Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?

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GHM

Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« on: 1 Apr 2007, 02:44 pm »
I was fearful it would totally screw my PC up. No worries though...it seems to work well..thank goodness! I've had a few hiccups,but nothing major.
I find the audio quality VERY good in comparison to XP. This is a totally different ballgame in the interactive revolution. I'm still beguiled by the enormous amount of usability and programs available using this OS.

For the sports fanatics..this software is a godsend! Being able to track specific athlete's stats or team scores instantly in every major sport is amazing too me! Not too mention all of the other multitudes of interactive programs that come with this OS.

Hell ...I have to find time too listen since I installed this upgrade.  :lol: Which was the main reason for trying it out.  For the ones sitting on the fence. The Vista Ultimate is worth every penny! I'm firmly set in PC audio never to return to the basic transport for my video or audio needs. :thumb: And no I do not work for Microsoft. :lol:

jqp

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Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #1 on: 3 Apr 2007, 05:39 pm »
I have been wanting to get it. Not sure how I will exactly do it yet...

Vista Ultimate is expensive ($399 :banghead:  the upgrade is $249) wants a higher-end video card which is probably $250+ (but it will perform the new OS graphics functions with it). Also it will do DX10.

In addition, drivers are immature for Vista, so waiting will only decrease the pain.

The DX10 cards are out now and you can get a good card for about $275 with 320MB RAM, e.g. eVGA Geforce 8800GTS.

Now that MS has stated that you can move a Vista license to another machine ("the device-to-device transferring portion of the Windows Anytime Upgrade EULA is now in sync with Vista's retail EULA, which was modified to allow unlimited transfers last November" ), I am looking at this possible scenario: buy an "inexpensive" refurbished Dell with Vista Ultimate on it, and move the license to a much nicer machine when the new hardware drops significantly, and I would build my own custom PC.

This seems very feasible as I found a refurbished Dell with Vista Ultimate for $429 with the basic Dell warantee (Dimension E521 Small Mini-Tower: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (2.0GHz), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz (2 DIMMs), 250 GB EIDE SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM), 48X CD RW/DVD Combo Drive). Not too shabby! Just get that, trasnsfer Vista to the new machine and put XP or 2000 on this little number!

Keeping in mind that in this price range, the video card or chip as the case may be, is inadequate for Vista Ultimate. But when an adequate card is $250+, and Vista Ultimate itself retails for $400, this is a pretty good deal, assuming you could use, sell, or give  the extra PC.

Of course Ultimate is not necessary. Which version do you have, and if not Ultimate do you know what features it
does not have?


« Last Edit: 3 Apr 2007, 06:40 pm by jqp »

capo

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Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #2 on: 3 Apr 2007, 06:23 pm »
I looked at Vista Ultimate but saw I didn't need any of the extra features over the Home Premium edition.

I got the Home Premium System Builder's edition at NewEgg for $119.99.  It does a full install from scratch, not just an upgrade.  There are some limitations for use, but in practice they don't really apply if you are building your own PCs.

mjosef

Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #3 on: 5 Apr 2007, 01:54 am »
Here is an overview of VIsta from [H]Enthusiast : http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTMxOCwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

I am still using the Beta Vista Ultimate... its no big deal over XP... I won't buy an official Vista disc until after Service Pack I.

Val

Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #4 on: 5 Apr 2007, 02:03 pm »
I was fearful it would totally screw my PC up. No worries though...it seems to work well.. I find the audio quality VERY good in comparison to XP.

I agree on both counts, it feels solid and outputs very clear sound via my headphones. Slimserver 6.5.2 works well too (with an easy workaround).

bpape

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Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #5 on: 5 Apr 2007, 02:26 pm »
So what's the workaround for Slim Server.  I'm looking at building a new box just for SlimServer.

Bryan

Val

Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #6 on: 6 Apr 2007, 03:43 am »
So what's the workaround for Slim Server.  I'm looking at building a new box just for SlimServer.
Bryan
The workaround is:

1. Download and install Slimserver 6.5.2 (the latest nightly is probably best. Don't install 6.5.1, it doesn't work in Vista)

2. Right-click the SlimTray icon and select "Automatically run at login" (running SlimServer manually from the taskbar icon also works, it will start SlimTray and you can open SlimServer from there)

3. Go to Start - Search and type "services.msc"; Set both SlimServer and SlimServerMySQL services to "Automatic"; either start both services or reboot.

