Getting used to Vista?

I have never had any experience with Vista, always downgrade to XP. I am considering to buy a new machine where I'll have to choose between getting XP downgrade and getting certain other desirable features--i.e. I have to weigh which is preferable, when I can't get both: the convenience of using the familiar and hassle-free XP, or the other features. I'm rather low-end user so the many advanced features of Vista don't appeal to me; rather, simplicity, ease and convenience is important to me.

So I would like to know, for someone who has always used XP (and previous Windows), with no Vista experience whatsoever (never seen it), how hard/easy would it be to get used to using a machine on Vista? Will I find it annoying? I know the answers will be subjective, so I'd be especially interested in the comments from those who are like me, i.e. who used to be reluctant to switch from XP to Vista. Thanks

 

It's a new operating system, and it takes time to adjust. If you were around for Windows 3.1 -> Windows 95 or Windows 98 -> XP, then you understand that it takes time to learn how a new operating system works.

If you have a hard time adapting to changes (in general), then you might have a hard time adapting to Vista. If you adapt fairly quickly to new situations, then you should also adapt to Vista with little problems. In my experience, people who came to Vista with reservations (or people who had already made up their minds about it before trying it) had a harder time adapting. If you understand there are differences, and you are willing to try and learn how things now work in Vista, you should be fine.

 

It's not as big a leap as you think it is. Current version is fairly stable. Just remember to remove the non-OS junk.

 

Um... it's not a big leap on the outside, what's important is what is under the hood. Vista is a gigantic leap over XP. It's like going from Win98 to Win 2000.

 

Ya, for all the negative buzz it's actually bad at all.

 

it took me 5 min to adjust

 

I came from XP to Vista on my 1530!
(My employer was still using XP & I had XP on my desktop)
And, at first it took a bit of getting used to, but after a bit I was very happy to have Vista!! I liked what Vista had to offer.

Now, I have a Netbook, and I have XP on that! So, I get to *bounce* back and force between Vista and XP! Yeah!

Some say XP is old school...I say it's personal choice!

You will like Vista!! And, if you decide to upgrade to Win 7..I'm sure you will like that too!

It's what you want & and are comfy' with most..that matters!!

Cin

 

That's what I will not like, bouncing between two different OS. I don't want to be distracted by all the changes/adjustments while working on my computers. Either keep XP everywhere, or make the leap to use Vista everywhere if the adjustment doesn't take too much and too long.

How much leap is it from Win Vista to Win 7? What about XP==>Win 7? Would that not be too much more than XP==>Vista?

 

[Stop scaring the poor boy]

I've been using Vista since it's inception. For the regular user, it's okay. It's not like trying to learn Unix.

For the tech head, yes, there is alot to know. But that is why we have the NBR Tips and Tweaks, not to mention, many many forums for tweaking Vista to you heart's content.

To the OP, make the leap- You'll be there in no time. You'll be glad you did.

 

Vista is more solid, safer, and a much better resource manager.

It's easier to use. That might take some time to adjust to... but not too long.

 

Yeah, its barely hard to adjust to the new os, thats just the wrong thing saying it is.

Its different, its nice, it runs smooth these days.

There are features you may want to learn about, such as UAC and so on, but its a good OS, maybe you should wait and skip to windows 7?

 

Ok, I more or less fit the bill of the person you're looking for - I was running XP on a 6 y.o. _Sony VAIO Z1A up until 4 weeks ago, when it started eating it's fourth hard drive. I didn't care much for _Vista when it first came out, and was leery of all the horror stories I kept seeing. Even after SP1, I was still unconvinced that going to _Vista was worthwhile.

Well, 4 weeks ago I finally replaced that VAIO with a brand-new _HP that came with _Vista 64-bit installed, and I have to say that _Vista is no wheres near as difficult or obnoxious as a lot of people made it out to be; for example, I'm still running on the OEM install, with only some of the bloatware taken off, and no tweaking, and it seems to respond more quickly than XP did in general (although that may also be due to the newer hardware ). Also, the UAC function is really not that intrusive; so far, for me, it comes up at the right times as I would expect it to, and doesn't at the times I would expect it to not pop up.

That being said, the visuals on _Vista take a bit of getting used to, and finding things that have been moved from where they were in XP can take a little time (and can be irritating if you let it get to you, because it makes you feel like a bit of a beginner again). Also, if you tend to keep your systems for a long time (like the 6 years I kept my last one), you should keep in mind that, other than the business versions of _Vista, XPSP3 will have 2 years' more security support than will _Vista.

Lastly, since Win 7 is just around the corner, you may want to wait until Win 7 is available (or at least until a free upgrade to Win 7 is available).

 

yeah right! u wish

XP is 10 times better than Vista, I now used Win 7 but I will never touch Vista! toooooooooo slow for an XP user

 

no one can take you serious, besides, i like 7, but i like vista just as much, theres not really a big difference.. Its just because i have a thing with having to be up to date, i hate using old stuff when its about software..

 

You have used 7 and are honestly saying that 7 and Vista are comparable? cmon man? I am sure one of those people who thought u bought a new laptop when you tried Win 7. Speed wise, most of all, then comes ease of usage, excellent visual effects, you can even freakin' burn an ISO image with Win 7 withought teh need for any additional software

 

Um.. I have both windows 7 and Vista. Honestly I cannot tell he difference in speed of the OS. Though both Vista and 7 are faster than XP for sure.

