Posted by deluded
Hi all! I'm in search of a new notebook, but I'm hesitant about getting one with Windows Vista installed on it. I'm worried that some of my current programs may not work on it. As I've been using Windows XP for a few years now, I know that it's reliable (at least I haven't encountered any problems personally) and if Windows Vista cannot provide me with the same sense of security, I'd very much rather get a new notebook that is still using Windows XP. Of course, that would limit my choices greatly seeing that most of them in the market right now are pre-installed with Windows Vista. Thanks for any help guys, and I would greatly appreciate it if people who are currently running Vista could post here to tell us about any problems, bugs or compatibility issues encountered so far.
Posted by QVGA
I am running Vista Ultimate and i love it. My ADSL modem doesnt work on it so i have to use DSL via LAN through my other PC.
Software compatibilities aside, its a superb OS, much much better than XP. I suggest you look online for your applications compatibility.
Posted by goldenface
@Deluded
I was just about to start a thread like this
I purchased a laptop with XP Professional installed and I was thinking of upgrading to Vista. However, I have been advised against upgrading so soon as Vista will be bug-ridden; not that XP wasn't.
Still it would be great to hear from other Vista users.
C'mon peeps.
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[ This Message was edited by: goldenface on 2007-03-28 12:22 ]
Posted by QVGA
Vista is not bug-ridden
Posted by Red_Rach
I agree with QVGA, Vista is not bug ridden at all. And if you buy a laptop with vista already installed everything will be vista compatible.
Just make sure the peripherals you have such as you're printer ect are vista compatible.
Posted by himlims_nl
i'll still use xp
why use vista? cause it's new? i don't realy see the benefits of this new redmond product
Posted by goldenface
Great. Thanks for that advice.
Posted by Dogmann
@deluded
I have to agree with QVGA on this i have been useing Vista on a new Core2 Duo Toshiba and so far have had no crashes or feezes and the only bit of softwate that doesn't work suprise suprise is my Sony VN-CX1 Skype mouse. But of late after being a loyal Sony prouduct buyer i am begining to lose faith in Sony as my 15month of VAIO laptop has sticking keys takes a lifetime to boot and the letters on the keyboard are disapearing and the space key only works on one half. This is why i have returned to Toshiba after so many Sony laptops.
Marc
Posted by carkitter
@himlims nl
I agree.
My laptop is not Vista compatible - needs RAM upgrade and update of some programs according to Microsoft's Upgrade Advisor page.
I love XP; I'm in no hurry to change OS or hardware.
If I do buy a new laptop one day, it'll definately have Vista though.
Posted by whizkidd
I have been working on Vista laptops and systems since the last three months and see that in all the OS is superior to XP. But i would recommend folks who are dependent on some applications which might not work in Vista - to stick to XP as of now as it could be a while till we see all compatiblity issues sorted with Vista.
Posted by Johnex
All the applications that i used in xp work in vista. Just remember to remove the annoying user account security thingy off.
Posted by arien617
Being a Vista notebook user, THE most annoying bug is not being able to plug into the power while booting up or shutting down, it causes it to go into system restore.
Posted by clank
Started using vista ultimate right when it came out just to have a play with this new os. Been almost 2 months now and its manged to completely win me over and now i use this as my main OS.
Although at first sight it just appears to be a dolled up xp but there are a hell lot of small little thingamajigs here and there which make the overall experience much more convenient and pleasing as compared to xp. Also it makes really good use of my ram and seeems very responsive overall.
I have never had any security/stability issues in xp sp2 and none in vista as well yet.
Also i havent had any software i used on xp cause problems with vista except zonealarm and alcohol 120.
Wish nvidia would sort out their graphics drivers though as a few games run buggy so i still have to fall back to my xp dual boot once in a while.
Posted by >500
well here in australia apprently Vista was released on the market almost straight after it was given to internet companies. so internet co's weren't able to develop drivers etc.. in time for its release, so up until a couple weeks ago people would have had a lot of difficulties using the net on vista.... though i dont know if its all up to date now...
Posted by deluded
Wow, thanks for all the replies guys, you've all been very helpful. I hope there are others who have benefited from this thread apart from me.
