ok well..... (it has a poll....please come vote)

[ÐeviÑ]

i have been having computer problems. and as you may or may not know, it is my bday in 2 days. so i went to dell.com and looked around at their gaming computers, and i found one that is good enough (for now) that is $900 (and my mom actually said i can get it), but it comes with Vista.  I have been told many times by people that Vista has flaws and its not worth it to get it yet, but Dell wouldn't let me customize it with XP.  So i'm wondering if i should just keep vista and not put XP on it, if i should get rid of vista (but then i'd have to buy a new disk for it later....a waste?) and put XP on, or should i keep vista on, but have it partitioned so i can also put XP on?

well here are the specs (that it tells me....i have no clue about mobo, or even what type (vga, agp, pci, etc) the video card is (i probably could have made this pc cheaper, but some things are needed XD [i know i could have gotten the better video card then, but i doubt my mom would have bought it then XD])



(i like how the columns are...i couldn't make it look anything like that without paint if i tried. if i was typing anyway)

but anyway, i was trying to keep it as cheap as possible (note the 128MB video card....if i didn't want to get the computer i would have went for the 512 XD)

but tell me what you voted and why. thanks

[Wízzßång]

I didn't even read the comment before I voted for keep XP, lose Vista.  I would certainly not recommend using Vista, at this point.   There are just too many problems with it to warrant using it.  That being said, if you currently have a PC with XP on it, you should be able to use that copy and install it on the new computer.  As long as you "decommission" the old PC and don't use it anymore, you should be fine, as far as the license is concerned.  And, since the PC will ship with Vista, it should come with the OS install disk, so if you should choose to, you can install Vista later on.

[ThE BrIcK]

Get rid of Vista.

If you really want Vista then by all means get it.

I suggest you wait a year or two for Vista and let them fix the many problems.

Actually, (I'm probably gunna get booed here but) Get a Mac.

[ÐeviÑ]

but my dear friend brick...how to put this simply....i don't want a mac

well if it comes with a vista disk, then by all means i will install xp right away. but if it doesn't, then what? i don't want to pay for it again later.

thanks for the feedback tho (even tho i'm pretty sure i'm just going to partition it till the flaws are fixed)

[MrMxyzptlk]

Well, ya, thx to M$'s muscle + monopoly tactics it's not POSSIBLE to buy a new computer with XP any more!

I'd recommend XP for any new gaming rig, actually, so yes, TRY to go with XP.

Here's the real problem, tho: Will Dell even SUPPORT that machine with XP on it? (You do NOT want to have a new Dell machine that they won't service, or support, you see....)

I suggest that you ask them before you spend any $$$.

Tell them outright that you DON'T WANT VISTA, YOU WANT XP, but you understand their predicament, er POSITION and that you'd like to re-install the system with XP and then ask them what would that mean WRT your support with/from them.  Or even ask: Can you charge me for Vista AND XP and install them both, or just the XP (and you can "upgrade" to Vista later if/when you want?)

If they say "Yes, everything is fine with us if YOU run XP, then go ahead and do whatever is needed to get things set up that way, either via them or on your own.

If they say "No, we can't install/sell any machine with XP" or "You'll loose your support with/from us if you install it XP on it" then I'd tell them "Ok then. Thanks, I'll go get my machine from Gateway then" and see what they do!

 

[ÐeviÑ]

well will they really know if i install xp on it?  but ok i'll ask

[ÐeviÑ]

well i talked to a tech guy who works for dell (the guy who comes out to fix them actually...he is in my AA clan) and he said i should partition and have dual boot. so i guess that is what i will do, since that is what the tech said to do

sorry for all you vista haters out there lol (seeing as a lot more people put get rid of vista on there lol)


thanks for the feedback

[FlameDragon]

think of it this way alot of pepole just dont like vista becuse its new and some ppl dont like new things but vista can do alot of stuff xp cant and unlike xp it dosent hold back any of your internet coonection so u get the highest speed possible and yes vista may be buggy now but in my opinon i would say vista becuse it seems to be geting the most attention right now and becuse gears of war for the pc latter this year will probly run on it just give it some time ppl will come around and see how great vista is eventualy

[MrMxyzptlk]

Dual-boot is a fine way to go, indeed!

