Looking to upgrade... XP or Vista???

[nj_annie@golfilla.info]

Hi.. I've had Windows 98se for many years and I'm looking to get a
newer PC. I see that MOST of the systems today come with Windows
Vista. I do see an occasional PC with XP but it is usually one that
is on "clearance".

If I do get a newer PC, which operating system would you reccomend? I
have heard quite a few people say that they didn't care much for Vista
and I was wondering why that is the case?

Thank You

Annie

 

[philo]

<nj_annie@golfilla.info> wrote in message
news:e060570d-901a-4077-a6e7-29af23f8747f@s50g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
> Hi.. I've had Windows 98se for many years and I'm looking to get a
> newer PC. I see that MOST of the systems today come with Windows
> Vista. I do see an occasional PC with XP but it is usually one that
> is on "clearance".
>
> If I do get a newer PC, which operating system would you reccomend? I
> have heard quite a few people say that they didn't care much for Vista
> and I was wondering why that is the case?
>
> Thank You
>
> Annie


I still prefer XP and you can still purchase such machines.

However, with good enough hardware, Vista should run OK.
It definitely requires better hardware than XP
and many folks upgrading their XP machine to Vista
find that they do not have sufficient hardware.


Check the machine before you buy it...and if the Vista rating is 4 or higher
(out of a possible 5)
it should be OK

 

[Nigel Stapley]

nj_annie@golfilla.info wrote:
> Hi.. I've had Windows 98se for many years and I'm looking to get a
> newer PC. I see that MOST of the systems today come with Windows
> Vista. I do see an occasional PC with XP but it is usually one that
> is on "clearance".
>
> If I do get a newer PC, which operating system would you reccomend? I
> have heard quite a few people say that they didn't care much for Vista
> and I was wondering why that is the case?
>

Vista is toast. That can be seen from how MS have had to allow XP to
continue to be installed on new machines, and by how MS are in such a
hurry to get Windows 7 ready.

I've had XP Pro for just under a year (my old rig still runs 98SE), and
I've only ever had one Blue Screen on it (and that was because the video
capture software is one cranky mother). It's very stable and does all
that anyone could reasonably expect it to do. I've no complaints.

--
Regards

Nigel Stapley

www.thejudge.me.uk

<reply-to will bounce>

 

[FromTheRafters]

If you expect (or just desire) that it *feels* like Win98 as far
as ease of use, it is easier to configure XP that way. XP's
initial setup allows you to configure it to have you as the only
user (it is a multi-user OS) and to have that user run with full
administrative permissions (it has a file system with security
in mind and there are things you can and can't do without the
proper permissions). This is really *not* a good idea to do -
(this running all the time with administrative permisions) and
Vista makes it more difficult to [mis]configure this way for
ease of use.

It can still be done though.

I got Vista with my new laptop because I wanted to have a longer
period of support than I would have gotten with XP - I have since
done some reading about Vista and my user experience has been
good. I use that machine as a household appliance, and once set
up, the UAC prompts everybody likes to complain about are not
an issue.

I recommend Vista, but not if you aren't willing to play by its rules.
I recommend XP because it is more forgiving if you don't want to
play by it's rules.

<nj_annie@golfilla.info> wrote in message
news:e060570d-901a-4077-a6e7-29af23f8747f@s50g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
> Hi.. I've had Windows 98se for many years and I'm looking to get a
> newer PC. I see that MOST of the systems today come with Windows
> Vista. I do see an occasional PC with XP but it is usually one that
> is on "clearance".
>
> If I do get a newer PC, which operating system would you reccomend? I
> have heard quite a few people say that they didn't care much for Vista
> and I was wondering why that is the case?
>
> Thank You
>
> Annie

 

[nj_annie@golfilla.info]

Re: Looking to upgrade... XP or Vista???

Thanks for all of the advice. But on most sites I've looked at, I
find very little in the way of XP systems. Can you guys reccomend
some places where XP PCs are in ample supply?

Thanks again.

Annie

 

[FromTheRafters]

Re: Looking to upgrade... XP or Vista???

If the site has a live chat feature you can usually custom order your
choice of hardware and software. My Thinkpad laptop was special
ordered (by someone else) and XP Pro was specifically requested
because she had heard about Vista's UAC being such a pain.

I got it from her after her cat sat on the lid while a thumbdrive sat
on the keyboard - cracked LCD. She had it set up as automatically
logging on to a sole unpassworded account with full administrative
privileges. On the desktop was a copy of her online chat where she
exchanged banking info as well as the way she requested particulars
like RAM and harddrive capacity 802.11x

Totally clueless...but I love her anyway. )


<nj_annie@golfilla.info> wrote in message
news:9c62f795-f183-45ac-9ca1-3dd118d47788@a70g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
> Thanks for all of the advice. But on most sites I've looked at, I
> find very little in the way of XP systems. Can you guys reccomend
> some places where XP PCs are in ample supply?
>
> Thanks again.
>
> Annie
>

 

[98 Guy]

Re: Looking to upgrade... XP or Vista???

nj_annie@golfilla.info wrote:

> Thanks for all of the advice. But on most sites I've looked at,
> I find very little in the way of XP systems.

