Vista users encountering problems when they upgrade to Service Pack 1 can breathe easier: the company is giving away free support for those installing the service pack.
The transition to the service pack has not been problem-free for many users, some of whom have seen their computers fall into endless reboot cycles and struggled with broken applications after installing the upgrade.
Normally, only Windows Vista users who bought the retail product would be eligible for free support but, for SP1 installation, even users with an original-equipment-manufacturer copy of Vista on their computer can get Microsoft’s help, according to the official Vista blog.
Microsoft can afford it.
Free support for a f#cked up product you bought, wow, MS is so generous!
I remember XP SP2 hosing a bunch of machines as well. Same symptoms, too.
How much you wanna bet these systems were riddled with crap?
Oh, wait… Vista was supposed to take care of that. My fault.
At this moment my PC with Vista Ultimate 64 is about to restart after SP1 install.
No matter how it goes:
Install Vista and change your hard disk to a diskette and your dual core 64 bit CPU to a 80286
On restarting:
Installing service pack: Stage 1 of 3 – 3% complete.
Do not turn of your computer.
The whole process is about one hour I have been warned. The major problem that the number of stages may be infinite…
Wish me luck.
They better. They should give it for Vista period. What a piece of crap. Resource hog compared to XP & no real benefit over XP.
Vista has a number of significant improvements over XP. Unfortunately, most of them are under the hood. What the user sees: Fancier interface, greater resource hog, native/MS apps launch faster, search is faster/better, many older apps won’t work without an update, some of which do not exist. This is NOT the second coming of WinME (which WAS A total POS outside of the introduction of system restore).
On the whole, most people were happy with XP, and the pros for Vista aren’t counteracting the cons. But it’s hardly a dog, except in terms of marketplace acceptance (so far).
I did the SP1 update two days ago, went smoothly, no problems. My system was a pre-installed Vista Home Prem. That could be the reason thing went well.
My personal experience with updates and upgrades is that I usually have hang-ups as the result of unique hardware configurations or third party software.
I really don’t see any significant changes in performance.
What kind of cheap crap hardware are you people running?
# 2 Mac Guy
“I remember XP SP2 hosing a bunch of machines as well. Same symptoms, too.”
Yeah I remember Tiger and Leopard hosing a bunch of other peoples machines too. So what? I installed all of them on my machines and had no problems.
# 3 Pierre Larsen
“The whole process is about one hour I have been warned.”
You must have a really slow machine if it takes that long. It took 5 or 10 min tops on both sides.
#5 – What do you consider under the hood that is worth the bloat of system H/W requirements, backward compat & peripheral problems?
Knock wood, but a zero-problems upgrade to “Home Premium” on a pre-installed HD.
I don’t see any difference, either, except that the “System” page now shows SP1….
I’ve been having serious problems with either of the two video players eating network file transfers. I don’t know if that’s fixed or not….
However, I tried to use Windows Update to put SP1 on my new notebook, and it’s telling me that “all updates are present”. SP1 is NOT showing on the “System” page, although some “update history” entries show SP1 notations. Things like “Office”….
Overall, it’s XP ME to me, but a lot more reliable than ME ever was. OTOH, XP was a lot more reliable, too, and more so than Vista has been thus far. (About four months on the desktop.)
Both copies of Vista here are pre-installed. No “magic”, and no strange devices that didn’t come with the machine.
SP2 oughta fix it right up….
Regards,
Stu.
I haven’t read this exactly before–but shouldn’t “under the hood” changes be updates while new OS’s should provide something “new” to the user? Everytime I have upgraded, it was to get something NEW!!
Right now, on XP SP2 with all hard drives NTFS, I still have multiple video/firewire programs that are limited to 4 gigabytes making my “high definition” experience frustrating. Gee, that has nothing to do with the OS, but there are no driver updates for the programs either. That the only reason I don’t upgrade to 64bits==why upgrade if the programs I need won’t run?
