Vista: peripherals don't work and I can't confugre -- unacceptab

[Guest]

I was looking forward to my free Vista upgrade from HP (bought a new HP
desktop late last year). The upgrade went well, but I soon discovered some
unbelievable problems.

USB ===========
o With XP, my camera, flash drives, older HP printer, USB external hard
drive -- they all worked perfectly without any extra drivers.
o With Vista, NONE of them worked and I could not get them to work. That
is absolutely unacceptable.

Windows Explorer ===========
o With XP, Windows Explorer wasn't perfect, but it showed the files in the
selected folder and you could configure the toolbar buttons. The left-side
task pane was exteremely useful. In file-select mode, the left-side Places
bar was really useful (and configurable with UI Tweaks).
o In Vista, ALL of the conveniences are gone. And it displays hundreds of
items you didn't ask for. And there's no way to configure anything!

User Account Control =============
o In XP, if I set myself up as an Administrator, I can do whatever I want.
o In Vista, even though I'm an Administrator, I still get the useless UAC
popups (useless because you just click Okay, what's the point of that?). I
turned this off, but it came back on. I can't figure out how to shut this
thing up permanently.

Vista is a step backwards. It makes my use of the operating system MORE
difficult. And I'm not going out and buying all new cameras, printer, etc.,
because Vista thinks the old drivers are poorly written or whatever.

I spent 6 hours wiping my drive and re-installing XP. I'm happy now!

 

[David]

I was looking forward to my free Vista upgrade from HP (bought a new HP
desktop late last year). The upgrade went well, but I soon discovered some
unbelievable problems.

USB ===========
o With XP, my camera, flash drives, older HP printer, USB external hard
drive -- they all worked perfectly without any extra drivers.
o With Vista, NONE of them worked and I could not get them to work. That
is absolutely unacceptable.

Windows Explorer ===========
o With XP, Windows Explorer wasn't perfect, but it showed the files in the
selected folder and you could configure the toolbar buttons. The left-side
task pane was exteremely useful. In file-select mode, the left-side Places
bar was really useful (and configurable with UI Tweaks).
o In Vista, ALL of the conveniences are gone. And it displays hundreds of
items you didn't ask for. And there's no way to configure anything!

User Account Control =============
o In XP, if I set myself up as an Administrator, I can do whatever I want.
o In Vista, even though I'm an Administrator, I still get the useless UAC
popups (useless because you just click Okay, what's the point of that?). I
turned this off, but it came back on. I can't figure out how to shut this
thing up permanently.

Vista is a step backwards. It makes my use of the operating system MORE
difficult. And I'm not going out and buying all new cameras, printer, etc.,
because Vista thinks the old drivers are poorly written or whatever.

I spent 6 hours wiping my drive and re-installing XP. I'm happy now!

email bill gates with your thoughts. I agree Vista is not much of an
upgrade (if ANY) from XP. Mostly it's a PITA.

 

[JCS]

I was looking forward to my free Vista upgrade from HP (bought a new HP
desktop late last year). The upgrade went well, but I soon discovered
some
unbelievable problems.

USB ===========
o With XP, my camera, flash drives, older HP printer, USB external hard
drive -- they all worked perfectly without any extra drivers.
o With Vista, NONE of them worked and I could not get them to work. That
is absolutely unacceptable.

What exactly did you try when attempting to get them to work? Did you go
the manufacturers web sites to find Vista-compatible drivers?

Windows Explorer ===========
o With XP, Windows Explorer wasn't perfect, but it showed the files in
the
selected folder and you could configure the toolbar buttons. The
left-side
task pane was exteremely useful. In file-select mode, the left-side
Places
bar was really useful (and configurable with UI Tweaks).
o In Vista, ALL of the conveniences are gone. And it displays hundreds of
items you didn't ask for. And there's no way to configure anything!

Granted, it's not AS convenient without XP's task pane (hopefully that'll
come back in a future service pack), but it's hardly rocket science to
navigate Windows Explorer in Vista.

User Account Control =============
o In XP, if I set myself up as an Administrator, I can do whatever I want.
o In Vista, even though I'm an Administrator, I still get the useless UAC
popups (useless because you just click Okay, what's the point of that?).
I
turned this off, but it came back on. I can't figure out how to shut this
thing up permanently.

The Administrator account is disabled by default in a Vista installation.
There are countless resources available that tell how to enable it if you
look. Personally I think this is a good thing, as most users always run
their computers with administrator priveleges during their every day use,
and that is a very bad idea, no matter how knowledgable they think they may
be.

Vista is a step backwards. It makes my use of the operating system MORE
difficult. And I'm not going out and buying all new cameras, printer,
etc.,
because Vista thinks the old drivers are poorly written or whatever.

I spent 6 hours wiping my drive and re-installing XP. I'm happy now!

I have nothing against XP. If it works for you then use it. I just
remember hearing the same complaints (namely driver/software compatibility
issues) when XP was released. I guess in another 6 years when the new OS
comes out, people will start singing Vista's praises.

 

[Guest]

I appreciate your reply, but my actual experience has been very disappointing.

What exactly did you try when attempting to get them to work? Did you go
the manufacturers web sites to find Vista-compatible drivers?

Yes, but none had any to download. That's my point, perfectly good standard
hardware -- name-brand HP printer, Kingston flash drive, Olympus camera --
stopped working with Vista with no way to fix it. Any way you look it,
that's BAD!

Upon connection, Vista should say "no Vista-compatible driver found, do you
want to use XP driver?"

