Vista. Using it or hating it.

[camp.cool007]

It is terrible. I hate it so much that I reinstalled xp after installing vista

 

[gunslinger]

It is terrible. I hate it so much that I reinstalled xp after installing vista

Same here. I still have to be able to use and work on it, if you can call it that ( not like there is a whole lot that can be done with it) So I have it on a virtual machine.

 

[sys-eng]

Vista more secure but XP runs better

Fred G

I also bought Vista last year to learn it. At first, I thought Vista would decrease work for repairers such as us because it does indeed have much better security. Now, do not worry about that at all. Vista works best when very few programs are loaded. After a few months, it starts having "issues" with program updates and especially IE freezing and slowing down.

Event Viewer
I can tune an XP machine to get rid of all error and warning messages from Event Viewer. A Vista machine can be running "normal" according to Microsoft and still have many error and warning messages. Some of the errors can have forty or more possible causes. I never ran into that with XP.

Task Manager
Vista has a much better Task Manager but it is still broken. It is not unusual for Task Manager to identify 250-MB of RAM in use for processes but 40% of physical RAM (4-GB) in use. Adding up the RAM allocated for processes does not equal the reported total. It is just a continuation of poor memory management with Windows.

Certificates
Some programs will not start automatically because Vista does not like its certificate. You are suppose to be able to use Task Scheduler to manipulate these startups and it works most of the time. When it does not work, the log in Task Scheduler usually records no problem and Microsoft has no answer. They acknowledge the problem but have not fixed it even though Vista has been out for several years.

Conclusion
I like XP better. I do not like seeing errors in Event Viewer and thinking that is OK. It is against my nature. I also do not like IE slowing down without communicating and problems.

 

[angry_geek]

I think most, if not all, of us prefer XP. However, I'm not so sure we have a choice. I still sell a lot of XP to business users and a few residential, but, with Vista being the defacto standard, not knowing it well and understanding it can be a big mistake. I actually triple boot my laptop between Vista, XP, and Leopard (keep that last part quiet) just so I can stay on top. I use Ubuntu on my netbook, and I also have a "cheap" macbook as well (it doesn't see much use from me). Even with Win 7 being around the corner, I think we're going to be dealing with Vista for some time. So, even if you're not a fan of Vista, I think it's a good idea to know it.

 

[Fireddog]

I am a gamer. Built my personal tower for gaming.
Been running Vista since it was released. Ran the Rc candidate for 3 months and had no issues.
I have tons of games for my pc and seriously no stability issues. My desktop boots in about 10 seconds. I run Crossfired Ati 4850s.

Major issues that folks had with Vista had nothing to with vista they were having issues because of legacy hardware .. that the manufacture dropped support with the release of Vista. Or they had a severe case of not learning from the past.. and instead didn't quite understand that the manufacturer of the OS is not the manufacturer of every piece of equipment in one's pc.

I mean seriously I hear the same boring nonsense. Vista is terrible blah blah .. and from supposedly intelligent individuals yet these are the guys who charge tons of many for being expert troubleshooters. If you can't have figure out how to build andoperate a stable vista machine.. by now how in the damn world can you call yourself a complete tech? I swear I read this nonsense and it aggravates me to no end.

What cracks me up is before vista was released the Rc was out and I rebuilt my machine with it. I had every piece of hardware working fine. I had friends and peers.. who I knew didn't have the Rc on their machines. Already telling me that vista was the devil and had raped and pillaged their family. Because they had bought into the anti-hype .and were listening to the so-called expert 2 doors down who didn't have vista but swore it was terrible.

It is one of the reasons I half to take a grain of salt with alot of what I hear from so-called peers. To many base their information on emotional opinions instead of actual logical and factual experience.

Oh for those who don't know for example.. you can disable the uac and tweak vista if you want to no nag you to death.. its easy to do. And it does Speed up the pc by about 20% in doing so.

Now for some individuals mostly lay people.. the uac is a good thing.. cause otherwise they would screw up their pc because they have an obsession with installing every little FREE app they download.

 

[stevenamills]

I am a gamer. .....

Major issues that folks had with Vista had nothing to with vista they were having issues because of legacy hardware .. that the manufacture dropped support with the release of Vista. Or they had a severe case of not learning from the past.. and instead didn't quite understand that the manufacturer of the OS is not the manufacturer of every piece of equipment in one's pc.

I mean seriously I hear the same boring nonsense. Vista is terrible blah blah .. and from supposedly intelligent individuals yet these are the guys who charge tons of many for being expert troubleshooters. If you can't have figure out how to build andoperate a stable vista machine.. by now how in the damn world can you call yourself a complete tech? I swear I read this nonsense and it aggravates me to no end.

What cracks me up is before vista was released the Rc was out and I rebuilt my machine with it. I had every piece of hardware working fine. I had friends and peers.. who I knew didn't have the Rc on their machines. Already telling me that vista was the devil and had raped and pillaged their family. Because they had bought into the anti-hype .and were listening to the so-called expert 2 doors down who didn't have vista but swore it was terrible.