Vist users should Upgrade to XP !!! Or solve all their computer problems by WIPING WINBLOZE FROM THIER MACHINES AND INSTALLING A ***REAL*** OPERATING SYSTEM – GNU/Linux, as well as the other FREE SOFTWARE – OpenOffice, FireFox, Thunderbird, etc …
#7 My “windows experience index base score is 5.5”. The hardware is ok but not exceptional.
The update was about 1 hour all in all. But I overlooked a dialogue in windows and also the PC crashed after stage 2.
Actual time was less.
The system seems to be working. I can see no difference so far.
#11 – Yes, Linsux because it runs sooo much of the software I need for work. LOL!
#11 You are right about upgrading to XP. I only use Vista out of necessity (development and test of software)
Don’t use Vista if you can avoid it – stay with XP or upgrade to XP.
I have given up getting several external peripherals such as printers, mobile modem and video camera to work. Even with so called vista device drivers.
On top of that the system always seems sluggish and vista is constantly using the hard disk.
SP1 upgrade went smooth on my system. Just over a year with Vista installed. At first I kept XP as a back up, but never needed it. Linux is installed on my second PC. It’s good but I prefer Vista.
“Microsoft can afford it”?? Haw. If they gave enough support to make Vista run “properly” on every hapless user’s machine, it would bankrupt Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and the other 8 richest guys in the world. Carlos Slim included.
This OS has got to be the bloodiest abortion in Micro$oft’$ history. I wouldn’t be surprised if it brings them down. What do they have in the pipeline? Windoze 7? (snore). Yahoo!? (snore).
They may have made billions in the past, ripping off other people’s software and crushing the competition, but now they’re a dinosaur. They still (for now) have the OEM “forced purchase” market cornered, but as more and more people are willing to PAY to upgrade to XP (or switch to Linux or OS X), they’re soon to go the way of the brontosaurus.
Windows XP is still a solid OS, supports everything I need and more. Vista has problems with drivers, software compatibility, runs slower on the same hardware, and always wants permission to do something. XP service pack three is what I am waiting for.
I’m with #17. I use all sorts of heavy software such as Mathematica, QuarkXpress, and Autodesk Inventor. I don’t need Aero eyecandy, nor the other “features” Vista offers.
What I need is a reliable OS that doesn’t kill me when I look away, and my XP is that reliable OS.
I think Microsoft forgot that their OS should be a reliable tool for work and not a pretty toy to play with.
Not only does it have fish in it, apparently, but bones, too.
# 16 Mister Mustard
“This OS has got to be the bloodiest abortion in Micro$oft’$ history. ”
Bullshit. You have never even run it. If so, what hardware are you running it on?
# 18 Ah_Yea
“I’m with #17. I use all sorts of heavy software such as Mathematica, QuarkXpress, and Autodesk Inventor.”
This kind of stuff is why people think Vista doesn’t work. Dude you need to upgrade your software. 2 of the 3 softwares you list have optimized Vista 64 bit versions. I know for certain that Mathematica and QuarkXpress run perfectly. I have seen Autodesk Inventor demoed on a Vista 64 system and it ran fine considering it was programed for Vista 64.
# 17 bjer
“Vista has problems with drivers,”
Not as many as everyone pretends. Most if not all are with equipment that is 2 or more years old.
” software compatibility”
Name the software. I run tons of software both open source and off the shelf and I have yet to find a program that doesn’t run.
“, runs slower on the same hardware,”
Only if that hardware was crap to start with.
“and always wants permission to do something. ”
And that is bad how? You can shut it off if you want but why not take that split second to be a little safer.
#20 stammered, “Dude you need to upgrade your software.
‘software compatibility’
Name the software.”
Why would he need to upgrade his s/w if there is no compatibility problems? And, in this post YOU named the s/w that wasn’t compatible in the same breath. You realize this don’t you?
As far as H/W requirements going from XP to Vista; those are documented by MS. You can’t argue that point unless you are clueless or just dishonest…
I just had the craziest case of deja vu reading all these comments. It seems to me I’ve heard all these comments before (well, similar ones), when XP first came out and again with SP2.
