Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade with Service Pack 1: Windows

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you a clue as to the holes in their programming, you will find out when you load the DVD. Good luck.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade with Service Pack 1: Windows

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let that preference be saved, either. Word and Excel are erratic as well. I have the very latest version of Internet Explorer, but it won't save History of sites visited. Yes, I've played with all the settings. A little research yielded the fact that Microsoft knows all this - they have knowledge base articles on the topics that send you in circles -without any solution.
Many Software applications (obviously including Microsoft applications) must be upgraded to work with Vista, some work poorly, some don't work at all.
I hold a multi-user license to excellent Anti-Virus Software I like much better than Norton or McAfee; very effective and unobtrusive. Even with the Vista version it can't start automatically at boot with Vista, which not only means I have to remember to start it manually every day, sometimes forgetting, it means it can't remove certain viruses that require a re-boot deletion.

So by "UPGRADING" to Vista, I have, in essence, thrown away hundreds of dollars in software and hardware, most of which, I assume, Microsoft intends to recoup when I buy something from them to do what the old stuff was doing perfectly well before the "UPGRADE."

If you google "downgrade to XP" you'll find almost a quarter of a million links.

There's a reason for that.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade with Service Pack 1: Windows

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favorite AV program if you're out of luck with your existing program. My favorite is ESET NOD32 Antivirus: very easy to use, lightweight and one of the most effective antivirus programs according to multiple independent lab tests. I also recommend either PC Tools Spyware Doctor or Webroot Spy Sweeper over Windows Defender for extra protection... Windows Defender (which comes with Vista), while moderately effective against adware, is next to useless against spyware & rootkits.

With Vista, you are also asking for headaches if you care about your computer working with your older hardware, such as printers, digital cameras, and so forth. I have seen some devices, even ones certified to work with Vista, not actually work with Vista. Many do work, but be forewarned and check with your existing device manufacturers for Vista support before purchasing this Vista upgrade. You may also run into issues with drivers for existing hardware, such as your sound or video hardware. Check with your computer manufacturer (e.g. Dell) to find out if they offer Vista drivers for your particular computer model. Software as well can be an issue, as some software (especially uncommon programs) may not work well or at all in Vista.

The bottom line: Upgrading from XP to Vista offers nothing you can't duplicate on XP for little to no cost, in exchange for $100+ and the potential for great headaches with existing software & hardware. Instead, find some free or cheap software that duplicates the features you want. If you must have Vista, good luck! Consider a new computer (with at least 2 GB RAM), which will save you from at least some of the aforementioned hassle (at least you'll know the computer itself will work, though perhaps not with existing old software or hardware), and rely on your older computer for anything that just won't work with Vista.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade with Service Pack 1: Windows

...

favorite AV program if you're out of luck with your existing program. My favorite is ESET NOD32 Antivirus: very easy to use, lightweight and one of the most effective antivirus programs according to multiple independent lab tests. I also recommend either PC Tools Spyware Doctor or Webroot Spy Sweeper over Windows Defender for extra protection... Windows Defender (which comes with Vista), while moderately effective against adware, is next to useless against spyware & rootkits.



With Vista, you are also asking for headaches if you care about your computer working with your older hardware, such as printers, digital cameras, and so forth. I have seen some devices, even ones certified to work with Vista, not actually work with Vista. Many do work, but be forewarned and check with your existing device manufacturers for Vista support before purchasing this Vista upgrade. You may also run into issues with drivers for existing hardware, such as your sound or video hardware. Check with your computer manufacturer (e.g. Dell) to find out if they offer Vista drivers for your particular computer model. Software as well can be an issue, as some software (especially uncommon programs) may not work well or at all in Vista.



The bottom line: Upgrading from XP to Vista offers nothing you can't duplicate on XP for little to no cost, in exchange for $100+ and the potential for great headaches with existing software & hardware. Instead, find some free or cheap software that duplicates the features you want. If you must have Vista, good luck! Consider a new computer (with at least 2 GB RAM), which will save you from at least some of the aforementioned hassle (at least you'll know the computer itself will work, though perhaps not with existing old software or hardware), and rely on your older computer for anything that just won't work with Vista.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade with Service Pack 1: Windows

...

favorite AV program if you're out of luck with your existing program. My favorite is ESET NOD32 Antivirus: very easy to use, lightweight and one of the most effective antivirus programs according to multiple independent lab tests. I also recommend either PC Tools Spyware Doctor or Webroot Spy Sweeper over Windows Defender for extra protection... Windows Defender (which comes with Vista), while moderately effective against adware, is next to useless against spyware & rootkits.