It is one of the reasons I half to take a grain of salt with alot of what I hear from so-called peers. To many base their information on emotional opinions instead of actual logical and factual experience.

Oh for those who don't know for example.. you can disable the uac and tweak vista if you want to no nag you to death.. its easy to do. And it does Speed up the pc by about 20% in doing so.

Now for some individuals mostly lay people.. the uac is a good thing.. cause otherwise they would screw up their pc because they have an obsession with installing every little FREE app they download.

I really don't know where to start here. I'm glad you can play games on your Vista machine.

I can show you instance after instance where Vista shows its self to be a total pile of crap - yes on certified Vista machines. Don't drink the MS Kool-Aid about legacy hardware and rogue drivers. It' s their crumy code that's at fault.

Just in the last month I've seen:

A reboot and a lost keyboard and mouse requiring a total reinstall.

Internet connections that persist in showing "local only"

Systems that can't install either service pack and to 99% before we get that very helpful "unknown error" and a rollback. Windows installer issues that MS can't solve.Core OS issues - just pitiful.

I could continue. These are issues affecting thousands and thousands of frustrated people and its toally due to their shitty code and their corporate stance of pretending it works.

,,,I normally don't make these personal ,but you threw down the gauntlet. I suggest, sir, that technicians that defend Vista as a viable system just don't understand.

Also, those of us that have been in repair more than a week know how to speed it up. Unfortunately, that's like putting premium gas in a car without wheels.

 

[leighayn]

Hate it!

I need to send Microsoft one of those giant thank you cards for releasing a "PRE" beta version of software, no third party drivers for older peripherals, so customers are mad that they have to buy new printers and such, Automatic updates have stepped on too many things. Services that automatically start up are memory pigs for things most people don't need. Preloaded trial software runs rampant, and support is almost always listed under "known Issue". I am forced to use a dual boot so that I can talk people through simple adjustments via phone, cause fixing some of the "known issues" is quit bothersome. In the old days we never would have released Beta on people and charged them retail for it. Makes me sad. But profitable!

 

[JRDtechnet]

I need to send Microsoft one of those giant thank you cards for releasing a "PRE" beta version of software, no third party drivers for older peripherals, so customers are mad that they have to buy new printers and such, Automatic updates have stepped on too many things. Services that automatically start up are memory pigs for things most people don't need. Preloaded trial software runs rampant, and support is almost always listed under "known Issue". I am forced to use a dual boot so that I can talk people through simple adjustments via phone, cause fixing some of the "known issues" is quit bothersome. In the old days we never would have released Beta on people and charged them retail for it. Makes me sad. But profitable!

Vista has been the fastest and most stable OS I've ran so far. I don't have any issues with it. And when my customers have issues with theirs its usually just needs updating of drivers. It does need a ton of ram your right about that.
A few things you mentioned, preloaded software and drivers for older peripherals, how is that Vista's fault? It's Dell, Sony, HP, etc that loads all that junk onto computers. As for the drivers, since when are OS suppose to write their own drivers for other makers hardware? If your printer is EOL then buy a new printer or don't upgrade your OS.

 

[Fireddog]

Seriously it was released a few months ago that actually 25% of the reported driver problems in vista were caused by shoddy nvidia drivers when it was released. Those who were running Ati based graphic cards didn't have issues because ati had made the decision before vista was released to actually rewrite their drive code for vista. Nvidia at the time decided to focus 95% of their resources on xp.

8 years ago when xp was released I remember quite clearly hearing gripes from so many because dos legacy hardware was not supported. I heard the same repeated refrains stating that Xp was terrible.. why did ms make this new os. Windows 2000 was far better.

Now fast forward 8 years later.. and you hear the same exact comments but instead about vista.

Its sad how many fail to learn from the past.

 

[Bullfighter]

Funny though, XP has been around almost eight years and is still going strong. Vista has barely been released for two years and already MS releasing the next version.

I think the comparison of ME and Vista is much more accurate.

EP

Edit: How do these dead horses keeping crawling back for another beating??

 

[gunslinger]

I can show you instance after instance where Vista shows its self to be a total pile of crap - yes on certified Vista machines. Don't drink the MS Kool-Aid about legacy hardware and rogue drivers.

I could not agree more. No problems with Vista ever? Come on, give me a break. Maybe you have never had a Vista issue you could not solve but then again you are a PC tech and thats your job. But to say you have never had an issue at all with Vista is beyond un-believable.

Vista has been the fastest and most stable OS I've ran so far.

You poor fella. My god, what have you been using Windows ME? Try XP, Ubuntu, OS X, all are far more stable and much faster than Vista without eating up all your RAM.