I have co-workers who, to this very day, still claim that Win98 is better than XP. Funny enough, my employer is sending some of them to get certified for Vista. Wah, wah, wahaaa…
Irony’s a bitch, isn’t it…
Re: #20:
“Dude, you need to upgrade your software. Upgrading software is awesome dude. Uh, are you gonna eat that twinkie…”
Why would ANYONE pay BIG money (and it is BIG money for some of these programs) to get a software upgrade just so they could run under Vista? The reasons to run Vista are modest. The cost–if you are a power user–potentially large. That’s why I am not running Vista on any of my workhorse PCs: I either don’t want to buy new versions of perfectly good software, or else there is NOT upgraded version. (This is a particular problem with, e.g. certain Photoshop plugins). All my PCS come in with Vista pre-loaded now, and the first thing I do is strip that off and load XP (or sometimes Linux, if it’s gonna be a production machine, but that’s a different kettle O fish).
>>Bullshit. You have never even run it. If
>>so, what hardware are you running it on?
M’hijito, I’m currently running Vista on a laptop (one that I seldom use because of the shitty operating system). It’s a Toshiba Toshiba Qosmio G45-AV690, with 4 megs RAM and a 280G hard drive. And it runs like SHIT. XP on a 5-year-old computer runs the same software MUCH BETTER than this “state-of-the-art” machine.
I have never met, nor have I talked with, anyone who wasn’t a M$ST troll, who had anything good to say about Vista. Maybe SP3 will turn it into something usable, or maybe it will just go the way of ME and disappear if M$FT comes up with something usable in Windoze 7.
In any case, I’m not holding my breath. I’ve pretty much switched over to Linux and OS X. They’re all compatible with everything I need to do.
Vista adds what? (And don’t say “Aero”. Or “DRM”).
# 21 pat
“Why would he need to upgrade his s/w if there is no compatibility problems? ”
Oh perhaps I wasn’t clear. The XP versions of those softwares run fine too.
“And, in this post YOU named the s/w that wasn’t compatible in the same breath. You realize this don’t you?”
Really which software was that? Perhaps you are confused.
“As far as H/W requirements going from XP to Vista; those are documented by MS. You can’t argue that point unless you are clueless or just dishonest…”
What do you mean? You can’t run it on the same crap hardware you ran XP? Well DUH!!! It was crap hardware then and it is crap hardware now.
# 23 KwadGuy
“Why would ANYONE pay BIG money (and it is BIG money for some of these programs) to get a software upgrade just so they could run under Vista?”
You haven’t been in business long have you? No one said it was just so you can run Vista. It is called staying competitive. The Vista 64 bit versions of those software are faster and have access to more memory. With Quark, Mathmatica and Inventor THAT is a really big reason to upgrade. If we were talking Microsoft Word then you might have an argument.
“The reasons to run Vista are modest.”
Said by the person with little to no experience.
“The cost–if you are a power user–potentially large. ”
Well if you are a power user then you should have the money. Otherwise you should find a new hobby or job.
“That’s why I am not running Vista on any of my workhorse PCs”
Then they are not workhorse PC’s
“I either don’t want to buy new versions of perfectly good software, or else there is NOT upgraded version. ”
Like I said. Name the software. I bet it runs as is or has a Vista upgrade.
“This is a particular problem with, e.g. certain Photoshop plugins”
Bullshit!!! I have over 150 Photoshop CS3 plugins as well as a ton of After Effects. Photoshop $ After Effects are 32 bit and so are all the plugins. They work fine under Vista 64 where I get a full 4 Gig for the App instead of 2. From what I remember both don’t support the 3 gig switch under XP.
“All my PCS come in with Vista pre-loaded now, and the first thing I do is strip that off and load XP (or sometimes Linux, if it’s gonna be a production machine, but that’s a different kettle O fish).”
Yeah I run Linux too. So what? I also run Irix, and OSX. Vista is as easily good or better than all 3.
>>Yeah I run Linux too. So what? I also run Irix,
>>and OSX. Vista is as easily good or better than
>>all 3.
