New Vista Beta trial-lots to be desired

[Dick Dumas]

Computer Consultant Richard C.Dumas says


For several days I have been testing The new Windows Vista Beta software package on my brand new HP Pavillion dv5020us laptop with 1.99GHz and 1022MG of RAM- AMD Turion 64 Mobile ML-37 3DNow 2.0GHz processor and ATI RADEON Xpress 200 series 128. MB Mem video - I had intended to use this Beta version for evaluation purposes until it is released to the public with a sched date of just after Jan for home versions however,

After only four days of use I have reverted back to Windows XP Pro for the following reasons- the file which is 3.5 GB took 2 hrs and 15 min on the first install as an UPGRADE install which means it saved my programs presently used. I found that there are more bugs in the program than Raid Roach Hotels- I suffered many crashes w/o reason and most of the software carried over corrupted so it wouldnt work properly or at all- therefore after fighting it for two solid days and nights I reinstalled it the second time . This time as a CLEAN install that automatically included a new folder created called WINDOWS OLD in which all my current programs and existing files were put into, inc the entire contents of the C Drive- This install took 1 hr and 25 min. However, virtually none of the internal hardware drivers were installed and therefore inoperative until I found a source for all of them and manually reinstalled them. Then I proceeded to reinstall the very few basic programs I was using before this second install. This whole proceedure took a total of MORE THAN 8 hours and still had some small items to fine tune- A major problem with this install also was that I had no use for anything they saved in that new OLD folder having completely backed up my system. The prob being that there was no way to get it to the trash bin or delete it. I seemed to be able to get rid of most of the files individually until the folder showed empty. However when I tried to get rid of the folder Windows kept showing that it was trying to empty out almost 7GB from an EMPTY folder. After waiting several minutes for this ODOMETER to keep clicking away, I also got an error mesa that I didnt have PERMISSION to do this despite the fact I am and ADMINISTRATOR. If that isnt confusing enough every single move or change you make goes into a new folder called Recent Changes . The result is that somehow all those 7000 files I thought I had deleted were somewhere still in limbo causing my HD to show 40GB of used space with the identical previously installed stuff under XP showing 16GB. I never did figure out how to get rid of that extra almost 40GB on the HD.
The Vista program uses entirely new and unfamiliar ICONS which takes some time to get used to-- The familiar "Run" command found in the "Start" part used by so many advanced users was no longer to be found there and w/o documentation to tell me otherwise took almost two days to find in under TASK MANAGER which also had had some changes made to its pop up window- Task Mg is still accessed by Ctl-Alt-Del- after which a new wavy blue screen takes over the desktop and offers the viewer several choices-
MY DOCUMENTS has now been replaced with simply DOCUMENTS which is also a little confusing due too the fact it contains some new catagories and a new face.

The process of refeshing upon opening each folder to see its contents is extremely slow while U wait for a new green bar to traverse across the whole top of the file folder similiar to the familiar sliding install bar on so many install programs, and if you have multiple files in seperate folders within the original folder you have to wait the whole thing out again each time it opens the more inner folders , something Windows XP did in almost an instant.

Most disappointing is the number of new software and drivers avail to run on Vista- espectally the new technology 64 bit version which are almost non existant, so I used the 32 more normal and universally used at present. After four days of nothing but pure struggle I determined that there are presently only two Internet Security programs that have been written for, and will work with, Vista, products from Trend Micro and Computer Assoc. I used the Trend product and got an error mesa after every boot that said it had an internal problem and had to shut down. I never got around to the Computer Assoc product. Norton NIS and Anti Virus from 2003 to 2006 will not work with Vista. I also found that although Acronis True Image, which is the backup prog I presently use, loads OK, however when you try to do a complete hard drive backup it crashes halfway through the pre setup of the task. My present Internet Accelerator DAP or Download Accel Prog was unable to be loaded, running into an inability to open a certain file in System 32 halfway thru the install. The same problem occurred when I tried to install NERO 7 upon which one of its components INCD is vital if Acronis is to be used in any backup of the system w/o which Acronis cant function. Hence a double wammy, my BSPlayer which is only one of several video players that I use worked , however I would have had to turn my computer display upside down to watch the picture. Pretty wierd. That however was solved with a newer version. A MS WINDOWS DEFENDER program that detects mal and spy software but not virus's is included in Vista however I discovered that it creates a system restore point almost every time your eyelashes blink causing extreme memory space to be used up on the HD. UGH! PERFECT DISK which is the program I use to defrag my HD could not be installed. It put out an error mesa and simply said in an honest sentance it was not designed for this operating system that it was being loaded on. Since NERO couldnt be installed that also wiped out another video product that I continue to evaluate, Nero ShowTime.

One of the most fustrating experiences came when I tried to do a simple burn/copy to a CW-RW and found that no matter what type of CD got inserted into the drive it HAD TO BE FORMATTED. A process that took approx 6 min by default with Vista. However then I started to get several types of error messages that I couldnt comprehend because they are using a lot of newly developed english words to describe problems and circumstances with this new program. Suffice it to say that I never did, after two days of trying , learn to burn / copy anything to a CD by either clicking and dragging or using the Copy and Paste or any other method so encouraged by Vista and familiar in XP . The task was ultimately accomplished by using another piece of software by SONIC called my DVD which I use to burn those magnicifient pieces of technology and will also copy to a CD. Burning DVD's proved no problem.

Microsoft has dozens of tasks which they ask you to preform with the Beta version and send the input of the resulting experiences back to them. However I feel that it would be almost impossible to accomplish those tasks being that after four days and nights spent plugging up one after another leak, as fast as one could be repaired another would pop up, the time all spent just to try to get back to where I could do something normal with my computer let alone test the dozens and dozens of pieces of software I have, would be fruitless. So after these four days instead of six months I have thrown in the towel and reverted back to Windows XP Pro which I have figured out how to install without SP2, making it half the size and twice as fast. I will wait until at least six months after its official release and maybe then some, until they empty out the Raid and Black Flag creatures and I would suggest the same be done by anyone else chomping at the bit to dive in to the new Vista.

Oh! by the way . You will no longer see the "Blue Screen of Death" it has now been upgraded to being "BLACK"

Dick
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Dick

[Google]

[Sally]

Brilliant Bill, brilliant.


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