OT - Strip Vista laptop and turn it into XP full time?

[Mtnviewer]

Vista runs fantastic on my 1+ year old laptop. I don't think Vista is a problem any longer on a computer with the right specs / hardware. Having more RAM for Vista's graphic features really helps, I have 4 GB's, I've read that Vista could do with a minimum of 2 GB's and less than that it will run slower. XP can also be slow & RAM hungry with many graphics, indexing, system restore etc., features all turned on & running in the background. So, I'd suggest adding more RAM if you can, up to 4 GB's, it's a cheap & very easy upgrade, and next or instead, turn off all the Vista graphics & set your system up to be Optimized for Performance vs. the other options. Also turn off Indexing and you may also want to turn off things like screen savers, certain power options, etc..

Here are just a few tweaks that you can make to customize how you want Vista to work for you. http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/supertweaks.htm This site has many many more too.

[Goofproof]

Vista runs fantastic on my 1+ year old laptop. I don't think Vista is a problem any longer on a computer with the right specs / hardware. Having more RAM for Vista's graphic features really helps, I have 4 GB's, I've read that Vista could do with a minimum of 2 GB's and less than that it will run slower. XP can also be slow & RAM hungry with many graphics, indexing, system restore etc., features all turned on & running in the background. So, I'd suggest adding more RAM if you can, up to 4 GB's, it's a cheap & very easy upgrade, and next or instead, turn off all the Vista graphics & set your system up to be Optimized for Performance vs. the other options. Also turn off Indexing and you may also want to turn off things like screen savers, certain power options, etc..

Here are just a few tweaks that you can make to customize how you want Vista to work for you. http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/supertweaks.htm This site has many many more too.

Did all that and more, ran like a p4-200, My cut it with a AXE method is the only solution for people that do more than E-Mail and Surf. When you need Horse Power, you have to use better Feed. Jim

The only good thing i can say about Vista, unlike ME it didn't crash, it wouldn't run fast enough to hit the wall! Between Bille and The manufactures of this generation of computers, the public got the Bum Ride.

[yardbird]

Ubuntu Linux

I installed it on my wife's 3 year old Vaio and it runs a ton faster. No more viruses. No more malware. No more trojans. No more Microsoft and their occasional silliness.

[mindy]

Even Mac and Linux OS's can be attacked although not nearly as often!

Mindy

[Mtnviewer]

[quote="Goofproof] Did all that and more, ran like a p4-200, My cut it with a AXE method is the only solution for people that do more than E-Mail and Surf. When you need Horse Power, you have to use better Feed. Jim

The only good thing i can say about Vista, unlike ME it didn't crash, it wouldn't run fast enough to hit the wall! Between Bille and The manufactures of this generation of computers, the public got the Bum Ride.[/quote]

Strange that you're having slow down's on a "gaming" machine? My main computer is now my middle of the road $750, off the shelf, maybe cheap, HP Pavillion DV9000, with 2 HD's, a bland 1.8 GHz duo core Centrino cpu & 4 GB's of RAM and along with a few Vista tweaks, Vista is very zippy for me and I find Vista to run better than XP Pro that I have on my desktop machine which I rarely now use as it is an energy hog and the laptop is much more convenient as a main machine. I also do VERY graphic intensive work in Photoshop with 50-110 MB's files with multiple layers using PS CS2-CS4 and again Vista isn't a problem, it's a non issue. I have a separate monitor for critical colour managed work beyond what my laptop screen is capable of, but the calibrated laptop screen is actually not bad.

I don't do any gaming but I do FAR more than check email or surf the web and FAR more than the average person ever will with their PC, including maintenance and keeping an extremely clean system running. I also only use the Vista Firewall, having researched and tested others, use Windows Defender and just recently am trying free Avira for an AV, but even without Avira, I've not had any system infections or slow downs, and I've done half a dozen system scans using various softwares out of curiosity vs. problems. But I don't surf weird sites and I don't open just any email.

Vista to me isn't a concern and certainly not a slow down whatsoever. I don't get the complaints about it other than "shit" happens and those like me that are quite happy with Vista have nothing to complain about, I guess?

[mindy]

I don't do any gaming but I do FAR more than check email or surf the web and FAR more than the average person ever will with their PC, including maintenance and keeping an extremely clean system running. I also only use the Vista Firewall (having researched and tested others, use Windows Defender and just recently am trying free Avira for an AV, but even without Avira, I've not had any system infections or slow downs, and I've done half a dozen system scans using various softwares out of curiosity vs. problems. But I don't surf weird sites and I don't open just any email.

Vista to me isn't a concern and certainly not a slow down whatsoever. I don't get the complaints about it other than "shit" happens and those like me that are quite happy with Vista have nothing to complain about, I guess?

Sometimes I think that once it becomes popular to bash something, it keeps on growing. Early on Vista did have some nasty problems --- which were not always due to Vista itself. For example, I have a small laptop that kept crashing and the cause turned out to be the firmware on the hard drive, *not* Vista, although it's possible it may have been an interaction. It was finally fixed a year later. My other main laptop with Vista Ultimate 64-bit runs just fine.

Mindy

[yardbird]

Mindy-
You're right. Sometimes MS bashing is just..... fun. .... and easy.... such a large target!

No... seriously... I'm going to admit here that I have a bias. I'm a technical product support analyst at a university. I spec out servers, desktops and laptops for the departments here. We also make a LOT of money selling licensing of software from various manufacturers. ($millions). My son has Vista Business on his laptop and he's pretty pleased with it. An OS is simply another tool to help you get stuff done so you should naturally use the right tool for the job.

I've just... opted out ... of using MS operating systems. And believe me when I tell you that I'm also one of those folks that does far more than simply web surfing and reading email. My choice. I just like to toss it out there once in a while.

AND... because... if the only tool you have is a hammer.... every job looks like a nail.

[mindy]

Hey yardbird - we're all entitled to our opinions

I'm not a big MS fan but realize that, given my job, there are limits as to my choices. I used to manage big IBM mainframes and then moved on to PC-DOS, etc. I've used a Mac for several years and a Unix server. Once I retire I'll probably start playing with a Unix flavor on a laptop but until then, I just don't have the time. I guess I've seen enough different OS's (that all have their good, bad and ugly things) that I'm not strongly "pro" or "anti" any of them. I just get a little bit "het up" when there's a lot of bashing going on that doesn't seem quite realistic. As long as humans are running them, machines will make misteaks

Mindy

[JimW203]

FWIW, Microsoft Software Forums Network has a fairly deep thread related to this question; it may provide additional insight.
http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?sho ... pid=848172

JimW203