Windows XP and Vista Home Premium, Service Pack 1

[Larry Woller]

Hello everyone,
 My wife is thinking about purchasing a new laptop. a Dell Vostro 1000 to be exact.  Was wondering how compatible XP is with Vista home premium? For $99.00 can get Vista Business Bonus-XP Professional downgrade, is this necessary??? Trying to get the best for our money here, and if we can do fine for home use with Home Premium, will go that way. Other computers here are XP.
  Would appreciate any input from you folks,
Thank you,
Larry

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

as wondering how compatible XP is with Vista home premium?

What exactly do you mean by this?

[Larry Woller]

Hello,
Thanks for replying. I have never had Vista and have heard there are issues when trying to use data, files, Word, etc. originating  in or being supported by XP and trying to download and/or use with Vista. Some programs wouldn't work at all, etc. The computers we have at present are all XP and was wondering how many issues we would have trying to transfer data, documents, etc. to a pc that has Vista Home Premium?
Thank you,
Larry

[soybean]

I have never had Vista and have heard there are issues when trying to use data, files, Word, etc. originating  in or being supported by XP and trying to download and/or use with Vista. Some programs wouldn't work at all, etc.

I get the impression you may be thinking of installing the same Word you have on an XP machine, on the Vista PC.  I presume you know you can't expect to violate software licence agreements with Microsoft and other software makers without causing problems.

Some programs wouldn't work at all

Well, you need to verify that a particular program is compatible with the OS you want to run it with.  Sometimes, older software that will run under Win XP will not run under Win Vista. 

The computers we have at present are all XP and was wondering how many issues we would have trying to transfer data, documents, etc. to a pc that has Vista Home Premium?

I  have a desktop computer running Windows XP and Office 2003, and I have a notebook PC running Vista Home Premium and Office 2007.  I have these computers networked, with printer and file sharing enabled.  Since Office 2007 applications use file formats that are not compatible with earlier versions of Office, I can not open, say, a Word 2007 file in Word 2003.  I can open a Word 2003 file in Word 2007.  Also, if creating a new file in Word 2007, I can save it in Word 2000 - 2003 format; then, I can open that file with Word 2003.  Of course, this incompatibility between Office 2003 and Office 2007 has nothing to do with Win XP and Vista; if I had installed Office 2003 on the Vista PC, Office files between the two computers would be fully compatible.

[Larry Woller]

Hello,
Thanks again. No, wasn't going to install any software. You last two answers come close to answering my questions without having to go into any lengthy detail..merely wanting to know how difficult it might be to transfer, open, files, folders and other data between XP and Vista..

From what I understand the Vista Business Bonus-XP Professional downgrade has XP installed and a Vista DVD for going to Vista at a later date, should we desire. Knowing my wife doesn't wish to spend a lot of time opening a file, etc. perhaps, for peace of mind, it may be in our best interest to pay the $99... smile.
Thanks for your help!!!!
Larry

[Broni]

You, unnecessary are throwing away a hundred bucks.

[Larry Woller]

Hello Broni,
That is why I posted here, for input... if you have any  I would greatly appreciate it!!..

[Larry Woller]

Keeping in mind when dealing with me and my wife, your not dealing with someone who has a lot of knowledge about or time to deal with conflicting software or programs.. Ok??

[Broni]

XP is 7 years old operating system.
As soybean said, check Vista compatibility of crucial programs, you'll want to use, and if they check out, leave Vista on ,and invite your wife to $100 dinner. Everyone will be happy.

[Larry Woller]

Hello,
Maybe to simplify things all my wifes files are in XP Small Business Word 2002, which she will be working with.. not interested in Outlook, etc.. She will be saving (or trying to save and download) those files and attempting to put them on the new laptop (should she decide to get one) with Vista Home Premium. Service Pack 1..
Thanks for all the input, am taking notes.
Larry

[Broni]

There are several sites, you can check list of programs, which will work with Vista:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/232602-44-list-vista-supported-hardware-software
http://vistacompatible.blogspot.com/2007/04/windows-vista-compatible-software.html
Office XP is one of them.

[drmsucks]

Larry - There is not a file compatibility issue between Vista and XP, none. Any file that you can save, open, edit, etc in XP you can do the same in Vista. But you need the correct program to handle the file type. As previously mentioned, look at the programs you use (post them here, if you want; look at the links provided by Broni) and make sure there are Vista compatible versions. Word files are absolutely not an issue.

As Broni mentioned, like it or not, XP's days are numbered; do you really want to spend $100 for an 'outdated' OS? ("Sir, I can let you have this 2008 Chevy for $22,000; or, you can have this great 2000 Chevy for $22,100.") If you're not up for a dinner out, put the $100 towards better hardware specs

Btw, for Vista, look for a CPU at least dual core and at least 2.0 Ghz (faster is better!), and RAM of not less than 2 GB (more is better up to 4 GB). Don't even think about Vista with less than 2 GB RAM.

