Purchasing new PC: Vista V's XP ?

ClubMan said:
Will this necessarily work? Not all OEM versions will work with all machines even from the same manufacturer as far as I know. Also you'd be in breach of the license if you installed the same version multiple times.
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Well luckily enough for me I appear to have been given a retail version in dvd form when I purchased my desktop 5 years ago. Thats one thing DELL really did well for me. Maybe it was because at the time I paid a little extra to upgrade from Xp HOME to Xp PRO.
So I dont appear to have an OEM version. As for installing multiple times, my old computer is nearly at the end of its life so I wouldnt really be doing that. I d just be transferring my licence across to a new hardware configuration. I dont Windows Update would have a problem with that as I've already custoised and upgraded the original computer beyong recognition in the meantime in any case.

aircobra19 said:
The original XP licence is with the machine. So you can only use it on that machine. Even if it will probably work on another Dell
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As far as I'm concerned I paid for a licence to use Win XP Pro on any pc I choose and my version is exactly ther same as the retail version.


aircobra19 said:
[broken link removed]

You can transfer a retail version but not OEM legally at least. AFAIK.
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That seems to be my position. I think I have my behind covered . At least I would hope so even though my care factor = zero as long as it works which it does.
 
You are bound by the licence you bought. Not if works or not, I'd assume. Bear in mind Microsoft charge what they like, where they get away with it, and nothing where they don't. Dell cynically charge you to downgrade to XP. Depending on the config you buy. All very fair I don't think.
 
stir crazy said:
As far as I'm concerned I paid for a licence to use Win XP Pro on any pc I choose and my version is exactly ther same as the retail version.
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Strictly what matters is not your opinion but the terms & conditions of the licensing agreement. But anyway...
 
I spoke with a Dell sales rep this morning. She seem to be pushing Vista as against XP on a new PC. She says all initial vista problems are gone. Is there any reason why Dell want you to go Vista rather than XP. They are charging you extra for XP and don't even give you the disks?
 
What odds she could supply in wiriting this list of problems? I would assume MS has a deal with Dell to push Vista. Its very mean spirited not to supply the disks. Especially as they include other crud in the box. I'd be happy swap MS Works/Roxio/McAfee/Norton for just an OS disk and a driver disk. Incidentally the Dell Outlet machines come with disks for no extra, and 1yr warranty.

I just bought two Dell Vista machines. Arrived yesterday. Neither of them can merge folders/files reliably, both are very slow as configured, when they shouldn't be. Both are slow at copying files/folders. I'll be putting XP on them.
 
suicra05 said:
She says all initial vista problems are gone.
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It depends what she means by initial problems. What Microsoft admitted as initial problems i suspect differ from the IT community's
It's still buggy.

Vista has not improved much (IMO) since it was launched. The memory footprint is still just shy of a gig on a clean install with nothing installed but the OS . And it's security features would drive you to drink (constantly asking you if you're sure you want to run this or that etc etc etc. Admittedly that is a 'feature' rather than a bug)

suicra05 said:
Is there any reason why Dell want you to go Vista rather than XP. They are charging you extra for XP and don't even give you the disks?
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hell yeah. They get more commission off microsoft from what I am aware.
MSoft want them to push Vista as much as possible. Not sure if they are paying out for XP any more! (I assume it's Dell home sales you are talking about....their outlet store will push what ever was installed initially on the returned/damaged machine and there is no negotiation on those)
 
just bought a few new laptops from Dell myself and choose XP. I've seen vista running on fairly high powered machines and man it is slow.

On the downside it looks like dell wont deliver my pc for two weeks. They used to be fast - whats happened? Looks like they've gone all Indian and gotten rid of their Irish staff as well.
 
sfag said:
Looks like they've gone all Indian and gotten rid of their Irish staff as well.
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How are you judging this? Perhaps they have outsourced their call centre to India or something? Or they have Indian people working here in Ireland? Either way what relevance is this to your delivery lead time?
 
The issues with Dells lead times recent is all over the web. New machines, new screens in short supply. If you want a machine buy off the outlet.

You can turn of the UAC in Vista and all the bells and whistles, especially the indexing and system restore which all speed it up. Its still slower than XP. I'm not holding my breath on SP1 tbh.
 
sfag said:
just bought a few new laptops from Dell myself and choose XP. I've seen vista running on fairly high powered machines and man it is slow.

On the downside it looks like dell wont deliver my pc for two weeks. They used to be fast - whats happened? Looks like they've gone all Indian and gotten rid of their Irish staff as well.
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most of dell support has come from india for over 2 years now and what really effects delievery times are
a) how near to the end of the quarter you are when you order
b) spec of machine. some components are on long lead times
 
Hi guys note that when a new program is being introduced to the market like Vista you need to allow time before you put your computer on upgrade as it might still be going thr. testing period. Only new one will work well as testing must have being completed on phase level.
 
Its not like people are installing a beta. Its been out for almost a year and its meant to be a finished product. Of course software is never finished. Thats its nature.
 
If you purchase a new Dell system with either Vista Business or Vista Ultimate you can downgrade to Win XP Pro for free (doesn't apply to other Vista versions). You can use any (even OEM) Win XP Pro install cd to do this.

After installing XP ring the Microsoft OEM activation team stating your wish to exercise downgrade rights for Vista Business/Ultimate. Rep will ask for existing Vista licence details along with:
- End User Licence Agreement ( EULA) number - this is licence certificate shipped with the Dell PC
- Certificate of Authencity (COA) number - this is also shipped with PC and is located on hologram sticker on PC

Rep will then give new activation codes that allow you to complete install of Win XP Pro.

How long this will continue for I'm not sure.

And as someone who regularly sorts issues for the average computer user... VISTA SUCKS!.... at the moment.
 
I really wish microsoft wouldnt would stop trying to force this through and listen to the customer. perhaps because they did such a good job with xp it seems to me there is very little demand for this product
 
PeterMurphy3 said:
I really wish microsoft wouldnt would stop trying to force this through and listen to the customer. perhaps because they did such a good job with xp it seems to me there is very little demand for this product
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I really don't get why customers continue to support and reward Microsoft with their hard earned money. There are far better alternatives with the pain of switchover practically nil. You do realise that spyware, malware and viruses are Microsoft phenomena? The last Windows box I had would only connect to the internet for about 5 mins before it shut down due to some remote exploit. I canned it after that.
 
diarmuidc said:
I really don't get why customers continue to support and reward Microsoft with their hard earned money. There are far better alternatives with the pain of switchover practically nil. You do realise that spyware, malware and viruses are Microsoft phenomena? The last Windows box I had would only connect to the internet for about 5 mins before it shut down due to some remote exploit. I canned it after that.
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FUD. You should make sure a computer is properly configured BEFORE connecting it to the internet. If you do theres no problem. You install a free firewall, AV and antispyware, takes 5 mins. End of issue. Oh and stop browsing dodgy sites and don't click on "You've won a million $$$$$" etc. I know pensioners with no interest or experience in computers but who manage that much.

You can buy a PC laptop for half the price of a Macbook, and a far greater spec. (assuming you shop around) I'm not saying OS X isn't good, it is. But XP is pretty easy to manage. Some would have you believe you can't turn it on without the russian mafia fleecing you and you PC self destructing, mission impossible style.

Having said that I like Mac's been using them since system 6. I think they are nice machines, its a nice user experience and would aways suggest people check them out, unless theres software thats better suited to a PC.
 
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