The What Makes Vista Good Thread

Well, I've heard a lot of people say that Vista has improved over the years. Anyone care to explain why? I'll update the first post to include accurate statements. There are different versions of Vista so please specify if a detail you're discussing only works for a specific version.

 

That it's not windows 95???

 

That I dont have it!

 

Service Pack 1 was introduced?

 

Drivers have improved, disk access has been reduced (with SP1), and I've learned to use it more effectively (using text search in the control panel and in the start menu, for example).

Disabling unused devices (such as modem) and using Windows built-in drivers instead of manufacturer drivers where possible (mouse, sound) has helped my stability as well.

However, I always liked Vista... mainly, I just used to have crashes, and now I don't. My current uptime is 10 days and 15 hours... I think that's about the amount of time since patch Tuesday.

None of that really has much to do with what makes Vista good. But the stuff that's improved over time isn't what makes Vista good... it's what was formerly making it bad. What makes Vista good for me is search built in to the OS, improved security, a lot of bundled extras like sidebar and Defender, automated maintenance tasks, more robust system restore, sensible defaults throughout the OS, improved audio mixer, cool Aero look... oh yeah, and taskbar thumbnails (technically part of Aero I guess).

 

This is what I have found with using vista (64bit ultimate).

• Seems to be faster after the first few days than XP/previous OS'es (and noticeably)
• Searching for things via text in menu's is so much quicker than going through each folder/option etc.
• Soundquality seems to be a touch better on lower end cards.
• Driver support is getting better.
• Much more stable too.

 

All versions:

• Movies play automatically in WMP without need for extra codes
• Task manager describes processes so you know what to end
• Less preset power options make it less confusing
• Windows update no longer needs ie to work
• Wireless is easier to set up than in XP and you can tell more easily when it is not working well
• Ability to choose which icons you want present on taskbar (clock, battery life, wifi, ect.)
• Snipping tool built in (except Home Basic)
• Vlite is easier to use than Nlite
• Improved firewall
• Better drivers. Getting a printer to work after switching back to xp from vista is so hard! In vista the drivers just downloaded and it worked.

 

There is already a thread about this...

 

hey now...at least it's positive

 

I have Vista Ultimate SP1 x86

- Great search feature in the start menu
- Looks awesome (Aero and other GUI)
- Superfetch
- Only had 3 BSODs since July 2007
- I like how all the features are streamlined into an Explorer interface, like Update, Personalize, etc.
- Much more user-friendly
- Lags not on my laptop at all

 

There might even be more than one other thread about this exact thing. *shakes head*

All of these kinds of threads start out positive. Give it time, though. There will be enough hate soon enough. *the countdown begins*

 

Vista, Hands down the bst OS on the market, Interface is great, smoth, nice looks. I've not had one crash with vista, regardless of all the whinning vista haters do, I've used bother 32 and 64 bit home pre.

Directx10

UAC, Ok the UAC sux, but for some people it might just help save their computer.

People saying gaming XP is better, I Disagree.

VISTA FTW!

 

There's no search feature anymore

 

Then you get a BSoD!
I got one when at 99% during the install.
Haven't since.

 

I've seen BSOD's after installs, crash apps, services quitting, slowdown with FF3. No problems whatsoever with XP.

 

Lawl...this is almost as bad as the Mac poster who said he switched to Mac after he installed Vista and following his first log in was 'immediately' bombarded with popups and spyware in IE.

A little hard to take posts like this seriously...

 

And why is that, because in your world Vista is flawless? I'm sorry to rain on your parade. Am I a Vista hater, no but a realist. I have 4 systems and Vista U is on my T60 and Vista P is on my Vostro 1700. OTOH my multi-drive gaming rIg is exclusively XP and my Vostro 1500 is XP. Is Vista better than XP? In many ways no and in some ways yes. It's kinda of amusing that once I took off Vista on my 1500 and loaded XP all the problems went away.

I refuse to make apologies for Vista or turn myself into a fanboy like you seem to be. In your world if someone has a problem(s) with Vista it's all made up and we're haters. You really should be working for Microsoft's PR dept.

