My Advice - Dont upgrade EVER!!!

[Jim G]

I purchased the upgrade to Vista Premium over the weekend and to say its
been tough is an understatement. First, Gateway does not make a monitor
driver for my 21" Lcd flat screen, so my monitor is known as a non pnp
generic monitor (gateway was no help at all, told me to contact eztune for a
driver, when eztune does not make drivers for monitors). I cannot set the
correct screen size so my fonts and images are screwey looking, There is
also a bug with vista and video cards that support dual monitors which will
not allow you to change the color of the taskbar. Eztune which allows me to
control the monitor settings has issues with the Nvidia 6600 series video
card that my pc has and they told me I have to uninstall it until they get
it worked out, or asked me to buy a new video card (what crap that is).
There is no motorola drivers available so I cannot use Motorola Phone tools
(which I just bought 2 weeks ago). You cannot run any dos based commands
(such as nslookup) without using runas administrator (more of an annoyance
than anything).

My shared printer wont share because its an ip printer and vista seems to
think that it doesnt exist (had to hook it up via usb in order to print and
sharing still didnt work). The new Windows Explorer is a chore in itself,
There is no easy way to go up a level like we used to in Xp with the simple
icon with an up arrow.

Microsoft Defender is installed and working but yet Vista says its turned
off and warns me daily that I am not protected. When I click to turn it on
nothing happens.

Msn Messenger (which I use for work) does not flash when a new message
arrives. I uninstalled and then reinstalled, no luck. Windows media center
is a mess, its like trying to find your way through a maze.

So my experience with Vista is a bad one. This doesnt mean that it doesnt
work for others, just not me. I will go back to XP and probably stay there
for a long time to come.

Just my $159 worth...

Jim

 

[jim]

thank you

 

[JoeT]

I purchased the upgrade to Vista Premium over the weekend and to say its
been tough is an understatement. First, Gateway does not make a monitor
driver for my 21" Lcd flat screen, so my monitor is known as a non pnp
generic monitor (gateway was no help at all, told me to contact eztune for
a driver, when eztune does not make drivers for monitors). I cannot set the
correct screen size so my fonts and images are screwey looking, There is
also a bug with vista and video cards that support dual monitors which will
not allow you to change the color of the taskbar. Eztune which allows me to
control the monitor settings has issues with the Nvidia 6600 series video
card that my pc has and they told me I have to uninstall it until they get
it worked out, or asked me to buy a new video card (what crap that is).
There is no motorola drivers available so I cannot use Motorola Phone tools
(which I just bought 2 weeks ago). You cannot run any dos based commands
(such as nslookup) without using runas administrator (more of an annoyance
than anything).

My shared printer wont share because its an ip printer and vista seems to
think that it doesnt exist (had to hook it up via usb in order to print
and sharing still didnt work). The new Windows Explorer is a chore in
itself, There is no easy way to go up a level like we used to in Xp with
the simple icon with an up arrow.

Microsoft Defender is installed and working but yet Vista says its turned
off and warns me daily that I am not protected. When I click to turn it on
nothing happens.

Msn Messenger (which I use for work) does not flash when a new message
arrives. I uninstalled and then reinstalled, no luck. Windows media center
is a mess, its like trying to find your way through a maze.

So my experience with Vista is a bad one. This doesnt mean that it doesnt
work for others, just not me. I will go back to XP and probably stay there
for a long time to come.

Just my $159 worth...

Jim

Jim,

Just curious but did you run the hardware and program compatibility wizards
before plunking down your money?
They are always available and definitely a major requirement when
considering upgrading to a new OS version straight out of the gate so to
speak.

joe

 

[Guest]

Run this before buying
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx

 

[Jim G]

Yeah I ran the Vista Upgrade advisor and it passed everything. On the
install it told me that I had to remove Roxio backup which is a part of the
Roxio Media Creator software that I have. After I uninstalled it the upgrade
went fine.

Jim

 

[DX]

ufoa helpful comment wasn't it seeing he has already brought it, expecially
as the advisor is about as much
use as a whistle on a deafs mans outing.

 

[David Hearn]

I purchased the upgrade to Vista Premium over the weekend and to say its
been tough is an understatement. First, Gateway does not make a monitor
driver for my 21" Lcd flat screen, so my monitor is known as a non pnp
generic monitor (gateway was no help at all, told me to contact eztune
for a driver, when eztune does not make drivers for monitors). I cannot
set the correct screen size so my fonts and images are screwey looking,
There is also a bug with vista and video cards that support dual
monitors which will not allow you to change the color of the taskbar.
Eztune which allows me to control the monitor settings has issues with
the Nvidia 6600 series video card that my pc has and they told me I have
to uninstall it until they get it worked out, or asked me to buy a new
video card (what crap that is). There is no motorola drivers available
so I cannot use Motorola Phone tools (which I just bought 2 weeks ago).
You cannot run any dos based commands (such as nslookup) without using
runas administrator (more of an annoyance than anything).

