Mike... if you haven't done it, check NVIDIA's site for the most recent drivers..... sometimes you have to update both the OS and the specific device drivers.

for real...I had to do that, downloaded the latest bios AND drivers for my board from Intel, and nvidia's too. But, the system should run in crippled vga (600x480) even with older drivers, I think. Plus, I've noticed Vista seems to be pretty informative when you reboot, it'll try to get online to find a fix for whatever problem is going on. No guarantees, but it worked ok for me, especially on the video card driver.

Still have no application software on the new one, but that shouldn't be too hard. I hope.... Really, it's just a matter of getting everything else in place and stable first, like anti-virus, network, etc.

One thing that really bugged me, though...I had especially partitioned my drives, the first one to be c,d and e, and that was for XP, then f,g and h for vista- was trying to keep them totally separated. Well, now they are all re-assigned by Vista, I guess- xp is on C, vista is on D, (but it is on the second drive) etc. Not sure how to overcome that one.
Anyway- time for bed.

TY

My head is spinning...I think I'm the howling dog in that PC/MAC commercial.

I need something really simple for the bride because the poor girl is intimidated just checking e-mail. I got a new Dell a couple years ago and for some time now my little sweetie has been playing around with Windows 2000 on my old Hewlitt-Packard. She was getting "comfortable" stumbling around when the H/P gave up the ghost. The screen actually broke away from the keyboard.

My challenge now is to TRY to help her with the Dell which has XP and I'll move on to something else, but what? I'm not a beginner at this, but I'm certainly not in the same class with you guys.

Translation?

Billy-
I'm figuring Vista out, it has some cool features and better security overall, but requires more system resources (go figure, Windows always does that.) It actually would probably be simpler for inexperienced users to get up and running with, has lots of "user friendly" stuff that comes up automatically. After you get used to it, some of that can be turned off if it bugs you. And it has some cool built in stuff. But, XP is solid. The risk is longer term, will new software programs support it. We'll see.

I'll just say this, repeating what Kat's post said...XP will not be sold after June 30th. (I'm sure you'll still be able to find systems with it on them for a while more, you may even get a deal on one that's in store stock) BUT, it WILL be supported through 2014. That'll be plenty long.
If you're looking for a solid operating system that is proven, and you don't want to be forced into getting the latest hardware (as in larger bucks), then find an XP based computer. Make sure it is at least up to "SP2" (service pack 2) and even better SP3.
If you go with Vista, make sure you download SP1 for it.

I'm going to stick by my original position for a couple months, and run a dual boot system- I can use XP for stability if my primary application software acts up under Vista, and I can use Vista for all the "fun" stuff, like games and iTunes etc.

You may also want to get one of the "...for dummies" books, they are usually well written and very helpful. I have no problem admitting I'm one, for sure....

Okay my learned guru's;
it sounds like:
Vista is most complicated.
I should the bride a laptop with XP.
Get the XP service packs (SP2)&(SP3)
(What do the service packs do for me?)
Then we dwell in happines for 5-6 years with XP.

Is that a correct summation

Ooooooooooo! Oooooooooooo! Ooooooooooo!

Another BSoD today on my initial startup; something about "NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL". I may have installed the wrong NVIDIA nForce driver a few days ago. So, I installed the nForce 790i Ultra SLI driver. I swear, this is a pain in the rear (I'd really like to say the a-word, but can't).

Billy G,

Vista on a brand new computer is great.... SP1 is extremely stable. I've had no problems at all with my hardware - my gotchas have mostly been file permissions which were written in XP and had to be re-assigned to Vista.

Vista as an upgrade from XP can be tricky - if your hardware is older (as Mike has observed) or if you need specific application support (like Tony). Also, taking hardware from an XP machine and porting it to a brand new computer will also be tricky - you have to get the correct device drivers installed.

I got my computer last May. Vista was pre-installed.

and your video card? What else happened along the way to suddenly start blue screening the box?

The installation of SP1 and probably also the reformatting of the hard drive and subsequent re-installation of Vista by that computer repair group I went with. I'm never using those guys again. As I said in an earlier post, from now on, I'm going with Dell themselves.