Anything To Improve Compatibility Of Software?

[Guest]

I am a musician who records through PC software. Some software I use
includes Cool Edit Pro 1.1, Cubase, Nuendo, Orion Platinum, and various VST
and DirectX effects plug-ins. All of the above worked great with Win XP SP2.
Not a single program works with 100% compatibility with Windows Vista Home
Premium. Unexpected stops, and error messages that there was a failure
"connecting to the plugin" prevents me from effectively recording.

Is there ANYTHING I can do to improve compatibility (changing Windows modes,
etc.) that might improve how software behaves on this OS? Short of
purchasing upgrades to my entire studio, I'm out of ideas. And if it DOES
come to purchasing completely new software for the studio, I may as well get
rid of Windows altogether and make the jump to Mac OSX. Hate to do it, but
I'm in need of a working studio...

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Wrecklass]

You've summed up the problem for many people very well. The biggest
issue is hardware drivers for Vista. They have pretty much all changed, so
software that interfaces very closely with hardware (which I will assume
music studio software must) is going to be more or less broken in Vista
unless you get very lucky. For now I'd recommend that you NOT upgrade
to Vista until or unless there is no alternative. That means not until the
software you use every day requires you to go to Vista.

OTOH, I agree, Vista is probably the place where you need to re-evaluate
your hardware position. As a musician, I am surprised you haven't taken a
pretty close look at the Mac already. Heck, the basic software that comes
with OS X is better at creating and editting music than some of the pro S/W
on Windows. Before you spend the money on all of that in Windows, I
STRONGLY encourage you to go to a nearby Apple Store and have a look.

And no, I am not affiliated with Apple in any way, I write network security
software for multiple platforms. To me a computer is a tool. You get
the best one for the job.

 

[Guest]

Truthfully, I did consider a Mac as my next computer purchase.
Unfortunately, at the time I was shopping $$$ was an issue. So, I went with
a computer that had great hardware specs that, theoretically, should handle
the applications with the greatest of ease. Unfortunately, the weak link was
the fact that it came pre-loaded with Vista. That seems to have broken the
whole deal. My old studio PC was beginning to get a little squirrely and was
costing a lot to maintain, so I made the leap for a new computer. I'm
kicking myself for doing so. I feel a little helpless at this point...

 

[LaRoux]

Check your windows updates. I got one down this morning that the KB had a
pretty lengthy list of programs that were supposed to be made more
compatible by the update.

 

[Mike Hall - MS MVP]

Why not revert back to XP SP2? Surely that is the cheapest option..

At every OS change, there is hardware and software that doesn't work to some
degree or other.. it is the way things are, and the way they have been since
time immemorial..

I am a musician who records through PC software. Some software I use
includes Cool Edit Pro 1.1, Cubase, Nuendo, Orion Platinum, and various
VST
and DirectX effects plug-ins. All of the above worked great with Win XP
SP2.
Not a single program works with 100% compatibility with Windows Vista Home
Premium. Unexpected stops, and error messages that there was a failure
"connecting to the plugin" prevents me from effectively recording.

Is there ANYTHING I can do to improve compatibility (changing Windows
modes,
etc.) that might improve how software behaves on this OS? Short of
purchasing upgrades to my entire studio, I'm out of ideas. And if it DOES
come to purchasing completely new software for the studio, I may as well
get
rid of Windows altogether and make the jump to Mac OSX. Hate to do it,
but
I'm in need of a working studio...

Any help would be appreciated.

--


Mike Hall
MS MVP Windows Shell/User
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

 

[Richard]

XP will be supported by MS for some years yet.
Why not install XP on your new PC?

 

[Plato]

XP will be supported by MS for some years yet.

Even if not supported by MS for some years it will continue to be
supported by a jillion websites.

 

[NoStop]

Truthfully, I did consider a Mac as my next computer purchase.
Unfortunately, at the time I was shopping $$$ was an issue. So, I went
with a computer that had great hardware specs that, theoretically, should
handle
the applications with the greatest of ease. Unfortunately, the weak link
was
the fact that it came pre-loaded with Vista. That seems to have broken
the
whole deal. My old studio PC was beginning to get a little squirrely and
was
costing a lot to maintain, so I made the leap for a new computer. I'm
kicking myself for doing so. I feel a little helpless at this point...