Are you looking for a new laptop PC, or desktop system?

In pretty much any case, buy the system you want based on your hardware
criteria, then download an XP cd on a torrent or borrow an XP cd from a
friend or from your workplace and wipe the hard drive of your new PC and
install XP.

It's just that simple. I can post a few never-before-used XP-pro
product keys here if you want to use them.

 

[philo]

Re: Looking to upgrade... XP or Vista???

<nj_annie@golfilla.info> wrote in message
news:9c62f795-f183-45ac-9ca1-3dd118d47788@a70g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
> Thanks for all of the advice. But on most sites I've looked at, I
> find very little in the way of XP systems. Can you guys reccomend
> some places where XP PCs are in ample supply?
>
> Thanks again.
>
> Annie
>


Try Newegg

 

[98 Guy]

Re: Looking to upgrade... XP or Vista???

philo wrote:

> > Can you guys reccomend some places where XP PCs are in ample
> > supply?
>
> Try Newegg

What's wrong with you people?

Just buy a new machine and wipe the drive and install XP on the damn
thing.

It's sad how helpless Microsoft has caused people to become.

 

[Big.David.NJ@gmail.com]

Re: Looking to upgrade... XP or Vista???

Hi... 98 guy, the thing is, wiping the drive clean and installing a
whole new operating system might be easy for some, but for a novice
like myself I know I would probably run into all sorts of issues with
things like BIOS, DRIVERS etc... Nothing I do is ever "smooth as
silk".

I also was looking for a newer PC with XP, but it sure would be easier
if it were already installed.

Thanks

~david~

 

[FromTheRafters]

Re: Looking to upgrade... XP or Vista???

"98 Guy" <98@Guy.com> wrote in message news:48FD11EB.F8AC40E1@Guy.com...
> philo wrote:
>
>> > Can you guys reccomend some places where XP PCs are in ample
>> > supply?
>>
>> Try Newegg
>
> What's wrong with you people?
>
> Just buy a new machine and wipe the drive and install XP on the damn
> thing.
>
> It's sad how helpless Microsoft has caused people to become.

Some people like to have the EISA configuration partition in
case of accidental corruption and lack of any other restoration
media.

 

[98 Guy]

Re: Looking to upgrade... XP or Vista???

Big.David.NJ@gmail.com wrote:

> I also was looking for a newer PC with XP, but it sure would be
> easier if it were already installed.

You haven't said if you're looking for a laptop or desktop PC.

Dell is still selling a few of both (I *think*) with XP.

We recently (2 or 3 months ago) bought a Lenovo (IBM) laptop with XP.

 

[98 Guy]

Re: Looking to upgrade... XP or Vista???

FromTheRafters wrote:

> > Just buy a new machine and wipe the drive and install XP on the
> > damn thing.
>
> Some people like to have the EISA configuration partition in
> case of accidental corruption and lack of any other restoration
> media.

Those people that even know what that is, and how to use it, are
probably the same people that *can* pull off a clean install of
XP-over-Vista and know other ways to backup their hard drive.

 

[philo]

Re: Looking to upgrade... XP or Vista???

"98 Guy" <98@Guy.com> wrote in message news:48FD11EB.F8AC40E1@Guy.com...
> philo wrote:
>
> > > Can you guys reccomend some places where XP PCs are in ample
> > > supply?
> >
> > Try Newegg
>
> What's wrong with you people?
>
> Just buy a new machine and wipe the drive and install XP on the damn
> thing.
>
> It's sad how helpless Microsoft has caused people to become.


Sure but why pay for something you are not going to use?
there are still plenty of places that sell XP computers

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message
<e060570d-901a-4077-a6e7-29af23f8747f@s50g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>,
nj_annie@golfilla.info writes
>Hi.. I've had Windows 98se for many years and I'm looking to get a
>newer PC. I see that MOST of the systems today come with Windows
>Vista. I do see an occasional PC with XP but it is usually one that
>is on "clearance".

On the whole, yes, you will only find XP machines as second-hand,
end-of-line, or "special" made up for you you certainly won't find XP
in any high-street store (in UK, anyway). Though see next post.
>
>If I do get a newer PC, which operating system would you reccomend? I
>have heard quite a few people say that they didn't care much for Vista
>and I was wondering why that is the case?

Vista is very self-protective: the default setting is that it makes it
very difficult to break it by changing things you shouldn't. This also
makes it fairly difficult to change things to how you want them.

