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Some computers that came with VISTA were designed for VISTA only.
The HD can't be formatted and another OS loaded - many were DELL brand.
Thank goodness I do not use a "Name Brand" computer. My brother-in-law built
my systems through his computer store/repair shop. Currently on Win-7 and have
been tempted to go back to XP. Still many "tricks" to learn on 7, just like I had the
learning curve on XP.
Uncle Al
(Learning Curve = Pain in the Chair)
Kilted Organist/Musician
Grand Musician of the Grand Lodge, I.O.O.F. of Texas 2008-2009, 2015-2016,
2018-202 ? (and the beat goes on )
When asked 'Why the Kilt?'
I respond-The why is F.T.H.O.I. (For The H--- Of It)
Jack,
If chossing what operating system to put on a machine I would opt for Windows 7 everytime. However, if you have Vista running well on your computer then I wouldn't change just for the sake of it. Windows 7 is better but I have a system which I tried to upgrade, just to find that Windows 7 did not have drivers for some of the computers internal organs. I have just brought that one back into use as a playpen for Linux.
If your machine and you are getting on well with Vista, I would keep it that way.
I am the God of Hellfire! and I bring you truffles!
Uncle Al wrote:Some computers that came with VISTA were designed for VISTA only.
The HD can't be formatted and another OS loaded - many were DELL brand.
I'm going to call BS on that one. It might be a true bear to get them to accept something else, and if the hardware is old enough -- or esoteric enough -- that drivers were only available for a limited period of time that could give one a case of heartburn, but I've found that computers -- even laptops which tend to be notoriously proprietary -- tend to be computers and computers can be tamed with sufficient patience and/or force.
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
crfriend wrote:
<snip>
....and computers can be tamed with sufficient patience and/or force.
Will a sledge hammer work if patience doesn't
Uncle Al
Kilted Organist/Musician
Grand Musician of the Grand Lodge, I.O.O.F. of Texas 2008-2009, 2015-2016,
2018-202 ? (and the beat goes on )
When asked 'Why the Kilt?'
I respond-The why is F.T.H.O.I. (For The H--- Of It)
crfriend wrote:
<snip>
....and computers can be tamed with sufficient patience and/or force.
Will a sledge hammer work if patience doesn't
You bet!
Been there, seen that.
When I was bolting together PCs back in the late 80s, we had an overgrown wooden mallet that wandered around the shop nicknamed "The hard drive calibrator" Believe it or not, it actually got used. On some of the older 2nd hand hard drives we got in (the shop did start as a surplus electronics dealer) , the bearing lube on the hard drive platters would congeal enough to keep them from spinning up. One "love tap" and all was good.
Jack Williams wrote:Confused. Does that mean stick with Vista?
Actally a friend has the XP conversion disk, which I tried, but it wouldn't work as it was impossible to go back to an earlier thing.
I guess that would be like them admitting that the earlier thing was better, and that would never do!
Actually, noticed the Police, when I was seeing them about something were using XP.
I also notice the equipment in the bank is Lenovo.
Nah, upgrading to 7 is probably the best thing you can do. Most of the bugs in Vista were fixed with the initial release of 7. The remaining have either been fixed, or are being fixed with the updates.
To install XP, you'd need to refomat the drive, then install on it. Full-install WIndows discs can't be used to either downgrade or upgrade a previously installed version.
Some computers that came with VISTA were designed for VISTA only.
The HD can't be formatted and another OS loaded - many were DELL brand.
Thank goodness I do not use a "Name Brand" computer. My brother-in-law built
my systems through his computer store/repair shop. Currently on Win-7 and have
been tempted to go back to XP. Still many "tricks" to learn on 7, just like I had the
learning curve on XP.
Uncle Al
(Learning Curve = Pain in the Chair)
Like Carl, going to have to call BS on it.
My sister's current laptop is a Dell that came with Windows Vista installed on it. It took Windows 7 without any problems. Same with my father's Dell laptop, which was updated to 7 before we got it.
Any hard drive can be reformatted. Just have to use the proper utility, instead of doing FDISK in DOS or using the built-in Microsoft Windows formatting program on the install disc.
