A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2007 Mel's computer.

Vista has a LOT of DRM stuff (Digital Right Management), if you try to watch DVD's that have been copied, it may nit let you.

Their are also numerous other issues with it, it phones home a lot, and it is a BIG resource hog.

Moat reviews of it are negative.

That's right..
Say you buy yourself a cd and you want to make a copy of it,
to play so the original doesn't get scratched..
It won't let you watch it..

As I understand it,
it takes 1 gig of memory to even run the program thingie

It's like Big Daddy watching over you sorta...

I don't watch movies, so that's not a problem.

Thanks for recent postings. I didn't want to intervene in case you thought that it was none of my darn business as a limey. But I consider you people my friends now and I don't like to see my friends being taken for a long ride with no ticket. (Even friends I have never met - lol).

I spent 30 years of my life, not only working with web sites for industry but also, developing software, building desktops and repairing laptops. And quite honestly Mel, you are being fed a rather large male cow. Exploding capacitors my eye, because the wrong bloke stole the recipe . That is a complete nonsense. Next point. You don't ever repair motherboards. With a computer, you don't repair any board - you replace it. Repair of a board is sooo expensive in labor, just throw it away and put in a new one. Mel, get a second opinion as soon as you can.

The remaining (and unrelated point is Vista. It is well known that every time an operating system (OS) gets properly cleaned up, Mr Gates will launch another one that is going to be bug ridden until at least release 5. Then he can sell you loads of upgrades (OK some are free but the major ones aren't). I've worked in Redmond (yes they do employ foreigners with the right Ph.D.) and even the staff know that that is policy. Vista will be good one day, but my advice (and I know a lot more about this than I do about gardening) is to leave it alone for a couple of years. Stay with XP (preferably professional) for now, and let MS debug Vista before you pay for it.

Drat, it's a pity I don't live close to you... I could maybe fix the computer up, I fixed a computer once with a straw (Dust was preventing the graphics card from reaching the computer)

Yep... my thoughts exactly...for what Webwise said..

Same on the mother board thing webwise said,
my husband said to get a new one...
~~~>to repair those, only the manufacturer can do that..
And it is very costly and a new mother board is
cheaper..

And people wonder why I dumped Windows and run Linux.

Linux isn't for everybody, but I don't have to reboot and it is as solid as a rock.

Hmmmmmmmmmm, lots to ponder. Thank you webwise for your input also.

ok, i have to weigh in on this one. first, i'm with just buying a new mother board, because it is the fastest, cheapest way to get you going again.

second, i'm with postponing vista until at least release 3, same reasons as mentioned. i like xp, but prefer the protections that firefox offer as standard. at work, firefox is actually preferred.

third, motherboards are repaired all the time for a reasonable price, BUT i wouldn't do it. and capacitors do leak/bulge/fail. i'm only sure of that because dh works in the electronics field and his training was what is called "to component level" meaning he is qualified to repair motherboards. the other kind of electronics training is "board level" which means you learn how to make sure what ever board (video card, etc) is working, but not how to fix them if they aren't. only how to swap them out.

there is a lot more to it than that, and most companies do not go component level anymore unless it is a VERY expensive motherboard (like those found in aircraft). but it can be done.

now, in the meantime, with whatever decision you make, i'm glad you have a computer to hold you!

Thank you , Jiffy, I too am grateful for this laptop to see me through.

Would it make a difference if I had told you all that the computer in question cost me $250 3 0r 4 years ago at Walmart??? I will look into it more about replacing the MB...........

not really to me. when you get a new motherboard, it will be faster and have more options, but the outcome is the same. if i were going to replace a computer, at this point, i'd do just the motherboard.

now, if i had money in the bank, and didn't have a wedding to fund, and a trip to ca, and 2 kids in college... well, you get the drift...

Go to NewEgg.Com
for parts, sometimes things are like $5.00 for shipping and alllll the way down to FREE S&H!!!

But sometimes you have to be quick getting parts, they go realllllly quick sometimes...

You can get some good deals...

One thing to remember is that not all PC's are upgradable. Some use special Motherboards and are not the same.

I ran into this recently on a Dell I was upgrading, the MB had some special connectors on it and the plug for the power supply was wired differently. I wound up replacing the MB, case, and Power Supply.

Also Weezie noted that with Vista you have to ask permission to install things. This is a good idea, but the way Microsoft wrote this, is not a good way to do it. You should never install things with full Admin rights, with Vista you are running in a user account, but when you install things it gives you full Admin rights, so the whole process is worthless.

Same way with the Windows Firewall. MS just turns everything on, and really doesn't block anything that is going out. So if you have a Trojan on your PC, the Windows Firewall will let it phone home.

MS just can not get things right.

Well Mel... I'm sorry about the troubles but if it makes you feel any better, BooBoo died recently after only 17 months (actually I worked him to death). I got the new "state of the art" Dell Dimension 9200 with "state of the art" MS Vista and all the bells and whistles last week..... ($$$$$)

Thor died today... he experienced severe display tremors, then, after "shutting down" for nearly an hour, he went comatose on me. RIP, poor Thor, you !@#$%^!!

Whatever you do DO NOT get a system with Vista!

Oh man Bill, Dan just got one of those systems for one of his customers. I know he is working with it now but have not really looked at it much myself. I love my XP though and will keep it until it dies a slow and miserable death. I need more memory!

Bill, sorry to hear that happened, what was the cause of Thor's untimely demise?? Do you know yet? Did it have to do with the OS or was it something electrical??

I don't think I will get the Vista at this time.

Whewwwwwwwwwwwww!!!

What's new with your computer so far Mel????

As an aside Pat, I like your Mordor spoof signature but didn't get the full joke until you said you were running Linux. I run it on my server (OK I chicken out and use a Windows client) but I agree. For technical excellence it far outstrips Windows.