One of our shiny new Compaq laptop is no longer a Vista machine. The benefits of better graphics and more sophisticated software were frequently offset by disturbing hang-ups and interminable screen blackouts. It also seemed that the machine ran slower as more updates were added. Vista was a painful reminder of the early Window operating systems that were sold to run on PCs with 128K 256K memories!
With those first version of Windows, the allure of a graphic interface was severely dimmed by the fact that it took forever to boot and longer to execute. Die-hard DOS fans snickered while we pioneers waited and waited for screens to update.
History repeats itself, of course, and so 25 years later I have Vista machines that offer lots of promise but are not really ready to deliver the goods.
It finally got to the point where I spent more time waiting than working
I have work to do and software which runs just fine on Windows XP, so I chose to lobotomize one of our laptops and gave it a new and more stable personality.
I reformatted the hard drive and installed a full installation copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 2.
The other laptop will be a control subject and will remain a Vista machine. We will watch its performance and see when it starts performing faster than its "deprogrammed" twin. If it takes more than 6 months, it too may become an XP machine.
I was able to make the change from Vista to XP in a day All it took was a little research on the Internet.
Now I am installing all of the special drivers that are needed to get the most out of this new laptop hardware
I am using PC Doc Pro and Driver Genius to make the task as easy as possible.
I'll let you know how I fare.
This comment was posted from the deprogrammed laptop. Performance is not yet up to par, but the system is usable.
Posted by: David St Lawrence | Apr 10, 2008 at 11:38 PM
I understand your pain. Microsoft's tradition of releasing software before it is ready continues. Microsoft's leaders value profits over customer satisfaction -- market dominance has its advantages.
My rant:
http://www.mykesweblog.com/2007/09/microsoft-vista.html
Posted by: Myke | Apr 11, 2008 at 08:33 AM
Which is why I use a Mac for my graphics, photo and video work and have a three-year-old Windows desktop with XP for the billing, word processing and other mundane stuff.
In the book, "Pirates of Silicon Valley," Steve Jobs confronts Bill Gates over what he considers the "inferior" Windows operating system. Gates replies that it doesn't matter because Windows will help him win market share.
"We're still better than you," Job says.
"Steve, that doesn't matter," Gates replies. "We're better at marketing than you and that is all that counts."
Posted by: Doug Thompson | Apr 12, 2008 at 08:58 AM
Have set up about 30 Vista computers in the past year and they all have been painfully slow. Even boosting the memory to 2 gigs does little to help. You need to spend a lot of time getting rid of the crapware that comes from the factory and cleaning up the start up processes. Microsoft has finally brought out a long overdue service pack but I've yet to install it on any of my customers machines.
Still provide most of my customers computers with XP Pro but it is getting harder to find from the vendors.
Posted by: Jim Scott | May 11, 2008 at 10:46 AM