Enjoy!

Thump553

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Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #7 on: 7 Apr 2007, 03:14 pm »
I have been wanting to get it. Not sure how I will exactly do it yet...

Vista Ultimate is expensive ($399 :banghead:  the upgrade is $249) wants a higher-end video card which is probably $250+ (but it will perform the new OS graphics functions with it). Also it will do DX10.
* * *
Now that MS has stated that you can move a Vista license to another machine ("the device-to-device transferring portion of the Windows Anytime Upgrade EULA is now in sync with Vista's retail EULA, which was modified to allow unlimited transfers last November" ), I am looking at this possible scenario: buy an "inexpensive" refurbished Dell with Vista Ultimate on it, and move the license to a much nicer machine when the new hardware drops significantly, and I would build my own custom PC.

This seems very feasible as I found a refurbished Dell with Vista Ultimate * * *

I'm certainly no expert but I'm not sure this would work.  Are the versions of Vista you get from Dell ( or HP or Gateway for that matter) retail versions or OEM?  If they are OEM (which I'm pretty sure they are) then this won't work.   

If it does work, that's an excellent idea.

boead

Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #8 on: 7 Apr 2007, 03:49 pm »
If you buy an upgrade from XP, Vista will only install itself on a system that has XP or 2000 installed. Once it verifies that it has XP/2000 installed, it will give you an option to upgrade the current install and all its installed components or do a fresh install. The fresh install will copy the entire contents of  the C:/ drive into a folder called Windows.old which is very cool. Vista has the ability to change the size of partitions too. The boot DVD is more then just an install disc, its full of utilities to determine system performance and stability. It also can read a wide array of devices so there is no need for a floppy disc drive anymore. Drivers needed for install or updates can be taken from CD, DVD, USB and so on.

All windows versions come in two distinctive flavors; OEM or Retail. Most of us have OEM since this is the one that is used by computer vendors and was(still is) much cheaper. It can NOT be moved to a new computer. Once installed on a machine, its dies with that machine.
Retail versions allow the OS to be installed onto newer hardware at any time. I bought a Retail upgrade version which has the annoying limitation of having to install WinXP first BUT it includes BOTH the 32 and 64 bit versions and since it’s the Retail version I can legally install whichever version I want on whatever computer I own or build.

The Ultimate version has all the bells and whistles which is primarily advanced backup and system restore applications. Its necessary in my opinion. The Business version has the system backup and system restore functions only but for a few extra bucks Ultimate has everything and is SO worth it. The cheaper versions lack the system restore functions and I’d not buy it! It’s the most important part of Windows. Home Premium and Ultimate (not business) also includes some really nice video recording and editing software and a DVD mastering app. I do some professional video editing with Premier Pro and Pinnacle Studio and have used Avid and Final Cut. The MS Vista video editing tools are excellent! Lastly you get all the Media apps and remote control support for viewing pics, video and playing music.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/choose.mspx



I’ve been using Vista Ultimate since October 06 and am very familiar with it. I tried going back to XP but I can’t, XP seems clunky and old to me now. I’m going to start upgrading my work PC’s to it soon.



« Last Edit: 7 Apr 2007, 06:42 pm by boead »

ctviggen

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Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #9 on: 7 Apr 2007, 04:08 pm »
I think $400 is an insanely high price for an operating system that doesn't seem to offer any true reasons to upgrade.   Heck, the cost of my previous computer was around that price.  If it was $100, I might consider an upgrade, but $400 is way, way too expensive. 

chgolatin2

Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #10 on: 7 Apr 2007, 04:14 pm »
I will stick to XP for a long time, seems like Vista is a PITA according to my high end computer guru friends however I dont know much about operating systems, dont really feel the need to spend $400.  I could take those $400 and invest it in my passion of music... :thumb:

boead

Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #11 on: 7 Apr 2007, 04:23 pm »
I think $400 is an insanely high price for an operating system that doesn't seem to offer any true reasons to upgrade.   Heck, the cost of my previous computer was around that price.  If it was $100, I might consider an upgrade, but $400 is way, way too expensive. 

What?

