Installing Vista on 'older' systems?

[Dave Cox]

Copied directly from Performance Information and tools

More details about my computer

Numbers in () are subscores

Processor Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.53GHz (3.6)


Memory (RAM) 512 MB (2.9)
Graphics RADEON 9700 PRO (5.3)
Gaming graphics 192 MB Total available graphics memory (4.3)
Primary hard disk 62GB Free (112GB Total) (5.0)
Windows Vista (TM) Home Premium

Overall Determined by lowest subscore [2.9]

System
------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------

Manufacturer Alienware
Model MV85010A
Total amount of system memory 512.00 MB RAM
System type 32-bit operating system
Number of processor cores 1
64-bit capable No

Storage
------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------

Total size of hard disk(s) 578 GB
Disk partition (C 62 GB Free (112 GB Total)
Media drive (D CD/DVD
Media drive (E CD/DVDCD/DVD
Disk partition (F 381 GB Free (466 GB Total)

Graphics
------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------

Display adapter type RADEON 9700 PRO (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM)
Total available graphics memory 192 MB
Dedicated graphics memory 128 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 64 MB
Display adapter driver version 8.333.0.0
Primary monitor resolution 1280x1024
DirectX version DirectX 9.0 or better

Network
------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------

Network Adapter Intel(R) PRO/100 S Desktop Adapter
Network Adapter Microsoft Tun Miniport Adapter

Runs perfectly acceptable........Granted it would run faster with
more ram. But the configuration of ram I have isn't worth swapping
out for 2 or 4 - 512 simms. I have PC800DDR Ram which is quite
expensive. I'd rather just put a new MOBO in (or get a whole new
system) then to invest more into this POS Intel board.

 

[Synapse Syndrome]

I always turn off the visual toys, and yes, XP was/is slower than 2000.
Vista is slower than XP, even with the toys turned off.

D'uh, you mean especially with the toys turned off. When you are not using
the Aero interface, you lose the hardware acceleration. Using full Aero
glass is faster than using the Classic theme.

ss.

 

[Gordon]

Does anyone have any experience of installing Vista on older machines and
if so, how you found it?

I have a couple of old base units here on which I am considering
installing Vista and was wondering if anyone else had got Vista working
'well'* on similar machine specs:

Athlon 1000/1800
512MB RAM
32MB Geforce 2 MX

Why on earth would you want to bother?

 

[...winston]

The 32mb Geforce 2x AGP graphic card on the op's system may present a larger
problem than mobo RAM.
..winston

 

[Doris Day]

Does anyone have any experience of installing Vista on older machines and
if so, how you found it?

I have a couple of old base units here on which I am considering
installing Vista and was wondering if anyone else had got Vista working
'well'* on similar machine specs:

Athlon 1000/1800
512MB RAM
32MB Geforce 2 MX

Now I realise that I woudn't get Aero working on these but if I changed
the graphics card to a 256MB Radeon 9550 and perhaps doubled the RAM - how
do you think these two machines would cope with Vista (inc Aero?), given
the processors are quite old (relatively speaking).

People's experiences of running Vista on machines with 512MB of RAM would
also be of interest to me..

(*i.e. in real life, not just meeting MS's miminum operating
requirements!)

The reason I am asking is that I need a new monitor and am trying to
decide between upgrading one or both of these machines or buying a
complete system from Dell (something like a Core2duo 4300, 1024MB RAM and
a 256MB Geforce 7300) rather than just a monitor.

Alternatively, if one/both of these machines could be upgraded sucessfully
- that would be a lot cheaper than buying a new base unit.. however, these
two machines are getting slightly 'long in the tooth' and if upgrading
them isn't going to be of much benefit, then a new system would seem to be
the way to go..

While I would like to 'experience' Aero/Vista as you can probably gather,
I'm not a 'gamer' and just need some machines for office/internet use +
watching video etc..

Any advice welcome.

Regards
Sunil

Don't put any money into hardware on those boxes. From the description of
what you want to do with those computers, installing Ubuntu is the answer.
It'll cost you nothing but the time to download an ISO and burn a CD. After
installation you'll have a better, more powerful computer than you'd ever
get running XP on those boxes. You'll have security and no need to load all
that anti-malware crap that further slows down your computer. You'll have
access to thousands and thousands of free software packages that are only a
click away. Most of all you'll have incredible stability and will be
running a modern operating system.

Checkout ... http://www.ubuntu.com

All my computers run Ubuntu and they all work great!

Love and Kisses,
Doris

 

[Frank]

Does anyone have any experience of installing Vista on older machines and if
so, how you found it?

I have a couple of old base units here on which I am considering installing
Vista and was wondering if anyone else had got Vista working 'well'* on
similar machine specs:

Athlon 1000/1800
512MB RAM
32MB Geforce 2 MX

Now I realise that I woudn't get Aero working on these but if I changed the
graphics card to a 256MB Radeon 9550 and perhaps doubled the RAM - how do
you think these two machines would cope with Vista (inc Aero?), given the
processors are quite old (relatively speaking).

