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Original poster

How different from Xp is Vista

20 replies

pickupthismess · 30/03/2009 22:41

HELP!
I'm buying a new laptop but they all seem to come with MS Vista - which I've never used but I've heard it's awful. Is that true? Also, that another system is coming out shortly so should I wait?

OP posts:

PortAndLemon · 30/03/2009 22:42

It's not awful IMO, but it takes some getting used to and there are annoying things about it.

Hassled · 30/03/2009 22:44

I don't know about a new system, but do have Vista. I loathed it with a passion and moaned constantly for the first few weeks - now I have no idea what my problem was. You get used to it - only real negative is that Word is quite different on Vista and I've struggled to find my way around at times.

LadyTrimmer · 30/03/2009 22:45

No it is fine.

Geeky people that do special things with computors will notice the dufference. Special software that is iportant to these people doesn't always run on Vista..but if yyou are a home user chances are you won't notice any problems.

I tied myself up in knots unnecessarily last year. It was fine though.

You can still get XP on some Dell machines if you want it (look at the small business selection). Alternatively make sure you look for a laptop with a decent RAM - absolute minimum of 1Gb, preferably 2Gb as Vista is quite RAm hungry.

PurplePillow · 30/03/2009 22:46

I went from windows 98se to vista with hardly a backward glance

RustyBunny · 30/03/2009 22:51

Word doesn't have to be different on Vista- lots of computers only come with a demo version of Word 2007 anyway & you can put Word 2003 on a Vista machine just as easily as you can on XP (and Word 2007 on one running XP) - our desktop Vista PC has 2003, my laptop has 2007.

Original poster

pickupthismess · 30/03/2009 23:02

Thanks everyone. So can I just load Word 2003 as I don't think the laptops come supplied with Word and I have it on my desktop.

I am using this for my home business so what kind of things can't it run? I also saw that Outlook is different which is a pest as I use it all the time.

Finally, and this may be a silly question, but is there a compatability issue between doing docs on HP on my desktop and then transferring them to my new laptop in Vista?

OP posts:

nuttygirl · 30/03/2009 23:03

Vista is awful...it lasted 2 days on my computer and that was 2 days of hell

LadyTrimmer · 30/03/2009 23:06

The compatibility issue in software is for pretty specialised software as far as I can tell (we have some stuff at work which won't run - but I know for sure you won't be running that).

Outlook is just called "Email I think". Looks pretty similar from what I can tell although I never used Outlook on XP (but do at work).

Transferring Docs should be fine.

PortAndLemon · 30/03/2009 23:07

Yes, you can load Office 2003 (including Outlook 2003) if you have it -- I've done that on my Vista laptop as I didn't like Office 2007 at all and certainly didn't want to pay extra for it when I was quite happy with Office 2003.

I haven't found anything that Vista won't run, but they've done strange security things so some programs I need to "Run as administrator" to get them to work properly.

The compatibility issue is down to the versions of Office you're using, so if you use Office 2003 on both there shouldn't be a problem.

CherryChoc · 30/03/2009 23:10

No document issues, if you use Office 2003. Outlook and Word are part of Office (But not Outlook Express - that doesn't work on Vista) so you will have the familiar version if you put Office 2003 on the Vista machine. Have you still got the Office 2003 discs?

Not sure about software - most things which are used often have been updated for Vista now.

Original poster

pickupthismess · 30/03/2009 23:11

God, I wish they'd just sell me a laptop with XP on it. Nutty why is it so bad? I really can't be arsed trying to learn something new, when I just want to check my emails and do basic word on the laptop.

OP posts:

RustyBunny · 31/03/2009 07:52

Vista is bad if you don't have enough RAM - the desktop we bought with it on only had 512 Mb and it was appallingly slow, but it was very cheap & we put another 2Mb in & it's fine now, and still cost less overall than it would have full price.

You may be able to find a seller who will do the downgrade - we still have XP put on all our new machines at school partly because we don't want to find Vista has issues with our existing software. The new Windows currently called 7, is due out soon - I think there's a beta version available now, so all the schools seem to be waiting for that.

foxinsocks · 31/03/2009 07:53

I have downgraded to vista on the new laptop (work one). Vista was fine at home but just useless for work tbh.

foxinsocks · 31/03/2009 07:53

sorry downgraded to XP I meant!

nuttygirl · 31/03/2009 09:52

Tbh I just found that it's a lot different to XP and in a way that didn't make a lot of sense to me. iirc we also had a couple of problems with some of the programs on it.

I removed it after 2 days and put Ubuntu on instead.

Dh's boss also had it at work and got rid of it fairly soon and they're an IT company!

Original poster

pickupthismess · 31/03/2009 12:02

OK, I think I am convinced. So how do I remove it and upload XP? They've told me I'll void my warranty if I do so is it possible to put back on if necessary?

OP posts:

CherryChoc · 03/04/2009 18:25

If you want to downgrade, you need to get the ultimate edition or the business edition.

But you might have problems depending on the laptop - all the parts of a computer need drivers (which are little programs that work in the background) to work. The laptop will come with all the drivers installed and they will be compatible with Vista. But if that laptop was not built for XP, the drivers might not be compatible with XP which means you might have to find and download the drivers manually. They might not even exist which would mean you would have to download third party ones.

You don't get the same problem with a desktop PC because the parts will be used in all sorts of machines and so will have official drivers for Vista and XP.

Sorry this is so long - really, Vista isn't that bad. I would get the Business Edition and try it out, if you really hate it and struggle with it then you have the option to downgrade and you can worry about the drivers issues then - but probably no need to worry anyway.

DH is a computer technician and said he'd sort it for you if it's a problem - do you live anywhere near Warwick?

Blu · 03/04/2009 18:28

My laptop has Vista and I have not really noticed any difference! Am I doing something wrong?

There are more dialogue boxes that pop upand ask if you realy wnat to do something...that's the only difference I have noticed.

Original poster

pickupthismess · 05/04/2009 19:04

Thanks cherry and everyone else that's really helpful. I am getting it this week. Not so near Warwick but that's a really kind offer, might take you up on it.

OP posts:

gill89 · 20/05/2009 07:25

how did you get on?

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