What do you use?

[ionicle]

1. the start menu bar, it keeps screweing up, my quick start icons go under the vista start menu icon and where the mouse is when i click, and where gets clicked keeps going out of sync

2. after 3 weeks or so, i get a BSOD every 3 mins after a reboot, and it just reboots and cycles again, i have to do a fresh install

3. i cant install my webcam on it without using the xp drivers, which make vista just die when i try and use it, even tho the cam does work under vista on those drivers

but i hate creative for that, cos i loved my old cam..

4. its too expensive.....or was that just cos i bought it after it came out?

5. it runs so slugishly on my machine, and its not that my machine is underpowered either, its now dual core, athlon 64 4200+, so quite high end.. with 2 gig of ram, and a HD3650

6. the networking stuff doesnt work properly for me..

thats just the tip of the iceburg, i cba typing out anymore though..

am on week 2 of three, so i dont wanna risk it dying on me for a too-long post..

 

[TopSecret]

Regards the webcam drivers, the same thing happened when XP came out with some hardware. It would be impossible for Microsoft to provide drivers for every bit of hardware, previous and existing, for Vista. The fault really lies with the webcam manufacturer there in my opinion, as they are responsible for providing driver support.

With the start menu problems, Not sure whats happening there.

As for the BSOD's, have you checked your motherboard manufacturer's website to see if there are any known issues with Vista? Have you got all BIOS settings correctly configured? Do you have all the latest and correct drivers installed? Have you ruled out hardware problems?

Price wise, Vista has taken a massive price drop since it was released. I got Vista Ultimate OEM by pre order before release, and it set me back over £200. You can now buy it for around £100. When you consider that XP Pro is still selling for around £80-90 I don't think Vista is expensive at all.

What problems are you having with the networking? I have 4 computers around my house, all with Vista installed. I also have a HTPC and apart from an initial driver issue with one wireless card, they are all networked without any problems at all.

Cheers,

Stu

 

[ionicle]

creative are at fault with the webcam driver...

but its still microsoft who released an un-neceserry new operating system, windows xp is fine, vista is just, ...pointless..it hardly brings anything new, and just causes problems with compatability

start menu problems, have always had, either on a fresh install, or a fully updated version

asus A8N SLI-premium

bios is fine

all drivers are latest, downloaded and installed from site, for vista 32 bit

no hardware problems, cos this system was stable under xp for a good 10 months before this

i paid 270 quid or so for my vista home premium upgrade edition...when it came out, cos i wanted to try it,...what a disapointment..

networking, it just wont find other pc's, and other pc's wont find it, the rest are on xp and work fine on the network...

part from the linux ubuntu one, which never found my xp network, but finds the vista pc, but cant connect to it

the second i have 60 quid to spare, i'm getting me an xp disk..

 

[FarFarAway]

Vista's fantastic for me, only problem I've had is 3rd party drivers so I just prefer to stick to manufacturers who actually have some support for their products now.

Never had any start menu issues or anything like that, worst software issue I had was lack of CoreTemp, till they made a new one with signed drivers

 

[Bungral]

vista is rubbish

but when its all you have

you have to make do..

How is it all you have?? You have XP?

Why is Vista rubbish?

Exactly?

 

[Hassan]

I personally think that Vista is stunning and it does work.

At first I thought why did I bother?

But then again that was kind of how XP was in the beginning, but after software vendors made their software stable with Vista I began to love it.

Only problem I have @ the moment with Vista is that when I boot my laptop and Vista loads, the cursor is always busy when I hover it to the taskbar which after 2 mins it becomes normal. I just wished the problem would go away, but do not know how to.

 

[equk]

I put vista onto my laptop earlier and haven't really been using it properly, but already I've experienced 4 bluescreens

I had one when I unplugged a USB Mass Storage Device, then one after running windows update and a few just randomly while I was browsing the net

I might get more chance to mess with it this week tho, I guess I am still configuring stuff and setting it up atm. I'm not going rush to put it onto my main system from what I've seen so far tho.

 

[Hassan]

Not even experienced a single BSOD from Vista from release date till today.

 

[ionicle]

i've had hundreds

maybe its just certain copys?

i have home premium upgrade edition..

 

[TopSecret]

Did you do the upgrade install or a clean install?

 

[ionicle]

clean install, then upgrade over it to make it work

 

[Hassan]

clean install, then upgrade over it to make it work

Isn't there a way you could do a clean install using the upgrade CD. Read it somewhere - was a very interesting read I must admit :yumyum:

 

[ionicle]

yes

thats what i do

a clean install

not putting in product key

this is legal btw

then you upgrade from the clean install

and that makes it legal

doesnt work if your connected to the net for some reason though

so i make sure i unplug network ...

 

[Hassan]

yes

thats what i do

a clean install

not putting in product key

this is legal btw

then you upgrade from the clean install

and that makes it legal

doesnt work if your connected to the net for some reason though

so i make sure i unplug network ...

Off the records Have you ever used software illigally

 

[ionicle]

i have

and sod what anyone else says, it was THE most stable software i have ever used

its usually the legal stuff that lets me down lol

 

[Hassan]

i have

and sod what anyone else says, it was THE most stable software i have ever used

its usually the legal stuff that lets me down lol

then you know what to do. Use Vista Illigally

 

[ionicle]

LOL

i dont think it works quite like that

thats just a patern that has emerged from previous use

nothing says it will continue

and i wouldnt expect it to with vista

which if i'm honest, is THE most unstable OS i have ever worked with

even 98 was more stable

mindya, there's less on 98 to go wrong...so ...

 

[TopSecret]

If ever you are in Donny, fetch your rig and I will have a look in the workshop mate- freebie. I reckon it will be something simple, once it's identified, that's causing the problem.

 

[Silentsnake]

If ever you are in Donny, fetch your rig and I will have a look in the workshop mate- freebie. I reckon it will be something simple, once it's identified, that's causing the problem.

Stuart just an amazing Personal Troubleshooter lol,

Does any1 know what computer shops use to detect hardware/software/driver faults?

cos when i was having problems with vista/computer they kept telling me that their was nothing wrong with it then all of a sudden it just died on me lol?

 

[TopSecret]

I run an IT support company - HexSys. It's a genuine offer Ionicle, if ever you are in my neck of the woods, fetch your rig and we will have a look - gratis. I hate the thought of you being so put off Vista with the problems you are having mate. I am sure once they are ironed out, you would start to enjoy using it.

As for what repair shops use to test for faults, there are various tools available. We use Microscope a fair bit, but it would be pretty expensive for the home user. Then we have PSU testers, PCI POST diagnostic cards etc etc. 95% of the time though, it comes down to our tech guys having experience of problems, which allows them to diagnose them pretty quickly. Any tech guy will tell you that the most common error with computers is the ID10T user error