The Vista Dilemma

If you should talk to a tech about Vista, most will tell you to hold off for awhile. Not that there is anything really wrong with Vista, but because there is a severe lack of driver support. Many of the devices you normally use are behind in issuing new compatible drivers. The problem affects many consumers because all the big box stores are only selling Vista loaded machines. It is not uncommon to get your new computer home only to find out printers, scanners, cameras and other accessories will not work. We are also finding that Vista does not always work well in mixed network situations. We have been dealing with this since the January release. This means that your office network may not be able to work with a Vista operating system. A few clients have bought Windows XP and loaded it on their new Vista computers in order to network with the office computers. They also changed operating systems in order to use the network printers and scanners already in place at their office. Complicating this further, Vista is a "technology break". This means many older accessories and software simply will not work and the manufactures have no plans to update. This means you will have to buy new accessories. The situation is more critical if you purchased Vista to upgrade an existing machine. You could suddenly find that your video card is not supported. You just spent $200 on Vista and now you have to purchase new hardware. In fairness to Microsoft and the other manufactures, they have made this information available. If a little time was spent reading about the compatibility issues, many surprises could be avoided. Microsoft makes available on their web site a list called the Hardware Compatibility List or the HCL as we techies call it. Just Google Microsoft Vista HCL. This list is compiled by Microsoft and only contains hardware that has been approved. A little time spent with this list can save a ton of grief, pain and money. For those of you who don't have time for fun and games, XP is still available. It will be available for at least another year, but you cannot get it at the big box stores. To get XP you will have to seek out your local computer shop (like us). They will have Retail and OEM software and will still be able to build you a new XP machine. So, bottom line, if you have that itch to go out and get a Vista machine. Be prepared for some of accessories not to work. If you upgrade, be prepared for driver and hardware issues. Most of these problems can be avoided if you first do a little homework and check the HCL. Do this BEFORE you put your money down.


Article source: http://tinyurl.com/5vyowsr

Windows Vista - Should I Switch?

Windows Vista Ultimate has it all, Get the best of the business, mobility, and home entertainment features that Windows Vista has to offer, all rolled into one. Windows Vista Home Basic is intended for budget users with low needs.  Windows Vista Home Premium covers the majority of the consumer market.  Windows Vista Ultimate contains the complete feature-set and is aimed at enthusiasts.  Windows Vista Business covers organizations of all sizes, while Windows Vista Enterprise is only available to customers participating in Microsoft's Software Assurance program.


VistaWindows Vista was under development for a long time with Microsoft promising a raft of new features together with major improvements to security.  Vista also aims to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network using peer-to-peer technology, making it easier to share files and digital media between computers and devices. Vista includes technologies such as ReadyBoost and ReadyDrive which employ fast flash memory (located on USB drives and hybrid hard disk drives respectively) to improve system performance by caching commonly-used programs and data. Windows Vista is quite a good OS but it is different to XP so it's requires effort.


Better SecurityImproved security was a primary design goal for Vista and It provided a breakthrough design that brings your world into sharper focus while delivering the productivity, entertainment, and security you need from your PC at home or on the go. A new software development methodology called the "Security Development Lifecycle" was incorporated in an effort to address concerns with the security of the Windows codebase.


FeaturesMicrosoft has introduced a number of new features that agencies should consider such as a new graphical user interface, the next generation TCP/IP stack that supports IPv6 by default, network discovery protocol, Windows event log, etc. Ultimate provides the power, security, and mobility features needed for work, and all the entertainment features that you want for fun.  Windows Vista contains hundreds of new and reworked features; some of the most significant include an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed Windows Aero, improved searching features, new multimedia creation tools such as Windows DVD Maker, and completely redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems. It also features Complete PC Backup which backs up an entire computer as an image onto a hard disk or DVD


AeroWindows Aero introduces support for 3D graphics (Windows Flip 3D), translucency effects (Glass), live thumbnails, window animations, and other visual effects, and is intended for mainstream and high-end graphics cards.  As such, Windows Aero has significantly higher hardware requirements than its predecessors.  The Aero Glass gives Windows-Key Tab 3D switching between windows, the hover over the start menu items shows a cool live screenshot of the window, and the regular Alt-Tab is enhanced.


CriticismCriticism of Windows Vista has included protracted development time, more restrictive licensing terms, the inclusion of a number of new Digital Rights Management technologies aimed at restricting the copying of protected digital media, and the usability of other new features such as User Account Control.


