Windows Vista - suprisingly impressed

quarryman

Just bought a new laptop and got Vista with it as I already have a copy of XP to re-install if i wanted to roll back.

But i don't think I'll bother. So far it seems pretty stable and not as slow and clunky as I'd seen so many people saying.

It also doesn't have a 40 or 50 processes running, as i'd read. More 20 or so.

Not sure about the RAM usage as according to Task Manager there is none free but 1.5GB "cached".

The resource monitor is brilliant, showing hard faults, cpu info and much more info than XP.

Haven't got around to installing any games on it yet, that's where the problems will appear i'm sure

Cabaal

You must be the only one

I've tried it from time to time but I'm not impressed and I'll be staying with XP Pro for now.

It just feels "clunky" to me, maybe it might improve with SP1!

kaimera

Nope, I quite like it as well!

Vista Bus came on the Dell lappy and I was all set to update, create image then stick back on XP Pro; but I like it too much to bother.

I find it very quick [aside from the whole mp3/file transfer thing ], no real issues.

Shame I can't use part of my external hdds for ready boost or what ever that thing is called.

Had major graphic corruption on Scarface, Hitman BM wouldn't start ehh...out of the dozen or so games I've tried thats not bad.

Updated to the nVidia 169.04 drivers and TF2 stopped crashing as well.

The memory usage has been re.jigged from XP and from what I've heard it's not what you'd expect it to be but it's a good thing now!

Very happy thus far.

JohnnyBravo

I love it
Its so Sleek

quarryman

i found an article that explains why Vista "seems" to use up all your RAM:

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000688.html

dackjaniels

I have used as well but don't share your enthusiasm. Although it looks pretty and is fast. I just can't stop hating the fact that it won't stop asking for conformation for everything you do if its the slightest bit technical

quarryman

you can just disable it:

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Under User Account and Family settings click on the "Add or remove user account".
3. Click on one of the user accounts, for example you can use the Guest account.
4. Under the user account click on the "Go to the main User Account page" link.
5. Under "Make changes to your user account" click on the "Change security settings" link.
6. In the "Turn on User Account Control (UAC) to make your computer more secure" click to unselect the "Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer". Click on the Ok button.
7. You will be prompted to reboot your computer. Do so when ready.

In order to re-enable UAC just select the above checkbox and reboot.

Stephen

I it.

mathias

Im using it since march , it was buggy at first , but now I cant see how anyone would have a problem with it , the vast majority of the problems have been sorted , its no slower for games , ( im running an athlon X 2 4800 with an 8800 GT , 2GB ram ) and in general is smoother than XP in my opinion , I did dump IE7 for firefox , otherwise Im very happy with it.

derby7

I got Vista Premium with my Dell. I find it quite buggy. Things like USB, ie. I have a USB that came with pre-loaded software/bloatware & Vista can't load it at all, My TV tuner software (in compatability mode) crashes the PC intermittantly. But........I tried out virtualisation, VirtualPC & VMWarePlayer and I am now running WinXP & various Linux distributions quite well. Check out Dreamlinux or GeUbuntu, lots of eye-candy !

mathias

I got Vista Premium with my Dell.

From past experience I would say thats more a Dell problem that a Vista one , they fill the pc up with so much crap I have yet to see a Dell that wouldnt benefit from a clean install on arrival , Vista or XP.

dubmick

they'd really want to get SP1 out soon. I've a right pain in the hole with Vista crashing. Certain pages on Firefox, picture viewer and some in some cases my usb wireless adaptor have crashed it.

Raskolnikov

I'm impressed.

It's certainly not as bad as it's made out to be. I think a lot of people are simply not tweaking it correctly.

seanabc

Maybe I'll get used to it. I've been using it since last week with a new lap top and I haven't made my peace with it yet. I was quite happy with XP before that.

quarryman

I think Dell have improved on the pre-installed bloatware. My vostro had very little software installed on it out of the box.

Also, I don't think SP1 is going improve performance a whole lot. More bug and security fixes.

the_syco

quarryman wrote: »

Just bought a new laptop and got Vista with it

<snip>

Haven't got around to installing any games on it yet, that's where the problems will appear i'm sure

Hahahaha. You're f**ked if it only has an intel yoke in it

=-=

As for performance, dunno. You can improve it by clicking Start, Control Panel, click "Classic View", then click Performance and Infomation Tools, and then click Adjust Visual Settings, and finally select "Adjust for Best Perfomance". Suprise suprise, it'll look like XP, as all the usual sh|te (Aero, etc), will be turned off. You'll then notice a nice improvement.

