Compelling reasons to transfer to Vista?

[orion456]

Now that Windows has reduced the price of Vista Upgrades is there any compelling reason to make the switch? I don't care about prudy looks, I have my XP on performance only mode. I don't care about easy searching, I probably only search my machine a few times a week at most.

I care about speed, backward compatibility with older programs, reliability, crash resistance (I can kill XP once a week), backward compatibility with my old HP 3c paper feeder scanner, and internal network ability to talk to other computers.

Is it true that Vista Upgrade can only be activated once on a machine and is not transferable to a new machine like XP is? Is it also true that once Vista is activated my old XP is permanently deactivated so I can't go back?

 

[burningcpu]

From everything that I've read Vista is a real dog. Driver issues, DRM slowing down file transfers, backwards compatibily sucks, crashes, sucks up much more resources than XP. I thought the main reason to upgrade to it was the pretty looks.

Maybe some Vista users can share their experiences. I have read enough negatives to convince me that Vista isn't worth the money if you already have XP.

 

[Hazaro]

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=503673

 

[orion456]

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=503673

Nothing compelling in that thread...rather painful to listen to.

Perhaps SP1 will fix many problems?

 

[VinnyTAMU]

Nothing compelling in that thread...rather painful to listen to.

Perhaps SP1 will fix many problems?

If you are on the fence about VISTA, then wait till SP1 hits (should be in the next 2 months) read some reviews, and make your decision.

 

[orion456]

If you are on the fence about VISTA, then wait till SP1 hits (should be in the next 2 months) read some reviews, and make your decision.

I thought it was March 18th? Has it been delayed again?

 

[Ebola]

I have vista running on two machines. Install was very easy, found all of my drivers etc. All of the programs I use work on both the x86 and x64 versions. I'm pretty happy with it. If you have a machine currently running XP and are happy with the UI then there really isn't a need for it. If you are buying a new machine or building a new machine then definately go for it. A lot of the initial issues have been resolved and software companies have had time to upgrade their own products to become better compatible.

Pros
-More security features especially on x64 and ultimate versions
-Yes it looks nicer
-I had better luck with drivers. If you're hanging on to a serial device from 1985 then you may be out of luck but I think most people will be satisfied. It has a lot of newer SATA drivers built in too. x64 version requires signed drivers which I think is a good thing. It forces hardware companies to write good drivers resulting in less hardware related OS issues.
-Better use of memory. It stores more data in memory, reducing disk access. I have Vista running on a system with 1 GB of ram and it does fine too. If you have less than 1 GB then it may be an issue.

Cons
-Requires more system resources. This is only a real problem on older machines.
-Some hardware may not work.
-Some software may not work. 99.99% of supported software that works on XP should work on Vista x86. x64 editions will not run 16 bit apps. This is no different than XP x64 though.

Hope that helped. It was a bit different at first but I've gotten used to it. Personally I like it.

 

[amer1337]

no way is vista more stable then xp is. i cant get into my network and sharing center on vista, why? i dont know... anytime i click it i get a white screen that wont close until i stop it from the taskmanager, on a new install.

networking is also more finicky with vista, sometimes it works for me sometimes it doesnt

 

[deathman20]

From everything that I've read Vista is a real dog. Driver issues, DRM slowing down file transfers, backwards compatibily sucks, crashes, sucks up much more resources than XP. I thought the main reason to upgrade to it was the pretty looks.

Maybe some Vista users can share their experiences. I have read enough negatives to convince me that Vista isn't worth the money if you already have XP.

Driver issues, minor ones unless you have old hardware
DRM slowning down file transfers, nope this is just a software glitch and fixed in SP1 expecially on network traffic
backwards compatibilty, yes some older software won't run but depending on which one you run 32 or 64 bit, with 64-bit have less due to it not running 16-bit apps anymore.
Crashes, um this is where it shines, it has less crashes than XP by far
Sucks up more resources, yes and no, its stablier and uses the memory more effectively than XP ever did so yes its using more but as well its not since it responds quicker
Slower, yes it is slightly slower in some games compared to XP, mainly due to the drivers and the new driver model slowing things down trying to get it to work properly with Vista at its maximum.


IMO its a worth upgrade, if you have an up to date system and 2Gigs at least for 32-bit, and ideally 4gigs for 64-bit OS. Yes there is some quircks (much less than XP when released for all those that complained way back then) but it out wieghs the bads overall.

I highly like it due to the new installation procedures, much easier to install nessisary drivers at install over XP, much easier to install overall (easier and quicker for its size). Overall more plesent experiance with it.

 

[Oroka Sempai]

From everything that I've read Vista is a real dog. Driver issues, DRM slowing down file transfers, backwards compatibily sucks, crashes, sucks up much more resources than XP. I thought the main reason to upgrade to it was the pretty looks.

And Vista's biggest problem rears its head. Misinformed people spreading fear.

Drivers are not a problem. True, you proably wont find drivers for that 2002 no name tv tuner you have... but newer stuff all has drivers. Even 64bit isnt really an issue anymore.

It is not DRM that is slowing down the file tranfers. This is mostly fixed in SP1.

Backwards compatibility is not an issue IMO. I use every piece of software I used to use with XP. Hell, my fave game is still AOE2, and it works like a charm, 8 years later.

Crashes? where the heck did that come from? Vista is more stable than XP.

OMG VISTA USES MORE RESOURCES THAN XP!!!!111!!1!one! Well duh! I guess you were not around for the transition from 95-98, or 98-2k, or from 2k-XP? Each time the new Windows used more resources. My K6-3 350MHz that flew with 2k was bogged down with XP. This means that XP sucks cause it is a resource hog and you should downgrade to DOS. Biggest thing you need is RAM, and it is $50 for 2GB of DDR800 right now... so who cares. I am getting another 4gb for my system just cause it is so damn cheap.



