Choosing a new OS . ...............suggestions please!

[Ray Anderson]

I'm presently using XP Pro and the expiration is coming to a close. Windows 7 and Vista are my options of choice at the moment. I have no experience with either of these and would like to hear from users as to the "friendly" atrributes and characteristics of each as I will have to choose one soon. I am not savvy in this field but can manage if not taxed too heavily. Pros and cons.

[Richard Sinkler]

My recommendations (for what it is worth) is to go with Win7. I had a laptop with Vista and had nothing but problems with the OS. I know a few people that have Win8 computers, and they all say it sucks. I bought Win7 to put on this computer (currently have Xp Media Center) because of the support issue you mention. My current laptop has Win7 and I actually like it.

[Calvin Walley]

1st, I AM NOT a computer person
but until last jan I was also using win XP but after hearing horror stories about win 8,
I hunted a new computer with win 7 on it. it took a couple of weeks to get used to win 7 but now I like it

[Ray Anderson]

Thanks Guys, Another question to Richard, How long does it take to load up for use ? Starting from bootup to operating status. ( Widows 7)

[Dave Potter]

Since you don't go into detail about your hardware, it's impossible to make a recommendation; the later the OS version, the more likely it will be to depend on recent hardware to function properly.

Having said that, I'll say that the later the OS version, the more likely it will be to be able to recover and repair itself from system anomalies, crashes, etc. Later versions of Windows will also be better able to handle driver issues, installations, updates, etc.

I have no experience with Windows 8 - it looks "gamey" to me, and I'm not excited about upgrading to it. But I've been running Windows 7 64-bit for a while now, and it's stable and usable for my audio/video (and other) applications.

[Wiz Feinberg]

I'm presently using XP Pro and the expiration is coming to a close. Windows 7 and Vista are my options of choice at the moment. I have no experience with either of these and would like to hear from users as to the "friendly" atrributes and characteristics of each as I will have to choose one soon. I am not savvy in this field but can manage if not taxed too heavily. Pros and cons. :?

I have loaded Ubuntu Linux onto my old XP machine. There is a bit of a learning curve and some special apps needed to run Windows software, but after all is done, it is a good, stable OS.

[Ronald Cid]

Ray

Dave Potter answered the question with the most pertinent information.

What type of PC are you working with? What is the main chip and memory on the unit? What is the size of the hard drive? These are the most important aspects of the unit in question. If your PC was XP supplied, stick with XP. It was designed to work with XP, and might not work properly with a newer version like 7 or 8.

For instance, I use Mac computers but I also installed using Bootcamp, Windows XP Pro. Although I have the hardware to run any system, I choose XP because it was the most stable version of Windoze produced. It's also a version that I am very comfortable with, and runs every software package I need to use...MS Office, Corel Draw, Painter, All the Adobe products etc.. Best of all it was cheap for a legal version.

I've been in computers since 1983, and there is one aspect that all users should realize. The end user is the beta tester for Microsoft. In my case after so many beta versions I got fed up and went to Apple.

Windoze 1 and 2 were disasters...Windows 3.0 was good and then 3.1 was very good.

Windows 95, crashed all the time, Windows 98...I could never shut it down, Windows ME...The poor fools that were stuck with that version...I pity.

XP Pro was a stable version that crashed the least. Vista was, and still is a disaster. Win 7 (Vista fixed) appears to be very stable. Windows 8....no one knows as of yet. The problem with all windoze versions is that the end user becomes the Beta tester...and it can take numerous updates to get the version stable. In defence of Microsoft, with so many hardware choices, it's almost impossible to make versions stable for the end user until the bugs have been ironed out. That is the fate of Microsoft...because of the open architecture there are too many factors to test prior to releasing an OS version. The victim is the end user.

All OS's have problems even Mac OS X, but because the hardware is controlled by Apple they usually get it right quickly. The most basic things usually work well. The negative to all Apple products are the costs. but you get what you pay for. All-in-all my usage of the Mac has been very positive...most Mac persons say....it simply works.

I am not promoting the Mac, as I am also a realist..Mac's will never surpass the PC in market share, and the price of a PC laptop is much less than a Mac laptop. You can get a decent "working man's" laptop for 1/3 the price of the cheapest Mac laptop.

Regarding your version, if it works, why change it? XP PRO, if it is a legal version never expires. If it is a trail version, find a legal copy and use that. Mine cost under 80.00$ Many colleges, and Universities have educational copies for sale at a very good price. XP has been refined since it's initial versions, and should serve you well for many years, or until you are forced to update your PC.

Hope this helps

RC

[Richard Sinkler]

Windows Xp I don't think really "expires". I think he means that next March (I think), Microsoft will no longer be issuing updates. That could make it very susceptible to security problems. That is the reason I am thinking of upgrading to Win7. If you go to Microsoft's website, you will find a program to download that will check your computer and tell you if the hardware is Win7 compatible. Fortunately, mine is. I think it also advises you if programs that won't run on Win7 and drivers that may need an update.

