Travel Technology - Is it time for VISTA yet? I got my upgrade disc today.

Any last minute thoughts on VISTA? I got my upgrade disc today for Vista Premium to install on my HP laptop dv9000t running XP Media.

I don't feel experienced enough to download VISTA in a separate partition so I believe it is all or nothing for me.....

I would recommend backing up all of your important data to somewhere external (CD, DVD, or another computer), and then doing the upgrade. That way if you don't like Vista, you can always use the original disks that came with your computer to reinstall XP without having to worry about losing your important data.

Why are you upgrading? Is there any program or device you must use that only works in VISTA? I would wait until I needed to jump to 64-bit applications.

Why are you upgrading? Is there any program or device you must use that only works in VISTA? I would wait until I needed to jump to 64-bit applications.

Just because it's new and "fun".... absolutely no other reason.

I've been running Vista for a couple of months (was pre-installed) and aside from having to download an updated display and printer driver, I've had no problems.

Definitely do a backup, and you might want to look into what drivers (e.g. printer, display, etc.) might need to be upgraded for Vista and download and save them before you start the process, just so you have them.

If you're having issues with your laptop while running XP, Vista may be the answer. I have a Dell 710m laptop I bought as an "open box" item with XP pre-installed. I had numerous issues with dropped connections, and the inability to navigate certain websites, such as t-mobile.com. I upgraded to Vista Home Premium and I've never been happier with my laptop's performance. So personally, upgrading was worthwhile.

I'm telling all my friends if they want support, they can't use Vista....

If Microsoft isn't going to test it.. i'm not going to do it for them.....

Just because it's new and "fun".... absolutely no other reason.

If that's your reason, go ahead and upgrade. You aren't a "normal" user, you know what you are doing, and have checked to make sure that drivers are available for all your peripherals including usb devices and printers before you start the upgrade process. You at least have all your critical data backed up, just in case something goes wrong, and in the best of all worlds, you have a current backup image you have tested (booting from cd to restore the system) and you can use the backup image to restore a critical system just in case it goes bad.

If all of the above isn't true, then don't do the upgrade. You know what you have to do.

-David

I just bought a new PC with Vista pre-loaded. I've had it for a week, and I haven't had any compatibility problems with my programs and peripherals (obviously YMMV depending on your own circumstances). Going from XP to Vista is not nearly as big a leap as Windows 3.X to Windows 95, or Windows 9.X to XP, however. I don't think it's worth the money to go out and buy an upgrade to Vista, but if you have it for free, then go for it. Otherwise, I'd just wait till buying a new PC.

If one installs a Microsoft OS before the first (and sometimes second) service pack, one is asking for issues.

YMMV of course, but history does not.....

I just bought a new PC with Vista pre-loaded. I've had it for a week, and I haven't had any compatibility problems with my programs and peripherals (obviously YMMV depending on your own circumstances). Going from XP to Vista is not nearly as big a leap as Windows 3.X to Windows 95, or Windows 9.X to XP, however. I don't think it's worth the money to go out and buy an upgrade to Vista, but if you have it for free, then go for it. Otherwise, I'd just wait till buying a new PC.

But your case is a bit different. You didn't have to do the upgrade and deal with driver issues and it didn't matter to you if your existing printers were supported or not. The OP is asking about doing an upgrade. Granted, his system came with the upgrade coupon, but it's still an upgrade.

-David

I suggests you use your Vista upgrade disc for something more reliable than upgrading your operating system. Use it as a coaster to protect your desk from your morning cup of coffee.

Do the install/upgrade as a dual boot. That way you can fall back to XP if you run into any issues.

A little over a month ago, I got a new laptop that came with Vista Business. It's been a bit of a struggle, but I've finally gotten all my software installed and my hardware working. It's been a challenge (and that's a euphemism) and, in many instances, I've had to devise work arounds and kludges to get things operational. This is NOT something that a casual computer will be able to undertake easily without considerable assistance. However, now that I've got it up and running, I like Vista quite well. The cosmetic features (Aero GUI, etc.) are fun, it's quite fast (though so is this laptop and I had to install an extra gigabyte of RAM to get it running smoothly), and it's somewhat more stable than XP -- I've BSD'd (Blue Screen of Death) only twice and locked it up only four or five times. I like its "back up entire computer" feature (and I've had to use its System Restore feature -- the same as in XP -- quite a few times).