Article source: http://tinyurl.com/5w7xsgs

How To Make A Windows XP Bootup Disk

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When you press the power button on your computer and it just sit there with none of those clicking and beeping sounds along with the monitor still having that blank screen,you know that you're going to have a bad day. A computer that fails to boot can be one of the most pain staking things that can happen to a pc user.And in most cases, the user don't have a clue as to what procedures they can take to get the PC up and running again. When you do experience pc bootup failure, always start your troubleshooting by checking the obvious.It the cord plugged into the wall outlet and is the other end securely plugged in the rear of the system unit. In many cases the cause is a corrupted startup file which prevent the computer from going through the bootup from start to finish.In this case, an easy way to start your PC is to have an emergency boot disk handy. A Boot Disk contain copies of critical files needed for startup that you should have made earlier.To use the floppy disk, all you need do is to place it in the floppy drive and reboot the computer. As the computer start the boot process, Windows will use the good files to get itself going.The Windows XP boot disk will enable you to resolve a corrupt Ntbootdd.sys driver, missing or corrupt Ntdr or Ntdetect.com files. These files are used by Windows XP and are crucial to its startup and configuration.The boot disk have also repair a damaged MBR or Master Boot Record. The MBR is a small program executed when the PC boots and resides on the first sector of the hard driveIt looks up the partition on the hard drive.You can create a MBR with the FDISK /MBR coomand A damaged boot sector can also be corrected with the boot disk.Your Windows XP boot disk will be a life saver when you have pc bootup failure and you need that file for your next interview. A sector is the smallest unit that can be accessed on a disk.When a disk is low level formatted, it will be divided tracks and sectors When making a boot disk make a mental note of the files being copied.This will give you added knowledge when you will need to help in making their boot disk.To make a boot disk, perform the following. Place a blank formatted floppy disk in your floppy drive and go to My Computer in Windows XP.Click the hard drive icon and on the toolbar, click Tools, Folder Options, and then click the View Tab. And scroll down and check "Show hidden files and folders" and just below uncheck "Hide protected operating system files (recommended). Now we're getting a little slower. Take note of this process and as you become more familiar with this task, you'll be able to make a boot disk for others in no time and help them save on down time. After unchecking "Hide protected operating system files, click OK.Some grayed out files will now be visible in the drive window.These files are protected system files. Now you're ready to select the boot, the NTDETECT, and the ntldr files.Now right-click, click Send To, and select Floppy ( A: ).When you have copied all files to the floppy, you now have a Windows XP boot disk. You should make two or more boot disks and place them in a safe place away from any type of magnetic or static charges.Before putting them away don't forget to label your life saving floppy disks. Should you be unfortunate enough to have to put one of your boot floppies to use, remember to replace the startup files on the hard drive with the ones on the floppy. If you overlook this critical step, you'll have the same boot up problem every time.Take your time as you copy the files and be sure not to reverse the copy procedure. This is why its important to make two or more boot disks. This way should you have an accident with one disk, so what, you paid attention here and made several copies. You've done it.You're now armed with a repair tool should your XP computer fail to boot.All Windows 98, 2000, and Me users also have the resources to create a book disk. Article source: http://www.articlepros.com/computers_and_internet/repair-and-maintenance/article-84106.html

Using Windows 7 Libraries

Keeping files and folders organized can be a time consuming task especially with the increase in the amount of digital files being stored. Instead of just keeping files organized people are now faced with keeping email, photos, movies and music organized and easily accessible. The more data that a person collects, especially if over multiple computers, the harder the organizational task becomes.

The basics of file organization include properly naming files and creating a folder structure that makes it easy to locate the file when needed. Though this method works it can still be very tedious to find a file or organize files across multiple computers or a network. A new feature in Windows 7 helps alleviate the problem of keeping files organized by the use of libraries.

A library allows you to easily find and organize files located on your PC or network in one location. The files are not moved to the library but stay in the original location but can be viewed and accessed via the library. For example, you have several folders with pictures as does your daughter on her laptop. Instead of moving her pictures to your computer you add her folder to your library, along with your picture folders, and then you have access to all the pictures from your PC.

There are several standard libraries included with Windows 7 including libraries for documents, downloads, music, pictures and videos. These libraries can be customized to fit your needs or you can create your own libraries based on your needs. In addition, content in each library type can be sorted or viewed by file properties specific to the type of files. For example, music can be sorted by album, artist or song while pictures can be sorted by date and rating.

Note: In order to add files and folders, or share libraries, with other computers they need to be running Windows 7 and be connected via a network or HomeGroup (Windows 7 home networking feature). The HomeGroup feature will be covered in a later article.

This introduction to Windows 7 libraries covers what is a library and how using libraries can organize your files and data. The next article will detail how to setup, use and organize your libraries in Windows 7 to make your computer and network organized and easy to use!
Source: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art70281.asp