargain basement computer will guarantee that you won't care much for Vista.

Rob, I think you nailed it with your description "meh."

My laptop (2Ghz dual core 2G ram) runs it ok. Turning on and shutting down takes forever. I've gotten over most of the growing pains with it and concluded that Vista isn't bad but not good either.

My conclusion has basically been that Vista is the result of a lot of change for the sake of change. Aero? I used it once to see what it was and actually said "meh" as I recall. I'm no expert but I don't think the security is that much better than XP on a limited user account.

I'll hazard an estimate and would be curious about feedback. Would you say that Vista essentially has $100 in hidden fees? By which I mean the extra processing power and ram that you bought so your machine would run as fast as it would have if you got XP?

Have they fixed the Open GL problem with Vista? I TAed graduate level biochemistry classes and had a huge problem in September because so many of the students showed up to school with computers running Vista and they could not use the Open GL based molecular modeling programs like Swiss-PDB viewer and Pymol that I used in the class.

I have two older computers[one 5yrs old & one three yrs old]both have from 1gig to 1.5gigs of ram and they both run vista basic perfectly.I have never had a problem with either of them.I like it much better than the old xp.

Microsoft is planning on releasing a new OS in the latter part of 2009 or early 2010 so vista will have a short life anyway.

Here's my take on Vista.

What's really good:
*The Start Menu. Just press the windows key and start typing the name of a program and the list of programs filters to just ones that match what you've typed. E.g., if you type "Word" you'll see "Microsoft Word, Corel Word-Perfect, [Some other] Word-Processor."
*The limited user (standard) by default. Windows XP had a admin user as default. Vista also usually allows you to enter Admin password to do things needed as admin.
*Searching for stuff in the control panel. Similar to Start menu, just start typing "mouse" and the various mouse options are all that's shown.
*Breadcrumb navigation. Want to go up three directories? Just click the directory name. There is thus no more "up" button into the parent directory.

What's not so great:
*Backup. The Backups are in .zip format, which is helpful, but there is no way to specify "I just want this folder" or better yet "This folder, but not files matching these names, and not this subfolder" etc., as there was in XP. I just search for files modified since my last backup and copy them to a zip file for my backups.
*Folder views. With Windows XP, one click would bring up the "folders" pane on the left or hide it, same with search. With vista, you have to scroll through several options before turning these "pains" on or off (but strangely there is a button to burn a CD - do people really burn more CD's than change folder views?).
*Folder View II: There is no name of the folder you are in in the title area, it's just mysteriously blank. This is where I'm used to looking to see what a window is. Also, the search box takes up too much space when windows are narrow, thus you lose you breadcrumbs navigation trail. Search bar should be hide-able.
*Sidebar. What's the point? There are so few programs designed by MS for them, and few others that are signed. This is a total window of opportunity for infection, so I just leave it as calendar and clock.
*Networking controls. There are so many places to work with network settings that it gets confusing as to how you do simple things like disable your wireless card. Fortunately for me, I have a hardware switch that does this.

I also initially dual booted with XP, but found myself only ever using Vista (64-bit in particular) for the past 8 months so I uninstalled XP and haven't missed it. I can understand people's hesitation using something different, but it didn't take very long for me to prefer Vista over XP.
I haven't experienced the slow boot/shutdown times other people have, perhaps because my desktop rarely requires a reboot. It's unfortunate that many have disliked (some even "hate") Vista - it certainly hasn't been my experience.

When I was in the 9th grade, I got my first HAM radio license. All HAM gear was then vacuum tube and transistors radios for AM were just coming out. Johnny Dark was a hit disc jockey on WCAO radio 60 in Baltimore and Soldier Boy was a hit song for those of us who had just become soldiers, sailors, marines or airmen in the early part of the Vietnam war. Computers were then 'useful' for communications, but the first desktop was still years away. Morse code was still extremely popular for HAMS and SSB had just begun to become more popular than AM. I've now had an EXTRA class HAM license for probably over 40 years.

Early computers weren't that interesting to me, but by the time DOS came around, I was on board with computers. Windows 3.1, 95,& 98 soon followed. Then came XP and now Vista.