[Broni]

Btw, for Vista, look for a CPU at least dual core and at least 2.0 Ghz (faster is better!), and RAM of not less than 2 GB (more is better up to 4 GB). Don't even think about Vista with less than 2 GB RAM.

Very important. Thanks, Kirk

[Larry Woller]

Hello everyone,
  Apologize for being a little tardy in replying and saying thank you!!.. Your folk's input helped a great deal.. have nothing against Vista, just wanted to have any input on possible issues that may develop between XP and Vista, not being familiar with Vista, before purchasing a new pc.. most programs we have should work, to some degree, with Vista also..
  I am one of those that prepares for a flood before it arrives, not after I also appreciate the input on speed and memory!!.. that will help immensely also..
  Again, Thanks to everyone, I appreciate it!!!
Larry

[CarzyComputerGuy]

I  have a desktop computer running Windows XP and Office 2003, and I have a notebook PC running Vista Home Premium and Office 2007.  I have these computers networked, with printer and file sharing enabled.  Since Office 2007 applications use file formats that are not compatible with earlier versions of Office, I can not open, say, a Word 2007 file in Word 2003.  I can open a Word 2003 file in Word 2007.  Also, if creating a new file in Word 2007, I can save it in Word 2000 - 2003 format; then, I can open that file with Word 2003.  Of course, this incompatibility between Office 2003 and Office 2007 has nothing to do with Win XP and Vista; if I had installed Office 2003 on the Vista PC, Office files between the two computers would be fully compatible.

FYI Their is a 2007 compaiblity download for office 2003 which will make it able to read office 2007 format. It works great. We use it at work where we are slowly transitioning to office 2007.

[drmsucks]

Larry - Best of luck with your choice. Let us know what you decide and how you like it.

[Larry Woller]

Hello everyone,
 Don't know if this is the right place to put it but you folks helped in the decision making, so here is what we are contemplating at this time.. cost $578 through Dell Small Business (doesn't include taxes and 3-5 day shipping is free at the moment)..


 
 
 
 Vostro 1000 laptop:

AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Processor TL- 60 (2.00GHz 512K)   V1KTL60   1   [223-0529]   1
 
 
 Operating System:
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium, Service Pack 1   VHP31E   1   [420-6581][420-7293][420-7658][420-8709]   11
 
 
 Productivity Software:
Microsoft® Works 9. Does NOT Include MS Word   WKS9ENG   1   [420-8046]   22
 
 
 Limited Warranty, Services and Support:
1 Year Basic Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-in Service   S1YOSMI   1   [983-3920][986-5020][988-6059][989-5817][991-2878]   29
 
 
 LCD Panel:
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display with TrueLife   15WXTL   1   [320-5883]   2
 
 
 Memory:
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHZ, 2 Dimm   2G2D   1   [311-7344]   3
 
 
 Hard Drive:
120GB 5400RPM Hard Drive   120G54K   1   [341-4971]   8
 
 
 Optical Drive:
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive with Cyberlink Power DVD   24CMBON   1   [313-5388]   16
 
 
 Video Card:
ATI Radeon® Xpress 1150 256MB HyperMemory™ (integrated)   UMA   1   [320-5631]   6
 
 
 Wireless Cards:
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Wi-Fi Internal Card   DW1395   1   [430-2733]   19
 
  This doesn't include the rest of the bells and whistles, Adobe, etc. The jury is still out on whether we get it with Word (costs extra)
Again, thanks for all the help and you may be hearing from me again..
Larry
 
 
 

[drmsucks]

Looks nice - just a thought or two!

a) If you can, get a discrete video adapter with 512 MB of it's own memory.

b) If not a) and you stay with the built-in video, be advised that the video will "share" system RAM (this is the polite way of saying,"Will steal RAM from the main memory and reduce the amount available to run programs"), therefore, increase RAM to 3-4GB.

c) If you will mainly use the laptop plugged in (i.e., battery life is not critical), consider a 7200 rpm hard drive instead of the 5400 rpm. Plus = much quicker hard drive response (opening programs, files; saving files; installing programs; running virus checks), on the order of 10 - 20% faster; minus = lower battery life (not drastic), slightly more heat.

Best of luck!

[Broni]

Apologize for being a little tardy

100 lashes!!......just kidding

[Broni]

If you can, get a discrete video adapter with 512 MB of it's own memory

It's laptop.

[drmsucks]

If you can, get a discrete video adapter with 512 MB of it's own memory

It's laptop.

I know - maybe the wrong choice of words (discrete video adapter), but laptops have video choices. I was specifically thinking of the GeForce 8600M series or the 8400M series (256 MB). I don't know what Dell offers but HP offers several choices.

[Broni]

I see...all clear

[drmsucks]

I was just thinking of running Aero without bogging down the rest of the system.