Take that p.o.s. back to where you purchased it and get your money back.
You've obviously been duped.

Cheers.

--
The "Wow" starts now.

Windows is not a virus! Viruses are small, efficient and built to get a job
done. Windows on the other hand ...

 

[Guest]

I may have to do just that. Hardware-wise, this computer is a powerhouse.
Since Vista is the weak link, I may just have to do the downgrade. Afterall,
the OS is just the interface between the human and the apps.

 

[Guest]

I attempted that very thing, today. They would not take it back, because it
was "against their policy". I told the lady that I understood that she had
done everything that was in her power, but that doesn't mean my resources
have been used up. I'm pursuing that. This computer cost way too much money
for it to be useable for only web surfing and e-mail checking (which seems to
be the only things Vista can do with a measure of reliability). I'm
beginning to hate tech companies. They seem to be out to screw the customer.

 

[Guest]

I installed the update that I believe you are talking about. Maybe this is a
step in the right direction. I hope so... I shouldn't have to purchase all
new software just to use the new Windows version. That seems a bit
counterintuitive, to me. We'll see if that update does the trick...

 

[Guest]

I may have to do that. Do you think there is any chance that future Vista
updates will fix some of the compatibility issues that are present? I know
that cannot be answered for these specific software packages, but the spirit
of the question is, is Microsoft doing what they can to ensure that their OS
will be compatible with as many software packages as possible? I would hope
so, the OS shouldn't be the weak link of a computer... it should be the most
helpful.

 

[Mike Hall - MS MVP]

Microsoft may well have gotten some things wrong, maybe bad communication
but, in my opinion, it is the 3rd party guys that have let us all down. They
should have had patches and new versions ready and waiting in the wings, and
they clearly didn't.. It wouldn't be so bad if we could go out and buy stuff
that we know would work, much as it might hurt the pocket a little, but we
have not even been given that option in some cases.

The OS should not be the weak link, and Vista in itself is not the weak
link.. it has improved security, improved memory management, improved file
handling, improved graphics handling, and improved interface .. the OS is
the base upon which everything else stands, and this one will take us all
forwards..

MS don't deliberately introduce a new OS to force upgrades of programs and
hardware.. for sure, they look at what hardware is out there, and during the
build process try to integrate as many of the features that will give the
whole package new performance boundaries.. they also clean up and change
what would now be considered sloppy code..

Unfortunately, software authors are only too willing to use loopholes and
sloppy code in order to get their programs to run well enough.. when these
loopholes are fixed, all of a sudden a program doesn't run anymore.. one
also has to bear in mind that some software looks for an OS identifier
specifically so that it can't run on anything else.. in this way, the
software house can ensure that the user will have to pay out money to
continue using the program that they have grown used to and like..

Vista does have bugs, many of which will be addressed by the SP1 update, but
not the kind that stop an Epson C82 printer working, or Nero 6 that worked
on XP.. these two and a good few others are casualties of manufacturer
marketing departments seeing a chance to increase revenue.. they could
release patches or whatever that would enable these products and others to
run on Vista, but the reality is that Epson want to sell you a new printer,
and the patch for Nero 6 was called Nero 7 for which the software house
wants $99 because it is a new version. In the case of Nero, the company
tried to entice XP users to buy it, but they made sure that Vista users
would have no choice in the matter.. it is 'buy or that all folks'

I may have to do that. Do you think there is any chance that future Vista
updates will fix some of the compatibility issues that are present? I
know
that cannot be answered for these specific software packages, but the
spirit
of the question is, is Microsoft doing what they can to ensure that their
OS
will be compatible with as many software packages as possible? I would
hope
so, the OS shouldn't be the weak link of a computer... it should be the
most
helpful.

--


Mike Hall
MS MVP Windows Shell/User
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

 

[Clayton]

Downgrade to XP until Vista has matured, give Vista another 10 months