As for why ppl "don't use Vista" I'll add my reason (yet again):

There is usually No Good Reason to update to a new OS as often as the manufacturer provides them - for a cost.

I have been an every-other-OS user with Linux, Solaris, and Windows for several DECADES of use of them, and it's never been a problem for me.

NOTE, however, that rarely has an OS provider gone to such lengths as Micro$oft has with Vista to make upgrading to it so much of a "requirement" before! (And created so many INcompatibilities without good reason.)

To me that's just a larger reason NOT to use/get it.

To me it's all about CHOICE, and the more a manufacturer of ANYTHING reduces my options with their products the LESS I want to deal with that manufacturer. Period.

[Forseti]

  agree with both his posts.

I think you got the right idea about the dual-boot though for many reasons -  you still have vista and eventually they will work out the bugs like usual, use XP until then, allows you to use both OS-required programs/games (works both ways, upgrading from win98 made some of my video editing soft/hardware unusable), if vista never works then you never have to use it, but if it eventually does you do not have to do anything to it since it is already there.

I would be VERY surprised if dell did not give you an OS disk; they always have in the past and never seen any decent PC company not give copies of everything you need just in case. Can not fix it over the phone otherwise.

Sounds like you are set on dell and in general they are as good as any other I guess. I only ever bought 1 PC from them and it died in 2yrs. I went through their tech assistance, determined a Mobo was needing replaced, went back and forth with them for well over a month only to find out "they could not supply a compatible mobo" which of course was wrong. They just could not supply a dell made/guaranteed one. Of course that whole fiasco made me learn how to replace mobos which was the only thing that had kept me from assembling my own and now I build my own with confidence. But in general most folks I talk to are happy with them.

[The Rebel™]

As has been said, dual booting will give you the best of both worlds. There may soon be things that you NEED to have vista for, while you still want XP for the ease of use and copatability of existing software. I personally have not found ANY software that did not work with my copy of vista. I did have some hardware problems because I was using an older, no longer supported (not properly atleast) video card. I was able to find the drivers in the end and they worked better than the XP ones IMO.

[ÐeviÑ]

ok so it MIGHT not be happening now anyway. since my mom decided she didn't want to buy the computer.  (i still have a chance to get it....but the odds are really low)

[MrMxyzptlk]

Sry to hear about your setback....

However, I'll add another point to the dual-boot strategy discussion tho:

Put each OS on its OWN, DEDICATED partition, and make a THIRD partition for EVERYTHING (esp. games) that you install.

That way if the app/game that you install works on both OSs, you might just be able to use it from both OSs.

NOTE: Be aware that whenever you switch between OSs all your User Settings, etc. from the one you were just using won't be available!  (Not GONE, just not available in the other booted OS.) [I THINK you can work it so this doesn't happen, but I'm not positive on whether it really works in practice, tho, so I won't explain it here....]

[Wízzßång]

and unlike xp it dosent hold back any of your internet coonection so u get the highest speed possible

Can you explain this further?  From what I have read, it seems to be the other way around

BTW, flamedragon, how about using a little punctuation?  The period is your friend.

NOTE: Be aware that whenever you switch between OSs all your User Settings, etc. from the one you were just using won't be available!  (Not GONE, just not available in the other booted OS.) [I THINK you can work it so this doesn't happen, but I'm not positive on whether it really works in practice, tho, so I won't explain it here....]

Most games save the game settings in My Documents.  Like you said for the partition for the games, you can also create a My Documents directory on the third partition, and point both OSes' My Documents to that directory.  That way all your settings/pictures/etc will be shared between OSes.

[MrMxyzptlk]

Yes, that's what I was talking about (but with entire PROFILEs), Wizz, but I don't know for a fact that Vista won't step on XP's stuff (can you say ntuser.dat?) in a "shared profile" or v-v, so I was recommending AGAINST doing that....

Suppose if you shared just a "My Documents"  folder it should be pretty safe, tho, but that will leave out a LOT of stuff increasing the discrepancies between use of each OS....