People's experiences of running Vista on machines with 512MB of RAM would
also be of interest to me..

(*i.e. in real life, not just meeting MS's miminum operating requirements!)

The reason I am asking is that I need a new monitor and am trying to decide
between upgrading one or both of these machines or buying a complete system
from Dell (something like a Core2duo 4300, 1024MB RAM and a 256MB Geforce
7300) rather than just a monitor.

Alternatively, if one/both of these machines could be upgraded sucessfully -
that would be a lot cheaper than buying a new base unit.. however, these two
machines are getting slightly 'long in the tooth' and if upgrading them
isn't going to be of much benefit, then a new system would seem to be the
way to go..

While I would like to 'experience' Aero/Vista as you can probably gather,
I'm not a 'gamer' and just need some machines for office/internet use +
watching video etc..

Any advice welcome.

Regards
Sunil

Actually yes. I installed one of the late 5 series betas (x32) on a 1gig
Celeron with 512 RAM and 32 VRAM (Matrox 400 MAX).
Obviously you don't get Aero but that's the beauty of Vista. It will
"adjust" to your current hardware.
That's what also irritates some whiners. They think it should be full
featured when their hardware isn't.
Frank

 

[Mike Tomlinson]

Obviously you don't get Aero but that's the beauty of Vista. It will
"adjust" to your current hardware.
That's what also irritates some whiners. They think it should be full
featured when their hardware isn't.

So you've paid for an OS but aren't using the features that make it
worth the upgrade. You've essentially paid money to M$ for nothing but
a slightly updated copy of XP with embedded DRM and none of the promised
features that Vista was supposed to include, such as WinFS. Just take a
look at the complaints in microsoft.public.windows.vista.general. It's
hilarious.

Now that the big music corporations are seeing the light and are
dropping DRM like the big hot bag of turds it is, what are M$ going to
do about Vista, hm? It'll take a major rewrite of the OS to hack out
all the embedded DRM shite.

Windows Vista: obsolete, just 3 months after launch.

 

[7]

So you've paid for an OS but aren't using the features that make it
worth the upgrade. You've essentially paid money to M$ for nothing but
a slightly updated copy of XP with embedded DRM and none of the promised
features that Vista was supposed to include, such as WinFS. Just take a
look at the complaints in microsoft.public.windows.vista.general. It's
hilarious.

Now that the big music corporations are seeing the light and are
dropping DRM like the big hot bag of turds it is, what are M$ going to
do about Vista, hm? It'll take a major rewrite of the OS to hack out
all the embedded DRM shite.

Windows Vista: obsolete, just 3 months after launch.

You should De-Pistify as soon as possible.

Vista / Pista who cares?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+                                                         +
+          Micoshaft Pista Newcomer FAQ and Primer        +
+                  Edition: 21 - 9/24/06                  +
+                 Group: Pista Installees                 +
+                                                         +
+       Copyright (c) 2007 Pista Removal Reality Team     +
+            Sponsored by Micoshaft Corporation           +
+                Released Under GPL 3 License             +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Welcome to the Windopz De-Pistification FAQette.

WoW that was a mouthful wasn't it boys and girls?!

Have you De-Pistified your PC?

Let me explain:

You bought vista crap from our sponsor micoshaft corporation
and you realize after hours of reboots and re-installs
that our sponsor micoshaft has taken the piss out of you. So you
decide that this vista Pista is not for you.
Now you want to de-install Pista but expee takes up even
more hours and all your driver
diskettes are mislaid/lost and application cds are fscked
because your dog has been shagging it for some time, etc, etc, etc.
Oh Smuck is me you cry out in vain as your PC craps out on you
leaving you with nothing despite you having paid truck loads of money.

Then light at the end of the tunnel appears in the form
of Linux. Now you get angry and use Linux in anger to recover
you data. RAAAAARRRrrrr... you growl through into the night
recovering data, learning GNU/Linux and by midnight all your
work is done, your computers are working, you learned many
things and Linux with Beryl is the king. You can sleep in peace
knowing Linux is your friend and share your dreams
with others...

 Get Linux here...
 http://www.livecdlist.com
 http://www.distrowatch.com

 For Beryl, downloaded latest beta release
 of Ubuntu (Feisty Fawn)...
 http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/feisty/herd-3/

 Install Beryl using the 3 click guide which links from here...
 http://wiki.beryl-project.org/wiki/Install_Beryl_on_Ubuntu

 And so WoW, after 3 clicks, you have Beryl up and running on your PC!!!
  
All that remains is now for you to stick the De-Pistification
Inventory label on your PC to complete the job...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+                                                         +
+                 Windopz De-Pistified PC                 +
+                   OS: Ubuntu + Beryl                    +
+                  Edition: 21 - 9/24/06                  +
+                   SN: 69 68 69 96 69                    +
+                                                         +
+       Copyright (c) 2006 Pista Removal Reality Team     +
+                Released Under GPL 3 License             +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Be sure to come back for more in the next installation
of Micoshaft Pista Removal FAQ and Primer - Edition 22.