If you dont really care about bling, you can set Vista for the same thing. If you want to run with a lower end system, get more RAM, 2gb min. My surfer system only has a 1.9GHz CPU and onboard video, but 4gb of DDR2 800. I dont get the Flip, but everything else works perfectly quick.

If you want super speeds and low resource usage, you should consider Win2k or Linux.

 

[terran2k]

Vista is alright I suppose, I used it here at work for a while, but it has too many quirks for my liking, I have a copy at home, I may give it a try again once SP1 is out. I think what really urks me is how much of a resource hog it is, it's fat and bloated. If I were to build a system to browse the web and do little piddly stuff like MS Word and such, I'd go Linux with Wine. Although open office would be just as good.

 

[Oroka Sempai]

no way is vista more stable then xp is. i cant get into my network and sharing center on vista, why? i dont know... anytime i click it i get a white screen that wont close until i stop it from the taskmanager, on a new install.

networking is also more finicky with vista, sometimes it works for me sometimes it doesnt

The problem may lay between your computer chair and the keyboard. The network and sharing center works just great for my 2 systems. I dont hear hundreds of people here compliaing about that particular issue.

Maybe you should consider downgrading to a rock, because no version of Windows has worked perfectly, certainly not XP. I have had alot less issues with Vista than I did with XP. I have installed Vista on over a dozen systems now (than I built and sold), and I havent heard anything but good from the buyers.

Just cause you are having problems, dosent mean Vista is unstable, just your copy.

 

[freeagent]

vista or xp.. i always go back to vista.. xp is a nice change, because on a rig like this, its like running windows 98 lol. vista ftw. who cares if it doesnt bench as strong as xp, it just means its time to get new hardware if you arent satisfied

 

[Dermen]

I use Vista X64 SP1 and haven't had any problems at all. Most of the stuff you read is BS, people don't like change so they cry about it.

The resource hog complaints are stupid, oh vista sucks because it uses all this ram I paid for to make my OS faster. If they want the ram to sit there and not be used they should set it on their desk instead of putting it in their computer.

 

[TheCheat]

Oroka Sempai hit the nail on the head in post #10.

All of my vista machines run flawlessly. No issues what-so-ever. I know its hard to believe considering how many people have read that it has SO many issues and how it'll just gobble up your machine if you let vista near it. You'd think that vista is the "devils son sent to the surface to destroy all good desktop experiences" with all the negative spin coming from the users WHO HAVN'T EVEN TRIED THE OS YET!

[/rant]

A great deal of frustration can be saved by making sure your current hardware has drivers for vista before even purchasing the OS. The same goes for software/games.

I love the OS and use it daily. I cannot see myself EVER going back to XP.

 

[vt420]

Vista is extremely stable for me the only time I've crashed it at all was from overclocking beyond the point of stability.

As for drivers, all the new HW I bought to built my system is either better supported or at very minimum equally supported under vista (I run x64). As far as old stuff, I've had one single piece of hardware not have drivers, an old cheap Dlink pci wireless card that would have been supported had it been a newer revision of the same model.

My old kodak dx7590 worked the very first time I plugged it in without installing anything else.

I've never run XP on this hardware, so I can't compare directly for performance. I built it with vista and it's going to stay that way.

I can't say that I would "upgrade" an existing machine to vista though. I'm just not sure it would be worth it.

I ran win2k on my barton (and the thunderbird before that, and the celly 300a before that) right up until I built this system. I entirely skipped XP for my personal machine, although I did admin. other peoples xp boxes both professionally and for non-computer literate people like my mom.

Jeff

 

[johnz]

I think everybody's missing the main question. It sounds like some of the benefits to Vista, the op isn't interested in. I have Vista, and wouldn't voluntarily go back to XP, but XP is still a good O/S, especially if it's already paid for. I like getting new O/Ss for their own sake. It's fun for me to use something different for a change, and Vista was a very nice change for me.

I'm not sure the performance increases are worth an extra $100 or so, especially when you factor in the few instances where there's performance decreases. If someone had to buy a new O/S regardless, I would only recommend Vista. If that person gave me the requirements above, and already had XP, my advice would be to stay put.

 

[Yojo]

And Vista's biggest problem rears its head. Misinformed people spreading fear.

I definitely agree with this. Most people try Vista for 2 days and have absolutely no patience to bother researching tweaking anything.

And before you think about saying you shouldn't have to tweak it in order to like it, when was the last time you did NOT tweak your MS OS installation?

I have Vista on both of my machines listed in my signature. If you're so paranoid about losing compatibility with XP for certain needs you can always dual boot or run a virtual machine...

 

[aftermath]

yes I have vista and I have a saying, another month and another problem.
yes I am sticking it.

And before you think about saying you shouldn't have to tweak it in order to like it, when was the last time you did NOT tweak your MS OS installation?
.

When I ran win 2k4 sp2, 3 and 4 we dam rocks, I've had uptime of months with that.

networking with vista is definitely not right, some times browsing my LAN I see only my self, other times only the servers and not my vista pc.

as for security features ... hum well with 2k no problems and with vista with all the crud plucked off the turkey no problems ether.

lett blame that one on the LINUX gateway (and common sense) shall we>?

and yes yes I have RTM sp1, fixed a whole heap of problems and didn't touch others, also broke a friends system (why we don't know yet)

edit: iv seen more BSOD on this vista box than my old 2xK7 workstation.

 

[hkh]

Vista works great for me, most things to read are from people that have not even used it like some of the people above and just like bashing things, and from people with older computers.

Its the most stable OS I have ever used.