XP on a Vista computer?

[stayouttadabunker]

My wife hates her 1 year old Dell Computer running Vista.
Her computer's CPU is always overworked,bogged down and slow...
 
We have to continously clean it out despite her computer having a larger HD, more RAM memory,etc. than my 9 year old homemade computer that runs XP.
My line of thinking is that Vista is still a fairly new operating system. It hasn't worked out all the bugs yet.

My homebuilt with XP has 8-9 YEARS worth of MS updates and runs quick and slices through webpages like a hotknife.
I have never used any anti-spyware, norton, mcafee or any other program to protect my computer other than XP's built in firewall, disk clean up tool, Mozilla Firefox  browser and Lavasoft's Adaware from PC world.
My computer is stable as hell.

This is the question, would it be better (for the next few years until MS gets all the bugs out) to run XP on her computer w/all 9 years of MS updates, Service Packs and Mozilla Firefox?

[Foster]

You can try but be aware that maybe XP drivers may not exist for some of her hardware. 

If her CPU can handle it maybe a 64 bit version of Vista might help some.

Also FWIW microsoft already has Windows 7 in Beta, It may or may not still be available for D/L
I am running Windows 7 and Mac OS X on a HP slimline PC. I was running Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit. Been very happy with it. Other than not letting DOS programs direct Access to Hardware.

 

[jdkmunch]

Vista is an absolute pig - Foster is right go to dell's support site and put in the service tag and see if all the drivers are there for XP - if so then no issues at all.  I would think that they would be. 
Windows 7 is slated to come out later this year and it is much improved over Vista.  Microsoft took out all of the bloat from Vista so it runs much faster and with a much improved window interface. 


But if you can run XP do it now! -  I have it on the 1500 machines I'm responsible for - from new to very old and it works perfetlly.

[StatFreak]

Is MicroCrap still selling XP or are we talking copies? If so, did the community find a way around the required activation?
It's not that I mind paying, but I thought MS stopped selling XP altogether.

[jdkmunch]

sorry I don't deal with that activation crap. We use the vlk volume license keys.

[rickhunter]

If the machine has Windows Vista Ultimate or Vista Business, you are license rights to downgrade to XP Professional for a "nominal Fee".  Call Dell, I think they will charge you $45 for the media to use Windows XP if you have either version of Vista listed.

If not, you can buy an OEM Windows XP Home license for around $90 plus the cost of some "hardware" (A prerequisite for buying the OEM version, typically you can just buy a cheap mouse and you qualify).

As previously posted, Windows 7 is in beta, so if you can hang on a bit longer, you may go to that. The general word is that this version appears to be what windows Vista should have been.  MS says release date Jan 2010, though there's a lot of speculation that it will be out before then.  Meanwhile you can still download the beta version for free.  The beta license expires on August 1st 2009, so you get to use it for 6 months or so for free.  After that you will either need to install a previous version of windows, or hope that the next beta is out and you can extend it beyond then.

Here's the link to the public beta download.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-download.aspx

[stayouttadabunker]

Thanks a lot Rick Hunter,
I think we will try that Windows 7 for now and see how it goes on her computer.
We are also thinking of using the Mozilla browser as it works really well (quick) on mine...
kudos+ to everyone who has helped us!

[jdkmunch]

Let me know your opinion - I think you will like 7

[dpalmi]

MS says release date Jan 2010, though there's a lot of speculation that it will be out before then.

Hello!

I have been in the IT industry a long time and Microsoft never gets a product out when the say they will.  So I would expect it to be after Jan 2010.  That's one reason Vista sucked so bad - everything they said they were gonna do at first got yanked out because they ran out of time.

Dan #2

[jdkmunch]

I think that vista's reputation is so badly damaged that MS will push 7 out sooner rather than later.

[StatFreak]

The people who would really know are MS employees. The best source of info for those not in the Seattle area would be MS Consultants working for large private companies, or the employees of the IT departments of those companies. For that matter, those same companies would be the first to get beta versions AND full release versions of anything MS puts out. When I worked for Warner Bros, we had the final release of Windows 2000 server two or three months before it was officially released to the public, and we knew everything that was going on with development for more than a year preceding.

Does anyone on the site have such a contact?

[jdkmunch]

My company received all releases months earlier too.    2000 XP and Vista were all received months before.  Not that much is being said about 7 except this will be the only beta.  No release candidates either.    We will see....

I'll ask my friend who is head of IT at Mt. Sinai. 

[StatFreak]

...this will be the only beta.  No release candidates either.    ...

