Vista learning curve and some questions

[Guest rdg]

Hi,I know there are many using Vista, and wanted to know how difficult or different Vista is from XP? Is it completely different than XP as far as look and feel? What are the major differences? I need to tune of course. FSX would go on a seperate drive, services shut down etc. What I would like to do is get some advice and try of course to avoid some of the issues that others may have experienced. I know that Nick has a tuning guide which also has bullets for Vista. I think with my setup, aside from being able to address more memory, Vista would be best if you have the latest and greatest hardware. There seems to be much discussion about UAC. Some have it off, some have it on. I havent yet found out what the implications are either way. As far as security goes I do allow access from my FSX machine to the lan for internet access for downloaded weather, but I use it for everyday use of email or general internet access. With this arrangement I have never had virus issues etc. I guess after being with XP so long that I am a little concerned about it being so different that it will take months to come up to speed.Any help and suggestions would be much appreciated.RegardsBob G

[sargeski 16]

Hi,I know there are many using Vista, and wanted to know how difficult or different Vista is from XP?

Bob,That's a loaded question. Vista is very different from XP and as such takes some getting used to. If you are going to be running a 32 bit OS I would recommend XP over Vista. However if you are going to run a 64 bit OS, I think its a toss up. I have not personally used FSX on 64 bit XP but I haved used FSX on 32 bit Vista AND 32 bit XP and can tell you that Vista X64 blows them both out of the water when it comes to fluidity and performance. If you are going to install FSX to its own drive you should be able to leave UAC enabled and not have any issues. I run my setup with UAC enabled and everything including all of my addons (of which I have alot) all run without a hitch. Do not worry about Vista being so different that it will take months to come up to speed, it is different, but not so different that you will not be able to figure it out and if you have any issues, there are plenty of us around who have been using Vista for a while that can lend you a hand or some guidance if needed.Regards,Bob M

[Guest rdg]

Bob,That's a loaded question. Vista is very different from XP and as such takes some getting used to. If you are going to be running a 32 bit OS I would recommend XP over Vista. However if you are going to run a 64 bit OS, I think its a toss up. I have not personally used FSX on 64 bit XP but I haved used FSX on 32 bit Vista AND 32 bit XP and can tell you that Vista X64 blows them both out of the water when it comes to fluidity and performance. If you are going to install FSX to its own drive you should be able to leave UAC enabled and not have any issues. I run my setup with UAC enabled and everything including all of my addons (of which I have alot) all run without a hitch. Do not worry about Vista being so different that it will take months to come up to speed, it is different, but not so different that you will not be able to figure it out and if you have any issues, there are plenty of us around who have been using Vista for a while that can lend you a hand or some guidance if needed.Regards,Bob M

Thanks Bob, I appreciate your input. Yes, it would be 64 bit. I now need to know which flavor. Home, Home Premium, or Ultimate. I looked at the comparison charts and I think I only need the basics. This machine only runs games and has an internet connection through a hub. It seems there is alot of stuff bundled in the other versions. Searching other forums and such, many have said "Home Premium", but it seems that I really only need the Home version, unless the "Home Version" only comes in a 32 bit. RegardsBob G

[bobbyjack 61]

Bob GAs you can see from my sig, I run Vista 32. Thats because when I bought this COMPAQ (gasp!), I was, and still am, cheap. I have done much upgrading and have few complaints about how FSX runs. I hear that FSX runs better on a 64 bit system, and I guess that is so. Other differences between 32 and 64: 32 has no fax machine, you can't burn DVDs from Movie Maker, and no Areo.Unless you are hopelessly lost when you pick up a newspaper that you are not used too, I can't see why anyone would have trouble picking up Vista. Remember, you are master of the OS.Bob

[irocx 292]

......... Remember, you are master of the OS.Bob

Vista makes that very much more difficult. My biggest gripe about it is what seems to be senseless changes to the file structure in Explorer, which I am sure are related to UAC and all of the other security crap. If I am an administrator I expect to be able to at minimum access ALL areas of my operating system. I sure hope W7 is different.

