Vista nightmare!!!!

[topogigo]

Against all common sense, a friend of mine aquired a copy of MS Vista from a boot sale, a copy, as you might expect for �8. He loaded it into his brand new hi spec pc overriding the XP that was on it. Being a copy, he did not have a code to put in, and resisted the option to log on as he was installing it in case it became apparent to MS that he was using a copy. The upshot of this is that he has had 90% of his programmes removed, he can no longer log on thru AOL, his Modem and printer cannot be installed and lots of error messages pop up. I have tried system restore and set to default in set up to no avail. Yes i know the "it's your own fault " brigade will jump on this one but has any kind soul got any ideas what to do?

[pauln90]

According to Microsoft and many posts in forums around the net it is not possible to roll back to XP from a Vista install. Your only choice is to format and reinstall XP.

I know this is drastic but buyers should read up about Vista before they install and they should ensure that their pc and the software ,drivers etc are compatible.

It would be advisable for anyone unsure about their system to consider a dual boot situation before totally committing to Vista.It would also be wise to wait a while before considering Vista , well at least until the inevitable service pack is released to clear up the bugs

[vehelpfulguy]

There are loads of appends here on Answerbank saying do NOT upgrade from XP to Vista.

If a person then buys a dodgy copy of Vista and tries to install it then I for one am not prepared to spend any time trying to help them.

I think the only option is a clean install of Windows XP (assuming he has the disk) and then reinstall all his applications etc.

Maybe he has also learned a good lesson.

[vehelpfulguy]

Here is a thread I statred a month or so back about Vista.

A quick read of that (too late now I know) would have convinced him to leave Vista well alone.

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Technology/Ques tion349791.html

DONT believe the Microsoft marketing hype, Vista is a bit of a nightmare.

[The Mack]

i think your "friend" might have the option to buy a licence and carry on as normal. i belive that is the way it works with xp anyway

[OBonio]

Ha haa.

http://www.luds.net/galeries/nelson.gif

[MVP]

And with news reports citing that over half of pirated copies of Vista contain some form of malware or spyware, it's just not worth it.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/01/25/HNpi ratedvista_1.html

http://www.cio.com/blog_view.html?CID=26695

Operating systems are fundamental, it really is false economy to try and avoid paying for them (even if they do seem to introduce new exchange rates between here and the US). Further, the pirated copies might work today, although not as this post demonstrates, you can be sure that Microsoft will catch up with the illegal copies/keys and block them from updates. And let's face it, work on Vista SP1 is already underway, there is a need for updates.

[topogigo]

OBonio, far from being disapointed with your churlish reply, i am glad that you had the clarity of intellect to bring an element of humour to the situation which is undoubtedly a precise appreciation of my "friends"( As The Mack would describe him( were i so transparent)) situation. Ha haa, would be about right really, and thanks for the link.
Nevertheless how do you format the hard drive whilst the pc is so "locked out"?

[OBonio]

If he's still got hid old XP disk, just put that in and restart the computer. It 'should' boot from the CD and he can reinstall XP. If it doesn't boot, you will need to change the boot options in the BIOS. Soon after the PC is switched on, you'll get a beep or two and an option to press F12, F2 or Del. In there should list the boot order. Make sure CD is the first one.

As my previous post demonstrates, I don't have much sympathy with the guy but the above should get him back on the road to recovery.

[The Mack]

2099 re-arm