Vista is not delivering

Question

Hi, I am from Spain.   Just received my new Inspirion 6400 with Windows Vista Basic pre-installed. The option to select another operating system is no longer available, nor can you select an Inspirion 6400 without O.S.   For my business I own several legal software packages, here´s what happened while trying to run them under Windows Vista:   Microsoft Office 2003 Professional:      Incompatible with Vista, no solution Microsoft Frontpage 2003: Incompatible with Vista, no solution Adobe Photoshop 8.0 CS with Imageready: Incompatible with Vista, no solution Nero Ultra Edition 7: Incompatible with Vista, no solution yet Antivir by Avira: Incompatible with Vista, solution not before April 2007   Some public domain software:   P2P: does not run correctly dvd tools like 3.2 and dvddecrypter: incompatible with Vista: solution?   Any software made before 2006 I tried fails to run correctly.   I have come to the conclusion that I cannot produce using Vista under these circumstances, and have completely removed Vista from the Inspirion.   Dell has forced me buy an extra  XP license because they will not take Vista back.   This confirms my '2-year rule'. That is: NEVER start using a major new release before all bugs are gone, which should take roughly two years. If anyone reads this: be warned. Vista is not worth it, take it from a technician with 17 years micro experience.   Dell has made a big mistake in shipping Vista already, and should at least have kept the XP option open.   Edit: I forgot to mention that for Office ofcourse there is a solution: upgrade to Office 2007. That is, if I am prepared to buy Office 2007 that is. €€€!   Sincerely from the Costa Blanca. UltraCasa Message Edited by UltraCasa on 02-14-2007 11:02 AM

PrakashG · Answer

Go into the installation directories of these programs, right click on each .exe file and go to PROPERTIES.  Set the compatibility to Windows XP Service Pack 2 mode and it's likely many of these applications will now work.

The WheelMan · Answer

I know for a fact that Office 2003 is ABSOLUTELY compatible with Vista. I'm running it myself just fine. If you're having problems, it's not because of incompatibility.

I'm running Photoshop CS2, which is version 9, and it works fine. Since versions 8 and 9 are not all that different, I don't see why version 8 wouldn't work.

kschannen · Answer

I'm not unsympathetic to your plight, especially if Dell offers no option for an OS other than Vista. However, most of your issues are related to 3rd party software products which are not under the control of Microsoft. (And some of those you complain about actually work properly anyway.)  A little research would have alerted you prior to your purchase that many of those apps were not yet compatible. It's the responsibility of those manufacturers to produce versions that will operate correctly on Vista, not the other way around. Vista has been in development for something like 5 years. It's not as if these software vendors have been caught by surprise.   Sorry to jump on you, but I get weary of hearing things like this referred to as bugs.  A software or hardware vendor caught unprepared doesn't constitute a bug.

blongs2me · Answer

I am also running Microsoft Office 2003 professional with no problems on Vista Home Premium. Almost all Microsoft software IS compatable with Vista and you should not blame Microsoft or Vista because some aftermarket programs don't work, they have had months to make their software work and they dropped the ball. Vista installed and has been working perfectly for me.

hdFatBoy2003 · Answer

I'm running Photoshop Cs on Vista x64 without any problems (CS2 is reported to have problems).  And there are a ton of virus scanners available that work and some of them are free!  Ahead just released an update for Nero 7 that makes it compatiable with Vista.

The WheelMan · Answer

Come to think of it, I have noticed that although Aero is working with Photoshop running, the thumbnail display shows a blank Photoshop work area. No tool bars, and non of the open Photoshop files, are included in the thumbnail. So that's probably one of the problems they're talking about.

hdFatBoy2003 · Answer

Since I don't own CS2, I was only going off of what I've read on some of the forums.  Maybe they have other problems with their systems that's causing CS2 not to work well.  Back I my brain says that Aero is disabled whenever CS2 launches ... brain is on overload (too much info to consume not enough brain cells to store it all)

The WheelMan · Answer

Really? I haven't experienced any Photoshop CS2 problems yet, and I've been using it today too. But I'm running 32 bit Vista, so maybe the problem is exclusive to the 64 bit version?

ATC7 · Answer

I cannot speak for Avira software as I haven't used them but all the software you mentioned there works fine in Vista 32bit here. Not a single issue.

