Windows Vista looking to buy vista home basic but...

want to buy vista home basic but there are 2 kinds...1 with sp1 and 1 without sp1...now my question is...can i use the vista home basic with sp1 OEM to reinstall vista home basic on PC's without sp1...or is it gonna look at it as an upgrade...appreciate any feed back on this matter...thank you and have a nice day...

 

For what it's worth...

I'm sitting in front of two machines. One is XP Pro, and the other Vista Home Premium. The XP system is easier to use and quicker on it's feet.
The Vista is IMO another of MS's mistakes.

 

I kind of like Vista; been running it exclusively since June of 2007. Early on it was a bit of a challenge as not everything was Vista-ready, but lately XP has been the laggard. For example, the DNS fix that broke ZoneAlarm on XP was no problem on Vista at all; it worked flawlessly.

Vista also places user data more uniformly in a common location, rather than all over the place like XP did.

 

Don't make the same mistake I did!!!

Vista Basic is no good. I've had it for over one year and I'm so sorry that I have it. There is no backup for one thing. Even XP Basic had a backup program, even though you had to hunt through the disc to find it. You get no Aero, among other things. Make sure if you do buy Vista, you get SP1. I've tried 5 seperate times to install SP1 and have been unsuccessful all 5 times. And yes, I've called the free Microsoft support line for help. I had to uninstall my Anti-Virus program, my spyware program and I'm only half way to completing the steps suggested by MS. They tried remote desktop, but couldn't access parts of my computer. That's says a lot when Microsoft can't even figure out how to do something with their own OS.
Not only that, but after SP1 installs and fails installation, it has to revert to before SP1, which takes a total of 3-4 hours. No joke!
UAC is terrible. It prompts for your response in even the simplest tasks. It is truly a pain. Security my A**.
There are some good things about Vista. I've got Basic with 1 Gig of ram and it's a heck of a lot slower than my XP system with 1 Gig. Get plenty of Ram. And dual core for sure!
I think Vista can be good. But it's just too new of an operating system. I bought my XP system when it had been out for 5 years and it works great.
Wait, if you can until SP2! Maybe by then they'll have the bugs worked out.

 

If you get Home Basic, don't expect any frills. Basic is just that...basic.

When using Basic, me, I don't really want any frills or expect it. It operates well, it gets the latest updates, it has the new methods of operation. I don't want it to look pretty, just run the the programs well that I tell it to run...and that it does...

If you would be happy running Windows 98 when XP was the latest and greatest, you could live with Home Basic.

User Account Control can be a pain originally, just learn to click through it if you are trying to change, or look at something, dealing with the "system ". After you do the the initial installation, it won't worry you much...BUT if UAC appears, just think about what you are allowing to be installed. It reminds me about what I am installing on my system. (I don't mind it now and think it is a good system of security).

As I said, Basic is just that.

Matt

 

Matt, I'd have to agree w/ OK2B on this one. Vista just seems to be a bit problematic. At least for a simple guy like me.

 

So did you end up buying windows vista basic, or did you follow the advice from Arie. Just curious. I would recommend premium as well.

 

I did modify Vista a bit, but then I modified every OS I have ever used a bit. FWIW, I am liking Vista better than XP; Vista is more consistent.

 

Unfortunately the laptop I purchased a couple of months ago has Vista Basic, I'm not overly keen on the flashy bits so I disabled them. I slowly worked through the system to get it to look more like XP and found that the OS now has speeded up. I only use the laptop for the internet, email and Photoshop CS3. The file system is as basic as I can get it and everything is backed up onto a couple of NAS drives, 1 for photos(about 8500 of them so far) and 1 for normal stuff like applications and office stuff.

The performance is as good as I want because I don't play games or use any heavy applications. If I was to want to run anything a bit heavy then I'd use my XP Pro Desktop.

Regarding NAS drives, I had serious problems connecting to these boxes until I modified the registry and upgraded the firmware, both now are running sweet as a nut with Vista.

Otherwise I don't have any problems with Vista Home basic, there are annoyances that come with it but there were with all the other OS's MS launched. However, what suits me may not suit anyone else.

Nev

 

Vista has grown on me too. The "Wow" hasn't started with me either, I'd rather turn off unnecessary processes to get maximum performance...and mine zips along quite nicely.

Problems, yes, mine has started giving my DSL modem a headache when it goes into Sleep mode. The only thing I have installed recently is Windows Updates. Maybe I could steel myself to try SP1 soon From the threads in the Forum, there doesn't seem to be much "backlash" (yet?)

Like it or not, XP is being phased out

About the biggest thing that hit me was the price. I don't think I will caring about Ultimate for quite a while. To get a new OS at a base price would suit me. I have looked at the extras and I don't need them . The "Easy Upgrade" is a path I might take in the future (depending on if the price changes).

Matt

 

Check your Power scheme and the device manager settings for the network card and also the BIOS level if you are having Sleep mode problems with your connection.

 

Already installed SP1 with no upsets

Nev

 

I don't want to side-track the thread, but would like to give some feedback.

Thanks for the suggestions fellas

I've tracked my modem problems to static on my phone line and losing it's network connection. I think our telephone exchange is somewhat decrepit

I updated all my main drivers and installed SP1, it's going fine

Matt

 

Something I do remember and forgot to add, with SP1 came a new driver for my network adaptor ( Realtek RTL8187B Wireless 802.11b/g 54Mbps USB 2.0 Network Adapter) this killed my wireless connection so I don't know what was wrong with the driver but when I rolled it back it was ok again.

It now just sits there in the Windows updates until some poor unsuspecting person installs it again - can't get rid of it for some reason.

Nev

 

Again, I hope I'm not side-tracking the thread, but since the original poster has not replied I suppose we can chat amongst ourselves. It may be informative for somebody Arie or PeteC might like to break this into a new thread if they think it might be necessary (I don't know what I'd call it ).

I don't use drivers offered by Windows Update BUT, they do give a guideline for what might need to be updated as far as drivers go. "Thanks Windows Updates, but no thanks!"

I find any driver updates from the manufacturer's website. So if your USB wireless adapter was actually manufactured by Realtek (it might use a Realtek chipset), I would go to their website and find an update.

Something I don't think Windows Updates can do (or do well?) is to offer motherboard chipset driver updates. Motherboard chipset drivers come as a "package" and are not installed "one off" like some simple hardware drivers.

Windows Updates offered updated drivers for my LAN/Ethernet connection. I think networking might play an important role with the updates and MS wants to ensure the networking side is secure.

Me, I found updates for motherboard chipset drivers first, then (which were also identified as being "old" by Windows Updates), I found updated drivers for my graphics adapter. I looked for other major drivers, like audio, but they did not need updating. Finally I found the updates for the Ethernet and installed those. Windows Updates is no longer offering them to me.

I've had incorrect driver installations from Windows Updates in the past (graphics drivers and caused me to reformat). Those drivers offered by WU may not have specialised features that the manufacturer has built into the hardware. I suggest you seek out and update the drivers for yourself.

BTW, I have never used (or even gone near) programs which claim to "automatically" update your drivers. I might have faith in OEM manufacturer's driver "scanning" systems, but not a lot

Matt