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| From: Microsoft Software
List Price: $269.99
Buy New: $159.99
You Save: $110.00 (41%)
New (33) Used (4) from $159.99
Rating:  102 reviews
Sales Rank: 114
Format: Dvd-video
Platform: Windows Vista
Media: DVD-ROM
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Operating System: Windows Vista
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 19.7 x 19.7 x 19.7
MPN: 66I02387
Model: 66I-02387
UPC: 882224661256
EAN: 0882224661256
ASIN: B0013O54OE
Release Date: March 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Still having fun finding new things in all the nooks and crannies of Vista March 29, 2008
B. Chandler (Arlington, Texas)
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
Well after dragging my feet all these years I finally decided to do it. Yep I made the jump from XP to Vista. I saved the most hard to replace data on my jump drive incase any problems should arise.
I could not wait for the 64-bit version that just happens top be conveniently missing from this package. So after the installation I went to the net www.windowsvista.com to get a copy sent. Surprise the site said that there was no promotion available. I do not want a promotion; I want the 64 bit version. But wait there is an 800 number for help. I had the number dialed and calling before the phone got to my ear. I was just in time to hear a recording that said "Call during normal business hours." Oh well so much for the 64-bit version.
I placed the DVD in the drive and was happily loading the new system when it said "Hey thought you might want to know I can not tell what operating system you are using at the time so if you continue all your stuff will be lost." What a dilemma. I tried even using a recovery disk to place some missing files on the old system. Tried again to install and still no luck. Oh well I just decide to go for it.
From than point on it was a fun experience; everything loaded and took much better advantage of the hardware resources than did the old XP. Great Scot it even found my network printer on the fly. And with all the fears from people saying that Vista was slow and a resource hog, I was surprised to see everything just whizzing buy. Even the network was easer to install. Only answered four questions and voila email.
Now I am plugging in all the old programs and they are instilling and working with ease.
All this time suffering for nothing. Don't wait
Microsoft Office Accounting Professional 2008
Windows Vista 3.5 Stars April 9, 2008
Jem (MD, USA)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Like many people, I initially hated this new operating system. My main problem stems from ocation changes. Things were no longer where they used to be. The new interfaces are more organized, but no longer familiar. But, as I become accustomed to it, I realize Vista isn't so bad. The menu layout, which used to expand significantly, is now organized by folders even within the "Start" menu. This makes it easier to find the program you are looking for. The same is true for the layout of "My Computer." At first this bothered me, but I do like that menus don't expand all the way across my screen when I only want to find one thing.
I haven't noticed this OS being any slower than XP, but of course I am running it on a new laptop that is more powerful than my old one. The changes made for Vista work for the most part. But, there are definitely issues.
I hate the "Cancel/Allow" nonsense. Those Mac commercials with the secret angent guy are right on the money and I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry when I see that spot. Vista wants confirmation for every program installed or downloaded. Okay, that's probably a good protective feature that prevents spyware. BUT - every single program that tries to open, and isn't Microsoft, asks permission to continue. Programs that are already installed! So, if I want to update my virus definitions with Norton - Vista asks me. If I want to run HP update, Vista asks me. This gets more than annoying after awhile. And I can't find where to change the setting. It doesn't help that the new HP management system is as annoying as Vista.
Another huge issue I had with Vista was that much of my old software programs wouldn't run with it. Nero Burning Rom 5 - nope, need to upgrade. Roxio 5, same thing. So, I either do without or spend a lot of money buying upgraded version when the old ones worked fine for what I wanted.
Overall, Vista is okay, but I wish I could have kept XP - unfortunately, the new laptops don't support it.
Wait on this version. Microsoft needs to get its act together. March 25, 2008
Greling C. Jackson Jr. (Atlanta)
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
If you're the type of person who didn't get a new computer, then you're probably wondering whether or not you should upgrade to Windows Vista. Personally, unless it already comes with your newly bought machine, I think you should pass.
First, if you're a media lover and like sharing files, Vista is a nightmare. The DRM (Digital Rights Management) controls set into place will frustrate you to death and keep you from enjoying your old files. Microsoft is probably trying to do to video what Apple did to MP3 music with ITunes.
Second, Vista as an upgrade tends to slow your system for what seems to be no reason at all. Unless you have a lot of memory to tolerate all of what simply appear to be just "eye candy", you're probably better off sticking with Windows XP if you want speed.
Third, Vista has weird issues with hardware. Some of you will find that upon installing Vista, all of your old hardware suddenly doesn't work because it existed before it could be personally "Vista-certified" by Microsoft and have OS-specific firmware and drives to accommodate it. This is partly Microsoft wielding its evil monopoly power and trying to control hardware manufacturers, and no longer just the end-user.
Fourth, Windows XP still works. Most software will still run with as little as Windows 95 or 98 (and yes, there are still people out there who haven't upgraded!). It may take another 10-15 years before everyone starts requiring Vista as a minimum for software and hardware.
Fifth, XP may work better. If you do a web search on XP Service Pack 3, you'll come to find out that under some tests, XP actually performed more optimally than Vista. Microsoft obviously denies this, but I trust any non-biased, independent analysis over theirs.
