The new baby (hasta la Vista, XP)

Matera the Mad · Aug 17, 2009

I got so aggravated the last of three times my computer froze up in the middle of editing a photo that I ordered a new one with the guts to take it. Well, not quite new, refurbished. It's still the first time I have ever bought a whole computer.

Now I am preparing for it, reading and collecting information. So far I have only had a few encounters with Vista, never meeting it on my own terms. This time I will be on my own home ground.

The first thing I will do is uninstall any foist-ware that I don't want. I'm sure there will be some. Then defrag, and a complete backup of the whole shebang.

Next comes partitioning. Even Vista doesn't need a whole 640GB hard drive to park its fat arse on! Drive partitions are not only a logical extension of sensible file management, they are a file security precaution. Things can happen to futz up Windows and the partition it resides on, horrible things that may toss everything in My widdle Documents into a black hole, while files on a separate partition remain untouched and accessible. Of course I don't depend on that entirely -- CD and now DVD backups are my main strategy -- but I've seen it work for me more than once.

Then I install a firewall and lots of other good and useful things, transfer my writings, reference material and assorted goodies. THEN I proceed to tweak the holy hell out of Vista, as well as catering to any update needs it may have.

I will not be on line with the new machine until that firewall is installed.

It's gonna be sooooo good to have all the RAM I need, and a processor that doesn't suffer from self-induced heat stroke all the time. Not that I don't love Big Mary, but she just hasn't got what it takes for what I need to do. I know she will be much happier with a part-time office job, and we will still be together -- I'm donating the body to my workplace.

dpaterso · Aug 18, 2009

A couple of Vista tips here (if you haven't seen it before... thread was moved to TIO):

The I HATE VISTA thread
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125786

-Derek

scarletpeaches · Aug 18, 2009

Vista is shite.

That is all.

(Yes, dpaterso, I have seen the light).

dpaterso · Aug 18, 2009

Not wanting to repeat myself or anything, but my Vista software on my laptop runs pretty darn good and rarely gives me trouble. I don't have running slow, freezes, random resets, blue screens, anything like that. I really can't recall the last time I had a problem.

And I beat the crap out of the poor wee thing every day. Or at least I beat the crap out of my USB keyboard and USB mouse every day.

In a nutshell, at least 2Gb memory, classic mode, gadgets off, user account control off, Norton out, AVG in.

-Derek

stephenf · Aug 18, 2009

I have two machines. one running XP and other has XP professional .Both machines have to work for a living and do so every day .There are issues with Microsoft, but I have never had any problems with XP. I think if some one is having problems ,the problem must be something more than just a failure of XP.

scarletpeaches · Aug 18, 2009

dpaterso said:
Not wanting to repeat myself or anything, but my Vista software on my laptop runs pretty darn good and rarely gives me trouble. I don't have running slow, freezes, random resets, blue screens, anything like that. I really can't recall the last time I had a problem.

And I beat the crap out of the poor wee thing every day. Or at least I beat the crap out of my USB keyboard and USB mouse every day.

In a nutshell, at least 2Gb memory, classic mode, gadgets off, user account control off, Norton out, AVG in.

-Derek

I'm either going to stick more RAM in this machine, or take Vista off and put XP on. Hmm...I feel a poll coming on...

Darzian · Aug 18, 2009

I didn't have much of a problem with Vista at all. The only issue was speed. Even with 2 GB of DDR3 memory and a Core 2 Duo at 2.4GHz, it was slower than XP.

So I installed the beta version of Windows 7 when it came out. It was fabulous. There were no bugs and it worked perfectly, was faster than Vista, used less resources than Vista, and was free!

Then the RC version of Windows 7 came out and I'm running it right now as my primary Operating System with no issues at all. To the techies who are unsatisfied with Vista, I suggest downloading and installing Windows 7 RC (which is legitimate and free).

Darzian · Aug 18, 2009

scarletpeaches said:
I'm either going to stick more RAM in this machine, or take Vista off and put XP on. Hmm...I feel a poll coming on...

How much RAM do you have at present? 2 GB is typically considered a bare minimum for Vista.

You can also use this link to find out how much more RAM your computer can support.

scarletpeaches · Aug 18, 2009

Just the one.

Darzian · Aug 18, 2009

Then you'll probably see a performance increase if you increased it to 2GB. You can use that link to identify your computer manufacturer and model. It will then tell you how much memory you can actually support. 1GB extra should cost around $35 ish.

scarletpeaches · Aug 18, 2009

It's probably be less bother than changing the OS, too. I mean, think of all the driver downloads and installs, rejigging all my programs...blech.

So yeah. I'll take this into the shop and get it rammed.

Adam · Aug 18, 2009

RAM installation takes literally less than a few minutes, and requires no drivers or fiddling about (you literally just plug it in and turn the computer on in most cases). Remember this in case they try and rip you off on the installation cost.

benbradley · Aug 18, 2009

Matera the Mad said:
I will not be on line with the new machine until that firewall is installed.

Just so you know, a firewall isn't everything.

dpaterso said:
A couple of Vista tips here (if you haven't seen it before... thread was moved to TIO):

The I HATE VISTA thread
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125786

-Derek

Is it really safe to get one's tech advice from TIO???

scarletpeaches said:
Vista is shite.

That is all.

(Yes, dpaterso, I have seen the light).

Sounds like you felt the heat.