 

[Gaz]

So you've paid for an OS but aren't using the features that make it
worth the upgrade. You've essentially paid money to M$ for nothing but
a slightly updated copy of XP with embedded DRM and none of the promised
features that Vista was supposed to include, such as WinFS. Just take a
look at the complaints in microsoft.public.windows.vista.general. It's
hilarious.

Now that the big music corporations are seeing the light and are
dropping DRM like the big hot bag of turds it is, what are M$ going to
do about Vista, hm? It'll take a major rewrite of the OS to hack out
all the embedded DRM shite.

The implementation of DRM is at the mercy of the copyright holder.

Windows Vista: obsolete, just 3 months after launch.

Gaz

 

[Frank]

Mike Tomlinson wrote:

....So you've paid for an OS...

I paid for the Vista beta I installed? I don't think so.
Only a pencil neck geek or a New Orleans pimp would be that stupid.
(smirk)
Frank

 

[Doris Day]

I had it installed on an AMD 3500+ 2 gig ram and was always waiting for
activities to stop hanging. Now using a 5200+ and it works great.

How much did the hardware upgrade end up costing you so that Vista would
stop hanging and "run great"?

Love and Kisses,
Doris

 

[Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]]

Runs on 512, but runs lousy.

 

[Guest]

I have a 5yo Packard Bell Pentium 4:
CPU 2.0Ghz
Only Upgraded HD capacity, Graphics and RAM:
ATI Radeon 128mbs Graphics
2 x 512 DDR Ram.
80 Gig IDE Hard Drive
Installed Vista Home Premium
Runs like a dream; Aero, the lot!

Mick Murphy in Australia(QLD)

 

[Mike Tomlinson]

The implementation of DRM is at the mercy of the copyright holder.

Agreed, but any content being played in Vista, whether DRM protected or
not, still has to run the gauntlet of Vista's content protection code.

This eats up CPU cycles, thus a faster PC is required to run Vista as
CPU cycles are wasted on the embedded DRM code, even when it's not
required. See the second link in my sig.

 

[Trevor Best]

Much quicker, intuitive, much more STABLE, prettier, and, did I say this
already?, quicker than XP.

Is that because your XP installation was pooched? Full of unnecessary
drivers, spyware, malware, etc? A fresh install of XP might have seen
the same benefit in speed.

 

[John Barnes]

Check to see what the fastest processor your MOBO will handle and what the
price of memory to bring you to at least 1 gig. I built a completely new
computer since I wanted to move from a 939 to AM2 MOBO.

 

[dgk]

Agreed, but any content being played in Vista, whether DRM protected or
not, still has to run the gauntlet of Vista's content protection code.

This eats up CPU cycles, thus a faster PC is required to run Vista as
CPU cycles are wasted on the embedded DRM code, even when it's not
required. See the second link in my sig.

I'm curious about the cpu cycle thing. Mostly my laptop running Vista
(and Visual Studio 2005 and SQl Server 2005) sits around waiting for
me to type something. It is good looking, which isn't the world but
why not have something look good if it really costs me nothing. Those
cpu cycles are pretty much wasted anyway unless I'm running Folding At
Home or SETI, but I'm not.

It might benchmark slower than XP on some things, notably games I
hear, but I'm not a big gamer. Painkiller does run pretty nicely
though.

Supposedly, Vista now knows my computer and will monitor the
performance and let me know when something is messing it up. XP didn't
do that. I don't know that Vista will either, but that would be nice
if it did.

I think for most people, those not running 3dmark every few days and
pushing the overclocking, Vista will be perfectly satisfactory and
yes, prettier than XP. Maybe even better in some ways. I do like the
way it shows what's in each window as I scroll over the task bar. The
more I play with it, the more I like it.

 

[Doris Day]

Check to see what the fastest processor your MOBO will handle and what the
price of memory to bring you to at least 1 gig. I built a completely new
computer since I wanted to move from a 939 to AM2 MOBO.

I was more curious about how much money people are investing in hardware to
get Vista to work properly. Personally, I have no need to upgrade this 6
year old system. It runs quite fine using Ubuntu. I have a great 3d desktop
and everything is snappy and stable with tons of processes running, doing
all kinds of serious work.

Love and Kisses
Doris

 

[Doris Day]

Is that because your XP installation was pooched? Full of unnecessary
drivers, spyware, malware, etc? A fresh install of XP might have seen
the same benefit in speed.

It's probably because he was running XP for a while and the notorious
Windoze Bit Rot had set in. Give him some time on Vista, and I'm sure he'll
start to experience the same bit rot and slowdown.

Love and Kisses,
Doris

 

[Frank]

Doris Day wrote:

I have no need to upgrade this 6 year old system. It runs quite fine
using Ubuntu.

<---------mush deleted------------>

Then why are you here?
Frank