Brand new SZ691 + Vista Business or XP?

Hi all!

I just got my brand new SZ691 yesterday.

It comes with Vista Business on it and I've been trying to learn it after years of being quite happy with XP.

I would like to downgrade to XP if only for the fact that I'm used to it and like it better than having to learn this new OS, but it seems complicated and there are warnings all over about certain features not working anymore. Even though Sony does provide XP drivers, there are still functionality that may be lost.

So what do you guys do? Suck it up and work with Vista or take the risk?
...and for those who choose to take the risk - was it worth it? why?

Please help me decide...

Oh...and my skills with software is midline.

 

Up until now I was a harsh believer in XP and thought Vista was crap. But I took a chance and installed Vista Business fresh and it's been running very fast and stable.

So if you know how to do a clean install, or can clean out your current install of the unnecessary processes, I think you will be happy with Vista as long as your hardware is up to par (2gb of ram).

 

go for vista, until i used it on this laptop, i think i wud do the switch to xp. but vista is all worth it, dont move to ultimate or home premium until u need media center functionality. otherwise, vista i more than enough. and if u dont mind voiding the warranty another 200$ investment for a 7200rpm drive will make your machine blazing fast

 

There are so many threads and info on the Clean Installs that I'm afraid to try it and mess something up.

Is a Clean Install simply formatting the HD and reloading the Original OS?
If so - do you need a copy of the original OS? Like my new laptop doesn't come with a Vista Business CD...so how would I reload that stuff on?

...and is there a Clean Install for the 691 now that won't disable any other functions?

 

Service pack 1 is coming out over the next few months for Vista, they are in select public testing already. It sounds like the updates are very good. Lost of laptop fixes and performance improvements.

Bottom line, I would stick with vista also, it's only going to improve and does a lot more than xp does.

 

I have SZ3 and Sony gave us the Vista Upgrade. I have both XP and Vista and I upgrade to Vista as soon as I got the upgrade.

2 months later I went back to XP.

Vista for some reason just "sucks more juice" from the battery! I don't know why.

 

My SZ691 is well quipped to handle Vista. So, I'm sticking with it. If you are running vital software that are not Vista supported, of course, you'll have no choice to load XP, either solely or dual-boot with Vista.

 

Do you know if P1's Vista Business Recovery Disks are a safe way to do a Clean Install while retaining all functionality?

 

The P1 discs work well. I have used the Vista one (also got the XP one but quite happy running Vista on my TZ 195). There's a few people who have used it in this thread if you want more info:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=190303

 

I have the asian version of this and did a clean XP and Vista install. You lose zero functionality with XP and it is significantly faster. Vista looks better but it has no functionality over XP and so I see no reason to use it as my main OS. XP is proven, solid, fast and super stable. However its a personal decision.

There is zero risk of clean formatting and reinstalling operating systems if you know what you are doing, you have to take the time to read the forums here and understand how to get it done. Having said that there is actually no risk involved, even if you make mistakes everything is reversible so relax.

Important things to know are to back up your Vista activation so you don't have to activate again when you install Vista afresh and make multiple backup copies of recovery disk which restore your system to factory state.

My Vista-XP dual-boot guide

Clean Vista Install with no activation

Edit: Service pack 1 has been benchmarked and the expected improvements in performance have yet to be realized.
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2203919/researchers-blast-vista-sp1