Before buying Windows 7 get him to run a Windows 7 upgrade advisor, that will tell you if W7 is compatable with all the machines gubbins. I had tried to upgrade a pc with a dual core pentium 4 processor without checking first. Several bits of the motherboard were not supported, including things like the SATA disk interface chip, so I lost access to one out of two hard disks. I eventually bought a complete new and up to date Windows 7 machine. which I am typing this up on.
To me Windows 8 looks like it was dreamt up by somebody on illicit drugs!
Windows 7 is basically what Vista should have been, with the bugs taken out and a few improvements thrown in. I have Vista on one of my laptops and have been using it on that machine since mid 2006 with no problems what so-ever, I have never seen the point in upgrading that one to Windows 7 as the user experience is pretty similar and there isn't really much to gain by changing. Windows 7 uses slightly less memory, has a better system for generating graphics and talking to the GPU. Vista won't have drivers for the very latest hardware but you are talking about an old machine so that isn't an issue. Erm, Windows 7 has better tools to help you get a network to work, but it can still be an absolute pig!
I am the God of Hellfire! and I bring you truffles!
Once in a while even I get fed up with the blasted things. And the technology that surrounds them.
Today, I had a UPS go wonky on me -- apparently a dead battery. So I gently powered down all the machines that were attached to it, dismantled it, and got readings on the batteries. I put one of the two on a charger for 20 minutes or so and reassembled things only to get a "fff" noise and a puff of smoke. Net result, one dead UPS. I was not amused.
Worse yet, as I scavenged around for proper power cords, it turned up that one of the machines that was formerly attached to it had "expired" as well and is now throwing BIOS errors. Cr@p. That was the machine that I use to play tunes on in my study and I'm going to be in my study for at the very least tomorrow and possibly Wednesday as well because of the snow that's already started. I just hope I can get the data off the disks.
At least the SPARC system survived. Now I need to either find another "elder" bit of Intel kit that can take ATA disks or buy something new (that'll likely have a vastly shorter lifespan than the early 2000's machine that dropped dead on me). Whatever happened to "building for the ages"? I've got 40+ year old systems that run better than 5 year old ones...
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
crfriend wrote: I've got 40+ year old systems that run better than 5 year old ones...
Built in obsolescence seems to infect modern society like a cancerous disease. In the case of computers, the software has more memory requirements than my first 386DX 40 (which was whiz bang fast when I got it) could even look at accommodating. Of course computers are also able to sing and dance like never before too when not throwing a tanty! The computers are going out of date so fast that a computer bought three years ago at a huge price is saleable now for peanuts.
I have mentioned how I am having problems with my digital camera, and I know that my sister had to replace hers when repairs were to cost more than a newer model. I have three film SLR cameras in the back of my cupboard, one is a Pentax Spotmatic which is 40 years old and, with a new battery, is as capable as ever. It's just a pity that hardly anyone makes roll film these days; then there is the problem of digitising the images, so we can see and arrange same on our computers--Have I come around in a full circle?
It will not always be summer: build barns---Hesiod
Just my 2p here, as somone who uses pcs, but knows very little about them.
I bought my current pc on the week end that Vista was released.
When I specified XP, my friend said I was nuts until I pointed out that Vista customer would be unpaid development engineers for the next 6 months as the bugs got slowly sorted out.
I've since had the innards upgraded so it's still pretty fast (enough for me, anyway).
Windows 8 has been designed to work on pcs, tablets and phones and is mainly designed for touchscreen. As a result it doesn't work entirely brilliantly on anything.
it might be Ok by the time they release windows 9....
I've always had Nokia mobile phones, but as the newest ones are windows 8, I've gone Android and am pretty happy, 5 days in.
Bearing in mind I sell the things, lots of people are now buying android based tablets to replace laptops, never mind those buying in addition.
They are used to touchscreen and its ease of use, and don't need the extra technical capabilites of desktops or laptops.
)
Built in obsolescence seems to infect modern society like a cancerous disease. In the case of computers, the software has more memory requirements than my first 386DX 40 (which was whiz bang fast when I got it) could even look at accommodating. Of course computers are also able to sing and dance like never before too when not throwing a tanty! The computers are going out of date so fast that a computer bought three years ago at a huge price is saleable now for peanuts.