Gonzo

got a new computer myself frm komplett and have vista64 running on it and im very happy with it indeed. I was initially worried before my computer arrived thinking that vista64 was gonna be full of problems and errors as well as slowness but thankfully none of that happened, Vista64 for me installed without a single problem, no driver issues and has been rock solid stable and very fast over the past week. Cant complain at all and love the look and feel of it.

BostonB

I liked, was using it for the last 6 months or so, but had to go back to XP due to a file copying bug which I can't resolve. I'm dual booting, but since I put XP back on, I haven't booted into Vista
once.

mathias

Was that the " Vistas long goodbye " bug?

Yeah , that one gave me a few headaches for a while , but its been fixed for a good while now !!

Heres the description ,

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/15/vistas_long_goodbye_continues/

The fix came with those two major packs released about two months ago , sort of a mini service pack. I havnt seen it since , I used to be plagued by it with files from my mini DV , A 1 hour tape coming in at 12GB , after conversion I tried to delete/move and it took ages.

All fixed now though.

BostonB

No its the "I'm Vista and I'm going to copy your files where I think they should go, not where you pasted them" . Also "I'm Vista, and I don't do move files. I merge files. A bit randomly, and I might leave a few behind. But hey aren't I pretty". But also the random "what the heck is it doing now" pauses are annoying.

Soundman

BostonB wrote: »

No its the "I'm Vista and I'm going to copy your files where I think they should go, not where you pasted them" . Also "I'm Vista, and I don't do move files. I merge files. A bit randomly, and I might leave a few behind. But hey aren't I pretty". But also the random "what the heck is it doing now" pauses are annoying.

Can't say I have seen any of those. Either before or after I tweaked my version. Are you running an Upgrade version of Vista or is it a preloaded version that came with a computer?

Dont be at yourself

I use it on my work laptop, and I find it almost exactly the same as XP, save for more pop-up prompts.

Max OS X is much better, though Leopard was a similarly underwhelming update.

Soundman

NekkidBibleMan wrote: »

I use it on my work laptop, and I find it almost exactly the same as XP, save for more pop-up prompts.

Just turn off UAC as Quarryman posted on the previous page.

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Under User Account and Family settings click on the "Add or remove user account".
3. Click on one of the user accounts, for example you can use the Guest account.
4. Under the user account click on the "Go to the main User Account page" link.
5. Under "Make changes to your user account" click on the "Change security settings" link.
6. In the "Turn on User Account Control (UAC) to make your computer more secure" click to unselect the "Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer". Click on the Ok button.
7. You will be prompted to reboot your computer. Do so when ready.

In order to re-enable UAC just select the above checkbox and reboot.

Dont be at yourself

Sadly, I don't have the authority to do so. In a way it's good though - it's a Japanese language version, so I've plenty of incentive to practice my kanji!

BostonB

Soundman wrote: »

Can't say I have seen any of those. Either before or after I tweaked my version. Are you running an Upgrade version of Vista or is it a preloaded version that came with a computer?

Preloaded that I've reinstalled twice.

If you have a directory full of sub folders, a MP3 library or digital photos for example. If you cut and paste it, or cut and move it over another folder, perhaps a copy on an external drive, does it move all the files and folders from the source folder? mine leaves behind random files and empty folders all the time. (Note I have full admin rights and permissions). It actually reported quite a bit on the web. but finding it is difficult as its drowned out with all the other issues with files and folders in Vista. Mainly security related. I've given up at this point as I don't have time to keep looking for a solution. Does the same thing on a nother Vista machine we have at work. I don't have a test rig at the moment or I'd try yet another fresh install.

dwaned

dubmick wrote: »

they'd really want to get SP1 out soon. I've a right pain in the hole with Vista crashing. Certain pages on Firefox, picture viewer and some in some cases my usb wireless adaptor have crashed it.

Sounds like your using my machine!!! Sick of it, even considering giving Linux a shot!