Ahh, okay so you're complaining that Gateway never made a driver (not a
Microsoft problem), that Eztune doesn't like your graphics card (not a
Microsoft problem) and that Motorola hasn't made some drivers for your
phone (not a Microsoft problem).

Have to confirm the nslookup issue - not tried it on my Vista box.

My shared printer wont share because its an ip printer and vista seems
to think that it doesnt exist (had to hook it up via usb in order to
print and sharing still didnt work). The new Windows Explorer is a chore
in itself, There is no easy way to go up a level like we used to in Xp
with the simple icon with an up arrow.

Microsoft Defender is installed and working but yet Vista says its
turned off and warns me daily that I am not protected. When I click to
turn it on nothing happens.

Are you sure it's not complaining that Vista is saying you don't have
anti-virus? Defender is not AV, so just having Defender will give you a
red shield.

Msn Messenger (which I use for work) does not flash when a new message
arrives. I uninstalled and then reinstalled, no luck. Windows media
center is a mess, its like trying to find your way through a maze.

So my experience with Vista is a bad one. This doesnt mean that it
doesnt work for others, just not me. I will go back to XP and probably
stay there for a long time to come.

Just my $159 worth...

Jim

David

 

[Jim G]

Ahh, okay so you're complaining that Gateway never made a driver (not a
Microsoft problem), that Eztune doesn't like your graphics card (not a
Microsoft problem) and that Motorola hasn't made some drivers for your
phone (not a Microsoft problem).

Have to confirm the nslookup issue - not tried it on my Vista box.


Are you sure it's not complaining that Vista is saying you don't have
anti-virus? Defender is not AV, so just having Defender will give you a
red shield.


David

Yeah I have anti-virus and thats showing and working well. Yes while most of
my issues are driver related you would think that these companies would have
updates in place at the time of Vista release because you know people like
me will go out and get it right away. I think Microsoft is on the right
track with Vista, it just gets frustrating when things just dont work.

Jim

 

[JoeT]

Yeah I ran the Vista Upgrade advisor and it passed everything. On the
install it told me that I had to remove Roxio backup which is a part of
the Roxio Media Creator software that I have. After I uninstalled it the
upgrade went fine.

Jim

It passed everything in the upgrade advisor, only complained about roxio
backup on install and then proceeded to barf on your system after the
install completed? Wonderful aint it? So much for the upgrade advisor eh?

joe

 

[Saucy Lemon]

1. What's the brand, name and model number of your LCD monitor?

2. Have you tried Windows Live Messenger instead of MSN Messenger?

3. Check for new drivers for your printer. Here there's a Samsung that
wouldn't network until recently when Smasung released a driver so that it
would work properly on Vista .. have you checked the printer manufacturer's
website?

4. Do you have an anti-virus program installed and , if so, which one?

Saucy Lemon

 

[Justin]

NO! The upgrade advisor is not the be all end all of upgrading to Vista.
It was preprogrammed to tell you known issues but it can NOT possibly tell
you everything about every driver ever made. To expect as such would be
ignorant and unreasonable.

Running it is certainly a good idea and it will HELP you out. However in
the end it's your responsibility to verify your system before upgrading.

Your major mistake was not going to gateway and basically ASKING THEM if
your specific model is good to go with Vista.

You need to make sure you have Vista drivers available BEFORE you upgrade.

Believe it or not, YOU are responsible for your own machine.

 

[Jim G]

My monitor is a Gateway FPD2185W R0. The messenger is the Windows Live
Messenger (sorry about that) Version 8.1.0178.00.

My printer works fine for printing regular documents from my pc as long as
the usb is connected. Its a Brother 420CN. I will check the brother site for
updated drivers.

I am using Avast for my anti-virus.

Thanks
Jim

 

[Saucy Lemon]

And what's the Gateway computer type and model? e.g. destkop / 7200
series

Saucy Lemon

 

[Jim G]

The Pc model is a GM5076E

Thank
Jim

And what's the Gateway computer type and model? e.g. destkop / 7200
series

Saucy Lemon

 

[Saucy Lemon]

I'm going to try to come up with a list of ideas and reply in the morning.
But without the specific driver they are just ideas ..

Saucy Lemon

 

[Jim G]

I believe the Windows Live Messenger issue has been resolved. I am using
Messenger Plus and According to a MS tech in the Messenger newsgroup the
Tabs option in Plus is not compatible with Vista.

Jim

 

[Alias]

Believe it or not, YOU are responsible for your own machine.