The only thing I can surmise is that you don’t actually USE Linux, Irix, or OS X. If you think that Dog Shit Vista (which I use on one seldomly used laptop with PLENTY of resources) is “easily as good or better” than those OSs, you must either be a newbie or a fraud.
Hey, how about that Aero???
# 24 Mister Mustard
” It’s a Toshiba Toshiba Qosmio G45-AV690, with 4 megs RAM and a 280G hard drive. ”
Well thank you for proving my point. CRAP HARDWARE!!!!
First off it is a laptop. Second, that laptop is a joke!!!!
# 26 Mister Mustard
Turd…. I was using Irix & Linux since the early to mid 90’s when you were still picking your nose in the 3rd grade. OSX I picked up at the beginning of Tiger (2003?). Not by
choice.
“which I use on one seldomly used laptop with PLENTY of resources”
LOL you call 4 Gig of RAM plenty? You call 280 GB HD plenty? You call Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 / 2.5 GHz plenty? You call an 800 MHz bus plenty?
OH PLEASE!!!! That is how sad your judgement is.
“you must either be a newbie or a fraud.”
Nope. I actually run it in a production enviroment as do many others I know.
BTW I am no Microsoft Fan. I have plenty of issues with many things they do.
#25 – So what are the big advantages of Vista over XP SP2? ….. Well…
>>LOL you call 4 Gig of RAM plenty? You call 280
>>GB HD plenty? You call Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 /
>>2.5 GHz plenty? You call an 800 MHz bus plenty?
Yep, I do. For a “consumer” operating system, those resources should be over kill. Most people want to use Word, Excel, Photoshop Elements, and a web browser. To expect them to pay $20,000 for a desktop computer is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.
Truth be told, DOS 3.1 was head and shoulders above this abomination of an operating system.
As to what you were doing in the third grade, I was using IBM/360 timesharing services and PDP-11 paper tapes, then MVS and VM, while you were weren’t even a glimmer in your mama’s eye. I was programming in asssembler on VAX Macro32 before you ever learned to wipe your ass.
And of every operating system I have used over the past 40 years, Vista is by far the WORST. Bar none. All sizzle, no steak.
And as to laptops being “shit”, they’re what most people use these days. Or don’t you get out much?
# 28 pat
I think I have answered that a couple of times.
Lets be clear I speak only for Vista 64 Ultimate.
64 Bit! That’s the big one. Even 32 bit apps can have access to 4 gigs all on their own. They don’t need to share it with the OS. XP the app gets 2 or 3 if you use the 3 gig switch. Then the OS gets 2 or 1. That is a real problem for people that do HD post production. 64 bit apps get as much memory as you have. That is why a few of my systems are still Linux and Irix. As soon as Autodesk wakes up they will move those systems to Vista 64. They already have on many products.
I have yet to find an App that doesn’t run under Vista 64 Bit.
Yes Vista 64 is faster than XP SP2. Anyone who says different has never used Vista 64 on a decent machine.
Truth be told I see no reason to go from XP to Vista 32 bit. I don’t think it would hurt but it isn’t worth the money BUT Vista 64 is a very different matter. Maybe Microsoft should have only released Vista 64. Kind of like NT. It was never meant for the average joe but it allowed those who need the power to be able to use it.
# 29 Mister Mustard
“As to what you were doing in the third grade, I was using IBM/360 timesharing services and PDP-11 paper tapes, then MVS and VM, while you were weren’t even a glimmer in your mama’s eye. I was programming in asssembler on VAX Macro32 before you ever learned to wipe your ass.”
Me too. Except it was 1966 and I was in High School. Pays to have an important dad. Considering you can’t spell assembler I really doubt your claims. Where as I have a degree for mine.
“I was programming in asssembler on VAX Macro32 ”
Hum I didn’t catch that right out. Are you sure you want to stick with that wording?
“And as to laptops being “shit”, they’re what most people use these days. Or don’t you get out much?”
I didn’t say laptops were shit but they are not nearly as powerful as a desktop can be. Most people in my industry use laptops but only for status and email.