Windows Vista From A Faux Newbie’s Perspective
So I installed Windows Vista. Not a big deal, right? After all, I’ve been doing it for almost 3 years. I started with Longhorn 4074 within days after it was available. I have always tried to be among the first to install new builds as they came out, test them, take screenies, etc. The idea was to test them, of course. Meaning not using it the way a “normal” person would, but putting it through the ringer.
I went through this routine right up until RC1. Then…issues. I had been hoping all along that each new build would show improved performance. This was not happening for me. I went out and bought a Radeon X800 XT specifically to take advantage of Aero, which was iffy on previous builds with my Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra. Now, the X800 XT was state-of-the-art when I got it, yet I ended up with a performance rating of 1.0. I was frustrated to no end.
Although I tried the builds after RC1, I couldn’t use them. Even RC1 was problematic. So I soured on Vista after RC1. After rabidly downloading, installing, and testing every build of Longhorn/Vista for almost 3 years, as RTM finally approached it was nothing but frustration for me.
So I took a break and decided to let some time pass. This way I could put myself into the shoes of what the typical user would encounter. Which brings us back to…
So I installed Windows Vista. I still haven’t done much with it, but that’s the idea. In the past, I would have a list of applications to install. I would try one after another, adding to our list of Programs That Do and Don’t Work. My main goal was not to install programs for the purpose of using them per se — it was to install them to contribute to the list and the knowledge base for our members. But that is not how “normal” people use OSs, of course. They only install what they really need.
So…I am doing it differently this time. I am not nor do I plan to install everything on my usual list. In fact, I am doing just the opposite. I am only installing the bare minimum which I need to work. By doing this, I hope to be able to use Vista the way a typical user would. Also, it is not my main OS and I don’t intend to use it as one.
So I am not “testing” it as I had for almost 3 years. I am not trying to see what it can or can’t do. I’m simply trying to use it, minimally, the way most users probably do.
I literally followed our Windows Vista Installation Guide like a newbie. Step by step. Everything I experienced was exactly as it says. And I put myself in the shoes of someone who was installing Vista for the first time.
Where Microsoft got it right (so far): I love the way Vista literally tells you what drivers you need and walks you through how to get them, right down to linking to the download sites for them. Again, I approached it as a newbie and was able to get the drivers for my Lexmark X1150 All-In-One. Now, anyone who has that machine knows that on previous builds the drivers that came with the printer wouldn’t work. Every single time you would start Vista, the dialog box would come up asking you to install the drivers. You would either have to unplug the machine or tell Vista to stop asking. It was always annoying. Well, Lexmark finally put out the drivers and Vista took me right to the download page and they worked. They were the only drivers that weren’t in-box which Vista took me to. Vista even told me why the drivers on the disc didn’t work — they were only for XP. Even previous builds weren’t smart enough to say that.
Where Microsoft got it wrong (so far): Vista would not install the audio drivers for my Creative Soundblaster Live! 5.1. This was not a surprise. I had always had to install them manually. But this time it was different. Vista said, in big bold letters, “no audio device installed” and said, in a dialog box (click here for solutions etc.) that no driver is compatible. It said, right there, that it would not take me to the Creative site because there are no drivers for Vista for the Soundblaster Live! series. If I was a newbie, I’d think, “no sound, forget it” and either live without it or go out and buy a new card.
Wrong!!! I installed the drivers manually and they worked like they always have. Vista got it wrong, badly. I almost didn’t even bother because I trusted the dialogs.
As happened with previous builds, I had no Aero from the start, even with my X800 XT. And even though Vista does say that I have the WDDM drivers installed, I still get a performance rating of 1.0. I still don’t get it. Because of that, it didn’t begin with Aero by default.
However, when I went to “display personalization,” Aero was indeed in the dropdown list and I was able to choose it. And it worked. So now I do have Aero, even with my measly 1.0 rating. But if I was a newbie I would never have known I could do that. Nowhere did Vista ever explain one word about what Aero is, why I didn’t have it by default, and how to get it. Bad.
After installing the Lexmark and Creative drivers, the only app I knew I had to have was antivirus. Vista did a great job of telling me that and linking to sites where I could get programs, although they only had 3 vendors and they all cost money. I knew I could install free antivirus, of course, and went with Avast! as I usually did.
After setting up Avast! I only installed Yahoo Messenger 8.1 and Yahoo Toolbar. That’s it — 2 sets of drivers and 2 apps are all I installed so far. I plan on only installing apps as I need them to do what I need to do.
This is how I’m going to use it now, in more of a real world scenario. And I’ll continue to report from my faux newbie perspective.
Tags: aero, does, geforce_fx_5200, Hardware, installed_windows, longhorn_4074, nvidia_geforce_fx, nvidia_geforce_fx_5200, radeon_x800_xt, restart, Why, Why-does-X800XT-restart-windows-vista?, Windows, windows vista, X800XT