 

[angry_geek]

I agree with some of the comments, but take issue with a few others. For the most part, driver issues are the responsibility of the manufacturers. However, the original MS code was complete crap. Back when Vista was still longhorn, I was impressed. Then they completely butchered it. Removing WinFS was perhaps their biggest blunder. Then they started piling a bunch of crappy code in to make it look pretty. Completely wrecked networking. Etc. I'm assuming most of us are old enough to remember dealing with ME. It only took MS a year to throw that out. Even they knew it was crap. History repeats itself, and they are releasing Win 7 a full year ahead of schedule. Let's hope Win 7 is to Vista as XP was to ME.

 

[gunslinger]

I agree with some of the comments, but take issue with a few others. For the most part, driver issues are the responsibility of the manufacturers. However, the original MS code was complete crap. Back when Vista was still longhorn, I was impressed. Then they completely butchered it. Removing WinFS was perhaps their biggest blunder. Then they started piling a bunch of crappy code in to make it look pretty. Completely wrecked networking. Etc. I'm assuming most of us are old enough to remember dealing with ME. It only took MS a year to throw that out. Even they knew it was crap. History repeats itself, and they are releasing Win 7 a full year ahead of schedule. Let's hope Win 7 is to Vista as XP was to ME.

Its looking like Windows 7 will be pretty good. In its beta form its already much better than Vista.

 

[angry_geek]

Its looking like Windows 7 will be pretty good. In its beta form its already much better than Vista.

I've been running the beta for a while, and I'm waiting for the 30th to download the RC. So far, I like it. For whoever said vista was fast, Win 7 is very quick. The best part I've seen so far is the memory management. Photoshop on Win 7 is unreal.

 

[S.A.M.]

I am a gamer. Built my personal tower for gaming.
Been running Vista since it was released. Ran the Rc candidate for 3 months and had no issues.
I have tons of games for my pc and seriously no stability issues. My desktop boots in about 10 seconds. I run Crossfired Ati 4850s.

Major issues that folks had with Vista had nothing to with vista they were having issues because of legacy hardware .. that the manufacture dropped support with the release of Vista. Or they had a severe case of not learning from the past.. and instead didn't quite understand that the manufacturer of the OS is not the manufacturer of every piece of equipment in one's pc.

I mean seriously I hear the same boring nonsense. Vista is terrible blah blah .. and from supposedly intelligent individuals yet these are the guys who charge tons of many for being expert troubleshooters. If you can't have figure out how to build andoperate a stable vista machine.. by now how in the damn world can you call yourself a complete tech? I swear I read this nonsense and it aggravates me to no end.

What cracks me up is before vista was released the Rc was out and I rebuilt my machine with it. I had every piece of hardware working fine. I had friends and peers.. who I knew didn't have the Rc on their machines. Already telling me that vista was the devil and had raped and pillaged their family. Because they had bought into the anti-hype .and were listening to the so-called expert 2 doors down who didn't have vista but swore it was terrible.

It is one of the reasons I half to take a grain of salt with alot of what I hear from so-called peers. To many base their information on emotional opinions instead of actual logical and factual experience.

Oh for those who don't know for example.. you can disable the uac and tweak vista if you want to no nag you to death.. its easy to do. And it does Speed up the pc by about 20% in doing so.

Now for some individuals mostly lay people.. the uac is a good thing.. cause otherwise they would screw up their pc because they have an obsession with installing every little FREE app they download.

I completely agree with you. When you actually get into troubleshooting you realize that most of the problems people face has to do with drivers and other software. One of the most frequently seen problems stems from security software, for example like when people run an Anti-Virus and an Anti-Spyware program. Rather than one program that does both functions well.
If it's not that it's all the crap that they have on their machine that starts at boot up.

 

[sys-eng]

Major issues that folks had with Vista had nothing to with vista they were having issues because of legacy hardware .. that the manufacture dropped support with the release of Vista.

I mean seriously I hear the same boring nonsense. Vista is terrible blah blah .. and from supposedly intelligent individuals yet these are the guys who charge tons of many for being expert troubleshooters. If you can't have figure out how to build and operate a stable vista machine.. by now how in the damn world can you call yourself a complete tech? I swear I read this nonsense and it aggravates me to no end.

Oh for those who don't know for example.. you can disable the uac and tweak vista if you want to no nag you to death.. its easy to do. And it does Speed up the PC by about 20% in doing so.

hardware
Most of the problems I have encountered are not hardware related except for when Microsoft Update installs a new driver which doesn't work. That happens even without the consent of the hardware maker.

stability
Vista often appears to run stable but is actually dragging its feet. People just assume that it is Vista or adware or something but Event Viewer shows that the system is kicking out 10+ error messages per boot. I can't remember the last time I saw a Vista system used all day without an error in the event log. Sure the system runs, but the customer should expect better for the price that Microsoft charges for Vista.


UAC
If I turn off UAC, I have the customer sign a form acknowledging that turning off UAC makes the system more vulnerable. Although UAC is a real pain and could be designed much better, I am not going to be liable if they lose data because of it.