With Vista, you are also asking for headaches if you care about your computer working with your older hardware, such as printers, digital cameras, and so forth. I have seen some devices, even ones certified to work with Vista, not actually work with Vista. Many do work, but be forewarned and check with your existing device manufacturers for Vista support before purchasing this Vista upgrade. You may also run into issues with drivers for existing hardware, such as your sound or video hardware. Check with your computer manufacturer (e.g. Dell) to find out if they offer Vista drivers for your particular computer model. Software as well can be an issue, as some software (especially uncommon programs) may not work well or at all in Vista.





The bottom line: Upgrading from XP to Vista offers nothing you can't duplicate on XP for little to no cost, in exchange for $100+ and the potential for great headaches with existing software & hardware. Instead, find some free or cheap software that duplicates the features you want. If you must have Vista, good luck! Consider a new computer (with at least 2 GB RAM), which will save you from at least some of the aforementioned hassle (at least you'll know the computer itself will work, though perhaps not with existing old software or hardware), and rely on your older computer for anything that just won't work with Vista.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade with Service Pack 1: Windows

...

for the desktop, like a little calender or a battery charge indicator or even a quick search to amazon that just sits there as part of the desktop. Other program covers it, but otherwise it runs on its own without bothering anything.

(And why do I want a quick search to amazon, you might ask, if I already have it bookmarked as a favorite page? Well you see, you still have to click to open a webpage first before you can click your favorite. With the amazon gadget, you just type directly into it what you want, and a webpage will pop up without you having to click to open it! Really saves on the finger energy, you know?)

Other than this, there is nothing to Vista whatsoever that is different from XP. There is heightened security measures in the form of "OS fearfulness", but I always disable those things as much as possible because they are nothing but a nuisance. Whenever you want to do something it asks, "Are you sure?" It can't tell if something is wrong, mind you. It just keep asking YOU, and you have to keep assuring it like it is a scared child. And I can't disable all of it because then it nags constantly, "Security setting is set too low! Please raise it!"

There are a few minor inconveniences. First, the standard picture viewer will not display GIF images, unlike the one in XP. The help part explicitely states that the viewer will ONLY display bmp and jpg format pictures. Also, the Windows Mail, the equivalent of Outlook Express, no longer has the contact pane where you can just double click any contacts and opening a black email to write. You have to open the contact file each time.

Also, the included Internet Explorer has a ton of problems. It freezes every time I go to my hotmail account. I know, they are both Microsoft, so why can't they get along? Who knows. It freezes on certain other sites too, for no particular reason. I don't have any trouble with the old IE in XP, but Vista does not allow you to downgrade. (My Netscape in Vista manages hotmail and other pages just fine, so that's what I use.)

A friend warned that my old programs might not install in Vista. I've installed a few now. So far, everything works.

So here is the conclusion: except for the pretty translucent aero effect, Vista is identical to XP in every way if you don't think about the few bugs. So if you are into pretty (like me), do get it. It looks cool! It's fun watching the windows pop open and then vanish when you close it! But if you think that sounds stupid, then there is no question XP with SP2 is better in the sense that it is more stable and have fewer bugs.

I have to admit that I am slightly disappointed that the aero thing is all that I am getting out of a brand new operating system. Considering how long it took Microsoft to work on Vista, I thought it'd be a lot more exciting. Maybe they have been concentrating on programming "Are you sure" into every move anybody makes. Back when I upgraded from Windows 95 to XP, there were a so many fun new impressive things to enjoy. So the next time another new Windows come out, I won't bother with it.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade with Service Pack 1: Windows

...

for the desktop, like a little calender or a battery charge indicator or even a quick search to amazon that just sits there as part of the desktop. Other program covers it, but otherwise it runs on its own without bothering anything.



(And why do I want a quick search to amazon, you might ask, if I already have it bookmarked as a favorite page? Well you see, you still have to click to open a webpage first before you can click your favorite. With the amazon gadget, you just type directly into it what you want, and a webpage will pop up without you having to click to open it! Really saves on the finger energy, you know?)