Except when it comes to activation and the other silly and ineffective
anti piracy programs because MS is in control of your machine and if you
don't do what you're told, MS will use the kill switch.

Alias

 

[Alias]

I purchased the upgrade to Vista Premium over the weekend and to say its
been tough is an understatement. First, Gateway does not make a monitor
driver for my 21" Lcd flat screen, so my monitor is known as a non pnp
generic monitor (gateway was no help at all, told me to contact eztune
for a driver, when eztune does not make drivers for monitors). I cannot
set the correct screen size so my fonts and images are screwey looking,
There is also a bug with vista and video cards that support dual
monitors which will not allow you to change the color of the taskbar.
Eztune which allows me to control the monitor settings has issues with
the Nvidia 6600 series video card that my pc has and they told me I have
to uninstall it until they get it worked out, or asked me to buy a new
video card (what crap that is). There is no motorola drivers available
so I cannot use Motorola Phone tools (which I just bought 2 weeks ago).
You cannot run any dos based commands (such as nslookup) without using
runas administrator (more of an annoyance than anything).

My shared printer wont share because its an ip printer and vista seems
to think that it doesnt exist (had to hook it up via usb in order to
print and sharing still didnt work). The new Windows Explorer is a chore
in itself, There is no easy way to go up a level like we used to in Xp
with the simple icon with an up arrow.

Microsoft Defender is installed and working but yet Vista says its
turned off and warns me daily that I am not protected. When I click to
turn it on nothing happens.

Msn Messenger (which I use for work) does not flash when a new message
arrives. I uninstalled and then reinstalled, no luck. Windows media
center is a mess, its like trying to find your way through a maze.

So my experience with Vista is a bad one. This doesnt mean that it
doesnt work for others, just not me. I will go back to XP and probably
stay there for a long time to come.

Just my $159 worth...

Jim

Yet another example why one should wait to buy Vista.

Alias

 

[Alias]

Yeah I have anti-virus and thats showing and working well. Yes while
most of my issues are driver related you would think that these
companies would have updates in place at the time of Vista release
because you know people like me will go out and get it right away. I
think Microsoft is on the right track with Vista, it just gets
frustrating when things just dont work.

Jim

Well, you've discovered one reason to wait to install Vista. I will wait
at least until Vista's SP1 is out and when all the drivers are out. I
see no reason to rush in, none whatsoever unless you're a repair tech
and need to fix Vista machines for people like you who have to have the
"latest and greatest".

Alias

 

[Saucy Lemon]

OK Jim D:

I want you to try something:

Make sure you are logged on with Administrators privileges.

Create a restore point.

Start -> right-click Computer -> select Manage
-> when "Computer Management" opens, click on "Devices" in the left-hand
pane
-> look for the "Monitors" listing and expand it
-> find the monitor and right-click on it
-> select "Update Driver Software"
-> click on "Browse my computer for driver software" (it's the lower one)
- > to the bottom you should see "Let me pick from a list of device drivers
on my computer"
-> UNCHECK "Show compatible hardware"
-> in the left-hand pane click on "(Standard monitor types)" - it's at the
top of the list
-> on the right-hand pane there should be a long list including 'Digital
Flat Panel' listings each with a resolution associated with it
-> select thte one most appropriate, preferably the 'natural' resolution for
your monitor - according to the specs yours is 1680 x 1050 (native and
maximum) at 75 Hz - AFAICT the closest option would be a 1600 x 1200 " 75Hz
but have a good look
-> click "Next"
-> when done installing click "Close"
-> reboot your computer
-> then adjust the display properties to your liking.

If it is still fuzzy, try different ones and see if Display properties can
size it down - you might want to choose a lower Hz for that and so on.

Also, another idea: try switching the monitor connection type if you can and
see what happens .. you know, if you are using a Analog (VGA) - 15-pin mini
d-sub VGA connector then try the Digital (DVI-D) - 24-pin connector and
watch if Windows responds to it differently.

The latest EZ-Tune software is available here:

[EzTune Windows XP and Vista Update]
http://www.portrait.com/dtune/gwy/enu/upgrade.html

A couple other points:

Yes, trying a different video card is an OK idea, at least for the time
being. Make sure to get one Vista capable (WDDM) if you want Aero but don`t
spend too much. Or, for the time being, forget Aero and just use one of your
old cards (if you can find one with enough power to works with your large
monitor). Maybe a friend has a spare card you can try etc. .. .. and in
doing so perhaps you can get the EZ Tune to set your monitors resolution
properly.

Also: Contact / email / and phone 'n write Gateway support and the makers of
EZ Tune and get them notified of this problem. There might be a simple fix.
You might suggest to them that they do the obvious and make monitor drivers
avaiable for download.

'Have a nice one and 'hope things clear up for you.

Saucy Lemon