OEM – Upgrades
Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Basic - OEM
$89

Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium - OEM
$109

Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit or 64-bit Ultimate – OEM
$189


Retail Version (XP and Vista) - Upgrades
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Upgrade - Retail
$99

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade - Retail
$153

Microsoft Windows Vista Business Upgrade - Retail
$191

Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade – Retail
$249

Microsoft Windows XP Professional Upgrade with SP2 - Retail
$199


http://www.Newegg.com

boead

Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #12 on: 7 Apr 2007, 04:25 pm »
Watch for misinformation.

I have Vista Business installed on an Athlon 1100Mhz machine with onboard VIA video (shared memory – real crap), 512MB of RAM and a 20GB hard drive. It runs fine, as fast as XP. Obviously Aero is not turned on but so what, that’s just some nice eye candy that is entirely unnecessary.

Memory usage is high because Vista reserves large parts of RAM if it’s available, if not that’s fine too. Such nonsense being distributed by the media.

You don’t need a Krell super computer to run Vista.
You don’t need a new $300 video card to run Vista.
You don’t need 2 gigabytes or more to run Vista.
You don’t need to run a 64 bit OS right now.

Vista is full of give and takes, more giving.


Pain in the ass? How so? I’m no self proclaimed Guru and its certainly NOT a pain in the ass, its actually very easy and a time saver.



capo

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Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #13 on: 22 Apr 2007, 04:35 am »
Regarding:

<<All windows versions come in two distinctive flavors; OEM or Retail. Most of us have OEM since this is the one that is used by computer vendors and was(still is) much cheaper. It can NOT be moved to a new computer. Once installed on a machine, its dies with that machine.>>

Well, yes and no.  Yes for users who do "forklift" upgrades with an entire new PC.  But there are many of us who don't do that.  I've got a PC that I've been upgrading continuously since 2000.  It doesn't look anything like the 2000 version now -- I've had newer motherboards in it, newer CPUs, larger hard drives, different cards, etc.  But as far as Microsoft is concerned it is the same PC because I have been upgrading it incrementaly and it is getting re-registered on a regular basis.

The same will happen with the cheap Vista OEM packages.  My cheap OEM NewEgg version of Vista will thus last my entire Vista career.

boead

Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #14 on: 22 Apr 2007, 04:14 pm »
What you are doing is actually illegal (or against the OEM license agreement). Once you change a particular amount of hardware the license ends. Fortunately for us this is a gray area that MS has left gray. The only clear a d defined rule is that the S/N sticker but placed onto the case and never be removed. Again, there is more to it then that but MS isn’t interested in the home builder/hobbyist. They don’t want people taking old Dell or HP computers and using the license with the claim that you removed the hardware from the stock case and then did upgrades to it.
I asked an MS rep this; if my home built case got damaged and I wanted to change it, does that mean I have to buy another version of Windows simply because I want to change the case? The answerer was YES. We really can’t complain, since most of us are in breach of the license agreement.

MS is poised to tighten the license with Vista. The retail license is clearly for the hobbyist and I’ve not had to call MS to obtain a license yet but it appears that the retail will have no limitations. However, the builders version has the most defined license to date. Its possible that motherboard and CPU ‘upgrades” will simply not be allowed.

My computers are works in progress since the last 80’s.
The only computer I ever bought was an AST 486/50d back in the 80’s. It had 8 MB of RAM, a 1M video card and a 240MB hard drive. It cost about $5000.

I’ve built dozens of PC for myself since. Constantly upgrading and crossgrading just for fun.


shep

Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #15 on: 22 Apr 2007, 04:58 pm »
Microsoft is slowly but surely loosing ground. Rather than build a really good OS from the ground up (there was a discussion about this in an posting thread this year) they elected to add another story to their house of cards. It's rather like the Roman empire or the Chinese Great Wall; when under threat, build walls. In both instances the barbarians either waited till the guards were asleep or looked for gaps. Since the empires were rotting from within anyway, time did the rest. The barbarians are called Linux in this instance. A friend of mine who is VERY computer savvy bought a new laptop with Vista Pro installed. A week later he formatted the hard drive and re-installed XP. If you can stand Steve Job and his ATTITUDE (or don't care) Mac is the other alternative. As has been stated here before, Linux has come of age and should not be passed by. It's fast, it's hardware friendly it's super complete and it's free, or as near as dammit.