Sounds like they're pushing hard because of Vista's failure. 
Why do I have the feeling that I would be better off waiting for all the suckers early birds to get Win 7's worms?
I'll probably wait until it's been out for a few months and read all the bug reports, complaints, and compliments (hopefully).

Thanks for the scoop.

[Foster]

My only complaint is not with Windows 7 it is with another software vendor.
I used their software to get access to my Mac OS X partition in Windows, and It refused to let me set the windows partition active so I could install windows 7 on it.
I had my Mac OS X active so the boot loader used for Mac OS X would load.  I can pick any partition to boot from: Windows 7, Mac OS X, Factory Recovery.
I had to uninstall their software to do so, and they don't have a version out that works with windows 7 out yet. Their current Version  refuses to install.

[edski]

Install Windows 7 on a separate hard drive.
That's what I had to do, because it will not install over XP, only Vista.
I wanted to try all my applications on Win7, but since I found it came with "Media Center", I'm more interested in in trying that on the "Big Screen", to see what it can do.

IF I can find some time!

The last couple months have been Work, Sleep, Work, Sleep, Work, Crash, Burn, Work.

Time to make the Doughnuts.

I MADE the Doughnuts!


Ed

[edski]

If anyone wants to try Windows 7 Beta, the Download and Software Keys are still available.

Be a Beta Tester!

See what kind of junk MS has to offer before they make you pay for it!!

[jay]

For $500/year you can join the developer program. This gets you every release of every software package.
Each month you receive between 10 and 20 disks. You also get tech support on all the products.
When you figure one "incident" call is between $200-$500 you can get support on any product for free.
Not a bad value when you consider MS Office Pro is around $400.00.

[jdkmunch]

Yep MSDN is well worth the money.

[StatFreak]

Yep MSDN is well worth the money.

I though MSDN was more expensive. Is that the basic subscription price?

[jay]

Perhaps, Its been a few years since I last participated. I think the cost also varies on the size of your organization.

[StatFreak]

It's $600 if all you want is the OS.
For $2500 you can have VS pro and MSDN premium, which is close to what I was expecting. But remember, it's only for one year.


Here is the price list:

MSDN Premium
   MSDN Premium Subscriptions include the named Visual Studio product, Expression Web and Blend, Operating Systems, SQL Server, Servers, Office, Dynamics, MSDN Library, Managed Newsgroups, Online Concierge, 4 technical support incidents, and more.
   Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Suite with MSDN Premium $10,939
   Visual Studio Team System 2008 Development Edition with MSDN Premium $5,469
   Visual Studio Team System 2008 Architecture Edition with MSDN Premium $5,469
   Visual Studio Team System 2008 Test Edition with MSDN Premium $5,469
   Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition with MSDN Premium $5,469
   Visual Studio Professional with MSDN Premium $2,499
 
MSDN Professional
   MSDN Professional Subscriptions include Visual Studio Professional, Visual SourceSafe, Operating Systems, SQL Server, MSDN Library, Managed Newsgroups, Online Concierge, 2 technical support incidents, and more.
   Visual Studio Professional with MSDN Professional $1,199
 
MSDN Operating Systems
   MSDN Operating Systems include Operating Systems, MSDN Library, Managed Newsgroups, Online Concierge, 2 technical support incidents, and more.
   MSDN Operating Systems $699

[brichter]

For my job as devtest, we get Technet subscriptions, which also works out well for IT guys:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/ms788692.aspx

We don't pay near that price ($349/yr, $249 for 1 year renewals), but it's still a pretty good deal if you're just looking for run-of-the-mill softwware and licenses.