Were it not for the fact that specialized real estate packages are usually now XP friendly. I would have gone to Ubuntu long ago.

I don't use my machines for gaming and I have thrown more than one computer completely off my desk [not recently though] when it decided to SUDDENLY make me its slave, rather than the other way around. Yes, I have lost data, not recently, but I was once told that you aren't anywhere near being a pro until you have had the experience of loosing data.

Now I don't believe that the housing market in most of DC & Montgomery County and other 'select areas' will be getting much worse than it currently is [indeed, this last month the buyers have finally started to reappear again] but I want my computer to be my slave, not the other way around and when I see over 90% critical comments by apparently experienced computer types in the story related to this abridged version, I have little difficulty in saying that I will avoid Vista for as long as absolutely possible. Its now 2008 and if a previous comment about a Vista replacement being targeted for 2010 is so, I'll gladly wait it out.

Just purchased a lappie with dual-core Centrino, 2 Gb RAM, and Vista Business pre-installed. Because I bought the laptop on a display model clearance sale, I had no choice in the OS. Although I am comfortable with XP up to and including administrator chores, and am gaining Linux experience, before I set up the machine I got a copy of "Vista for Dummies" (really) and read almost all of it. As a result I have met with few surprises and had 3 resources (the book, the offline help, and Google) whenever a question came up. So far I have no major complaints.Perhaps a painstaking approach to a new OS paid off.

I tried I really did but the network problems the hanging and endless reboots the numerous applications that weren't supported or didn't work correctly like Skpe and that obnoxious desktop app that hogged all the memory.

- 99
+ 1

Reverted to XP last week well at least it works 99% of time.

Vista - I'm sorry it is on my new HP notebook. After changing my wireless router, the VPN still seldom connects the first time. But my old HP with XP connects first time every time. No one seems to have an answer - I tell our techies Vista!

Just bought a laptop with Vista... (dual core 2Gh, 2G ram). When I start working with it (CorelDraw, Photoshop and AutoCAD) it just starts asking for more memory! Well, I use to work on an old Pentium with 1G of memory (RIM)! It never asked for "more memory" and wasn´t slower than Vista! Twice the memory isn't enough for a new OS? What will happen in two years from today? Will I be forced to buy a new PC?
?? (My old lasted almost 5 years)...

I think that most of vista's problems come from computer manufacturer's. I have two computers, one I built and one that I bought. They both run the 64-bit Ultimate version and are similar in performance(Core 2 Duo, 2GB of ram, 7600 GT graphics card). The one I built runs better than any XP computer that I had, but the one I bought has many of the same problems others have mentioned. Some programs will not work or I have to play with them to make them work on the one I bought but install without any trouble on the one I built. I do like the interface in vista much better than XP. I have a hard time going back to XP now that I have used vista for a almost year now. I think most of peoples problems will be fixed with the release of SP1.

I have two new Dell desktops and one new Toshiba laptop; all with Vista Home Premium. I've had no real problems at all with either. I liked XP but Vista has some nice features that I like and it just has a more attractive view. The only thing I would recommend is that the new machines be equipped with 2 gb of memory and be a true Vista machine. It makes no sense to attempt to upgrade an old XP machine with new hardware. I took my old machines down to a local computer store and sold them for almost what I paid for the new machines. So my net outlay was almost nill except for the laptop which was new. I also haven't had a single lock-up in three months with Vista. All are equipped with AMD processors. I vote two thumbs up.

In response to Frank S.' comment:
"Most of the people I know that complain about Vista haven't used it for very long or learned to use it well.."

I am a Mac guy primarily (currently on Mac OS X Leopard) and also have a Windows XP box I boot up every now and again. Besides using a Mac through the years, I have used also used Windows since 3.1 and even remember DOS.

I have no plans to upgrade to Vista on my Windows machine. I may pick up a second copy of XP to run in a virtual machine on my MacBook, but have no desire to spend the extra money (or hard drive space) to throw Vista on there.

Why? Specifically to your quote, I feel a computer operating system and it's applications should be easy-to-use, powerful, and require next-to-zero maintenance. I want to do work (or sometimes play) on my computer and don't want to spend extra time fiddling with settings, loading drivers, editing the registry, and relearning how to do things.