After switching from XP to Vista, my rendering time in adobe premiere pro has gone down by 5%.

Also Vista is so much smoother than XP.

XP is probably the worst OS on my desktop computer trailing far behind Windows 7 and Vista.

 

For me, I think the most difficult part of getting used to Vista was finding all the different tweaking and customization options, as many of the control panel and menus have been set up in a different fashion than in XP. But, it really wasn't too bad, and now I know Vista better than XP.

 

Vista does share common interfaces with XP so it's not a big deal to learn. If you do buy a Vista rig you don't really have to tweak it much since it's fast enough as it is. With XP you really have to tweak it to run fast. I've had both OS in my laptop (dual boot) but found out I was using XP less and less so I reformatted to use Vista exclusively. Win7 doesn't come out 'till October but a promise of an XP interface would probably satisfy XP users.

 

Once you've run on _Vista for a while, you will begin to realize that XP really is getting a bit dog-earred and threadbare around the edges. Mind you, it's still decent OS; but _Vista, as it stands now, is a better OS (and, from what all of the harsh critics here have to say, Win 7 is apparently an even better OS).

 

This is getting OT...

There is no better or worse Windows OS when it comes to these three.

The OP asked about XP to Vista- Don't knock it till you try it.

I'm using all three (XP, Vista, and W7), and each has its own appeal-

It really comes down to personal preference.

 

I'm still using XP as my main OS but that will change when I get my new laptop within the next couple of weeks. I've used Vista and the W7 RC sparingly in the past and I've had no trouble adapting quickly to either OS. As a matter of fact, I am actually looking forward to finally switching to Vista and eventually W7.

 

I don't think the jump from XP to Vista is that bad. Yeah a few things look a bit different and are in different locations, more logical if you ask me, but the adjustment shouldn't be that bad.

Vista is very stable, especially after SP2, and really runs great on modern hardware.

But as others have said, wait till late June/early July for the 7 Upgrade programs to kick in, that way you'll get both Vista and 7, and IMO both are decidedly better than XP ever was.

 

On the flip side, for all the "If you don't like Vista, you're just an ignorant XP fanboy/Vista hater" rhetoric (logical fallacy of Bulverism), it really does have some less than satisfactory characteristics. Just to keep a balanced perspective...

 

I am what you would call NOT a 'power user'. I use my machine for writing documents, using spreadsheets, games and other such mundane stuff. I was on an XP machine, which was OK.

On the same machine, I only upgraded the HDD and installed Vista (Home Premium). I found no problems in adjusting...in fact, I was asking myself...adjust what? I am not into tweaking the OS - though I got rid of most of the extra wares that were prebuilt into the machine. The novelty of using a 'new' OS wore off after about 72 hours...and now, I am hardly aware that I am on a Vista machine. But, I have not experienced any BSODs. Initially, Vista did feel sluggish - but on checking on NBR, I found that this is generally what happens while the OS works out your most familiar work patterns. After that period of time, I found a gain in speed - though it is just a feeling and nothing quantifiable. I did not have any driver problems. Over time (say around a couple of months), I got used to the peculiarities of the Control Panel (though I could have opted for the Classic look - I did not).

And now, as I said earlier, I don't even realize most of the time that I am on a Vista machine. In sum then, if your interaction with the OS directly is minimal, then I think you will find no problems. Can't speak for the more sophisticated users though.

Cheers!

 

It won't take long to get used to it. And once you got used to it, you realize how much of a fool you where downgrading all the time instead of just moving on.

Downgrading is for people that need to, because of some compatibility issues they have. It's meant for business with old terrible proprietary apps. That's why you can only legally do it with a business license of vista. (of course, if you have an xp license at hand, you can do it anyways).

and rule nr. one if you use vista: don't listen to MaXimus. he's an antivista spammer.

 

Vista is awesome! XP sucks and is buggy as hell and laggy and just crap.

 

Maybe a few minutes longer for me. I had to go search for a few things to see where they were located, but other than that no problems with it at all. Same with W7.

 

Why not just wait for 7? waste of money getting vista when 7 is gonna be out so soon. or is it coming with a PC?

Anyway, I was one of those stupid Vista haters, untill I got my laptop with vista preinstalled, took 10 minutes getting used to (come on, its just an os, not a () racing car.) I don't regret it.

I triple boot linux, xp and vista. I have to use xp for music prodution, and I can safely say XP is one damn junk sofware, the main difference, would be the amount of times my XP has crashed in the last 5 years, where my vista must have crashed 2 times in the last 6 month.

Anyway, conclusion, its only an damn OS, not rocket science, i give you 15 minutes max getting used to.

 

what sort of music production does require you to use xp? curious. as i got all my music stuff over to vista in no time.

 

buggy usb sound card drivers, and the odd virtual synth software. and FL didnt like it either.

Vista 64 btw.

 

I'd been using Vista for a while now (numerous desktops and laptops). Recently got a Lenovo T400, and decided to put XP on it because I had old memories of XP running snappier. Well long story short now I'm back to Vista Home Premium on my T400. Vista just feels more... "solid."

I don't know if I did something wrong, but XP actually felt a bit clunky. Ever since SP1 (now on SP2), Vista has worked swimmingly.

 

That is exactly how I feel with it. I've had _Vista SP1 (now SP2) on the new computer for 4 weeks now, and every so often I go back to the old computer to get something off of it I need, and it does feel a bit clunky and rusty compared to _Vista SP2.