OS Choice

[Dreamchaser]

Dear all,

I've been a Win XP Pro user all this while. I'll be getting a new
desktop in a few months time and am really torn over the choice of OS
to get. Could anyone point me in the right directions please? We all
know that XP's days are numbered. Thanks in advance

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

If you wish to perform an in-place upgrade you will need to use Vista
Business or Ultimate upgrade editions. If you don't mind doing a classic
reinstallation of Windows you can also use Vista Home Basic or Vista Home
Premium upgrade editions. I doubt that you would be happy with the feature
set in VHB, however.

Without knowing what you use your computer for, it is not possible to
suggest an edition.

See:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/choose.mspx

If you have trouble deciding between two editions, choose the higher one.
It is slightly more expensive to upgrade later than it will be buying your
final choice in the first place.

If XP came preinstalled on your computer you might as well buy an upgrade
edition of Vista since you cannot reuse an OEM copy of XP on another
computer anyway. If your copy of XP is retail then consider buying a
standard copy of Vista (not an upgrade) so you can continue to use the
retail XP or use it on another computer.

Be sure to download and run the Vista Upgrade Advisor now so you can
identify devices and software that will require updating or removal for
Vista.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pr...pgradeadvisor.mspx?wt_svl=20409a&mg_id=20409b

Make sure Vista device drivers are available for all the devices on your
computer. Download them and burn a cd.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Without knowing what you use your computer for, it is not possible to
suggest an edition.

See:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/choose.mspx

If you have trouble deciding between two editions, choose the higher one.
It is slightly more expensive to upgrade later than it will be buying your
final choice in the first place.

The most popular edition is Vista Home Premium. I do not recommend Vista
Home Basic because its feature set is limited. If you want media center
stuff, VHP is the one.

If you want the longest possible support for Vista, choose Business. It is
the only retail edition scheduled for extended support (critical updates)
for five years following the end of mainstream support in a few years.

 

[Dreamchaser]

Without knowing what you use your computer for, it is not possible to
suggest an edition.

See:http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/choos....

If you have trouble deciding between two editions, choose the higher one.
It is slightly more expensive to upgrade later than it will be buying your
final choice in the first place.

The most popular edition is Vista Home Premium.  I do not recommend Vista
Home Basic because its feature set is limited.  If you want media center
stuff, VHP is the one.

If you want the longest possible support for Vista, choose Business.  Itis
the only retail edition scheduled for extended support (critical updates)
for five years following the end of mainstream support in a few years.







- Show quoted text -

New system will be used for office work and incorporating gaming as
well. Been hearing lots of things about Vista being graphic-intensive
and worried it may disturb my work and play. Not wanting to jump to
any conclusions and make decisions that I may regret, so I came here
seeking an opinion or two.
Had experienced Vista on friend's system and XP is so much familiar to
me, still.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Get Vista Business. All editions of Vista game the same way.

Without knowing what you use your computer for, it is not possible to
suggest an edition.

See:http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/choos...

If you have trouble deciding between two editions, choose the higher one.
It is slightly more expensive to upgrade later than it will be buying your
final choice in the first place.

The most popular edition is Vista Home Premium. I do not recommend Vista
Home Basic because its feature set is limited. If you want media center
stuff, VHP is the one.

If you want the longest possible support for Vista, choose Business. It is
the only retail edition scheduled for extended support (critical updates)
for five years following the end of mainstream support in a few years.







- Show quoted text -

New system will be used for office work and incorporating gaming as
well. Been hearing lots of things about Vista being graphic-intensive
and worried it may disturb my work and play. Not wanting to jump to
any conclusions and make decisions that I may regret, so I came here
seeking an opinion or two.
Had experienced Vista on friend's system and XP is so much familiar to
me, still.

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

Dear all,

I've been a Win XP Pro user all this while. I'll be getting a new
desktop in a few months time and am really torn over the choice of OS
to get. Could anyone point me in the right directions please? We all
know that XP's days are numbered. Thanks in advance

If you have a choice, stick with XP Pro. Seriously. If it comes with Vista,
make sure you have downgrade rights so you can keep using that. If that
isn't possible, Vista Business x64 with a ton of RAM will be OK. I'm still
not convinced that makes it "better" than XP Pro SP2, though!

 

[PD43]

New system will be used for office work and incorporating gaming as
well. Been hearing lots of things about Vista being graphic-intensive
and worried it may disturb my work and play. Not wanting to jump to
any conclusions and make decisions that I may regret, so I came here
seeking an opinion or two.

If you get anything OTHER than Vista Home Basic, buy all the RAM you
can afford. Home Basic does well with 1 gig because it doesn't have
the "Aura" interface.

 

[Bob I]

Why not query the folks in the Vista group about what you like and can
Vista do that for you?

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Probably because he is using XP at the moment. Many users here also use
Vista (as do I) and it is not that bad a place to start asking.

 

[Bob I]

Just pointing them in the right direction, as per the request! ;-)

 

[PD43]

Probably because he is using XP at the moment. Many users here also use
Vista (as do I)

Post your likes and dislikes... and which version you have.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Dear all,

I've been a Win XP Pro user all this while. I'll be getting a new
desktop in a few months time and am really torn over the choice of OS
to get. Could anyone point me in the right directions please? We all
know that XP's days are numbered. Thanks in advance

Are you asking whether to get Windows XP or Vista? Although some will
undoubtedly disagree with me, I think the answer is clear cut. If
you're buying a new computer, get it with Vista. It works fine, and
it's the platform for future growth. It makes no sense to buy
yesterday's operating system.