A new operating should make it more obvious how to do things, not the other way around. It should just work - which is a major part of Apple's philosophy. It also should work easily. User-centric design is where Apple trumps the competition and why I will surely buy a Mac the next time around too.

I don't hate Vista, but it sure took a lot of work to get the OS to work as well as I wanted it too. The Aero interface is nice, but not critical. Compatibility with existing programs and drivers has not been good. I bought a new laptop that came with Vista but found out that most of my utilities were not compatible and I needed to buy new versions (not cheap). I have an older color printer that won't work with Vista - there is no Vista driver. DRM is limiting with Vista. Vista is OK, but is actually expensive with the required new software. If you have XP on an existing computer, I sure wouldn't see a reason to upgrade.

Really: absolutely no problems. It just works, to, uh, borrow a phrase.

I had to buy a new laptop to replace one with a bad power supply. All of the new ones came with Vista. I blindly adapted the new OS only to find that many of my old programs wouldn't run or fully function on the Vista platform. One of those applications was Microsoft Office Accounting Professional. They announced that there was a free Vista version but I couldn't get it to install because Vista couldn't recognize the publisher of the software!!! Finally after disabling the Vista "Security" I was able to install the accounting package only to be told that I would have to upgrade to the Pro version to import my old files!!! That was my introduction to Vista. I should have quite right then and installed XP. I have continued to be plagued with software issues and would rate Vista right behind Windows ME.

Vista is great!

http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com

I bought a laptop with Vista preinstalled. Unfortunaterly it is Home Basic, and runs slower on my dual-core 64-bit system running at 1.6GHz than did my fist app runing on a single 8-bit and 1MHz system 35 years ago. Problem is, it will cost me more to upgrade the OS (and hardware) to actually use my system properly, than the original cost of the complete package.

I have two computers with Vista running on them. One is a Dell laptop that was bought with Vista, I built a desktop to Vista spects. I have few issues with this OS. I will not upgrade any computers to Vista because it was designed to run on the newer hardware. I like the fast boot up, and rare reboots.

I've had Vista for 11 months now, preloaded on a Dell XPS system. Given a fast enough machine, Vista really shines -- my 2-year-old XP system at work is a snail in comparison, particularly during startup and shutdown. I had some application compatibility problems in the early days, but not many, and full-blown OS crashes/BSoDs are a thing of the past. The user interface took some getting used to but is leaps and bounds ahead of XP -- particularly the breadcrumb trails at the top of each window. And it requires much less maintenance than any prior version of Windows or DOS. With the addition of Windows Home Server for automated backups, it's actually very, very close to "it just works."

I have had Vista since June. I am still trying to figure out how backups works. I have been trying to do this w/o success. I had to use system restore and the backups would have been great. Now I am starting all over and still don't know what to do. I also had a great database on XP of addresses which will not transfer to Vista. No Christmas cards went out this year!Computing should be getting easier for the general public. We're not all experts.

I have been using both Apples and PCs since the early 1970's. I am now using a Toshiba Qosmio laptop with XP and an HP Pavilion tx 1120us laptop with Vista. I still don't know if it is the HP machine or the Vista OS, but I frequently have to use it in safe mode. It has so many different problems, I fill pages with paper and pencil notes to take to the trouble shooter. Everything on the system was re-installed in Aug. 07 on the machine purchased in April 07. Now it is unstable once again. The fingerprint reader doesn't work and I cannot bear down hard enough to use the tablet feature. So I guess it is a combination of machine and Vista. I am mainly using the XP and lamenting the $$$ wasted on the HP, although I do like it's small size. If you want dependability you probably should stick with XP. Or get a MAC.

VISTA IS GREAT!!!

re: Waiting for the next version of Windows in 2010 - in MS Speak that really means 2014.
Also:
Via Information Week (via slashdot) is an article re: vLite - a tool to help remove non-essential components on Vista in order to speed it up.
Article at: http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205920302
They warn it's not for the tech-unsavvy, but if you've got long boot-ups or a slow system, maybe this can help.

