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 By Argile Stox Feb. 22, 2006 Yes, I will admit it. I am a computer and a software junkie. Whenever a new application, utility or operating system is released I am one of the first person’s to explore it. Microsoft’s XP operating system worked just fine on many of the computers I have owned over the past five years. The regularly assigned “Update Tuesday” from Microsoft was very reliable and my computers were always updated with the latest application patches, improvements, and other goodies. A gamer I am not. Nor do I write computer applications. I strictly use the computer to write (I am currently re-writing my memoirs – It took two days to crank-out ten pages of re-written pages of a three hundred and twenty-five page book), check e-mail, and have conversations with buddies via Yahoo! Messenger. However, since I am (or was) a computer tech – the thought of not having the latest defragging, registry or other computer utility program to enhance the computer, drives me crazy. Enter Vista. When my desktop computer hard drives crashed and were rendered useless about five months ago (it was my fault. I pressed the wrong button at the wrong time), I purchased a laptop that was Windows Vista Capable. It also is equipped with wireless (something I have been dreaming of) and has the latest 64 bit processor. The reason I was chomping at the bit to get a laptop that had wireless – I didn’t want to be tied down to one spot in the house to use the computer and also be connected to the Web. In addition, some coffee houses have free (or a small fee) wireless internet connection. So I can sip coffee and write, just like I used to do with my old laptop. If I had waited a few months longer, I could have received a coupon to replace XP to Vista Home Basic for free. I had no Idea that option was on the table. Okay, I paid full price for the Full Install of Vista Home Basic. It was a very pricy purchase for a new operating system. I could have gone the extra mile and bought Vista Ultimate. However, I really did not need all the eye candy, bells and whistles which that program offered. Plus, there was a very high cost contrast between Vista Basic and Ultimate and the program offerings in between just were not worth (to me) the extra cost. When an individual decides to upgrade to a new operating system – that person must backup all of the information from the old operating system and keep their fingers crossed that they will survive the transfer to the new operating system. I did a clean install. That means I completely formatted the hard drive and installed Vista. I also paid a few extra dollars to upgrade to the 64 bit Vista program – which can only be purchased from Microsoft and sent out to the end-user by mail. I will get back to the 64 bit situation later. The installation of Vista went smoothly. Lucky for me, Compaq had the Vista sound drivers and other Vista goodies on their driver update Web site. Crunch time came when I tried to install some programs (some were very expensive) that were developed for XP. About three quarters of the original programs that ran on XP made the transition to Vista without a glitch. In addition, I also went to each program’s Web sites to see if they had a patch that would convert the program to Vista. To my surprise, most of them were ready and had free upgrades to convert the programs from XP to Vista. Relieved, yes! There were some programs that I had to pay a few bucks more for, to upgrade and get them to work on Vista. However, it was well worth the extra expense. There is one complaint I have that is really driving me crazy! Vista does not have an adequate data backup program. With XP, all I had to do was burn two DVD’s and I had an “all in one” two DVD’s disaster backup. Vista has this whimpy backup program, which I tried. However, I did not trust it to bring my laptop back to life in the event that the restore program (going back in time) did not solve the problem. Each time I purchase a program I always spend the extra bucks to get the CD and print out all the activation keys. Yeah, I can download the programs to my C drive; however, what if something goes haywire and I can’t access the C drive? I could just burn the program installation application to a CD or DVD and save a few dollars – I have tried that. However, some applications just refuse to burn to a CD / DVD. I usually don’t plug computer programs on this forum. However, I found a really cheap and no frills Full Backup application that backs up everything from the C drive – even the operating system. It is called NovaBackup. I used it for the first time yesterday (using two DVD-R DL, 240 minute, 8.5GB, 2.4 disks). It took about four hours for it to backup my entire C drive. However, I am safe in the knowledge that if some unexpected glitch decides to play havoc with my C drive and I lose everything, and the restore program becomes useless (believe me, it happens), I just deploy the two backup disks and everything returns back to normal. I advise everyone to backup the entire contents of their C drive at least every month – just in case… Okay, I have a processor that supports 64 bit applications. So, I installed an additional Vista CD that utilized