Windows Vista

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Let me guess... You are having problems with Windows Vista? Hmmm... well take comfort you are not alone. There are many of you out there.

There are many reasons why different locations have been moved or updated. I want to encourage you to try and be patient with it. While a lot of people do not like Vista for many reasons, it is a good step in the right direction.

I remember all the hoopla about Windows XP when it first came out. But now look at XP. It is the standard operating system (OS) that nearly everyone is using now.

So like history does tend to repeat itself, I feel Vista is getting the same bad rap as XP did when it first came out. But for all of you who are saying, "Yes you are correct, but Vista is really different", I will say this: "Yes, you are correct".

Does any of the following sound familiar?

- It is very difficult to buy a computer today without Vista being installed on it. Actually, at the end of December 2007, the OEM's can not sell you a PC with XP installed on it.

- I considering getting a MAC (just like the commercials).

- My older programs don't work on it very well or at all.

- It can be slow at times.

- I'm having problems getting my office or school work done now because my computer is not functioning.

- I'm having problems finding & changing some of the settings in Windows or removing installed programs.

- I'm pretty ticked off right now. I figured it's going to cost me more to upgrade the programs than the computer will cost.

- Now what do I need to do so I can use Vista?

Well let's sort all this out

For most people, computers are difficult to understand how they work. All they want to do is do their work, check email, play their games (both online and locally installed ones), and check for information on the web. However, I'm here to say this, you need to be more informed about these little electronic boxes. This reminds me of what Bill Gates once stated many years ago. He was really surprised how the PC really took off in the 1990's. While it is extremely important for businesses, he never envisioned back then that so many people would have them in their homes like they do today.

After attending 2 weeks of technical training on this new operating system, I shook my head and thought, "This is going to be a big challenge for everyone. That includes businesses too. With over 15 years of experience in the computer support area, I knew this is going to change the way we look at a PC.

So let's get it started in here...

1. So you are thinking about getting a MAC huh?

Follow the link below for more information. I created a page just for this information.

2. My programs won't work, function properly, or install in Vista.

Join the club. Here are some of the reasons. There could be many more.

- The local user profiles are located in a different directory and is no longer available. They were stored in a directory called "C:\Documents and Settings". Even though you can see the above directory, you can't assess it. Microsoft created another directory and stored them there.

- The directory "C:\windows\temp" is no longer available. Some of the older programs put some temp files in it during installation.

- When you try to install a program, it doesn't know what to do when the "UAC" (user account control) security feature pops up. While this can be annoying, it's there to protect you from unauthorized changes to mission critical windows system files.

Microsoft for many years has made their operating system what is called "backwards compatible". This allowed companies and individuals to still use most of their old programs. But the down side to that is it comprised security. So those old programs we all have been hanging onto for years, are history now if you own a Vista computer.

3. My Vista PC can be slow at times.

Depending on your processor, probably the biggest problem is not enough memory. If you are using your PC for business or gaming, I would strongly recommend that you get a minimum of 2 GB of RAM. If you can afford it and your system can handle it, upgrade to 3 GB. Adding more memory solves a lot of performance problems.

Also make sure you run the suggested maintenance on your PC on a regular basis.

4. - I'm having problems finding & changing some of the settings in Windows or removing installed programs.

Believe it or not, that is by design. Microsoft is making it difficult to access critical system changes. You can change the view in Control Panel. That will help some.

Now, uninstalling program you want to remove. Some of them have an automatic uninstall built into them. Just go to Start/Programs and look for that programs folder. Look for an "Uninstall" icon in that folder.

5. I'm having problems getting my office or school work done now because my computer is not functioning with Vista installed on it.

I've heard that a lot in the past months since Vista came out. Because people have installed or tried to install their older programs on the new Vista PC, it's very slow or is not functional. More than likely the program they tried to install didn't finish it's installation process, it corrupted the registry, or other critical windows files.

6. I'm pretty ticked off right now. I figured it's going to cost me more to upgrade the programs than what the computer will cost.

Sad isn't it? Depending on how old your computer programs are will determine how much it will cost to buy and install what you want on the computer. To add more gasoline onto the fire, some companies will need to invest 10's, if not 100's of thousands of dollars in software to make sure their employees can access the programs they need so they can do their jobs. For the larger corporations, it will probably cost millions, (pick a number and add 6 zeros to it.).

7. Now what do I need to do so I can use Vista?