My response to Vista at this point is: Why bother? I have XP Pro with SP3 (RC1), IE7, Windows Live Mail, and Vista Transformation Pack 8.01. I have all the solid reliability of XP Pro, as updated through SP3, and all the visual features of Vista. And my computer, with an AMD 2400 cpu, 1.5gb RAM, and an ATI Radeon 6600 video card, could not be performing more smoothly or efficiently.

Life is good -- without Vista.

I've had Vista preloaded on a Dell Vostro laptop since October. I do like it and am still getting used to it, but have had several problems.

-I've had EIGHT "blue screen" shutdowns. The computer will just shut off unexpectedly and restart to the blue screen, saying something about checking the disks. I'm working now with Dell to resolve this. I have no idea if that's a Vista or Dell problem.

-Vista locks me out of folders, saying I don't have permission to access them. I am the only account on the computer and am the administrator. I manually went through and set all my folders to public, but this problem will still periodically pop up from time to time. Oddly, it will lock me out of them if I'm in the "breadcrumb" (?) view, i.e., if I'm navigating the folders from the side pane. But if I directly click on the folder itself by the icon, I'm allowed in.

-Several programs will frequently "not work." I tried opening a Word document the other day, and got a message saying "Microsoft Office is not working." I'll be prompted to allow Windows to look for a solution. If I restart, it usually fixes the problem.

There are other new things I don't favor, but I presume I'll get used to them. Power settings are downright infuriating (i.e., if my screen saver is activated, the screen will never shut off, even if I've set it to do so after a delay, etc.). I've got all my hopes set on SP1 saving the day!

seaport87@hotmail.com

I've had Vista preloaded on a Dell Vostro laptop since October. I do like it and am still getting used to it, but have had several problems.

-I've had EIGHT "blue screen" shutdowns. The computer will just shut off unexpectedly and restart to the blue screen, saying something about checking the disks. I'm working now with Dell to resolve this. I have no idea if that's a Vista or Dell problem.

-Vista locks me out of folders, saying I don't have permission to access them. I am the only account on the computer and am the administrator. I manually went through and set all my folders to public, but this problem will still periodically pop up from time to time. Oddly, it will lock me out of them if I'm in the "breadcrumb" (?) view, i.e., if I'm navigating the folders from the side pane. But if I directly click on the folder itself by the icon, I'm allowed in.

-Several programs will frequently "not work." I tried opening a Word document the other day, and got a message saying "Microsoft Office is not working." I'll be prompted to allow Windows to look for a solution. If I restart, it usually fixes the problem.

There are other new things I don't favor, but I presume I'll get used to them. Power settings are downright infuriating (i.e., if my screen saver is activated, the screen will never shut off, even if I've set it to do so after a delay, etc.). I've got all my hopes set on SP1 saving the day!

seaport87@hotmail.com

I just bought Windows Vista about 3 months ago and ever since i've gotten it I have had problems. My main one is my computer turns off suddenly. I called the Toshiba support center and they weren't much help. I can't play Windows Media Player or else it will freeze and a blue screen will pop up saying if this has happened before that it might be my hardware or software. I've had an error message saying that my media isn't working. Besides that, its okay. The main thing is it turning off suddenly.

Yes!!! Certainly it takes twice time than XP to boot up the system with Vista in my notebook. Recently I bought a Compaq Presario notebook of Intel Core 2 Duo with free DOS, and installed XP. It performed everything superb like an active leopard. But alas!!! when I upgraded to Vista it became unexpectedly as slower as a snail...also gets always hanged or stuck up in time of running a program. I don't bother on booting up, but I bother on its usage and performance abilities which is damn slower than XP. It has nothing special than XP, just only Microsoft added some new features and changed its appearance. Nothing more!!!

Yes!!! Certainly it takes twice time than XP to boot up the system with Vista in my notebook. Recently I bought a Compaq Presario notebook of Intel Core 2 Duo with free DOS, and installed XP. It performed everything superb like an active leopard. But alas!!! when I upgraded to Vista it became unexpectedly as slower as a snail...also gets always hanged or stuck up in time of running a program. I don't bother on booting up, but I bother on its usage and performance abilities which is damn slower than XP. It has nothing special than XP, just only Microsoft added some new features and changed its appearance. Nothing more!!!