Sixth, even the U.S. government has decided to put off upgrading. Yeah it's a blatant slap in the face to Microsoft, but Microsoft has to first prove that they're offering a worthy upgrade and not just trying to bilk more money out of people by adding a few meaningless changes to the software and making it simply look different than the previous versions it put out.
So, all in all, I'm not telling you to avoid Vista entirely. There are certainly plenty of people out there who might benefit from it... if it is their first operating system on their new computer. But, for most people this software is a frivolous addition that costs too much for too little and adds mostly problems.
 Dell System Restore vs. Vista Home Premium April 3, 2008
Steffan Piper (Burbank, CA)
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
I recently purchased a Dell Inspiron 1721 with a 17" Widescreen. When I opened the box and looked through the materials that Dell sent, I discovered that instead of supplying me with an Operating System disk, they chose to provide only a System Restore Disk. This practice by larger computer providers is well-known and a thorn in the side of many.
Out of the box, I noticed that the boot time was incredibly long. 6:15 seconds to be precise. An absolute eternity. When I tried to adjust the services on my laptop accordingly, I was denied. Dell had installed various pieces of software within the Operating System and made it impossible for the user / owner to have full control.
I installed the new Windows Vista Home Premium over the Dell version and completely deleted the offending nightmare that was masquerading as an Operating System. I thought the Dell Software would put up a fight, create errors and make life difficult, but it went with a whimper ... and rightly so. After I deleted the file "windows.old", I regained a whopping 35.7 GB's! Now, let's be clear ... I just bought this laptop two months ago and have I installed very little software on it, and I store all my personal documents on a separate Hard Drive. That's a lot of space for an Operating System, or rather the nightmare that Dell was trying to pawn off as an Operating System.
So, if you're like me, and you've considered getting this new version of Vista, so you can forego and delete the pre-installed atrocity, rest easy knowing that not only will the install go well, but you'll recover a lot of space doing so. I was never happy with the buggy performance I was experiencing before, which thankfully, is now a thing of the past.
After Vista installed, it searched the computer, found any devices that needed new drivers, found those drivers from the providers and installed them all by itself ... which was a really unexpected bonus. The only thing that it couldn't handle was the ATI Software that I had to download directly from Dell Support which is on their website. I couldn't attain the native resolution for my Widescreen Monitor, but after a manual install, everything went well and all is fine. Apparently, a lot of people have experienced this same problem as googling it cropped up numerous blog posts about it.
The real problem, and the point of this review, is that the bulk of PC computer users either purchase pre-built machines from companies like Dell, HP and Sony or they use them predominately at work. People experiencing problems with their computers typically blame the Operating System and Microsoft. The real truth is that the hacked versions that get installed on these pre-built machines are accidents waiting to happen and solely the fault of the Computer Companies themselves. Dell installs software that can't be removed or turned off that suck system resources and create inefficient boot times and memory usages. It's a shame that people get stuck with this kind of garbage after dropping a lot of money purchasing expensive systems. Companies like Dell respond by saying that "they give Remote Support", but the truth is that programs like PC Anywhere and GoToMyPC can achieve the same results without all the unnecessary bloat.
It's completely counter-productive for Microsoft to be involved in this practice but they are. It's also unlikely that anything is going to change in the near future, so buying the full version of the Operating System - and not an upgrade - is probably everyone's best bet. I recommend it without protestation.
Regarding my boot time now, it's down to 1:50 seconds, which is a vast improvement and it shuts down completely in 8 seconds.
"Free at last, Free at last, Thank God, Almighty, Free at last" -- MLK
EDIT:
And don't worry, a successor to Vista is already in the works ... Windows 7! XP will apparently live on past June of 2008, but finally be retired in 2010.
Some New Form, Little New Function - Not Worth Upgrading April 4, 2008
diljs
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
For having taken Microsoft over 5 years to build since XP, Vista has surprisingly little to offer that XP can't do with a few tweaks. There are a handful of useful new features, and Aero Glass is certainly attractive (if it works on your machine, it doesn't for many). But most of these, even the eye candy, are unnecessary and can be added to XP if you want them that badly.
I'm reminded of the "upgrade" from Windows 98 to the ill-fated Windows Me. Windows 98 was a "perfect" OS for its time, and while Windows Me was meant to bring exciting new features, what it really brought was a myriad of bugs, and actually took away features from Windows 98, which some die-hards still use. Although Vista is much more different from XP than Me was from 98, the situation is similar. There are no absolute must have features in Vista, but there are plenty of bugs, incompatibilities, and upgrade nightmares.
When it comes to upgrading by installing over your old operating system, my advice is this: don't. Move all your data off your hard drive, wipe it, and do a clean install of Vista, or don't upgrade at all. With today's complicated operating systems, installing over your old OS is bound to be a hassle. Even if it does work correctly, your system still won't be as fast, and will have a lot of junk left over on your hard drive from your old operating system. A clean install is always best.
This brings me to my final problem with Vista: performance. Despite its lack of hot new features, it does consume vastly larger amounts of resources than XP. Your old machine may not be able to handle it, and even if it can, it will still be much slower than if you keep using your old operating system. The best approach to buying Vista is to just buy a new machine with it preinstalled. It's not like you have the choice anyway, most new computers give you Vista whether you want it or not.
Overall Vista is okay, but not worth buying if you're happy with XP. As always, do your research and be ready for a big hassle if you choose to upgrade.
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