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lawnmowerguy
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January 30th, 2007 17:00
One reason I'm avoiding upgrading to Vista
Are there any reputable retail stores that will allow you to return opened computer software for a refund? As far as I can tell, they all have essentially the same policy: opened computer software can only exchanged for the same title within a limited time frame.
That's one reason I'm avoiding an upgrade to Vista.
That's one reason I'm avoiding an upgrade to Vista.
Message Edited by Lawnmowerguy on 01-30-200701:26 PM
lawnmowerguy
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Posted January 31st, 2007 09:00
--Wait...so you're avoiding upgrading because you want to be able to return the software after you buy it? That doesn't make much sense--
That is not what I meant. Upgrading an operating system is a very complicated process....full of potential problems and aggravations. If I knew in advance that I would have the option of returning Vista in case it didn't work out I might be more inclined to try the upgrade route. However, that is not the case. At least I'm not aware of any local retail stores offering returns for opened software. I don't want to possibly waste $99 or $150 of my money on software I cannot use. I have run the MS and Dell Vista Upgrade advisors. Dell mentioned that several drivers would need to be upgraded...no big deal. But the MS Advisor pointed out several important programs on my computer that might not function 100% correctly with Vista. So much for the "Vista Capable" sticker on my computer.
Update: I just ran cnet.com's own Vista Upgrade Advisor. Like the MS version, they recommend Vista Basic, but say my video card is not up to running Vista Premium or Ultimate. Here is the exact wording:
Video Card Features - Minimum attributes of your Video Card Video RAM: Required - 128 MB or better , You have - 256.0 MB
Video Card 3D Acceleration: Required - Yes , You have - Yes
Video HW Transform & Lighting: Required - Yes , You have - Yes
Vertex Shader Ver.: Required - 3.0 , You have - 2.0
Pixel Shader Ver.: Required - 3.0 , You have - 2.0
Message Edited by Lawnmowerguy on 01-31-2007 07:36 AM- What video card do you have? This statement is wrong if this is the way it read,Pixel Shader Ver.: Required - 3.0 , You have - 2.0
You only need Pixel Shader ver 2.0 according to what printed on my Ultimate box and it makes no mention of what ver. Vertex Shader at all. I was also told that I should run Vista Basic but I sprung for the RC1 DVD and when I ran the setup it determined that I could run Ultimate. You can't really rely on these so-called advisors it seems. They are all bent towards getting the user in the mindframe of buying a new PC. I was told my machine was not Vista ready by Dell. Somebody was not being truthful. Check my specs in my signature.
Lawnmowerguy wrote:
--Wait...so you're avoiding upgrading because you want to be able to return the software after you buy it? That doesn't make much sense--
That is not what I meant. Upgrading an operating system is a very complicated process....full of potential problems and aggravations. If I knew in advance that I would have the option of returning Vista in case it didn't work out I might be more inclined to try the upgrade route. However, that is not the case. At least I'm not aware of any local retail stores offering returns for opened software. I don't want to possibly waste $99 or $150 of my money on software I cannot use. I have run the MS and Dell Vista Upgrade advisors. Dell mentioned that several drivers would need to be upgraded...no big deal. But the MS Advisor pointed out several important programs on my computer that might not function 100% correctly with Vista. So much for the "Vista Capable" sticker on my computer.
Update: I just ran cnet.com's own Vista Upgrade Advisor. Like the MS version, they recommend Vista Basic, but say my video card is not up to running Vista Premium or Ultimate. Here is the exact wording:
Video Card Features - Minimum attributes of your Video Card Video RAM: Required - 128 MB or better , You have - 256.0 MB
Video Card 3D Acceleration: Required - Yes , You have - Yes
Video HW Transform & Lighting: Required - Yes , You have - Yes
Vertex Shader Ver.: Required - 3.0 , You have - 2.0
Pixel Shader Ver.: Required - 3.0 , You have - 2.0
Message Edited by Lawnmowerguy on 01-31-2007 07:36 AM
lawnmowerguy
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Posted January 31st, 2007 14:00
I have the 256MB ATI Hyper Memory PCI-Express X 16 Radeon X600 SE video card.lawnmowerguy
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Posted January 31st, 2007 15:00
Actually, today I just added 1GB of system memory, bringing the total to 2GB. You think my E510 could even handle Vista Ultimate?
Message Edited by Lawnmowerguy on 01-31-2007 11:56 AM
ZachLaC
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Posted January 30th, 2007 20:00
Here are some good reasons to avoid upgrading: you have legacy software which you want to be fully supported by your OS; you don't want to pay for a new OS; your computer hardware does not support Vista and you don't want to pay for EXPENSIVE video card upgrades (most common problem).
Besides that, I would fully suggest upgrading to Vista. I've been testing the Betas since Beta 2, have used LINUX and OS X in addition to XP, and can say that Vista is at this time the best consumer-oriented OS available. The new Mac OS may take that title when it's released, but right now I'd fully suggest upgrading to Vista for anybody interested.