Granted, it's not AS convenient without XP's task pane (hopefully that'll
come back in a future service pack), but it's hardly rocket science to
navigate Windows Explorer in Vista.

That's my point, it's less convenient -- that's BAD.

Personally I think this is a good thing, as most users always run
their computers with administrator priveleges during their every day use,
and that is a very bad idea, no matter how knowledgable they think they may
be.

Yes, but if all I have to do is click Okay, what is the protection there?

I just
remember hearing the same complaints (namely driver/software compatibility
issues) when XP was released. I guess in another 6 years when the new OS
comes out, people will start singing Vista's praises.

Yes, but it's unlikely people will say "XP was just plain crap" as we now
say about Win9x.

I will stay with XP for another year or two until I'm sure that Vista has
fixed these deficiencies.

I see MS will no longer allow manufacturers to pre-install XP after this
year. If I buy a new computer that must come with Vista, then I will need
to figure out how to put XP on it. I can get an OEM version of XP Home for
$85. Still would need to round up some XP drivers for the PC. Or just
install Kubuntu (which works with all my USB stuff and has a dozen
configurable "explorers" to choose from!).

 

[Guest]

Doug in Calif,

Microsoft cannot fix the "deficiencies" of the various third party vendors.
If the manufacturers of your products choose not to support the Vista OS that
is their decision to make. I would direct my aggravations and frustrations
toward the responsible parties.

Most companies who have not or will not provide Vista drivers for their
products do it for one of two reasons: l. The product is outdated and not
worth the expense of updating or 2. they don't care that their customers
cannot use their product because they want you to purchase a newer one, when
available, that is Vista compatible.

Different people have different personal preferences. Some people must stay
with XP because of the programs they are using. To move to Vista would be
unproductive or impossible. If you like the way XP worked you should go back
to XP. I think you will be much happier. I am not being sarcastic. I just
think you will be happier and more satisfied. I would certainly respect your
decision to do so.

It is possible that Microsoft, in the future, will give you the option of
using the XP "Classic" Explorer within Vista. I'm sure there are many changes
coming.

I prefer Vista. I also think Vista is superior to XP, and of course, much
more secure. If you simply want to click OK every time you get a UAC prompt
you are inviting trouble. It is not only a warning tool, it is a learning
tool since it alerts you that your actions can have consequences. You can
always turn it off if you wish but I wouldn't advise it. I'm glad it doesn't
bother you that with XP various programs and malware can execute commands
without your knowledge. Again, I am not being sarcastic.

I am not defending Microsoft in any way. I think Microsoft is monopolistic
and a corporate bully. At times, it seems that Microsoft simply doesn't
listen to its customer base. However, I respect the intelligence and
foresight of their software engineers and I like their products.

I hope you resolve your problems one way or another. I certainly wouldn't
use Vista if you do not like it.

Have a nice day.

C.B.

 

[Guest]

Doug in Calif,

Microsoft cannot fix the "deficiencies" of the various third party vendors.
If the manufacturers of your products choose not to support the Vista OS that
is their decision to make. I would direct my aggravations and frustrations
toward the responsible parties.

I Agree with CB to a point. the point of thrid party vendors, however,
whenwe are purcahsing equipment off the shelf and have expectations the
equipment will work... then that is another matter for MS to address.

My 2 flash drives have crashed on VISTA.. even with so called drivers from
their manufacturers ( SanDisk and Lexar).

Vista may be "better" but the measurement for better is not linear! We the
consumers are still being "bullied". I should have bought a Mac.... But that
is for next time!

For now I cannot move data between work and home on the flash drives nor my
SD card as my Micromate (which was working for a while) has now crashed too!.

If anyone has any ideas on how to resuscitate at least my MicroMate
(SanDisk) please let me know... the SD folks swear it should work.. It must
be my OS.

<smile> catch 22 <smile> catch 22 <smile> etc....

Cheers
Scotty

 

[jaysooon]

What exactly did you try when attempting to get them to work? Did you go
the manufacturers web sites to findVista-compatible drivers?


Granted, it's not AS convenient without XP's task pane (hopefully that'll
come back in a future service pack), but it's hardly rocket science to
navigate Windows Explorer inVista.


The Administrator account is disabled by default in aVistainstallation.
There are countless resources available that tell how to enable it if you
look. Personally I think this is a good thing, as most users always run
their computers with administrator priveleges during their every day use,
and that is a very bad idea, no matter how knowledgable they think they may
be.



I have nothing against XP. If it works for you then use it. I just
remember hearing the same complaints (namely driver/software compatibility
issues) when XP was released. I guess in another 6 years when the new OS
comes out, people will start singingVista'spraises.

Can you please tell me how you wiped your Vista machine. I've tried
booting from an XP cd but it doesn't recognize the hard drive. In
other words it doesn't show any partitions to install XP on.

 

[Guest]

Used the HP CD that I created under XP when I got the PC.

You could boot off a rescue CD of some kind and reformat the partition.

 

[Guest]

"CB" wrote:

Thanks for your comments.

I never installed any drivers for the cameras, flash drivers, etc.. They
just worked in XP. In Vista they don't work So that means, I guess, that MS
removed the drivers they had shipped with XP. If there was good reason,
like we don't support 16-bit drivers anymore, or all those drivers were
insecure, or whatever, I might understand. But all I see is they're gone in
Vista, with no satisfactory explanation (actually no explanation at all).

I would have appreciated some notice from MS, like: "With Vista, most
likely all your current USB equipment will no longer work and their
manufacturers will not help you. You should throw the USB items away and buy
all new USB stuff."