On the other hand, if you are currently running XP, and the question
is whether to upgrade to Vista,a change of operating system should be
driven by need, not just because there is a new version available. Are
you having a problem with Windows XP that you expect Vista to solve?
Do you have or expect to get new hardware or software that is
supported in Vista, but not in XP? Is there some new feature in Vista
that you need or yearn for? Does your job require you have skills in
Vista? Are you a computer hobbyist who enjoys playing with whatever is
newest?

If the answer to one or more of those questions is yes (and your
hardware is adequate for Vista), then you should get Vista. Otherwise
most people should stick with what they have. There is *always* a
learning curve and a potential for problems when you take a step as
big as this one, regardless of how wonderful whatever you're
contemplating moving to is. Sooner or later you'll have to upgrade (to
Vista or its successor) because you'll want support for hardware or
software that you can't get in XP, but don't rush it.

If you do get Vista, make sure you get an adequate hardware
configuration for it. In particular, almost everyone should have at
least 2GB of RAM, and even more if you run particularly memory-hungry
apps like graphics editors or video editors.

Regarding which edition of Vista to get, that depends on what you're
going to use the computer for. Read here:
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/n/choose.mspx
or http://tinyurl.com/22zkka

 

[Rick]

Dear all,

I've been a Win XP Pro user all this while. I'll be getting a new
desktop in a few months time and am really torn over the choice of OS
to get. Could anyone point me in the right directions please? We all
know that XP's days are numbered. Thanks in advance

I see that a lot of posters suggest Vista but, IMO I would stick with XP
Pro it is a proven system most of the problems are worked out (although
some probably remain) and it is a faster system than Vista.

--

Rick
Fargo, ND
N 46°53'251"
W 096°48'279"

Remember the USS Liberty
http://www.ussliberty.org/

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Dear all,

I've been a Win XP Pro user all this while. I'll be getting a new
desktop in a few months time and am really torn over the choice of OS
to get. Could anyone point me in the right directions please? We all
know that XP's days are numbered. Thanks in advance

Simply choose the operating system that meets your individual, specific
computing needs and is compatible with your currently owned peripherals
and software. (Sorry, but it's impossible to give a more precise
answer, based on the absolute dearth of pertinent information you provided.)


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[xfile]

Hi,

As other posters have already mentioned, it's nearly impossible to provide
an accurate suggestion without knowing more about your specific needs and
how much are you into the computer stuffs. So it could be an easy decision
if you simply wish to try the new OS or a more complicated thought process,
if you are looking for specific returns from all those efforts that you
would be putting on the new OS. In any case, I'd suggest using the
following simple guidelines for making your own decision:

(1) Verify the compatibility for existing peripherals and software,

(2) For incompatible items, check if you can get updated/upgraded version
and associated cost,

(3) Vista's UI is very different than XP's, and my view is just like that -
it's different but not necessary better. So you have to decide if you wish
to spend time and efforts on learning the new UI which is an ongoing
process,

(4) Study all Vista's new features and see if any of those are relevant to
you versus the above associated costs/efforts.

In most cases, it makes sense to get the latest and greatest with the same
amount of money. But if the new product might affect the operation and
functionalities of other existing products, one might want to think
differently as in the case of using a new OS. But then again, not everyone
is seeking for the same returns on investments, so it's up to the final
decision-maker (and in this case, it would be you) to make the call.


Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[Holz]

Dear all,

I've been a Win XP Pro user all this while. I'll be getting a new
desktop in a few months time and am really torn over the choice of OS
to get. Could anyone point me in the right directions please? We all
know that XP's days are numbered. Thanks in advance

What ever works for you. I would stay far away from VISTA, unless you
have not seen the aggravation and pissing DR. for a while.
Although I no longer use Windows (Ubuntu Linux does it for me), XP is a
SOLID OS, supported until 2014 and has very few OS related quircks if
properly maintained.
VISTA is a piece of crap, and is going to be replaced by Windows 7 no
later from 2010, most likely will not even resemble VISTA.

 

[WindPipe]

Dear all,

I've been a Win XP Pro user all this while. I'll be getting a new
desktop in a few months time and am really torn over the choice of OS
to get. Could anyone point me in the right directions please? We all
know that XP's days are numbered. Thanks in advance

Dreamchaser, if you still using XP my recommendations would be to stick with it for now, and
not to worry about Vista. Next year we may not see Windows 7, but we will certainly be
hearing about it's release.

XP's days are numbered into the next decade, it is still the worlds most popular OS by far,
and is not considered to be an old OS (that's marketing speak). From what I have seen in
computer mags about Windows 7, that is if they really know themselves, it does not seem to
follow a progression from Vista.

I dare say in the minds of the more higher Microsoft management the words, "..oh dear..!"
are being echoed, regarding Vista. I say that cause even the good Mr. Steve Ballmer doesn't
seem to come across as very convincing when he talks up Vista, like he himself does not
believe what he is saying.

Mean while back at the ranch, stick with XP for now, you will be current, and see what
alternative Windows 7 offers.

- Windpipe