Finally ready for Vista?

First of all, I'm not interested in Windows 7 yet. I'll wait for a service pack or two. The choices in this thread are Vista and XP, both of which I own.

I have a Dell XPS M1330. The only things I use my computer for are browsing the web, Quickbooks and various office documents.

When I bought it 1.5 years ago Vista SP1 hadn't even come out yet so I had no intention of using Vista. I installed XP as soon as the laptop arrived and have been happy with that ever since.

It's about time to re-install Windows. Usually I install XP, then Vista, then Ubuntu in a triple boot. I haven't used Vista hardly at all since I installed it last though.

Is Vista now good enough to be my primary OS? It would make me quite happy if I can avoid searching for updated XPS m1330 drivers for Windows XP. It seems to burn a lot of time to search for drivers for an unsupported operating system. The alternative would be to just use the drivers that I found a year and a half ago. I still have those saved. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

You'll only know if Vista is ready for you if you use it.

 

Just by a glance at some current threads, it's easy to tell Vista is much superior... better battery life, much safer, manages resources so much better, easier to use...

 

The primary reason I have not been using Vista has been because I was under the impression that the license for the software I use (MS Office, Quickbooks Pro) cannot be used on two different OS's at the same time. This is perhaps a misguided notion. Anyways, I guess if I thought I could install my required software legally on the second OS, I would not hesitate to give Vista more of a chance.

If I cannot legally do that, I want to make the decision of whether to make Vista my primary OS based off of experiences I hear from others.

 

I would go with Vista.

 

Yes, since SP1 Vista has been good enough to be used as the primary OS.

 

It's an OS ... Takes less than 1 hour to install. Don't make such a big deal of it. Install it, if you don't like it, then remove it. Unnecessary to have so much planning.

 

I used to dual boot XP and Vista but found that I wasn't accessing XP that much and just went for Vista altogether. If you are reinstalling might give it a try. I love the auto updates feature.

 

it takes less than 15min when installing from a (fast) usb stick.

so it's nearly faster than posting in here

 

It's completely silly to not install Windows 7 Professional when it comes out. With XP virtualization, and the improvements over Vista, it wins hands-down.

 

yes win 7 should be good without a service pack.

Why don't you go with 7?

 

because it does not yet have some sp in it

but actually, as most consider win7 as a vista sp++ (a service pack and more), yeah, he could go win7.

then again, he most likely has a free vista license, but no free win7 license => there is a good reason to not go to win7: it would cost.

 

I see your point.

 

To pile on...XP < Vista < Windows 7. So per your original criteria of XP vs Vista then Vista hands down. I can't imagine bothering with XP on a Vista-level machine.

Now if your reason for not moving straight to 7 is cost, then OK, I get it. But if it's just to arbitrarily wait for SP1 then I think that's misguided. Windows 7 is every bit as stable (if not more so) than Vista SP2.

Bottom line...don't waste your time reinstalling XP on an M1330 unless you just dig antique OS's.

 

Windows 7 RTM is already the same or better than Windows Vista SP2.

 

But dpilot83, if your dilemma is between the FEATURES and EASE OF USE of XP and Vista I would say this: I was an XP diehard, and went kicking and screaming over to Vista, only because my new laptop didn't come with XP, and I was forced to, at least, try Vista (until I downloaded XP). Well, no one was more surprised than me!!! I'm here to tell you that it took some getting used to -- and some frustration in the beginning, to learn where everything was in Vista, but it was truly worth it! After about a week I was totally sold on Vista and really happy that I was forced to make the switch. Now, I'm looking forward to Windows 7 (like you, after SP1 or 2) knowing that because it's supposedly like Vista on steroids, it'll probably be great!