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General discussion

Should I upgrade to Vista?

by phendrics Mar 12, 2007 6:26AM PDT

Hi all,

I recently bought a new Dell laptop that came with an express upgrade to Windows Vista Home Premium. I downloaded the Vista Upgrade Advisor from Microsoft, which informed me that the hardware will have no problems running everything in Vista, including the Aero interface (I've got an Inspiron E1405/Intel Core 2 duo/Intel GMA 950).

However I'm in two minds about whether I should immediately upgrade to Vista or not, so maybe you guys can help me to decide. Here are the pros and cons to immediately upgrading:

-PROS:
-I still don't have tons of files on my computer, so it will be easier to adjust to the new file system (with its meta-tags, etc).
-I've heard that a clean install of Vista usually results in fewer headaches than installing it over an older system. This wouldn't be a clean installation, but it's the closest I'm going to get to one.
-upgrading immediately will satisfy the techie side of me that wants new stuff when it comes out.

-CONS:
-I'm really worried that all of the software I'm currently running won't function properly in Vista, and I don't want to shell out $ when software companies update their products. Here are the things that I absolutely need to be able to use, regardless of the OS version:
*Visual Studio 2005 Standard, with the .net Compact Framework 2 SP1
*Matlab v7.0.1 R14 (service pack 1)
*Cisco Systems VPN Client
*Symantic Client Security 3.1
-Since this is an express upgrade to Vista, once I've upgraded, I won't be able to go back to Windows XP because I don't have the installation cd (am I wrong about that?).

So...what do you all think? Should I upgrade now, or should I wait for awhile? Are you running any of the software I mentioned above on your Vista machines?

Thanks,
Phillip

Discussion is locked

4 Posts
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Some things may give you trouble!
by mopscare42 Mar 12, 2007 6:56AM PDT

I did a upgrade to Windows Vista Premium and did have problems with drivers and software.
I did the upgrade the 1st day Vista was released and had 12 items that needed attention so far.
Out of the 12 items I only have 1 that is still not Vista compatable, that is a HP 4890 scanner.
Go online to your programs web site and see if they have free upgrade or patches to Vista.
It seems some venders are in no hurry to upgrade. I have been very lucky getting what I needed except the one thing. When I call HP tech support they tell me that their new model scanners come with the Vista programs. Maybe that is why their R&D departments are in no hurry to release the upgrade to Vista. They want to sell new equipment.
Good Luck
Wayne

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Good to go on 2/4...
by John.Wilkinson Mar 12, 2007 10:16AM PDT

Visual Studio 2005 has an update available to fix a few issues with Vista, but is functional even without it, and Matlab should be fine out of the box. As far as Cisco Systems VPN Client and Symantec Client Security 3.1 go, I believe both have been updated for compatibility but can't say for sure.

It's up to you, but it looks like compatibility shouldn't be a major issue for you, so I'd go ahead and upgrade.

John

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Thanks for the info
by phendrics Mar 13, 2007 4:02AM PDT

John,

Thanks for the info - I'm going to check the Symantec and Cisco sites to see what they say, but I was most worried about Matlab, which I use for work very regularly. Without Matlab working, having a laptop would almost be a mute point.

Phillip

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i recommend you wait if this will be your primary dev box
by ramarc Mar 14, 2007 12:42AM PDT

even with visual studio's vista sp-1 patch, you're still going to have issues. i suggest you wait for the "orcas" release of visual studio if you want a completely stable and dependable development environment.

the cisco vpn client and symantec client security have not been officially released for vista yet.
cisco status: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/secursw/ps2308/products_qanda_item09186a00801c2dbe.shtml
symantec status: http://www.symantec.com/vista/index.jsp
even after they are released, you should check with your network adminstrator to see when you can upgrade.

you can have the best of both worlds though if you install virtualPC 2007 along with vista. you can then run your stable XP apps in VM session under XP for best compatibility, and still run vista.

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