Soundman

BostonB wrote: »

Preloaded that I've reinstalled twice.

If you have a directory full of sub folders, a MP3 library or digital photos for example. If you cut and paste it, or cut and move it over another folder, perhaps a copy on an external drive, does it move all the files and folders from the source folder? mine leaves behind random files and empty folders all the time. (Note I have full admin rights and permissions). It actually reported quite a bit on the web. but finding it is difficult as its drowned out with all the other issues with files and folders in Vista. Mainly security related. I've given up at this point as I don't have time to keep looking for a solution. Does the same thing on a nother Vista machine we have at work. I don't have a test rig at the moment or I'd try yet another fresh install.

Running Vista Business here. Preloaded on a Lenovo N200 laptop. Had to re-install it once as it was a botched install initially from Lenovo. Had issues with Wireless and Windows games not working. I have had no problem with copying or cutting and pasting files or folders from one directory to another, even from laptop to external hard drives, USB keys or MP3 players.

Stephen

The only issue i have with it is that it goes bananas if you're accessing files over network shares and they become unavailable unexpectedly.

conor2007

how many firewalls and spyware-adware and virus scanners have you

dont touch registry

:rolleyes:

David Michael

Having bought a couple of new Dual 2 Core lappies and desk tops with Vista Business etc on them I found them to wizz along/load up much faster as an Xp Pro machine.

I will be sticking with Vista though as it is going to be around and everyone is gonna have to get used to it some time.

Discovering the alternative use of the ALT key was a blessing

astrofool

BostonB wrote: »

Preloaded that I've reinstalled twice.

If you have a directory full of sub folders, a MP3 library or digital photos for example. If you cut and paste it, or cut and move it over another folder, perhaps a copy on an external drive, does it move all the files and folders from the source folder? mine leaves behind random files and empty folders all the time. (Note I have full admin rights and permissions). It actually reported quite a bit on the web. but finding it is difficult as its drowned out with all the other issues with files and folders in Vista. Mainly security related. I've given up at this point as I don't have time to keep looking for a solution. Does the same thing on a nother Vista machine we have at work. I don't have a test rig at the moment or I'd try yet another fresh install.

Been doing that a bit recently myself (syncing photo's between PC's) and haven't hit any of the problems you describe. I usually use the replace option and tick "apply to all items". What sorts of random files does it leave behind? Are you doing all this through explorer?

Vista's big problem, as with Office 2007, is people are too used to the winXP/95 user interface, so the effort is in re-training people to deal with Vista. Had this been the interface from the start, all would be merry.

BostonB

astrofool wrote: »

Been doing that a bit recently myself (syncing photo's between PC's) and haven't hit any of the problems you describe. I usually use the replace option and tick "apply to all items". What sorts of random files does it leave behind? Are you doing all this through explorer?....

Is there any other way?

If there was a pattern to the files I wouldn't have called it random.

I'll try and post a video of it.

tman

I had a strange screen corruption issue with Vista x64 that only becomes apparant after the pc has been running for 5+ hours which was resolved by a hotfix, I recently reinstalled Vista* and surprisingly this hotfix still isn't included in windows update.
Apart from that I adore Vista, I set up a dual boot with XP, but haven't bothered using that at all over the past month.


*due to excessive copy protection in a game that I actually bought, rather than any issues with windows itself

dulpit

I have vista on my laptop for about 4 months or so now, and i love it... Hate to have to use XP now... Before that I had vista on a machine at work, and i never had any problems there, only problem i had with vista on my laptop is when i tried to update the graphics card driver, didn't like that for a while, but it's ok now...

I think that there is a culture here on boards of people to bash vista which is why you might hear that it's rubbish & slow and so on... Also, people are more likely to post saying it's crap than if they like it...

conor2007

it is xrap and slow though - imo and others

wheresmybeaver

The Release Candidate of Vista SP1 is being released to the general public in the next few days. The changelog of fixes and improvements seems impressive.

Should I install it or wait for the final version in a few months? After doing a full backup, of course...

Grim.

what he said ^^

I've had no end of problems with it in my line of work. Just last week I had severe issues with SLI under x64... which almost prompted an industrial relations nightmare where I refused to work with Vista in future (after some cooling off time I realised that's not doable of course, but you weren't the one being driven mental by it). SuperFetch drives me spare, I end up turning it off because I don't like apps being preloaded on bootup, feels like the equivalent of having loads of apps loading via the registry.

