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Shades

Vista Service Pack 1 is out.
Some areas can get it now, some will get it later.

If you can get it through the Update site it's a 67Mb file.
There is a manual download site and it will eventually come down the "auto-update" route but that file is 468mb and has been causing users more Vista "issues".

I installed the smaller file on Friday and it actually seems to have made my system a little more stable. Hasn't fixed any usability issues I have (CFS1, FFB2, Headphones, etc) but, if you have Vista, it seems to be the way to go.

WARNING Already hearing of some issues with SP1:-

1) Some 64-bit users have had their copy of Vista unregister itself post-SP1 installation, and the registration code no longer works. A Phone call to The Vole will fix this and M$ will give you a new code, should you require one.

2) FS-X has suffered similar registration problems in 64-bit Vista, although the code still seems to work and allows users to re-register.

3) I thought the whole point of this Service Pack was to fix some of the useability issues inherent in Vista. However, on the same page as the download, the mighty Vole posts a warning listing of all the software that SP1 will de-activate.
Most of it is security software.
If you're thinking of installing Vista SP1, ensure it's compatable with the software on your system.

$%^&* Vista!

Shadow_Bshwackr

Whistles and is still using XP/Linux as a dual boot...

Shades

s.o.b.

Shadow_Homfixr

My new laptop has been it's bag for a month and half now because I despise Vista and will only turn it on when absolutely needed. Maybe someday MS will figure out how to fix their mess up. Just a few probs I have with Vista is....it only talks to my XP when it wants too and that is not very often Evil or Very Mad

seems every time I connect it to my network I have go thru the whole network setup again and detect new network connection is on! It was bought for my business that my brother and I started so I gave his account Full control but it will not let him run about half the proggies on it. Evil or Very Mad

It will not even let me the Admin do some stuff Evil or Very Mad

. It just pisses me off that I was dumb enough to waste good money on it Twisted Evil

....hmm my fault there.

. I will keep an eye on this forum hoping someday I will see an answer to my probs besides a hammer...lol.

Shades

Ditto.

So far SP1 does seem to have made my system much more stable, but there is still stuff going on in Vista that is simply ridiculous.

I'm pissed that I gave Bill my money based on his boasts of how great Vista was going to be and how much more advanced it was from anything he'd cobbled together before.
Instead of fixing everything he claimed, it broke it, and more.

Every time I boot up, I have to re-configure stuff to how I left it when I looged off.
That's surely not right.
I have drivers that keep disappearing or making others disappear when I re-install them.
I can install, but not run, the only game I've ever enjoyed playing online (CFS).
And can't install the only joystick I like to use in it.
I paid a small fortune for PhotoShop CS, which will install in Vista but won't open.
The manufacturer's recommended retail price of Vista should include the cost of all the software/hardware you have to replace by installing it.

As for figuring out their mess, M$ recently announced that they're bringing forward the release date of the next version of Windows to 2010 (which, going on their form, will mean 2012 and it still won't be ready because of their internal testing policy).
Well whoopy-do, cos by then I should be able to run the software I need on Linux and flip The Vole the bird!
And I shall be encouraging those who ask for my opinion to do the same.

Bill's cost me money.
See how he likes it!

bsmart

- Shadow_Bshwackr

Whistles and is still using XP/Linux as a dual boot...

Well I'm not dual bootin' but have Linux on a couple machines and XP on another and have NO plans to install Vista anywhere.

By the way it is possible to buy new machines with XP installed. I know Dell has them if you look at their 'Small Business' site instead of their home customer site. I'm assuming other vendors do the same (I know Dell did it due to complaints by commercial customers who need machines and don't plan to move to Vista because of Apps that don't work on Vista (like NetMeeting)

Shadow_Bshwackr

Being involved in IT, the Vista issue comes up more often than it used to as newer machines are purchased. What I've noticed is:

If the person bought a new computer with it came installed with Vista and... IF- they don't game or do anything other than print some docs or surf the net, they probably will accept Vista AND the fact they may need a new printer...lol

However, IF they're like most people here at CC, they feel like like Uncle Bill has taught them how to 'tie their shoes' while he's behind them smiling... Wink

ELSE...

Personally, I use LinuxMint for everything except gaming and a few programs I like that only run on XP. However those few programs are getting ported over or another application similar is being developed.

