Should I put Vista Ultimate on my Vostro 1500?

Just got a brand new Vostro 1500 with 2 gigs of ram and the 128 meg video card. It came with xp home, and runs great. I do have a copy of VIsta Ultimate that I removed from my Gateway 7422 GX, what a POS!! It runs very very hot. Anyway, should I tempt fate, and upgrade to Vista Ultimate on the laptop?

Thanks

 

I'm loving Vista on mine. Dual boot first, so you don't lose your XP install.

 

How do I do that????

DO not upgrade???

 

I have read how Vista slows down everything. Will I notice anything different over XP home???

 

I have seen NOTHING but performance increase...granted, this is just in typical every day kind of things. I have not tried any games yet.

It is also important to note that I am running Vista Ultimate 64-bit (so I would see slowdowns since I'm running all of the eye-candy, but faster speeds since I'm running 64-bit).

HAving said that, the dual-boot will allow you to test it out without losing what you know and may or may not be satisfied with right now.

I followed the directions here:
http://lifehacker.com/software/top/...lboot-windows-xp-and-windows-vista-179906.php

I used the GParted freeware utility and had zero problems (boot it up with the default driver, you'll see what I mean when you boot it up).

That's all I did. It does take some time to get all the drivers you need, but for me it's worth it. Since I'm running 64-bit, there are some things I've had to sacrifice for the time being, like scrolling with my touchpad. In the end though, I am very pleased with Vista, and haven't booted XP since I got everything installed.

 

Yep, driver hunting is definitely going to be painful seeing as how Dell does not have Vista 64 drivers up for download. I would have went with Vista 64 on my Vostro if Dell provided the drivers.

 

thet do have some drivers, but there's not a nifty drop-down yet...they are in the process of getting that online.

I don't know if you've ever used Tubes ( http://www.tubesnow.com/ it basically creates a direct connection), but I could send you everything I put up on mine.

I don't know if I love Vista so much just because, because I have Ultimate, or because I'm running it 64-bit, but I've only used XP once since I installed.

PM me if you're interested. WE NEED MORE 64-BITTERS!

 

Hey, Meetloaf, I found your post using Google and registered with this forum specifically to talk with you. I just bought a Dell Vostro 1500 with 1GB of RAM. But, being very experienced with computers, I knew to purchase and upgrade my own RAM, which I did before even powering the machine up for the first time, and am now working with a Vostro 1500 with 4GB of RAM.

I was pretty disappointed when I turned the system on to find that they'd preloaded Vista Home Premium x86, but it wasn't an issue since I figured I could just use my Dell product key and put Vista Home Premium x64 onto the laptop with the same disc I used to put Vista Ultimate onto my desktop. BUT (geez long story long, huh?) the I looked on Dell's site to grab x64 drivers and found... nothing.

That's when I turned to Google, and that's why I'm now turning to you. I haven't put Vista x64 onto the machine yet, but I imagine I'll need drivers for the built-in webcam, the Dell Bluetooth module, the wireless (and wired) NIC, and possibly, others. I'm assuming, and hoping, that I can use NVIDIA's x64 Vista drivers for the GeForce 8600M that's in the machine, but, yeah, bla, bla.

Long story long, again, can you give me any advice / sage words of wisdom / hints / links to x64 Vista drivers? Thanks a bunch, it's much appreciated.

(Just sent you a PM, too.)

 

I don't think you can use the key to install x64.

 

No? Ugh. If that turns out to be the case then that will be... frustrating. I'm confused by why Dell put x86 on in the first place. They do OFFER an upgrade to 4GB of RAM, so why they're pairing an x86 OS with a hardware offering that can only be utilized, in its entirety, by an x64 OS is confusing at best. The fact that the x64 drivers are completely absent from their site, well... that's just unacceptable.

At any rate, I'm going to cross my fingers that my retail Vista disc will work. If so, I'll need those x64 drivers ASAP. If not, I'll have to pony up the dough to buy another x64 copy of Vista and then I'll be needing those drivers.

 

SAME AS MY PM to you:

Hey Buroja, glad you came to this forum, it's awesome.

Indeed you will need many drivers, some of which are available on Dell's website.

Instead of rehashing what I & other have explained before, I will refer you to a few posts.

I recommend a clean install of Ultimate x64...I actually need to do one myself, since my boot time is gross.

Let me know if you have any further questions after these posts:

I recommend following this guide (make sure your load the AHCI drivers BEFORE installing, it will save much headache). Most of the drivers you'll need will be linked here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=194831

For Video Card drivers go here (make sure you use the modded .inf):
www.laptopvideo2go.com

For Tweaking Vista
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=166532

Good luck!

P.S. I just read the guys post above yours, he may be right, but I'm not sure. I seem to remember issues with the Manufacturer OEM Vista discs as opposed to retails disks. If it doesn't work out, perhaps you can schmoze Dell and express your frustrations.

 

Just thought about it even more... Definitely will not work. Don't even waste your time. OEM keys don't work with Non-OEM discs unless you hack it, but still, x86 keys definitely don't work with x64 discs.

 

Ok, good stuff to know, thanks very much, both of you.

So, then, question for when I snap up another copy of x64 Vista (soon, very soon): the XPS M1330 drivers will, by and large, work for the Vostro 1500--does that extend to the built-in webcam? I'm looking at Dell's Vostro 1500 support page now, and I'm actually not seeing webcam drivers for x86 Vista, so... ?

 

Did you try the driver from synaptics website? for x64 Vista, it works well for me. I have vostro 1500 too

 

brkhobowriter......I used the vista retail ultimate disc i got from windows feedback panel and used my OEM key(on the bottom of laptop) and it worked. I just had to call to activate.

 

Harp, didn't you have a key with the WFP disc you received? I actually received two discs with two keys, 32-bit & 64-bit. So since you were able to use your OEM key, are you sitting with 2 copies of x64?!

If so, I commend you with some "nice moves"

 

I'm actually pretty satisfied with my pretty 1500 vista.
Only have some complains with vista like:
-Youtube fullscreen lag
-A little slower than XP

I have no complains with the speed (considering that I have a T7500,2gbRAM).

 

Me like Vista by the way.