Widows VISTA. Is it only me or XP was better.

[keyplus90]

I just bought a new computer and it came with Windows VISTA Home prem preloaded. After just one day I think XP is better. Although after few days it may change my thinking but is it easy to change it to XP if I want to? Is it just like bying a CD and running it? Can I copy that from my other computer?

One thing I do not like about VISTA that when you put a CD in to load any software I have to double click on it in my comp to run it. It does not start itself. Is it something I can change?

Sorry I put a bit too many questions there as I am trying to find out what would be better. Thanks.

[pudniw]

"Is it only me or XP was better."
No it's 90% of computer users.
If you've only just purchased, you should have got free upgrade voucher for Windows 7, which is the bee's bollox

[keyplus90]

Unfortunately it is a refurbished (new) computer as I could not afford otherwise. And I did not get any vouchers etc.

[keyplus90]

If I buy a CD for Windows XP, would it be easier to get rid of Vista and load that?

[rojash]

Well, if you are going to buy something, why not buy Windows 7?

http://tinyurl.com/y9m5ksr

[VHG]

It is NOT a good idea to go back to XP.

You dont sound as thouigh you know much about computers, and one VERY important thing after you install Windows is DRIVERS. These drivers help your hardware components to work (graphics, sounds, network etc).

Unless you have access to all these drivers then it is likely that an XP install will leave parts of your computer not working.

I should also say that XP came out in 2001, which is a long time ago in computer terms, so going back to that is not a great idea.

Vista (like most versions of Windows) has a load of options to change the look and feel of the product, so be patient and gradually change things so it begins to work more like XP does (anyway I think you will get used to Vista after a while).

I have two Vista computers and 1 XP computer in my house and my family use all of them, and everyone is now so used to using Vista they dont even think about it. Give it time.

[VHG]

This may help you get CD autostart working

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/disable-autoplay-in-windows-vista/

[VHG]

If you want Vista to look and work like XP then why not search in Google for "make vista look like XP".

I did this and found loads of sites, like these (there are others):

http://www.ehow.com/how_2134805_windows-vista-look-like-xp.html

http://askbobrankin.com/make_vista_look_like_xp.html

[keyplus90]

VHG is great, now my Vista looks like XP and I feel like being at home.

Thanks to all of you.

[mallam]

Oh I did absolutely all that, VHG, especially "giving it time". The more time I gave it the more firmly entrenched I became in pud's "90% of computer users". As I encountered each new atrocity, absurdity, inconsistency etc. I made comprehensive notes of it, which ran to an awful lot of pages of A4. I wish I could post the lot here.

I gave the Vista-infested ironmongery to my son. (He is doing a PhD in maths, but I am the techie, so he manages with it.)
XP was to make the system merely IDIOT-proof by the demise of MS-DOS, Vista makes it USER-proof!

[daffy654]

I have had Vista on my PC since a couple of months after it's release.I have no problems with it whatsoever now. There used to be compatibility problems with some applications and programs etc in the beginning but that was sorted a long time ago.
I am going to buy a new PC soon and am definitely getting one with Windows 7 on it.

[Mctavish]

I bought a new PC back in February with Vista Home. It took me a while to get used to it and now I have no problems with it. The only problem I did have with it was NORTON which came with the PC as an extra for no charge. I have recently added the Vista 2 and now have AVG which is, as far as I am concerned , no problem. So I must be one of the 10% who are happy with it.

[keyplus90]

Thanks for further answers. I must admit since taking VHG's advice and changing basic settings I am feeling at ease now. Rest of it as all of you said would be OK with time. I hope.

[keyplus90]

Perhaps a little bit more help. Why do I see all the files I recently used on the address bar of the internet explorer. I only want to see the websites I have visited. Not all the C drive and E drive stuff.

[beso]

Incidentally you cannot buy a new XP disk anymore. Those which are being sold in places like eBay are almost invariably unlicenced copies and will fall foul of the Genuine Advantage check.

The worst things about Vista are:
Memory gluttony to a ridiculous extent. It needs way more memory than XP so it is not a good idea to install it on an older computer unless it has at least 2GB of memory. Microsoft developed a supercomputer OS that uses less memory than Vista!
Digital Right Management disables hardware when it thinks you are doing someting illegal with media.
Incessant security warnings that come up so often users simply click through, defeating the whole point.

Vista's development was totally messed up. The first attempt was abandonned completely and the finished product was actually a bloated construction based on Server 2003 and released long behind schedule. The head of the project resigned from Microsoft the day it was released. From a software engineer's perspective it is considered an embarassment. Most of the Vista development staff sought other projects to get away from it.

No Windows operating system has ever enjoyed the popularity of XP. None has ever held its market so long. Dell continued to sell computers with Vista licences but with XP preinstalled long after Microsoft insisted computers were no longer to be supplied with XP. Dell won the fight. They now promote Vista installs with Windows 7 upgrade licences. At no time did they sell computers which did not have a way to escape Vista.

Despite Vista being available for several years the webserver logs on a site I manage still show more than twice as many hits for XP as Vista. I would lay odds that Vista will never be the top of the list. Windows 7 will pass it before XP drops below Vista. I chose XP over Vista when I bought my current computer and I will be happy continuing to use XP until it dies.

[kujawski]

get windows 3.11 for workgroups its the bollo*. .................................................................well it was in 1992-3

[mallam]

Windows 3 anything was a sight more biddable than Vista!