@goldenface, I think if you're happy with your current setup, there's no need to upgrade to Vista yet. The reason I'm even thinking of Vista is cos I'll be getting a new notebook and it does make sense to get one with the latest OS. If I'm using my current notebook with XP, I wouldn't be very tempted to upgrade to Vista, but that's just me. I know how you feel about sticking to the tried and tested, I feel the same way too. On the other hand, if Vista can offer me the same and more, I'd definitely get it with my new notebook.
@QVGA, Red_Rach, Dogmann, it definitely is encouraging to hear that Vista is not bug-ridden. I'd like to know if there is anything at all that you feel XP has or does better at, that Vista lacks. @Dogmann, I'm glad you mentioned the Vaio because if I decide to get a notebook with Windows Vista, the Vaio C25 is actually at the top of my list. Since I've not used a Vaio before, I would value your opinions on them.
@carkitter, I think you raised a very good point. I think it'll be more of a hassle to upgrade a notebook running on XP to Vista than to do the same on a desktop. If there is any incompatible hardware in the notebook, it'll be almost impossible to change it. @goldenface, take note of that if you really decide to upgrade yeah? You need to make sure your notebook meets the system requirements of Vista.
@whizkidd, I share the same view as you. I'm hesitant about getting a notebook with Vista because I don't think the compatibility issues have been sorted out yet.
@johnex, could you elaborate on what you said regarding the user account security? How would disabling it affect the system's security? The Microsoft website doesn't elaborate much on it.
@arien617, clank, jedi-master, thanks for the heads-up on the Vista's good and bad points. @arien, what you mentioned was indeed informative. It may not be a huge problem, but still a gripe nonetheless. @clank, when you say it makes good use of your RAM, do you mean it actually performs faster than XP on the same hardware? The issues with nvidia graphics drivers and ZoneAlarm are very important to me because I expect to get a notebook with a dedicated graphics card and I also definitely plan to install ZoneAlarm on it. Could you tell us what kind of problems you encountered with them?
Sorry about the really long post, but I hope I've raised questions that some of you are curious about too.
Posted by arien617
I think the power supply bug maybe within the notebook itself, it happens on my mates Dell laptop and on my HP, it's when the power supply is switched from battery to mains which interupts the power supply causing it to do what it does.
Posted by clank
@deluded hardware requirements for vista are steeper than xp specially in 2 specific areas....those being system memory (ram) and graphics hardware if you want all the eye-candy. For example currently i have a couple of explorer windows, azureus, windows media player, itunes, gtalk and internet explorer open and my ram usage is almost 950mb....thats way more than what it would be if i were running the same programs in xp. Also i'm sure for all this pretty aero and sidebar stuff its taking a chunk of my graphics memory as well.
Now for people with low amounts of ram or lacking a dedicated graphics device that will be a problem and so they'll find vista to be slower. However i'd rather it use my ram and graphics card for mundane tasks as well instead of them lying waste. Hence as it stresses my hardware more as compared to xp i find it to be faster in general stuff like browsing folders, bootup, starting ie or wmp etc and overall more pleasing thanks to some well-implemented features like live search, live thumbnails, clickable address bar etc etc.
For the same reason however programs that require a considerable amount of your system's resources for themselves (games for me ; everything else works fine and i didnt notice a difference) will run slower compared to xp. On average i have found my gaming performance to have dropped by 10-20% along with some corrupt textures but from what i've heard its only till nvidia sort out their drivers. I havent had a problem in any other graphics intensive areas however, example playing normal or hd videos etc so if you're not a gamer then that shouldnt bother you.
As for zonealarm it wont install on vista yet and apparently they're working on a new version. Currently i'm using kaspersky internet suite which i've surprisingly found to be as good if not better than zonealarm so i've installed it on my xp installation as well
Posted by Johnex
Quote: "@johnex, could you elaborate on what you said regarding the user account security? How would disabling it affect the system's security? The Microsoft website doesn't elaborate much on it. "
You go to control panel -> user accounts -> Turn User Acount Control on or off -> Untick The box
What this does is it lets all programs run as administrator like in xp, so programs will not "die" if they can't run as admin. Most problems people have here are because of that. I have never got a program not start under Vista, and that is why.
Posted by deluded
Thanks all for the very informative contributions.
@arien617, if it's due to hardware, then I think the best way would be to find out if there are any updates from the manufacturer to resolve that problem.
@clank, thank you for the very detailed explanation, it has given me a much, much clearer picture of what to expect from Windows Vista. Zonealarm not working on Windows Vista is a major minus point though, as I've been using it for a long time now and am more comfortable sticking with it. Of course, it'll just be a matter of time before they come up with a compatible update, but I'm not sure if I'm willing to switch to an alternative for now.
@johnex, thanks for enlightening me regarding the User Account Control. I'm curious though, because if you disable it, wouldn't that mean that the chances of malicious software being able to corrupt the system be increased since they would be able to run in Administrator mode? Was that the original purpose of having that feature? Or was it meant to prevent other users from tweaking the system?
Posted by Johnex
@all: i remember that asus had a bios upgrade for my lappy regarding the power issue.
@deluded: well, xp does not have it, so if you turn it of, it would be like running xp service pack 2 security wise. the thing is, after a week of usage, it will be more an annoiance than a feature, as you have to accept all file transfers like copy, move and so on.
Posted by deluded
I get what you mean, so I guess it was meant to make thing easier for IT administrators in companies, schools, etc, since they can just use that to limit the normal user privileges?
Posted by whizkidd
I guess advanced users can do well with the UAC turned off.. I don't even have an antivirus installed on my system and am proud to say i ahven't been infected once.. if u know wht ure doing, its fine.. i do scan the system regularly though by installing an antivirii whenever required..
Note: That was a personal opinion, pls dont uninstall ur antivirii. I know systems can be infected unknowingly... so pls dnt be a fool and disable protection..
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[ This Message was edited by: whizkidd on 2007-03-30 10:09 ]
Posted by Johnex
Exactly. And you can still do all the stuff to block things you did in xp, like make a limited user account for example.
Posted by QVGA
OK, let me clear out the RAM thing. Vista doesnt actually "use" all that RAM. The reason why we have like 12MB free on a 1GB system is because about 600 of it is cached, meaning its saved up for the most used applications and is not used currently. Because its cached for a specific programme, it will open instantly.
Posted by Johnex
well, with vista running just after boot, mine uses 46% of 2gb, about 900mb that is. Right now with linux open and me downloading stuff, its using 84% about 1.7gb, and has the rest cached
[ This Message was edited by: Johnex on 2007-03-30 11:19 ]
Posted by Krubach
XP All the way...
Vista is so security-thightened that you can't do jack without having to click "yes" buttons 3 times, or enter the admin password another 2...
Looks nice, works horribly...
Another resource monster from Microsoft.
Posted by whizkidd
@Krubach, disable UAC and i guess you should be home....some minor quirks are unavpidable i guess... in all i would say its quite good... and its no steep learning curve from XP to Vista..
Posted by deluded
@QVGA, what you mentioned regarding RAM being cached for the most used applications is really interesting. Does XP have that too? How is the amount of RAM cached fixed? By percentage or by a certain number?
@whizkidd, I guess it only takes a while to get used to Vista huh? I'm not too worried about that aspect actually, just mainly concerned about compatibility issues. You've all been a great help and I think I'll most probably get Vista on my new notebook since getting XP at this point of time doesn't seem all that future-proof.
Posted by QVGA
No, XP doesnt have that feature. And in Vista its cached according to the amount of RAM you have.
Posted by deluded
I see... That does sound like a good reason to switch to Vista. Very useful information, thanks mate!
Posted by Scorchio
Personally, I've kept Xp and now run both that and Vista. The reason is simply down to the fact that primarily, I use my PC for games and one really big issue I have with Vista is direct sound. I've also noticed that over all, Catalyst drivers are stuttery on Vista but that's going to be rectified soon... I hope!!
Has anyone noticed how Vista has a games explorer? Very nice Idea. Especially like the grading system. We might actally see this on the sides of games boxes.
Posted by Johnex
Here is a picture of that for deluded:
Posted by deluded
@Johnex, thanks! I think I'm sold, I'll be getting Vista on my new notebook then. Hmm... Any opinions on the Sony VAIO C25?
Posted by Miss UK
Personally go for a vista installed laptop,
when you see it for yourself you will be all smiley
Ive been using it for a month or so now and it's really good,
it's alot better then XP Pro.
I like the way it automatically installs software for your peripihals and other stuff without you having to get your drivers out. XP could never find anything but vista does.
Posted by deluded
Vista can do that? Wow... That's good news, XP was never able to find any drivers for me when I needed them. Thanks alot guys, and miss uk, you've all been very helpful. If any of you have any comments regarding the VAIO I mentioned, do let me know as I want to know if it's a good choice.
Posted by Johnex
it looks nice, but what are the specs? mine is a core 2 duo 2ghz with 4mb L2 cache, 2gb 667mhz ram, 160gb hdd, radeon x1700.
its the asus f3jp model, look it up if you want.
Posted by deluded
@Johnex, checked it out and my, the specs of your notebook are great, it's got pretty much what I'm looking for. Haven't seen it around here though. The specs of the VAIO I mentioned are available in the link I provided. It's not as powerful as yours if I'm not wrong, but more portable at 14.1 inch.
Posted by Johnex
Are you in the uk?
http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/[....]=%3B%3B310%3B&q=asus+g1-ak005c
http://www.misco.co.uk/applic[....]asp?EdpNo=269053&sourceid=2008
There is an asus that is as good as mine, except for the screen. You could buy one in sweden and send it across the sea here.
[ This Message was edited by: Johnex on 2007-04-03 10:09 ]
Posted by deluded
Thanks for the prompt reply and helping me out here. I'm in Singapore actually, and I've been considering the Asus A8J. It's got good specs, 2 years warranty and a reasonable price. I'm pretty much deciding just between either this or the VAIO.
Posted by Johnex
I would go for the asus, but the 1gb ram is going to be an issue. I would suggest to max out the laptop to 2gb ram if you can, so you can get the most from vista. As you saw from my pictures, my lappy uses around 43% of the ram after boot, so that leaves you with around 200mb to play with if you get the 1gb lappy......not very nice.
Posted by Johnex
Removed
[ This Message was edited by: Johnex on 2007-04-03 10:56 ]
Posted by deluded
Yup, I was planning to do that, but I think it's gonna cost a bit since the 1Gb RAM that comes pre-installed is actually 2 pieces of 512Mb, thus taking up the 2 available slots already. Meaning I'll either have to convince them to change the original 2x512Mb to 1x1Gb or if that doesn't work out, I'll end up having to buy 2x1Gb of RAM and have 2x512Mb which I have no use for. I'm pretty much satisfied with the specs on it, apart from the RAM, what do you say, mate?
Posted by Johnex
Yeah, go for that lappy man, just change the ram. Each 1gb capsule here costs around 120 us dollars, so it does not kick you back so much. Also, you can sell the 512mb ones on ebay for alot, they are really really fast rams for lappies.
Posted by deluded
Heh... I've not tried selling stuff online before. Bought some relatively cheap items online and they've been ok so far. Anyway, how long have you had your notebook? Has it been working well so far? Any quirks?
Posted by Miss UK
I saw something like that laptop when I was in Worcester the weekend, I popped into the Sony Centre just to see the PS3, and they they had a vast range of laptops, im thinking the one you have chosen looks ok not to big nor to small
Ps, Vista Ultimate is the Bomb
Posted by deluded
Yup! I think the size is just right, a little on the heavy side, but with those specs and great design, I can hardly complain. I see you're loving Vista, miss uk. I think I'll give it a shot too!
Posted by Johnex
ive had my lappy for what, 2 months or so. No complains so far! One of the best laptops for games on the market, and the best laptop at my university (you should see how the nerds look at it
). Mine weighs 3kg, not too bad, im a fit person, so carrying it to uni everyday is a joke .
Posted by Miss UK
deluded well atleast your laptop is fitter then mine
mines old but I only bought it so I can sit downstairs with it
actually I use it to make transactions as it has historykill on it,
I can't get that for vista yet which is abit cruel
Posted by deluded
Haha... Yeah, actually weight isn't such a great factor when it comes to choosing my notebooks. I only need to bring it around every now and then, and I'd like to think I could handle that little additional weight.
Posted by deluded
One more question, would XP actually be noticeably faster on a Core2Duo processor than on the older Pentium M processor? I know XP wasn't actually written to utilise dual-core processors, whereas Vista is. So if I actually get a Core2Duo notebook running on XP, would a be a waste of the dual-core processor or would there actually be a significant difference in speed compared to a Pentium M processor?