UltraCasa · Answer

Hi thanks for all your replies. Here is what I think:

If there is a XP SP2 compatibility mode, then it is vital that Dell mentions this with a label on the disc, I cannot imagine that I am the only one with this issue. I consider this a bug, because Vista by default should be able to run software from the previous major version which is XP, or at the _very least_ come with a popup when detecting this issue suggesting the fix by changing the run properties.
Dell should have waited with Vista or at least made it optional for end users. This has seriously put a dent in my faith in Dell, I have been using Dell for years and wouldn´t use anything else.
Photoshop fails with some "cannot register message" when you try to run the program, so I consider that an icompatibility issue.
What I find annoying is that in the five or so hours I have used Vista it looks like I am looking at Mac OS X. Hey, if I _wanted_ Apple, I would have bought Apple. The new rights structure irritates the * out of me, and, if you switch user level priviliges off so you won´t have to acknowledge every darned little thing you wish to do, security center pops up with warnings. Now you could switch that off too, but guess what, then _all_ warnings are gone, even ligitimate ones. I consider that a bug too.

I´m in production and needed a new laptop because my old one got stolen from my car.

What I didn´t need was the superficial Apple candy, the huge (and I mean HUGE) resources Vista uses, and everything else mentioned above. Who has time to "sort out" all this or do "research" in advance??? I am your customer,dear Dell, and I trust in you and trust you know what you are doing when shipping Vista without warning and without alternatives. I hope you are listening because if not, you will lose customers. As far as Vista is concerned, I predict right here and now that this is the beginning of the end of Microsoft´s world domination of the PC O.S. market. The "Wow" effect should be interpreted as: "Wow, I can´t believe they´ve used the same old kernel", "Wow, I can´t believe the resources used", "Wow, I can´t belive how much of OS X they did copy" and finally, "Wow, what a disappointment". This will drive former XP users to Linux as Camels to water, you mark my words on this fine day. :smileyindifferent: If XP becomes unsupported I am switching to Linux with boot camp without blinking twice.

All the best!

Message Edited by UltraCasa on 02-15-2007 11:12 AM

hdFatBoy2003 · Answer

I can understand your frustration, but like any new application (OS) it takes time to learn.  When XP first came out similar issues were encountered by it's users.   Vista may appear to be a resource hog but it is not.  It uses the memory you have available much more efficiently than XP ever could.  I won't go into details but Vista is more response to application needs than XP.  And it's not the same old kernel.  If you don't like the security features that have been built into Vista (for your protection) you can disable them.  But then don't cry about security issues when your system becomes infected with a virus or trojan.   I have no problems with registering Photoshop CS (8.0).  I suspect that either their servers are busy or you may have a bad install.   Vista does recognise when an application has not installed correctly due to compatiability issues.  It has a wizard that sometimes works in the background to correct these issues and other times will present itself to you to let you know it can try to install the app with different settings.  That being said, except for your virus scanner, none of your apps need to be run in compatibility mode.  They all run just fine without it.   And Vista looks a lot better than OS X   Five hours is not enough time to get to know this OS.  If you don't like it take the XP disc from your prior computer and load it up on your new one.

UltraCasa · Answer

> Five hours is not enough time to get to know this OS.  > If you don't like it take the XP disc from your prior computer and load it up on your new one.   Already running XP again... Very happy with my new gear...   I went from 95 to 98 to 2000 to XP without any issues or annoyances (Minor ones at best).   Vista... Hmm. Nope. Not my style, much too fuzzy and way to Mac-ish. We´ll see how this rolls out in the next few months or years, but I would not be suprised if there will be an exodus to Linux .

The WheelMan · Answer

> I would not be suprised if there will be an exodus to Linux

Why? Because of fears of the rare problems you're having? The issues you've described are not standard, and Vista even has the ability to look just like XP. It always amazes me when people waste energy on hating Windows or a Mac. I have both, and I find Windows easier because I use it most and have much more experience with it. But I don't hate Macs, and Vista is not all that Mac-ish.

I'm sorry you had problems, but Vista just isn't as bad as you want to make it out to be.

Message Edited by The WheelMan on 02-15-2007 12:52 PM

The WheelMan · Answer

Good point, MP. I should have seen the signs also. Guess I wasn't paying attention this time.

Morpheus Phreak · Answer

The WheelMan wrote:
> I would not be suprised if there will be an exodus to Linux

Why? Because of fears of the rare problems you're having? The issues you've described are not standard, and Vista even has the ability to look just like XP. It always amazes me when people waste energy on hating Windows or a Mac. I have both, and I find Windows easier because I use it most and have much more experience with it. But I don't hate Macs, and Vista is not all that Mac-ish.

I'm sorry you had problems, but Vista just isn't as bad as you want to make it out to be.

Message Edited by The WheelMan on 02-15-2007 12:52 PM

You're surprised by that post WheelMan?

I smelled Linux fanboy hiding behind other issues in the first post.

When he's posting about software that has no known compatibility issues with Vista I mean that's the moment red flags & bells go off in my head.

Right at the end there he just totally gave it away.

Windows General

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