Other than this, there is nothing to Vista whatsoever that is different from XP. There is heightened security measures in the form of "OS fearfulness", but I always disable those things as much as possible because they are nothing but a nuisance. Whenever you want to do something it asks, "Are you sure?" It can't tell if something is wrong, mind you. It just keep asking YOU, and you have to keep assuring it like it is a scared child. And I can't disable all of it because then it nags constantly, "Security setting is set too low! Please raise it!"



There are a few minor inconveniences. First, the standard picture viewer will not display GIF images, unlike the one in XP. The help part explicitely states that the viewer will ONLY display bmp and jpg format pictures. Also, the Windows Mail, the equivalent of Outlook Express, no longer has the contact pane where you can just double click any contacts and opening a black email to write. You have to open the contact file each time.



Also, the included Internet Explorer has a ton of problems. It freezes every time I go to my hotmail account. I know, they are both Microsoft, so why can't they get along? Who knows. It freezes on certain other sites too, for no particular reason. I don't have any trouble with the old IE in XP, but Vista does not allow you to downgrade. (My Netscape in Vista manages hotmail and other pages just fine, so that's what I use.)



A friend warned that my old programs might not install in Vista. I've installed a few now. So far, everything works.



So here is the conclusion: except for the pretty translucent aero effect, Vista is identical to XP in every way if you don't think about the few bugs. So if you are into pretty (like me), do get it. It looks cool! It's fun watching the windows pop open and then vanish when you close it! But if you think that sounds stupid, then there is no question XP with SP2 is better in the sense that it is more stable and have fewer bugs.



I have to admit that I am slightly disappointed that the aero thing is all that I am getting out of a brand new operating system. Considering how long it took Microsoft to work on Vista, I thought it'd be a lot more exciting. Maybe they have been concentrating on programming "Are you sure" into every move anybody makes. Back when I upgraded from Windows 95 to XP, there were a so many fun new impressive things to enjoy. So the next time another new Windows come out, I won't bother with it.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade with Service Pack 1: Windows

...

for the desktop, like a little calender or a battery charge indicator or even a quick search to amazon that just sits there as part of the desktop. Other program covers it, but otherwise it runs on its own without bothering anything.





(And why do I want a quick search to amazon, you might ask, if I already have it bookmarked as a favorite page? Well you see, you still have to click to open a webpage first before you can click your favorite. With the amazon gadget, you just type directly into it what you want, and a webpage will pop up without you having to click to open it! Really saves on the finger energy, you know?)





Other than this, there is nothing to Vista whatsoever that is different from XP. There is heightened security measures in the form of "OS fearfulness", but I always disable those things as much as possible because they are nothing but a nuisance. Whenever you want to do something it asks, "Are you sure?" It can't tell if something is wrong, mind you. It just keep asking YOU, and you have to keep assuring it like it is a scared child. And I can't disable all of it because then it nags constantly, "Security setting is set too low! Please raise it!"





There are a few minor inconveniences. First, the standard picture viewer will not display GIF images, unlike the one in XP. The help part explicitely states that the viewer will ONLY display bmp and jpg format pictures. Also, the Windows Mail, the equivalent of Outlook Express, no longer has the contact pane where you can just double click any contacts and opening a black email to write. You have to open the contact file each time.





Also, the included Internet Explorer has a ton of problems. It freezes every time I go to my hotmail account. I know, they are both Microsoft, so why can't they get along? Who knows. It freezes on certain other sites too, for no particular reason. I don't have any trouble with the old IE in XP, but Vista does not allow you to downgrade. (My Netscape in Vista manages hotmail and other pages just fine, so that's what I use.)





A friend warned that my old programs might not install in Vista. I've installed a few now. So far, everything works.





So here is the conclusion: except for the pretty translucent aero effect, Vista is identical to XP in every way if you don't think about the few bugs. So if you are into pretty (like me), do get it. It looks cool! It's fun watching the windows pop open and then vanish when you close it! But if you think that sounds stupid, then there is no question XP with SP2 is better in the sense that it is more stable and have fewer bugs.





I have to admit that I am slightly disappointed that the aero thing is all that I am getting out of a brand new operating system. Considering how long it took Microsoft to work on Vista, I thought it'd be a lot more exciting. Maybe they have been concentrating on programming "Are you sure" into every move anybody makes. Back when I upgraded from Windows 95 to XP, there were a so many fun new impressive things to enjoy. So the next time another new Windows come out, I won't bother with it.