Here's the list of what's available:
Applications (45)
Access 2003
Access 2007
Accounting
Business Contact Manager
Business ScoreCard Manager
Front Page
Groove 2007
Hyper-V Server 2008
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
InfoPath 2003
InfoPath 2007
Interconnect 2004
Interconnect 2007
Internet Explorer 6.0
Office 2003
Office 2007
Office Communicator 2005
Office Communicator 2007
Office Communicator Web Access
Office Servers 2007
Office XP
OneNote 2003
OneNote 2007
Outlook 2003
Outlook 2007
PerformancePoint Server
Project 2002
Project 2003
Project 2003 Server
Project 2007
Project Portfolio Server 2006
Project Portfolio Server 2007
Publisher 2003
Publisher 2007
SharePoint Designer 2007
Small Business Accounting(App)
Virtual PC 2004
Virtual PC 2007
Virtual PC for Mac 6.1
Virtual PC for Mac 7.0
Virtual Server 2005
Virtual Server 2005 R2
Visio 2002
Visio 2003
Visio 2007
Business Solutions (24)
Dynamics AX 2009
Dynamics AX 4.0
Dynamics Axapta 3.0
Dynamics CRM 1.0
Dynamics CRM 1.2
Dynamics CRM 3.0
Dynamics CRM 4.0
Dynamics GP 10.0
Dynamics GP 7.5
Dynamics GP 8.0
Dynamics GP 9.0
Dynamics NAV 4.0
Dynamics NAV 5.0
Point of Sale 1.0
Small Business Accounting
Small Business Manager Financials 7.5
Small Business Manager Financials 8.0
Small Business Manager Financials 9.0
Small Business Manager FRx (SBM)
Solomon 5.5
Solomon 6.0
Solomon 6.5
Solomon 7.0
Solomon FRx
Operating Systems (26)
Compute Cluster Pack
MS-DOS
Small Business Server 2003
Small Business Server 2003 R2
Windows 3.1 (16-bit)
Windows 3.11 (16-bit)
Windows 3.2 (16-bit)
Windows 7
Windows Advanced Server
Windows CE DirectX Kit
Windows CE Toolkit Visual C++ 6.0
Windows Essential Business Server 2008
Windows Internet Explorer 7
Windows Internet Explorer 8
Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2003 R2
Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Services for UNIX 1.0
Windows Services for UNIX 2.0
Windows Services for UNIX 3.0
Windows Services for UNIX 3.5
Windows Small Business Server 2008
Windows Vista
Windows XP
Workgroups 3.11 (16-bit)
Servers (56)
Antigen
Application Virtualization for Terminal Services
BizTalk Server 2002
BizTalk Server 2004
BizTalk Server 2006
BizTalk Server 2006 R2
BizTalk Server Accelerators and Adapters
Commerce Server 2002
Commerce Server 2007
Connected Services Framework
Content Management Server
Customer Care Framework 2005
Customer Care Framework 2008
Customer Care Framework 2009
Desktop Optimization Pack
Exchange Server 2003
Exchange Server 2007
Forefront Client Security
Forefront Client Security Beta
Forefront Security for Exchange Server
Forefront Security for SharePoint
Forefront Server Security Management Console
Forms Server
Groove Server
Host Integration Server 2000
Host Integration Server 2004
Host Integration Server 2006
Identity Integration Server 2003
Identity Lifecycle Manager 2007
ISA Server 2004
ISA Server 2006
Live Communications Server 2003
Live Communications Server 2005
Office Communications Server 2007
Operations Manager 2000
Operations Manager 2005
Project Server
Search Server 2008
SharePoint Server 2001
SharePoint Server 2003
SharePoint Server 2007
SharePoint Server 2007 Search
Speech Server 2004
SQL Server 2000
SQL Server 2005
SQL Server 2008
System Center Capacity Planner
System Center Configuration Manager
System Center Data Protection Manager
System Center Essentials 2007
System Center Mobile Device Manager
System Center Operations Manager
System Center Reporting Manager 2006
System Center Virtual Machine Manager
Systems Management Server 2003
Systems Management Server 2003 R2
TechNet Technical Library (1)
TechNet Technical Library
TechNet Technical Training (4)
Technet Briefings
TechNet Webcasts
Windows Server 2008 Training
Windows Vista Training
Tools and Resources (29)
.NET Compact Framework 1.0
.NET Compact Framework 2.0
.NET Framework 1.0
.NET Framework 1.1
.NET Framework Redistributable 1.0
.NET Framework Redistributable 2.0
.NET Framework Redistributable 3.0
Application Compatibility
Baseline Security Analyzer 2.0.1
Bookshelf Symbol 7
CRC 3.05
Data Analyzer 2002
IIS
ILMerge
Internet Security and Acceleration
Log Parser
MSXML 4.0
Office Resource Kit
Services for Netware
Solver Foundation
SQL Server Migration Assistant
SQL Server Tool (SQLH2)
Translation Glossaries
Windows Hardware Compatibility
Windows Installer
Windows Server Update
Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor 1.0
WinFS
XML Parser 3.0

[jay]

Bill - This is the one that I was thinking of....$349 usd ~was aprox~ $500 Canadian if you included taxes.

[brichter]

Yep, it's the best way to go if you don't need all the developer kits.

[jdkmunch]

You can get personal - then you get 12 or 15 activations per product.