There was a saying in a place I used to go to where God saves people from their own horrible, decrepit lives. "I didn't get here because I saw the light, I came here because I felt the heat!"

scarletpeaches said:
I'm either going to stick more RAM in this machine, or take Vista off and put XP on. Hmm...I feel a poll coming on...

I hear a voice chanting...

XP ... XP ...

... several voices...
XP ... XP ... XP ... XP... XP!

Linux! ... Linux! ... Linux!

dpaterso · Aug 18, 2009

benbradley said:
Is it really safe to get one's tech advice from TIO???

It's a long exciting story with thrilling action scenes and gratifying chracter arcs, the thread started off in Tech Help but became so noisy that it was moved to TIO.

-Derek

Matera the Mad · Aug 18, 2009

lol

My original plan was just to get Herself more RAM. I had upgraded it two years ago when one of her original sticks went bad. I was on the edge of losing my home to back taxes, so she didn't get all she could hold. But the major straw that made camelburger is the lousy AMD chicken-fryer. I've had it with the whole thing, the ancient BIOS and all.

Silent Bob (yes, I named the baby) arrived today (squeeee). I uninstalled Big Fix (big joke, I call it), Norton, Microsoft (doesn't-)Works, stupid games, and some other stuff. Once I have a backup disk I'll put in my own fave anti-virus and all the other goodies. Yes, Derek, I know, but some people think anti-virus is everything, so I tend to overcompensate in the emphasis.

I'm stuck with Vista anyhowl, since XP wouldn't know what to do with this machine. But it's not so bad. When I can beat up an OS on my own terms...heh-heh-heh.

Meanwhile, I'm back in this granny-box with the 9 year old mobo.

Nivarion · Aug 18, 2009

I'm in a little love hate with my vista machine.

It updates.

I restart it and am at my desktop within 30 seconds. For about six days it runs like a lightning bolt slicing through all the process i send its way. Durring this time I don't have any crashes.

It updates again.

Now the lightning bolt is trying to push a boulder up an icy hill. It keeps trying but isn't getting there. It crashes every few hours, and I am just PO'd beyond belief.

It updates again.

It seems every other update is there to fix the update before it. And those updates are to screw with something that doesn't need to be screwed with. The computer is running like a dream machine again, so I turn off auto updates.

About a month latter it downloads a bunch of new updates. I'm sitting there "And who the hell told you you could do this!" After a couple of days of working against its want to needlessly update, i bring it out of a hibernation to have it BSOD. The cause line is blank.

So it installs these new updates that make it work like a piece of crap. I'm still waiting for the next set. grrr.

Well, welcome to the roller coaster. The exits are linux, mac and suicide. I really don't recommend the last one. no seriously, It like, shouldn't even be an option.

Brutal Mustang · Aug 18, 2009

It took some getting used to at first, but I love Vista. I don't know. Maybe it helps that I have a speedy little lap top with 4 gig of memory, plus dual cores.

Matera the Mad · Aug 18, 2009

I don't do automatic updates. Of anything. Ever. (Except antivirus) I wait until the dust has settled and choose the useful ones. I also doubt that Vista understands the limitations of dial-up internet. I can borrow a little bandwidth at work for that, since I am IT there :ROFL:

Nivarion · Aug 18, 2009

Matera the Mad said:
I don't do automatic updates. Of anything. Ever. (Except antivirus) I wait until the dust has settled and choose the useful ones. I also doubt that Vista understands the limitations of dial-up internet. I can borrow a little bandwidth at work for that, since I am IT there

I don't do them either. Vista doesn't seem to understand that no means NO.

billy gates will go into your computer at about 3:00 in the morning and change your update settings back to on.

dpaterso · Aug 18, 2009

I switched automatic updates off, too. (Windows Update > Change Settings > Never check for updates.) If I have a quiet moment on a Sunday morning or whenever, I manually run the software and see what updates are available.

-Derek

Nivarion · Aug 18, 2009

dpaterso said:
I switched automatic updates off, too. (Windows Update > Change Settings > Never check for updates.) If I have a quiet moment on a Sunday morning or whenever, I manually run the software and see what updates are available.

-Derek

I switched it to off too. That's why I've been so PO'd about it for months.

I've actually heard about it doing that to a lot of people.

dpaterso · Aug 18, 2009

Sometimes I think my copy of Vista was some kind of radical test prototype that was rigged to actually work as designed, and accidentally got out of the factory when no one was looking. I worry that They will come to claim it back.

-Derek

scarletpeaches · Aug 19, 2009

I hate you and your Vista compatibility.

Carmy · Aug 19, 2009

Matera -- why not install a D drive?

I keep all my work and important documents on D. It was easily, physically removed from my old computer into this one, with everything intact.

Oddly, when I got a virus on my old PC, it couldn't get into D. Maybe I was just lucky.

Darzian · Aug 21, 2009

Carmy said:
Matera -- why not install a D drive?

I keep all my work and important documents on D. It was easily, physically removed from my old computer into this one, with everything intact.

Oddly, when I got a virus on my old PC, it couldn't get into D. Maybe I was just lucky.

It depends. 'D drive' varies from computer to computer. You can have one physical internal hard disk split into "C" and "D." Or you can have two internal hard disks, the first being "C" and the second being "D." Or you can have one internal hard disk and one external, though the external would likely show up as some other letter than "D."

The new baby (hasta la Vista, XP)

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