[EngineRoom 205]

Vista adds an awful lot of security measures and these seem to be aimed at either the paranoid, or the computer novice who doesn't really know what they are doing. Thankfully these features can be turned off and you will have just as much control over Vista as you have over XP. If you are a fairly competent computer user then you will have no problems using Vista. The Vista UI is slightly different to XP, but after a couple of days you will be zipping around just as fast as you ever did with XP.Vista gets a bad press from many quarters, but to be honest I have never had any real problems with it. It's every bit as stable as XP, and I have installed dozens of FS9 and FSX addons with no problems. The only issue I have encountered is the registration software for the Supronov Designs Yak-40 doesn't work with Vista. Other than that... PMDG, Level-D, PSS, FeelThere, Flight One, Carenado, Aerosoft... everything works with Vista, both FS9 and FSX.I think a lot of people balked at the new security features of Vista and the fact that it wasn't XP. If you take the time to read up on Vista, and learn how to turn of UAC, grant your user account full access to the Program Files folder, etc, then you will find Vista to be a perfectly useable OS. Despite my early misgivings when I first got Vista, I'm now perfectly happy with it.Also don't forget it always seems to be the vogue to bash anything Microsoft makes :)

[Guest rdg]

Hi, Yes I know my way around pretty good. I guess I was a little paranoid that it might emulate the Mac or something (-: Then I would be lost. I guess I was concerned as to whether or not they still call it "Control Panel" or "Services" or "Task manager". Honestly I have not even looked a a picture of Vista.The wife came home with a copy of "Vista Ultimate Upgrade" from Costco for $129.00. So as soon as I get my 8 gig of new memory today, I guess I will be attempting the install. I also had her pick up a pint of scotch while she was there too just in case. For the heck of it, I ran MS's upgrade advisor and it told me that Vista would not work because I had a GTX 285. I researched that one and (buzzer sound), no, the GTX 285 will work fine everyone said. I think they have too many things going on right now and cant keep up. This upgrade box states "contains both 32 and 64 bit versions of Vista". What I am concerned about is whether or not it will allow me to upgrade to the 64 bit version, even though I am upgrading from a 32 bit version of XP. It does not state there is any limitation. as the upgrade verbeage also says upgrade from XP Home, XP Professional etc, and there was no distinct mention of whether XP had to be 32 or 64 bit versions. We will see. If it refuses to install the 64 bit version, then I believe, based on the verbeage on the outside of the box, I have a good argument to return it. RegardsBob G

[sargeski 16]

Hi, Yes I know my way around pretty good. I guess I was a little paranoid that it might emulate the Mac or something (-: Then I would be lost. I guess I was concerned as to whether or not they still call it "Control Panel" or "Services" or "Task manager". Honestly I have not even looked a a picture of Vista.The wife came home with a copy of "Vista Ultimate Upgrade" from Costco for $129.00. So as soon as I get my 8 gig of new memory today, I guess I will be attempting the install. I also had her pick up a pint of scotch while she was there too just in case. For the heck of it, I ran MS's upgrade advisor and it told me that Vista would not work because I had a GTX 285. I researched that one and (buzzer sound), no, the GTX 285 will work fine everyone said. I think they have too many things going on right now and cant keep up. This upgrade box states "contains both 32 and 64 bit versions of Vista". What I am concerned about is whether or not it will allow me to upgrade to the 64 bit version, even though I am upgrading from a 32 bit version of XP. It does not state there is any limitation. as the upgrade verbeage also says upgrade from XP Home, XP Professional etc, and there was no distinct mention of whether XP had to be 32 or 64 bit versions. We will see. If it refuses to install the 64 bit version, then I believe, based on the verbeage on the outside of the box, I have a good argument to return it. RegardsBob G

You have no need to worry. You will be able to install the 64 bit version. Any verson will can be installed clean without"upgrading" the old OS.Navigate to the following link and scroll down the page a bit read the article, and follow the installation steps as directed.http://windowssecrets.com/comp/070201#story1

[Guest rdg]

You have no need to worry. You will be able to install the 64 bit version. Any verson will can be installed clean without"upgrading" the old OS.Navigate to the following link and scroll down the page a bit read the article, and follow the installation steps as directed.http://windowssecrets.com/comp/070201#story1

Well, that is interesting isnt it? I guess most wont read the article so MS still sold many full versions. Let me ask though. Since I do have XP, will I still be allowed to do a reformat and install clean? Also, I do not have a DVD on this computer, only one attached one via USB. Will I still be able to do the install from the USB DVD drive?ThanksBob G

[sargeski 16]

Well, that is interesting isnt it? I guess most wont read the article so MS still sold many full versions. Let me ask though. Since I do have XP, will I still be allowed to do a reformat and install clean? Also, I do not have a DVD on this computer, only one attached one via USB. Will I still be able to do the install from the USB DVD drive?ThanksBob G

Only if your BIOS can detect and boot via your USB DVD drive. Enter your bios and set your first boot device to CD/DVD and see if you can boot via your external drive. If not I think I'd spend $30 on an internal drive. :(

[louiseSEUK 2]

Bob GAs you can see from my sig, I run Vista 32. Thats because when I bought this COMPAQ (gasp!), I was, and still am, cheap. I have done much upgrading and have few complaints about how FSX runs. I hear that FSX runs better on a 64 bit system, and I guess that is so. Other differences between 32 and 64: 32 has no fax machine, you can't burn DVDs from Movie Maker, and no Areo.Unless you are hopelessly lost when you pick up a newspaper that you are not used too, I can't see why anyone would have trouble picking up Vista. Remember, you are master of the OS.Bob

Woah there, Bob! 32 bit does have fax machine capability, it can burn to DVD (via DVD maker), and Aero is present - don't you mean this functionality is disabled in certain versions of Vista? I suspect these features are not present on your version of Vista, Home Basic ? (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-v...ns/default.aspx)rdg, for home users, Home Premium should suffice.. I went Ultimate because it was the shiniest :) You can get OEM versions for much less than the retail boxed version - you'll need to buy some hardware (a mouse should suffice) at the same time, and best bet is to try online. OEM's do have their disadvantage though, so think carefully before you buy! Here gives you a pretty easy to digest summary 'twixt the two. If you've got the hardware (eg >4GB RAM), go with Vista 64. On the whole, compatibility issues are by and large non existent; I've not found any 32bit software that balks at running on x64, and I have only two bits of hardware (a Wireless NIC & Scanner) that won't run on 64.. but in any case, they were never officially supported in Vista 32, so I can't really complain on that score..There is a learning curve to getting used to Vista, no doubt, but by no means the kind of curve you'd have learning to use a Mac after using a Win OS.

[Guest rdg]

Yep, set the bios to boot from the usb DVD and no problems. I did a reformat, and it installed flawlessly. There was one moment there where I got a graphical background with the mouse pointer, which was working, but nothing happening. No drive light, nothing.I was thinking as I sipped the scotch slowly, and said a little prayer (please lord dont let it lock up). I stared at it for what seemed to be an eternity, but a screen popped up and away she went.OK, Vista installed and I put in the latest nvidia chipset and video drivers and even got it to look like XP. Nice of them to give you back your look and feel.I have disabled alot of the ultimate software stuff but still alot to do to lean it out. I guess Nicks guide is a good place to start. I just put in 8 gig of 8500-1066 memory, set it @ 800mhz for now and no overclock on the qx9650 yet. Now its time to burn in the ram. Thanks guys for your input and support. It is time to go watch American Idol with the wife.RegardsBob G