It is also more tied up with intellectual property rights protection -
the protection of the copyright rights of software, music, and video
producers. This _can_ also cause some problems.

Finally, it _does_ require a higher hardware rating in order to yield
the same performance as an XP system.

Conversely, it is the most recent (Windows) OS, and is likely to be
supported for longer, by both Microsoft and those who write software for
it and produce hardware. (At the moment, some of those haven't caught up
yet, but this will be corrected soon.)
>
>Thank You
>
>Annie

You're welcome
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL(+++)IS-P--Ch+(p)Ar+T[?]H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for thoughts on PCs. **

"Bother,"saidPoohwhenhisspacebarrefusedtowork.

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

Re: Looking to upgrade... XP or Vista???

In message
<9c62f795-f183-45ac-9ca1-3dd118d47788@a70g2000hsh.googlegroups.com>,
nj_annie@golfilla.info writes
>Thanks for all of the advice. But on most sites I've looked at, I
>find very little in the way of XP systems. Can you guys reccomend
>some places where XP PCs are in ample supply?

_If_ you just want a PC that will do what your old '98 machine does, and
probably more, look at "netbooks" there is a wide range of these that
now come, new, with XP. Asus's Eee range has a surprisingly large
selection - different screen sizes (7, 8.9, and 10.1 inch diagonals),
Linux or XP, assorted colours (!), and assorted hard drives (including
some with only solid state drives). The 9 and 10 inch screens have
1024x600 resolution. These machines can be used with an external monitor
(at higher resolution) keyboard and mouse, though some would say this
defeats the point they include wifi, webcam, microphone, ethernet, ...
no optical drive, but again can work with an external one. (They have
speakers, though - especially the smaller ones - they're a bit tinny
again, nothing to stop you using external ones.) Finally, they're
reasonably cheap. (The non-Asus one is the MSI Wind U100, or its clones
- in the UK, anyway - the Advent 4211 or Medion 1215, available from
PCWorld/Currys and Aldi/Argos respectively.) Others are continuing to
appear.

Basically, if you want a _new_ machine that comes with XP already
installed, look at netbooks (i. e. very tiny laptops). They _may_ do
what you want. (They're also cute! if you _do_ use them without external
everything.)
>
>Thanks again.
>
>Annie
>
You're welcome again.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL(+++)IS-P--Ch+(p)Ar+T[?]H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for thoughts on PCs. **

"Bother,"saidPoohwhenhisspacebarrefusedtowork.

 

[98 Guy]

Re: Looking to upgrade... XP or Vista???

philo wrote:

> > Just buy a new machine and wipe the drive and install XP on the
> > damn thing.
>
> there are still plenty of places that sell XP computers

Go ahead and give the OP some URL's then.

 

[FromTheRafters]

Re: Looking to upgrade... XP or Vista???

http://www.dell.com/dellhasanswers?ST=content&dgc=ST&cid=31964&lid=737787

"98 Guy" <98@Guy.com> wrote in message news:48FE78A2.2E0CBD5E@Guy.com...
> philo wrote:
>
>> > Just buy a new machine and wipe the drive and install XP on the
>> > damn thing.
>>
>> there are still plenty of places that sell XP computers
>
> Go ahead and give the OP some URL's then.

 

[Dan]

I would suggest XP for a desktop computer but Vista for a laptop computer
because Vista has better built-in security protections by default. You can
also always use your downgrade rights to install XP with Vista Business or
Ultimate or you can just buy a retail copy of XP from Ebay and do a clean
install. Actually, a clean install is nice and imo usually necessary on an
oem machine because of all the loaded crap-ware that is on a new machine. We
can help walk you through a clean install of either XP or Vista if you would
like.

"nj_annie@golfilla.info" wrote:

> Hi.. I've had Windows 98se for many years and I'm looking to get a
> newer PC. I see that MOST of the systems today come with Windows
> Vista. I do see an occasional PC with XP but it is usually one that
> is on "clearance".
>
> If I do get a newer PC, which operating system would you reccomend? I
> have heard quite a few people say that they didn't care much for Vista
> and I was wondering why that is the case?
>
> Thank You
>
> Annie
>

 

[philo]

Re: Looking to upgrade... XP or Vista???

"FromTheRafters" <erratic@nomail.afraid.org> wrote in message
news:%23XGlq7ENJHA.1156@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> http://www.dell.com/dellhasanswers?ST=content&dgc=ST&cid=31964&lid=737787
>
> "98 Guy" <98@Guy.com> wrote in message news:48FE78A2.2E0CBD5E@Guy.com...
> > philo wrote:
> >
> >> > Just buy a new machine and wipe the drive and install XP on the
> >> > damn thing.
> >>
> >> there are still plenty of places that sell XP computers
> >
> > Go ahead and give the OP some URL's then.
>
>

I already told him to try Newegg
I saw a few XP machines there a few days ago