Another useless answer.

The best thing to do is reinstall XP from scratch and install your programs
again.  This should fix the issues with your system.  If you want a new
computer that's another story, but if you are looking to save money, do a
reinstall and your system will seem like new again.  Once you reinstall XP,
do the updates immediately, install the Virus software and you should be
good to go.

I bought a new Compaq with Vista Home on it and have had quite a bit of
problems with my existing software that I had installed on my (now) dead
XP Pro laptop.

I put Office 2003 Pro and most programs work except when saving files to
a different directory than the default causes a 30 second delay that
seems like everything is locked up.  Then it frees up and the directory
will change.  I am still trying to figure out where my outbox emails go
when I send email from Outlook.

I spent a day and a half trying to get Motorola Phone Tools installed
only to give up and go to my XP Pro desktop.

I had to buy a new antivirus because the Norton V10.2 would not run on
Vista, I needed Norton 10.4 and it was a cost to upgrade.

I would be happy to go back to XP Pro if I had known about the DEGRADE
capability or for that matter is the DEGRADE capability built in and
just has to be purchased?  Or can I purchase XP Pro and have it install
over the top of Vista?

Is the SP1 going to have more software compatability than the original
or is it more for stability, security and speed?

TIA, GWB

Rojo Habe;609654 Wrote:

*False. Office 2000 is perfectly compatible with Vista.*

All good points.  But tell me:  To reinstall all the programs, won't I lose
what's on the computer now?  Not everything is saved in "my documents," so I
may not even be able to find it all to back it up.  Or will reinstallation
leave that all alone?

 I 3rd the Motion

Windows is Microsoft's cash cow. They HAVE to release a new version
every so often to keep the cash coming in. Of course all software
companies do the same thing. Microsoft sadly sometimes takes a step
backwards. Vista is an example where it is worse than the version (XP)
is was designed to replace. One reason the Boys of Redmond and rushing
Windows 7 along. They know it lacks polish and causes a lot of grief
for many users, only fanboy morons don't know any better.

Alan, this isn't a slight against either XP or Vista but your needs for this
machine sound like a perfect candidate for a PC running Ubuntu Linux.  If
you are unfamiliar with Ubuntu I would encourage you to get a hold of a
Ubuntu Live CD and you can then try it out on your existing hardware before
deciding if it will meet your needs.  Ubuntu comes with Firefox and
Thunderbird and for simply Internet browsing, email and assorted tasks, it
should more than meet your needs on a fairly low end basic pc.  Since you
are not one to trouble shoot I would recommend a Dell or something with
Ubuntu pre-installed.  The advantages to Ubuntu in your situation are lower
hardware requirements and therefore lower cost, better performance and
better security.  Since you already have a more powerful XP machine, you can
continue to run your existing Windows software on it and Ubuntu will give
you exposure to another operating system and the available and included
software should meet more than all your needs.

I would not recommend Vista unless you plan to purchase a machine with high
end specs.  It will set you back more money and it doesn't sound like you
need it based on your requirements unless you were going to swap your XP
machine as a replacement for your WIN 98 machine and look for a higher end
machine as your new workhorse.

XP will perform admirably on mid range hardware but is not as secure as
Ubuntu and requires a security suite subscription and more on-going
maintenance than a Ubuntu machine.  With Ubuntu, automatic updates will keep
your operating system and all your programs updated automatically and there
is not a need to run disk defrag like in Windows.  If you have no interest
in learning another operating system your best bet would be to stick to a
machine with XP.  If you are familiar with XP though you can learn the
basics of Ubuntu with ease and having the ability to try a different
operating system and some new programs can be a great experience if you are
up to it.

I use XP, Vista and Ubuntu on pretty well a daily basis and they all have
advantages and disadvantages but for your minimal needs I would choose
Ubuntu since you already have an XP machine.  Because your preference is not
to trouble shoot, I would not recommend it though unless you go with a
machine where it comes preinstalled so everything should be working out of
the box.