I don't want anyone to think Linux doesn't have it's own set of problems because it does, but overall, it runs and runs and runs without any major issues... Wink

Shades, did you ever try Audacity? This is cross platform and I'm not sure if it'll do what you need it to do or not. Smile

Shades

Cheers Bushy, I'll have a look at it.
Edit; Had a look Bushster but that's not really what I need. That's more for sound editing, whereas I'm using quite high spec. studio software for composition, controlling synth's and recording. Propellerheads (the manufacturers) have received so many complaints that they're building Linux support into the next release; Then I'm outta here.

Until then; www.myspace.com/redskwirrell.
Cool

bsmart, You can find machines where the seller has been forced (by market demand) to sell it not only with XP, but also Linux. You can even find some of the smaller distributors offering dual-boots with these and Vista.

I would recommend pricing up your own and consider building it yourself though.

BuildYourOwn
You'll find all the help you need here from selecting components, pricing them up, making sure they're compatable, assembling them, right through to sorting out any problems here.
Knock twice and tellem RedSkwirrell sent you - 25% discount on all advice offered (don't worry, it's all free [:D]).
And don't forget there's lots of our own 'experts' here in C-C ready and willing to help.

Rixster · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Mar 09, 2008 Posts: 190

I hate to say this, but I have a laptop I bought last year with Vista on it and I absolutely love it. Haven't had a single issue with it. It picks up my home network every time I fire it up without fail, even links right to my old HP printer with no problem. It's not a "big" laptop per-say, running a dual-core amd processor ( can't remember what size) and nvidia 6150 integrated video chip. I like it so much I've been considering upgrading my home pc from xp to vista. Every time I get close to doing it though I read posts like this and I think twice. I have no idea why my laptop runs so smoothly compared to wat I read here but I sure like it. The only reason I want to run vista on my gaming pc is I thought you had to run vista to use Dx10, but I'm not sure, can someone clarify? Will Dx10 run on XP?

Shades

There is a way to run DX10 on XP, I can't remember how (not needed it meself).
But at the moment there is still a performance loss from using DX10 over DX9.
I assume there will be an advantage to it one day, otherwise what's the point?

Vista has it's fans. I don't want to be too one-sided about it and I'll try to remain unbiased (through my own rather obvious frustrations with it). But its still has many detractors and they're the reason M$ is almost dis-owning it and drawing everyone's attention to their next replacement.

It seems that some systems and circumstances love it, others don't. Most of the people I speak to about it are on either side of the fence. They love it, or not. I've only spoken to one guy who loved it even though he was getting loads of problems from using it so I'm declaring him as "on the fence".

Unfortunately, for me, I'm one of the guys who built his system around Vista and it isn't up to snuff. I'm always very happy for the guys who have it working well for them. Just wish I knew what the differences were in our versions of Vista so mine might function as it was supposed to.
I mean I had an inkling there was something wrong when it took around a hundred installs to get Windows anywhere close to being stable. lol

Uhu_Fledermaus

ther is NO way you can run DX10 on XP, that is a nice fairy tale that seems to come up every now and then, plain and simple forget it.

As for the Vista SP1, I really feel for the ones that have Intel dual Processors, seems that M$ stuffed up things BIG TIME this time around.

PCs from Hewlett-Packard, Gateway, Lenovo, and other major computer makers that contain a widely used Intel chipset can't be upgraded to Windows Vista Service Pack 1 if they're running certain drivers.
Microsoft has said that Vista SP1 won't work with "a small number of device drivers." The list, however, includes drivers for an Intel chipset that's found in thousands of PCs and laptops.

The affected chipset is Intel's 945G Express series, which is used in computers from virtually all major system vendors. It's also found on standalone motherboards sold by Asus. The 945G Express chipset driver versions between numbers 7.14.10.1322 and 7.14.10.1403 won't work with Vista SP1, according to Microsoft.

Chipsets provide a connection point for all key subsystems within a PC. The 945G Express chipset includes Intel's GMA 950 graphics core, which also won't work with Vista SP1 if those drivers are used.

Microsoft is urging Vista users to update all of their hardware to the latest drivers before even attempting to install SP1.