 

comparison:

XP = Mitsubishi EVO 8
(omg top gear reference!!!!)
Vista = Mitsubishi EVO 9

same thing, slight improvements, not worth upgrading ATM,

 

Not a good analogy unless you flip the cars around.

Screens and overall system response is still better in XP. Opening the management console in XP is almost instantaneous whereas waiting 3-4 seconds in Visa is the norm and that's after UAC kicks in. Firefox 3 doesn't get bogged down in XP like it does in Vista when JavaScript is turned on. Programs overall open for me much faster in XP.

Maybe you should have said:

Vista = Mitsubishi EVO 9
XP = McLaren F1 GT

 

Wow, calm down lol. Actually, I have no problem with people using XP. I'm just sick of posts like this : "OMG I hate Vista! I got 34 BSOD in 2 days with it, and I only get 2 FPS in Crysis!111 I'm going back to XP!"

I don't mind people using XP at all. I use it on my backup a few times a week. It's the XP users that never have anything to say about why they like XP so much, and yet all they do is blast Vista. So maybe you are an exception & actually had legitimate problems with Vista. From what I've seen most XP users get more enjoyment out of flaming Vista than they do explaining why XP works better for them.

I don't care what OS you use. It just gets old weeding through anti-Vista posts, when 3/4 of them are nonsense from someone who hasn't even used SP1.

 

I quite enjoy Vista Ultimate 32-bit SP1 right now - runs smoothly, haven't had a BSOD yet (crashes yes, but no blues), the Aero & DreamScene eye candy is nice, and driver support is finally coming around to being decent.

 

Neveer, I take that back, One time when I OC'd my system, and was running Prime95, and my voltages were not correct, I got bsod. However, that was hardly at the fault of windows, It was at the fault of an unstable OC.

 

I hear you on this. There are definitely people who can't wait to say bad things about Vista and those are the people who, unfortunately, perpetuate the negativity. I have both and love both, so I guess I'm in a good spot right now.

 

Actually I was calm with what I wrote, lol.

I agree with you that there are some Vista users who hate the OS while never using it or just trying it for a couple of days. OTOH just as you stated your reasons as to why you dislike those that create threads as to why they hate Vista there are also those on this forum who dismiss those like me with legitimate problems. Who have tried the OS and yes I bought Vista at launch and have used it on and off since then. I was even part of the Windows feedback program so I was gifted 2 free copies of Vista U 32/64. So now I have 5 legit copies of Vista.

Here's the bottom line. This is my personal view that there is something in Vista whereby with certain systems the hardware and OS just don't mesh for whatever reason. My T60 no problems and no weird issues running Vista U and my Vostro 1700 has no problems running Vista P either. OTOH my Vostro 1500 is totally unstable running Vista P where BSOD's, app crashes as well as services crash is the norm. With XP running, everything is fine so I decided to stick with that as i'm tired of bug hunting and troubleshooting problems.

 

I know what you mean. It's probably drivers. I'm not trying to get you to switch back or anything... if XP is stable and meets your needs, then feel free to stick with it. But, I used to have similar problems with my Latitude D630, and for a while I even thought I had bad RAM, because of all the BSODs, even though it passed the memory tests fine. But I was able to fix it all by disabling unused devices, and eliminating as many unnecessary third-party drivers as possible.

For example, I don't use my modem (who does?), so I disabled it in device manager. My sound works fine with Windows' built-in driver, so I didn't install the Sigmatel driver. Same with my mouse, etc. For drivers you absolutely do need, such as video, make sure you've got the latest version. Also, be sure to pick up any BIOS updates for your system. After all that, my system is now rock solid... no BSODs anymore.

 

I particularly like that "V" comes before "X" in both the EBCDIC and ASCII colating sequences, so Vista comes before XP in most sorted lists.

 

Okay..u guys wont believe...but i was using XP on my new desktop today ..and it was more sluggish than my Vista..

in Vista..explorer takes time to open windows..but Vista doesnt lag that much ...mainly because it efficiently uses the RAM...whereas XP was running firefox with lot of lagginess.