I also hate the interface, there's no consistency to it even if you use the Windows 2000 style. But the one thing I hate beyond all others is the restrictions placed on the command prompt, running as admin forcing the working directory to system32 and disabling drag and drop. The former messes up a lot of my batch files, requiring me to use hard coded paths which is a bad idea. The latter makes changing directories more labour-intensive.

Part of me feels that Vista could be Microsoft's downfall. Sure they'll have the OEMs behind them but I can see the more tech-savvy users looking elsewhere. For years I was bordering on MS fanboy but that's certainly not the case now.

Steffano2002

I've been using Vista Ultimate (32-bit) on my new laptop for about 2 weeks and I found it very hard to find programs and folders. Sure it looks nice and it was running quite well but I just find it too messy... I also tried installing SP1 (RC) but I kept getting error messages every time I tried so I gave up, formatted and installed XP. Will be installing XP SP3 (RC) this evening to see if it does indeed help the performance.

cdebru

dubmick wrote: »

they'd really want to get SP1 out soon. I've a right pain in the hole with Vista crashing. Certain pages on Firefox, picture viewer and some in some cases my usb wireless adaptor have crashed it.

In fairness Firefox has been pretty ****e since version 2 the last decent version was 1.5 hopefully 3 will be better.

cdebru

David Michael wrote: »

I will be sticking with Vista though as it is going to be around and everyone is gonna have to get used to it some time.

That is what they said about ME

Grim.

anyone know when vista sp1 rc is released to the public?

digweed

I've just started using Vista and I have to say I'm quite happy with it. Took a while to set up the wireless alright but other than that I haven't had any problems, I'm on the 32-bit at the minute and wondering if I'll make the jump to 64-bit.

I have to say that I'm impressed with the way it works and I really like the media centre.

My only niggle with it is that I find that sometimes it's very hard drive happy and uses it alot, might be time to upgrade to sata.

D. :cool:

Stephen

If its only been installed a few days ago its probably indexing your drive whenever its idle to facilitate fast searching.

BostonB

Have to say I don't get the whole indexing, fast searching feature. I pretty much know where everything is on my disks. I don't need to slow my whole machine down to save me the hassle of navigation.

M450

BostonB wrote: »

Have to say I don't get the whole indexing, fast searching feature. I pretty much know where everything is on my disks. I don't need to slow my whole machine down to save me the hassle of navigation.

Indexing doesnt slow down your machine... no more than the System Idle Process in the task manager slows it down... It only uses idle processor time.

I find it extremely useful in the start menu... just click start and type the name of what you want to run and hit enter, no need to browse through the all programs folder

BostonB

M450 wrote: »

Indexing doesnt slow down your machine... no more than the System Idle Process in the task manager slows it down... It only uses idle processor time.

I find it extremely useful in the start menu... just click start and type the name of what you want to run and hit enter, no need to browse through the all programs folder

In my experience machines always seem faster when you turn it off. I'm sure it does nothing for battery life on a laptop either.

I have my apps in the quick launch so one click launches them.

If it works for you great.

Superfetch could also be partly to blame for the excessive disk activity.

In work I was looking at a laptop where the customer claims she only got about 45-50 minutes battery life out of it. My guess is Superfetch, Aero and indexing.

GBX

I think its great to use. The only issue I had was the file transfer being slow. did some searching online and found a way to microsoft page with a fix that they will email to you. Working grand since.

BostonB

I've yet to see a Vista or Server 2008 install that can merge folder trees without leaving being empty folders, and the odd file. Its still significantly slower on the same machine (decent spec) as XP (dual boot) even with all the fluff turned off. Slower as in general speed using the system and file copying. I kinda like it though, I like the little tweaks here and there. I'm using on a couple of machine. My main OS is still XP though.

axer

Vista is pretty much the ME of 98. MS Vienna will be the next XP.

I found Vista really annoying at first with the UAC and change in the start menu but after using it a while I found that those changes were actually beneficial.

The changes in vista are actually good and it is a more secure OS but there really isn't enough of a change or improvement to wipe out XP or to start a mass exodus considering XP is getting the SP3.