boead

Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #16 on: 22 Apr 2007, 05:09 pm »
Microsoft is slowly but surely loosing ground. Rather than build a really good OS from the ground up (there was a discussion about this in an posting thread this year) they elected to add another story to their house of cards. It's rather like the Roman empire or the Chinese Great Wall; when under threat, build walls. In both instances the barbarians either waited till the guards were asleep or looked for gaps. Since the empires were rotting from within anyway, time did the rest. The barbarians are called Linux in this instance. A friend of mine who is VERY computer savvy bought a new laptop with Vista Pro installed. A week later he formatted the hard drive and re-installed XP. If you can stand Steve Job and his ATTITUDE (or don't care) Mac is the other alternative. As has been stated here before, Linux has come of age and should not be passed by. It's fast, it's hardware friendly it's super complete and it's free, or as near as dammit.

?? Not true. I really don’t understand why this piece of misinformation is so widely spread. I think it stems from Mac bias media writers and their lack of responsible journalism.
Vista IS a ground up OS just as OSX was. It shares little with WindowsXP which is why it’s been so slow and difficult for hardware vendors to catch up with drivers.

Loosing ground? Hardly. MS has nearly 1 Billion users. Don’t expect a Linux or Mac world in the next decade, that just won’t happen.

A friend of mine who is VERY computer savvy bought a new laptop with Vista Pro installed. A week later he formatted the hard drive and re-installed XP.
LOL, obviously he wasn’t all that savvy and/or doesn’t’ like change. Most of us don’t.
I’ve been using Vista since October of 2006. I won’t go back to XP if you paid me! XP now feels like an old piece of shit, outdated and frustrating to use.

Val

Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #17 on: 22 Apr 2007, 05:15 pm »
LOL, obviously he wasn’t all that savvy and/or doesn’t’ like change. Most of us don’t.
I’ve been using Vista since October of 2006. I won’t go back to XP if you paid me! XP now feels like an old piece of shit, outdated and frustrating to use.
I totally agree!

GHM

Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #18 on: 22 Apr 2007, 05:15 pm »
Microsoft is slowly but surely loosing ground. Rather than build a really good OS from the ground up (there was a discussion about this in an posting thread this year) they elected to add another story to their house of cards. It's rather like the Roman empire or the Chinese Great Wall; when under threat, build walls. In both instances the barbarians either waited till the guards were asleep or looked for gaps. Since the empires were rotting from within anyway, time did the rest. The barbarians are called Linux in this instance. A friend of mine who is VERY computer savvy bought a new laptop with Vista Pro installed. A week later he formatted the hard drive and re-installed XP. If you can stand Steve Job and his ATTITUDE (or don't care) Mac is the other alternative. As has been stated here before, Linux has come of age and should not be passed by. It's fast, it's hardware friendly it's super complete and it's free, or as near as dammit.



?? Not true. I really don’t understand why this piece of misinformation is so widely spread. I think it stems from Mac bias media writers and their lack of responsible journalism.
Vista IS a ground up OS just as OSX was. It shares little with WindowsXP which is why it’s been so slow and difficult for hardware vendors to catch up with drivers.

Loosing ground? Hardly. MS has nearly 1 Billion users. Don’t expect a Linux or Mac world in the next decade, that just won’t happen.

A friend of mine who is VERY computer savvy bought a new laptop with Vista Pro installed. A week later he formatted the hard drive and re-installed XP.
LOL, obviously he wasn’t all that savvy and/or doesn’t’ like change. Most of us don’t.
I’ve been using Vista since October of 2006. I won’t go back to XP if you paid me! XP now feels like an old piece of shit, outdated and frustrating to use.



I agree... :lol: :lol: :lol:. Vista ain't going no where here. I had a brand new Mac mini over yesterday trying to help my buddy configure it. To be honest ..after going through the mess we had yesterday. I'm a windows guy for life! Just so many more options and software. There also wasn't anything special about the sound of the Mac. It sounded no better than my PC configured properly.

shep

Re: Anyone else running the New Windows Vista?
« Reply #19 on: 22 Apr 2007, 05:51 pm »
Oops. Don't mess with Microsoft fans :o