With all that said, though, I'll offer an observation. When I got XP some six or seven years ago, I had relatively little trouble getting my older software running (though there was an initial delay getting hardware drivers). I liked the OS well enough that I immediately bought additional copies to install on my other computers. XP was far more stable than Win2000, booted faster, ran software faster, and offered better networking capabilities. Though I like Vista, I have no intention of replacing XP on my other machines in the immediate future. The "advancements" offered by Vista are, at best, incremental, XP is stable and fast, and there's simply no compelling reason to abandon XP yet.

The biggest issue with Vista I've seen so far is that some software (such as Tivo Desktop) does not work with Vista and has yet to be updated. That said, I've got half my company running it now and they are quite happy.

So you probably want to check on the websites of any software that's critically important for you beforehand.

And backup things in case you don't like it.

Otherwise, go forth and be happy. :)

Steve

The biggest issue with Vista I've seen so far is that some software (such as Tivo Desktop) does not work with Vista and has yet to be updated. That said, I've got half my company running it now and they are quite happy.

So you probably want to check on the websites of any software that's critically important for you beforehand.

And backup things in case you don't like it.

Otherwise, go forth and be happy. :)

Steve
As a last resort, download and install Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 (it's free from Microsoft). As the name implies, it sets up a virtual PC on your machine that can run a variety of operating systems. I'm using it to run Suse Linux and Windows XP within Vista (not the same as dual boot -- it's like having two or more PCs running on the same screen). My Tivo is hacked so that I can access it remotely when I'm on the run. My VPN client, which I need to run TyTools for the Tivo, won't run under Vista, but runs just fine in XP Virtual PC. I do all my Tivo control there, at least until the publisher of my VPN client comes up with a Vista-compatible version.

As a last resort, download and install Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 (it's free from Microsoft). As the name implies, it sets up a virtual PC on your machine that can run a variety of operating systems. I'm using it to run Suse Linux and Windows XP within Vista (not the same as dual boot -- it's like having two or more PCs running on the same screen). My Tivo is hacked so that I can access it remotely when I'm on the run. My VPN client, which I need to run TyTools for the Tivo, won't run under Vista, but runs just fine in XP Virtual PC. I do all my Tivo control there, at least until the publisher of my VPN client comes up with a Vista-compatible version.


Just dual boot when you upgrade to Vista. Vista will partition the disk (10GB should be fine for Vista). When you boot you can choose either XP or Vista.

Just dual boot when you upgrade to Vista. Vista will partition the disk (10GB should be fine for Vista). When you boot you can choose either XP or Vista.Dual boot is a good solution. The difference, though, is that if you want to switch between Vista-compatible and non-compatible programs you have to . . . well . . . re-boot. With Virtual PC, you can have both running on the same machine at the same time. They can even share (some) hardware and file resources.

The biggest issue with Vista I've seen so far is that some software (such as Tivo Desktop) does not work with Vista


and that alone is enough to convince me to order my new laptop with XP vs. Vista!

Just because it's new and "fun".... absolutely no other reason.

"Fun" is about the last thing that comes to my mind after a week of a brand new laptop with Vista.

This thing is difficult to back up or clone properly, it suffers from a lack of tested drivers with many devices and many programs that claim to be "Vista compatible" are stretching their claims a lot.

Plus watching video on this is simply...crap. There is built in DRM that kicks in every few minutes and ends up disrupting your CPU, which makes for pixelation or worse quite frequently.

This is like the world's biggest beta testing program, except we are paying for this.

