Vista... I can't take any more! Goodbye!

[yello]

I certainly could install Ubuntu in a separate partition to Vista (note; Vista not XP) and have them both. But having both makes no sense, Vista would still be slow.

If the laptop ran XP, I don't think there'd be a speed issue to be honest. IF there was a free downgrade path to XP then I think we'd take it. Ubuntu would give my wife all she needs and costs nothing to do, so it's a near no-brainer.

 

[domtyler]

You can run Ubuntu off the CD to compare (but CD-ROM access times are crappy compared to HDDs, so it will feel very slow) but IIRC the installer lets you keep your XP partition and install Ubuntu elswhere... correct me if I'm wrong!

Running off the CD is okay if all you want to do is take a quick look, to actually use it it would be a right pita.

Of course you can install Ubuntu on a different partition but you have to have that partition available in the first place, it wont let you resize your XP partition and create a new one from freed up space.

 

[dodgy]

I've got Vista Ultimate on my Dell XPS 420 here, runs like a dream, no matter what I'm doing with it. Playing COD4 mainly

Dave.

 

[beanzontoast]

I've got Vista Ultimate on my Dell XPS 420 here, runs like a dream, no matter what I'm doing with it. Playing COD4 mainly

Dave.

Glad to hear it. I guess for top of the range pc's - and I'm guessing yours must be pretty good if it came with Ultimate - it should run better than on my adequate-but-no-medals workhorse!

I have a mate who's got the Vista upgrade disk and hasn't used it - has no intention of using it!

 

[Mr Pig]

Never used Vista myself - is it really that bad?!

It can be. There was a lot of confusion over what spec of hardware was needed to run it properly which led to Microsoft making loads of different versions of it depending on what the poor machine on the receiving end was able to do. That aside it's still a total resource hog, has annoying security features and to me doesn't seem to actually offer much of an improvement over XP for most people.

I would go back to XP if it wasn't for the hasle of tring to find drivers for the hardware in the laptop. I just can't be bothered.

 

[beanzontoast]

It can be. There was a lot of confusion over what spec of hardware was needed to run it properly which led to Microsoft making loads of different versions of it depending on what the poor machine on the receiving end was able to do. That aside it's still a total resource hog, has annoying security features and to me doesn't seem to actually offer much of an improvement over XP for most people.

I would go back to XP if it wasn't for the hasle of tring to find drivers for the hardware in the laptop. I just can't be bothered.

That's what put me off for a while. I finally thought I'd risk it. I needed my motherboard disk to hand though - the drivers that Xp didn't install came good afterwards from that.

 

[Mr Pig]

I needed my motherboard disk to hand though - the drivers that Xp didn't install came good afterwards from that.

That's cool! I've not even looked into it closely, the laptop is not very fast, considering the spec, and throws tantrums now and then but it's just not quite bad enough to force me to do anything about it! I think that's the Microsoft way, rely on the apathy of the end user.

 

[marinyork]

It's not all microsoft's fault. Chips have only recently gone 64bit and MS's previous attempts at 64bit OS had to be shelved. I have thought myself before that had that not been the case the 64bit drivers/software might have been a bit more organised, but this is microsoft so probably not by a lot.

A lot of the problems people I know had was Nvidia acting all sluggish.

 

[Mr Pig]

A lot of the problems people I know had was Nvidia acting all sluggish.

What does that mean? I don't actually know that much about computers.

 

[marinyork]

Nvidia are the creme de la creme and runaway leaders in graphics card manufacture for PCs. When vista was released they completely messed up writing drivers for them. Satisfactory official drivers were late for a range of cards. It made vista unusable for some people. People found it deeply ironic as Nvidia were annoying their most valuable customers and those that'd supposedly get the biggest benefit from using vista in the long run.

 

[Speicher]

If I purchase a laptop which has "Vista Home Prem", could I uninstall it and use the XP prog that is on this computer?

Should I ask the shop where I buy it not to install Vista, or does it arrive from the manufacturer like that. It sounds like a lot of people on here are not happy with Vista. I am happy with XP for what I need it for, and would rather not get used to something new if it is not a good program.
If I need to uninstall it, presumably that is the first thing I should do, rather than accumulate docs in one and then change to another. You will be able to tell from this question that I am not a computer expert by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[marinyork]

Yup (there'd be a couple of legal issues).

Shop usually installs it (not always).

You're best off asking for XP from the outset and see what they say unless you want to DIY it.

 

[Jaded]

I read somewhere that if you have one of the top end versions of Vista (I don't think they do it for Home Basic, like I had), you can request to 'downgrade' to XP. Might be worth exploring?

Just bought an HP PC for a customer. It (apparently) had Vista on it with a Downgrade to XP option.

I booted it up this afternoon to put our software on and it booted into XP.

Congratulations Steve Balmer, you fat sweaty man!

 

[Speicher]

Marinyork, what are the Legal Issues you mention? I would be the "owner" of both computers. I thought that would be OK because the two computers would be used at different times.

 

[bonj2]

yes, it's absolutely shite. We've got it at work and it right boils everyone's piss.