The service pack also won't work with computers that use certain, widely-deployed audio drivers from Realtek and certain drivers for security devices manufactured by Symantec. Microsoft has published a full list of drivers that are incompatible with the service pack.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is continuing to receive reports from computer users who say Vista SP1 is wreaking havoc on their systems. A user going by the name "Apolauf" said the upgrade caused the mouse cursor on his tablet PC to disappear. The "right-click circle and the special pen mouse cursor ... are no longer functional" as well, said Apolauf, in a post on the Vista team blog. Bob Rife, a user from Canada, said in an e-mail to InformationWeek that SP1 caused one of his computer's two hard drives to become invisible to Windows Explorer and Acronis Disk Director. Rife said he complained to Microsoft, but has yet to receive a response.

Others reported having no problems. A user named "Zandor" said on the Vista team blog that his company successfully upgraded 614 computers to Vista SP1. "Great job, Windows team," wrote Zandor.

Microsoft made Vista SP1 widely available for the first time on Tuesday. The update includes more than 300 hot fixes designed to improve the operating system's speed, security, and stability.

Source: Guru3d et al

Now, I did NOT post this to bash Vista, I posted this because I want to avoid our users having problems

the joys of Vista ................................. Rolling Eyes

Rixster · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Mar 09, 2008 Posts: 190

think I may try a dual-boot system just to see how it goes first. I've got a friend gaming with Vista & DX10 and he says it's really amazing, he can definitely tell a difference. I've never set-up a dual boot system but it can't be that hard can it?

Uhu_Fledermaus

with all due respect, I'd stay away from it as long as is possible, till now comments from people that are using FS and other simms, it seems to be a real pain in the %^&*.

Shades

DX10 vs DX9

Crysis, the poster child for modern PC gaming and DirectX 10, will arrive shortly. Crytek has tortured us for years with screenshots and short hands-on experiences showing off the game's wide-open world, with picturesque tropical battlegrounds, perfect for sipping Mai Tais or peppering random bad guys with automatic rifle fire. Crytek released the single-player demo late last week, and we set up a few test systems to see just how the game looks under Windows Vista compared to Windows XP. We also took some in-game benchmarks to see how the frame rates compare in DirectX 9 and DirectX 10.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to claim that the environments in Crysis come mighty close to photo-realistic. The beaches, sky, and rocks all have a gritty, real-earth feel to them. Crytek took plant matter to a new realm--a botanist would have a field day in Crysis. The palm trees, shrubbery, and grass create the feeling of tropical jungle more so than any other game we've come across.

The game officially limits in-game settings to "high quality" in Windows XP, while Windows Vista gets an additional "very high quality" graphics setting. Crysis still looks good at high quality, but it's a noticeable step down from the very high quality settings. Some ingenious users managed to enable very high quality on the Crysis demo in Windows XP through a clever bit of configuration-file editing. The second image in each set of comparison shots demonstrate what the hacked very high quality settings look like in Windows XP.

As far as we can tell, the difference between very high quality in Windows XP and Windows Vista is quite subtle. We noticed some extra shadowing on the rocks in the Vista version, and while there are differences between the hacked XP shots and the Vista shots, we can't really say that one looks better. Developers have gotten very good at working around hardware limitations to fake great graphics, so we wouldn't be surprised if the DX9 effects were good enough to simulate the results of a more "accurate" DX10 shader.

DX10(ish) in XP

This is pretty interesting .. on the Crysis Forums they offers a tip on improving the visuals in the Crysis demo under DirectX 9, saying the game can be coaxed into looking more like the game running under DirectX 10 without using Vista!

Examples here.

If you tweak the configuration files in CVarGroups by copying and pasting the "very high" settings (1st paragraph) IN PLACE of the "high" settings (last paragraph) the game will load the highest possible settings even though the drop-down menus display "high." The difference between "high" settings and the tweaked settings is immense: shadows are deeper, more realistic; the leaves have better reflective properties, better textures; the colours are better; and the level of detail is simply stunning.

With these settings I'm running the game between 15-25 FPS at 1440x900 and (wait for it) 8x AA, and it looks PERFECT. Best of all, this is in XP. So I'm happy. I have XP and I'm playing the game at settings higher than DX9 allows (strictly speaking). Give this a try if your rig can handle it.

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