This thing is difficult to back up or clone properly,Actually, one of the few features I like that's new to Vista is the backup facility. I just plug in a large external hard drive to a USB port, select "Back up entire computer" and it can do all 60 megabytes or so of itself in about 20 minutes. I just transfer the backups to my file server after they're complete and I have several itierations.

it suffers from a lack of tested drivers with many devices and many programs that claim to be "Vista compatible" are stretching their claims a lot.This is absolutely true and it drives me nuts.

Plus watching video on this is simply...crap. There is built in DRM that kicks in every few minutes and ends up disrupting your CPU, which makes for pixelation or worse quite frequently.Hmmm. I haven't had this problem. I watch either my own videos or videos I've pulled over from my Tivo. I find that MediaPlayer does a better job than, for example, WinDVD 8. I haven't experienced any DRM issues or pixelation (though, of course, I'm not watching DRM-protected media).

Actually, one of the few features I like that's new to Vista is the backup facility. I just plug in a large external hard drive to a USB port, select "Back up entire computer" and it can do all 60 megabytes or so of itself in about 20 minutes. I just transfer the backups to my file server after they're complete and I have several itierations.

That built-in Vista backup tool does not produce a bootable backup. You can only use it from within Vista. In other words if your install gets corrupted, you will have have your original Vista disc at hand and to re-install - and yes re-activate - Vista before that backup is relevent.

And you can use parts of it - its all or nothing. So if you files in XYZ folder got messed up, you either have to restore an old image or nothing.

Its good for what it is, but you need to be aware of excactly what you have there. It is not a proper recovery tool at all. For that you would need to install 1) BDD 2) WAIK (Microsoft Windows Advanced Installation Kit), then figure out how to use that tool to produce a bootable backup. I wont get into the detail, but lets just say its not going to be common or popular to do it that way. And as of now common tools like Acronis have failed to make a bootable Vista backup when I tried.

I have 3 dell laptops two running XP and one running Vista.
I have considerable issues with the Vista based pc. I have lots of compatibility issues with the SW I use. Some I get by with using XP compatibility mode and running as administrator, but some SW I cannot use at all. Worst problem is no compatible driver for my network backup system (from Cisco!) eta is mid year.

All in all, I would wait if I had a choice.

But is is pretty.

I suggests you use your Vista upgrade disc for something more reliable than upgrading your operating system. Use it as a coaster to protect your desk from your morning cup of coffee.

An outstanding suggestion. The question as to why is also important and Im not sure that seeing it as "fun" is appropriate unless you are a hacker, and it doesnt sound like you are. I have NEVER upgraded a Windows OS machine and am quite happy with that situation. I wont even buy a machine with a new Win OS installed until it has been out for a while. In my opinion upgrading is doing nothing more than asking for trouble unless there is a very specific feature you need.

An outstanding suggestion. The question as to why is also important and Im not sure that seeing it as "fun" is appropriate unless you are a hacker, and it doesnt sound like you are. I have NEVER upgraded a Windows OS machine and am quite happy with that situation. I wont even buy a machine with a new Win OS installed until it has been out for a while. In my opinion upgrading is doing nothing more than asking for trouble unless there is a very specific feature you need.

I agree. I remember hearing a lot of horror stories about XP a few years ago (particularly when people were installing SP1 and SP2). I've always suspected that the main reason for my good experience with XP was that it had come preinstalled on my machine (and also that I waited for a few months after the SPs were released before installing them).

It's nice to get something new, but Vista is NOT that great. XP runs faster on less hardware (don't need 1G of RAM or a faster processor/motherboard) than Vista. Vista has some nice features, but several annoying ones too (UAC, Keyboard/Mouse won't wake the sleep mode, and more).

Microsoft took 6 yrs to develop and release Vista. For What? A real disappointment.

If you're on the fence, stay with XP and spend your money elsewhere. It's not really worth it.

The biggest issue with Vista I've seen so far is that some software (such as Tivo Desktop) does not work with Vista and has yet to be updated. That said, I've got half my company running it now and they are quite happy.

So you probably want to check on the websites of any software that's critically important for you beforehand.

And backup things in case you don't like it.

Otherwise, go forth and be happy. :)

Steve

My TiVo Desktop 2.3a works with Vista... :confused: