Vista SP1

[Skuzzy]

That rules out Vista whether SP1 is installed or not. 

-Llama

Quite right.

[republic]

I hate Vista.  The only reason I have kept it on my work system is because I was a member of the 3 month "big brother" trial, which I finally completed.  (A free copy of Vista Ultimate that I'll keep on a shelf until it's fixed)

So a moment ago I began to collect all my XP drivers in preparation of the journey back to proper computing.  I decide to take one last glance at the reliability monitor graph to see how low the little line graph has gone.  Over the weeks I've watched as it slowly, and then more quickly began it's downward slope.  Visual proof of the pain that Vista causes me.  So I open up the "Reliability and Performance Monitor", only to have the reliability monitor tell me that the reliability data has been corrupted...so the bar graph is kapoot.

The irony almost has me in tears lol

I'll be Vista free by the end of the day.


The last straw was last night...  I am addicted to the geek show "Totally Rad Show".  I have satellite internet with bandwidth limits, so I download it during my lunch break at work.  Vista has yet to copy the simple (but large) .wmv file without giving me problems.  It's either slow, fails to start, or crashes explorer.  Last night it wouldn't do anything.  So I copied using the command line, worked perfect, and incredibly fast (for Vista).  But it's 2008, and I like to click and drag sometimes.  So I've decided to use an OS that works.  XP.

I won't go into the horrendous zip file support, the fact that suspend and hibernate work even worse than XP (I thought it not possible), the UI that causes me to perform 50% more clicks to do the same thing, the fact that I cannot quickly renew an IP without using the command line, the endless hard drive churning (even with 3GB of ram), cancel or allow, etc.

[llama]

Since you're blowing away Vista anyway, I'd be really curious what SP1 did for you - many of the things it is supposed to improve seem to be the same thing you're having problems. How about installing SP1 and telling us what you think of it over the weekend?

-Llama

[republic]

I've used SP1 for quite a bit, I was in the middle wave or so of testers.  The main thing I noticed was that it improved file transfers over networks quite substantially.  However, even at the new 'faster' speed it's still slower than XP.  Other than that, I'd be hard pressed to tell you anything else SP1 did for me.

I have no idea why I'm having trouble transferring to USB media.  Memory sticks or USB hard drives...it's as slow as network transfers before SP1, sometimes it doesn't work at all.

[llama]

I've compiled a list of what I think are humorous or interesting hotfixes that SP1 provides (some make you go "hmmm" while others really crack me up):

930618   You cannot access files on a memory card in a networked printer's built-in memory card reader, and you receive an error message in Windows Vista or in Windows XP SP2: "\\<IP_Address>\memory_card refers to a location that is unavailable"
930917   An optical disc appears to be blank after you format the disc by using the Live File System component on a Windows Vista-based computer
930261   You randomly receive a "Stop 0000000xA" error in Storport.sys when you start Windows Vista
933207   You may be unable to read from DVD-R DL or DVD+R DL discs that were recorded in Windows Vista
933272   The system time lags when you restart a Windows Vista-based computer that supports High Precision Event Timer
935606   Backup system files are not restored as expected when you use third-party system restore applications on a Windows Vista-based computer
936613   The performance of gaming graphics may be less than you expect, based on the Windows Experience Index score in Windows Vista
937426   You are prompted to activate Windows Vista after you start the system in diagnostic startup mode
938091   After you resolve an offline files synchronization conflict by using the "Keep both versions" option, the conflict occurs again on a Windows Vista-based computer
941025   When you press a keyboard button to start a program, there is a delay before the program starts on a portable computer that is running Windows Vista
941137   The EQUAL SIGN key does not work on a USB PC98 keyboard that is connected to a Windows Vista-based  computer
941311   An Ultra DMA Mode 5 transfer mode may be listed as an Ultra DMA Mode 2 transfer mode in Windows Vista
931969   The Microsoft Software License Terms appear in the incorrect language when you try to view them in a program in Windows Vista
932406   The Windows desktop may stop updating correctly after a Windows Vista-based computer has been running for an extended period of time
934056   Error message when you try to print a picture from the Search window in Windows Vista: "Windows can't find this picture"
935415   The original file is overwritten when you select a file name from the history list in the Save As dialog box in Windows Vista
935855   Error message when you try to start Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista: "You must be an administrator to open Internet Explorer on this desktop"
943805   An item that you copy to a Windows Vista desktop does not appear on the desktop even though it appears in the Desktop folder
928387   Internet Explorer stops responding after you click a link on a Web site
932653   The pointer for a high performance mouse does not move correctly in Windows Vista
932988   Files from a Canon EOD 1D or 1DS camera may be corrupted after you use Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Live Photo Gallery, or Windows Explorer to edit the file metadata in Windows Vista or in Windows XP SP2
933006   A Web page is blank in Internet Explorer 7
933942   Error message when you restart a Windows Vista-based computer: "Windows Calendar has stopped working"
938724   An RTF document may be corrupted when it is opened in WordPad on a Windows Vista-based computer
942836   Stop error message when you try to print content that includes a bitmap on a Windows Vista-based computer: "Stop 0x00000001"
943544   The date displays incorrectly in the Windows Calendar Sidebar gadget on a Windows Vista-based computer
933433   Recording quality is poor when you use a USB microphone on a Windows Vista-based computer that has 4 GB of RAM or more
940059   Severe video degradation  and a Stop error may occur on a Windows Vista-based computer when you connect a USB Webcam
930585   Uppercase letters “Ț” and “Ș” are displayed in the middle of words in the Romanian-language version of Windows Vista
932757   When you play a Windows Media High Definition Video DVD in Windows Media Center in Windows Vista, the video may not be synchronized with the audio
937188   When an Adobe RGB profile-embedded TIFF image is printed to the Windows XPS Document Writer on a Windows Vista-based computer or on a Windows XP SP2-based computer, the colors may be incorrect
935222   You cannot connect to a wireless network on a Windows Vista-based computer
939006   You cannot use Verizon FiOS products at their full speed on a Windows Vista-based computer
936686   Icons are missing from Control Panel, or you cannot start Control Panel, the Welcome Center, or games in Windows Vista
937063   The system automatically restarts when you try to encrypt files or to decrypt files by using EFS on a computer that is running Windows Vista

Here's my summary evaluation on SP1's speed:

Though these changes don’t individually seem like much, in aggregate, it makes a noticeable difference in the Vista experience. File management is now only inconveniently slow instead of agonizingly slow when compared to XP. Vista SP1 boots about 20% quicker and shuts down much faster too. There’s a lot less mindless disk thrashing during what should be idle periods. Even the Start Menu seems to respond faster.

I expect CPU to print even my "agonizingly slow" remark. Great rag, CPU. ;-)

-Llama

[Skuzzy]

Most of that list has to do with two things.  UAC (User Access Control) and the new wizbang introduction to cut network speed by up to 50% when playing sreaming sound files so the CPU would have time to play the sounds files in the new, over-bloated, sound architecture in Vista.  So the answer was to only cut the network speed by 25% (it might actually be 35%,..they were waffling on it).

Yeah, I found that list a bit funny as well llama. 

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I'm sure some professional photographers were jumping with happiness when they discovered the Canon EOD-1D bug. That's a $4000 camera + another one for lenses.. 

[republic]

A friend of mine is a programmer and has no problem with Vista.  I think it depends on your job requirements how badly Vista sucks.

As a network admin it's like, supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy sucking.  But for a PHP programmer, it's probably just like the gentle waft of air moved by a flushing toilet.

There are so many ways they've made my job harder...simply by moving thing one or two clicks away to keep idiots from breaking things.   A good sysadmin would have them locked out of those things anyway with proper policies.   Grrr...  The thing that makes me maddest of all, and I know it is silly, but the stupid "Diagnose" thing with network interfaces.  It is possibly the stupidest thing ever created in the history of operating systems.

I want my "Repair" button back!

[Chalenge]

Im not exactly a power user with Vista but from where I sit the changes in SP1 were for the better even if not the greatest changes I could hope for. The only area I am disappointed about is the microphone levels in AHs vox are now lower and my squaddies cant hear me so good. I changed sound cards for Vista and the same problem occurs on XP now because the mic boost settings completely disappeared on XP. Mic boost is available on Vista but doesnt help much. I am happier with Vista than I was on XP because I do have an AMD cpu and when it (AH) crashes on XP either the system stops responding altogether or suddenly I see the BIOS messages scrolling by. On Vista the system reports that AH has stopped working and closes the application. I dont think either OS can be blamed because its the fault of AMD but even on an Intel system the way Vista behaves is preferable to the OS performing an illegal reboot. Also with SP1 the textures and graphics load faster in AH than they used to. At least its a step in the right direction but XP was much faster. Im hoping that when I upgrade to an Intel machine (finally) that things are in as fine a shape as they are now and nothing new pops up.

[Hoarach]

Still wondering why SP1 hasnt been downloaded and installed by my automatic windows update......

[llama]

Still wondering why SP1 hasnt been downloaded and installed by my automatic windows update......

It wont get pushed on Automatic Update till April 18. You can manually check Windows Update for updates and if you don't have any of about 10 different types of problem hardware, it should eventually show up.

Or you can download the "Standalone Update" from microsoft, which is about 500 MB.

-Llama

[EvlPrsn]

the simple solution to any problem with vista, is that vista is the problem and that u should just put XP on ur comp   

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Yep people should realize new is not always better.

[Hoarach]

Many of you can keep bashing vista but I have absolutely no problems with it.  It runs AH easily on my laptop with full graphic detail and high res package.  I have yet to have a problem with it so why change?

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Many of you can keep bashing vista but I have absolutely no problems with it.  It runs AH easily on my laptop with full graphic detail and high res package.  I have yet to have a problem with it so why change?

Consider yourself extremely lucky. Some people managed to walk through a lions cage without being attacked, too. I wouldn't recommend it tho.