View Full Version : XP Pro?



Karried
03-12-2007, 01:31 PM
Okay, finally got the computer, came standard with Vista..

small snag:

none of our Construction Estimating software will load because the company hasn't updated it yet, wants to test it further.. long story short.. Dell doesn't sell the XP on any computers except for one that is really pricey.. they will walk me through Uninstalling Vista, repartioning the hard drive and Installing XP Pro ( retail that I have to purchase) ... should I go this route? I'm so frustrated.

If so, will XP support the new graphics card, the nic card that came with the computer working with Vista, etc? Will I have to install all the drivers? I have it all internet ready and networked wireless and can go online.. I just can't use the company software.

I hate this.

Where can I get a copy of XP Pro at a good price?

drumsncode
03-15-2007, 01:03 PM
Karried,

I'm sorry I don't have your answers on this, I'm sure others will, but it reminds me of why I don't like software companies to keep coming out with new versions of stuff when it's not really necessary.

This is the kind of crap I put up with for 20 years in computer programming, and a few years of having to keep up with all the Microsoft updates.

Most of you out there are not programmers, but just Microsoft .NET alone is enough to make you wanna scream. By the time you get everything re-written from the old style to .NET, the new version is out and you start all over again. You spend your life upgrading a mountain of existing code, rather than writing new code.

Sorry to vent...sometime's a guy just needs to whine... I'll go have a brownie and I'll feel better.

I'm using XP Pro right now and have no plans to upgrade. Nothing's broken, why try to fix it?

Karried: Try Ebay to find a copy of XP Pro. That might be a quick start.

SoonerDave
03-16-2007, 12:49 PM
This is the kind of crap I put up with for 20 years in computer programming, and a few years of having to keep up with all the Microsoft updates.

No kidding. The VISTA update for *one* of my "relatively newer" machines at home is going to require a half-gig more memory AND a new video card if I want to support the new Aero interface. If I want the machine to continue connecting to my in-house domain, I have to get the Visa Business edition upgrade, which is $200 all by itself, so by the time you boil it all down its about $150 for a decent video card, $200 for the OS upgrade, and about $60 for the memory....$400 *for one machine*.

The kicker is that I've got a small domain running at home with *five* machines (not counting one Linux box), and there's no way in the world I'm going to plunk down $2,000 just to upgrade to Vista. I'm probably going to be stuck doing *something* to have *one* machine with Vista so I can start using it, and at least pretend to start writing software for it, but blast if I'm gonna drop that coin for everything..

karrie, ebay is a pretty good place to check for OEM copies of XP Pro, but be careful; about a year or so ago, Microsoft decided to disable activation for some larger OEM-branded installation CD's for XP Pro thinking that OEM's should "pre-activate" their copies before installation. That means that you *might* (stress *might*) get a copy for an OEM that will *never* activate.

-soonerdave

TomGirl
03-16-2007, 09:36 PM
I'm not following the Vista Train, I also have a few computers (4) and they are running on XP Pro, I don't need the hassle and don't have the money or time to mess with it. Just curious though, is Vista run on the same NTFS file system or has that changed too. I noticed the post about repartioning the drive and starting to wonder how big of a mess this Vista will cause for people.

okcpulse
03-19-2007, 09:48 PM
For starters, there aren't any different versions of NTFS. NTFS is NTFS, and Windows Vista runs on NTFS, the same partition used by XP, 2000 and the server operating systems beyond Windows NT Server. The reason you would have to repartition is if you are doing a clean install. The upgrade does not require your hard drive to be repartitioned.

What is really starting to irritate me is the press misleading the public. Many stories were run by tech columnists who should have known better than to say "VIsta is just an upgrade from Windows XP". Some may have seen it that way, others meant that Vista SEEMS like just an upgrade from XP. Windows Vista is NOT AN UPGRADE from Windows XP. Windows Vista is a new operating system, redesigned from the ground up. Yes, it uses an NT kernel (based on Server 2003). Yes, it uses the same file system and .NET framework. But Windows Vista runs differently and processes differently than XP. Such reviews led software companies like Apple to the assumption that iTunes and Quicktime would run under Vista. They didn't, and Apple conceded they were not prepared.

It's the same scenario as what happened when Windows XP was released six years ago. Many users were still using Windows 98 SE or Windows ME, both 9x operating systems based on DOS. When users upgraded, many of their legacy applications didn't work because Windows XP was based on NT and not DOS. And Mac users don't have much room to talk. When Apple made the switch from Mac OS 9 to Unix-powered Mac OS X, nothing worked, so a Mac OS 9 emulator was slapped into OS X, a huge impediment on performance. Many users had to wait for software companies to recompile their applications for Unix.