Unfortunately, Xp users are going to be faced with updating to Win7 or Win8 next year because of the lack of updates, or buy a whole new computer. Knowing how vulnerable Windows can be to security problems, I don't want to take the chance after they stop issuing fixes for the holes.

See the pinned topic at the top of the computers index page for a great thread by Wiz one the future of Xp.

[Walter Killam]

Hi Ray,

According to Microsoft, support for Windows XP ends on April 8, 2014. You have some time before you need to do anything:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ ... pport.aspx

Your Windows XP will continue to work after support ends, but as time goes on you will be increasingly open to attack by viruses and malware AFTER 4-8-2014

I've been in the PC support game for a while now, and a few years ago I started the process of ditching Windows altogether.

I'm with Wiz on this one, installing Ubuntu Linux, has been a game changer for me. The latest installation packages have passed what we used to call the "Aunt Minnie" test, meaning if Aunt Minnie could install it and work with it, then any competent PC user should do OK.

If you have any interest in Linux, you can burn a bootable demo to disc start your machine from the CD and try it out.

http://www.ubuntu.com/download

If you are uncomfortable with the download, I'm sure we can figure out a way to send you a CD. (feel free to PM me if you want)

The rude truth is that whether you upgrade to Windows 7, 8, or linux, you will have to re-learn some of the functionality that you probably take for granted. Additionally, if your machine is old, it may not have enough horsepower to make the jump to a newer version of windows.

the big question that I would have is - Do you use any OS exclusive software? (IE: Band in a Box) This will direct your choices.

If all you do is email, internet, and office, Ubuntu is the ticket (and it's free!).

keep us posted!

[Brint Hannay]

I'm no computer whiz, and when my old, Windows XP, computer died I was apprehensive hearing all the ubiquitous "Windows 8 sucks" talk, but I went ahead and got a new computer with 8 and, to my surprise, it's no big deal to me. I just almost totally ignore the blingy "tiles" interface, go straight to my "normal" desktop, and there are only minor differences in how to do the things I do--which admittedly isn't a whole lot. YMMV.

[Rick Johnson]

I have been using Windows 7 at work for a couple
of years, I like it. Don't forget you will
need to make your own recovery backup discs
once you get it going.

Rick

www.rickjohnsoncabinets.com

[Ray Anderson]

Thanks Guys, I guess I'll ride it 'til the wheels fall off. I'm using a Dell Inspiron 8600 that I bought in '03 but I 've done the max on upgrades to it hard drive and etc. I figure by the time I pay 199.00 for an upgrade to Windows 7 I cand add a few more dollars and come up with something newer and up to speed . All that I do is on the internet anyways , I have some programs that I use to convert cassettes to cd and VHS to disc and such as that. I do no banking or the likes. I will dowload the Ubuntu and take a look at it in case I get wiped out on this OS. Thanks to all who took the time. Happy Steelin.

[Wiz Feinberg]

When it comes to upgrading your OS, many XP machines simply cannot run Windows 7 or newer. It totally depends on the hardware devices mounted onto your motherboard and whether the manufacturer has decided to release Windows 7 drivers for them.

If your computer is only 4 or 5 years old you may be able to obtain the required drivers, or Windows 7 or 8 may supply its own native drivers. This time period was when Windows Vista was being released into the workforce, thus there was a fair amount of hardware support for both XP and Vista.

Computers built 6 or more years ago may not have any driver support for newer versions of Windows. Further, their processors and graphics adapters may clock too slowly, and they may not accept the amount of ram needed to run these new OSs.

[Chris Dorch]

Just so you know... There is NO direct upgrade path from XP to Win7/8. It will require a clean install. As others have said, older hardware with newer OS don't generally make good bed-fellows.

I personally have a different opinion about Windoze... I HATE XP. I think it's one of their worst since 98/ME and I have used every version since 1.0 and MS certified on 2K to 2K8. That being said, Windows 7 is very stable and feature friendly.

If you only have Windows experience, going Linux or Mac OS may throw you for a loop. You may or may not recover unless you are fairly technically adept. If you are thinking about going that route, check to make sure you can run the software you normally run. If you cannot, there's really no sense.

Computers are stupid cheap these days. Buying a licensed copy of Win 7 (since you cannot upgrade) is 2/3rds the cost of a new machine. Brick your old one and buy a new one and roll with it. You can still get new Win 7 boxes.

My 2 cents... Do what you want...

[James Quillian]

On all of our machines, we install 3 operating systems on separate partitions. One of these is Ubuntu/Linux. If I didn’t run a few specialty programs that don’t work on Linux, I would use nothing but Ubuntu.

[Gary Shepherd]

Win7