the 64bit processor. There are just three problems that prevent a person from upgrading to a 64 bit Vista operating system: 1. Microsoft & Compaq have not (as of this writing) designed sound drivers, 2. Most third party programs are built on a 32 bit structure and will not work on a 64 bit platform, 3. Microsoft’s own anti-virus and firewall program (costs about $55 a year) does not work on a 64 bit platform. All last week, I was on the telephone to Vista Tech support trying to figure out why I was having so much trouble. In the end, I returned the offending 64 bit Vista upgrade to Microsoft (they credited my plastic) and un-subscribed to their anti-virus / firewall program (they credited my plastic). I have a few gripes about Microsoft Tech Support, even though they were very patient with me and credited my checking account when they discovered that it was Microsoft’s goof-up, not mine – When you call for Tech Support on any Microsoft product, your chance of getting an American who speaks English is practically nil; your call is routed and answered by someone in India. I spent at least ¾’s of my time saying, “What?” “Can you repeat that last statement, please?” “Will you please speak slower and try to pronounce American words correctly!” Thank goodness that all my calls were made to an 800 number. I spent at least four days calling Microsoft and the majority of my calls went to India. I did have the pleasure of speaking to a few techs in Canada. At least I could understand what they were saying! In addition, if the original tech you just had a two hour conversation with – trying to work-out a glitch and failed, you will get an e-mail from another tech – from India, who will try to solve the problem. Then, another tech from India… Get the picture? I will give the techs in India credit. They don’t quit until the problem is solved or an alternative solution can be found. Currently, they are working on a ridiculous e-mail problem with one of my “paid for extra storage” e-mail accounts can’t be accessed through Explorer 7 & Vista. I can access the hotmail account in question on my other computer – which is a desk top, running Explorer 6 and XP. It is such a dumb problem. I can access my other hotmail account and g mail account on my laptop; however, I can’t access this other hotmail account. In my phone calls to Microsoft Support and subsequent e-mail correspondence, I have made it perfectly clear that if they can’t fix the problem, I want a pro-rated refund on that e-mail account. I’ll give them another week, and then turn the heat up. Getting back to Vista; I have had it installed in my laptop for about two weeks and it is performing as advertised. The programs I have installed are working great. One thing I should warn everyone about; the Vista defrag program is the pits. Same with the defrag program in XP, 98, and so on. I have been using a great defrag program aptly named PerfectDisk. I have also used PC Pitstop Disk MD, and the defrag program in System Mechanic Professional. Nothing compares to PerfectDisk. You just set it and forget it. The new Vista PerfectDisk has a “Turbo” mode that does a great job. I have learned the hard way that no one program fixes every problem that may pop-up in a computer. That is why I have different utility programs that virtually do the same job. Yet, one program may solve a problem better than the other. It is really a crapshoot. I have read every review I could get my hands on concerning Vista and all of its cousins. Each reviewer stated that Vista Home Basic was not the one to buy. I guess if an individual must have all the eye candy, bells and whistles – go for Vista Ultimate. Otherwise, if your computer usage mirrors mine – Vista Home Basic is the one to go with. You can always buy the Upgrade Anytime disk from Microsoft for about seven bucks and then upgrade to the other versions of Vista. If you are planning to buy a new computer – laptop / desktop – go with the Vista already installed. Although Microsoft states that they will still service XP for a few more years – most of the new programs that are being created today are going to be designed to operate on the Vista Platform. You will find that programs designed for XP will be shrinking, fast! Well, that is all I know for now. I truly hope that this article wasn’t too geeky for the computer impaired person – whose only concern is: “All I want is to push the on button and have the computer work!” This was the same mentality as the customers I serviced in the car business; “I could careless about how the car is constructed, the safety features, etc. What is the best price you can give me on this car?” I have news for you; you must maintain your computer on at least a monthly basis. The hard drive is the weakest, I repeat, the weakest part of your computer. Make sure you have a good anti-virus / firewall / defrag / backup programs. If you don’t, the computer will one day quit and off to the computer repair shop it will go. You can bet your bottom dollar that your computer will quit at the worst possible time, when you really need it to perform. ------------ Email Argile Stox: argilestox@gmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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