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just wondering

W

wilson44512

n00b
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
26
i have been reading a lot about vista. and a lot of things i have read. is that when people updates there xp to vista. they run into more problems. then the ones that install the full version. with out xp. i would like to hear your opinion on this
 
Easy on the punctuation there....

I always prefer a nice clean install..... never cared for update versions of an os, but that's just my opinion.
 
I prefer the hybrid install myself :)

it's a clean install, but it backs up:

Documents And Settings
Program Files
Windows

to a Windows.old folder on your active partition.
 
My statements that follow are for this audience, which is supposed to be made up of power users. Most of us are a little anal when it comes to the efficiency of our computer. Therefore, we would always prefer the clean install. This isn't just an XP to Vista thing...it's been the same with any OS. Sure the new Vista routine can make the Windows.old directory, but seriously...who honestly keeps stuff in their My Docs folder anymore? That's what the whole concept of a data drive is. OS, apps, and games go on the system volume, and data goes on a separate volume. SyncToy can make it a one click operation to back anything up, like game saves, favorites, etc.
 
Why *not* do a hybrid install.

Delete Windows.old when you're done and BOOM you just converted your hybrid install to a clean install.
 
If that's all you're going to do, why not just boot from the Vista DVD and install it clean?
 
djnes said:
If that's all you're going to do, why not just boot from the Vista DVD and install it clean?
Click to expand...

I don't understand... what's the difference? In any case, you can boot from the Vista DVD and do a hybrid/clean install.

In fact, on one install, I was using a strange keyboard... and I could not for the life of me figure out what the password was. It was so frustrating! I tried ~500 variations. I tried typing it again without looking... but no dice. (And Nordahls disk is, of course, of no use in Vista).

So I had to install again. I wanted to try another hybrid/clean install. It renamed Windows.old to Windows.old.000 and created a new Windows.old with the previous version of Vista.

Crazy eh?

In any case, hybrid = clean. I think the small point you're trying to push is to FORMAT prior to installing Vista. But formatting first != clean install.
 
Hybrid? Clean? You're insane. :)

"Clean" means just that - a clean installation with nothing left on the drive from the previous installation, i.e. a freshly formatted partition (and not just a partition where you deleted the content) it's not an upgrade in any way shape or form. Now, considering that some applications and software packages do have problems with Vista and not the other way around, there exists the possibility that performing an in-place upgrade from XP to Vista means there could be some issues after the "upgrade" is complete, if it even completes that is.

I have always been a major MAJOR proponent of clean installs. I fault Microsoft for making it "easy" for Joe Average, consumer that happens to own a computer running Windows, to go out and save a few bucks and get the "upgrade" edition of their newest flagship OSes and bring home the CD (now a DVD with Vista) and pop it in and wham... problems galore.

With all the experience I have under my belt (and some girth too, I admit it), I've never seen an upgrade that did not have issues - ever in more instances than I care to admit or remember. I always say:

"Upgrades are bad... bad... evil bad things..."

and I mean it, with sugar on top and the first-hand experience to back it up.

Besides, you can do a "true clean install" with a Vista upgrade disc nowadays. It's simple, takes 3 commands from a Command Prompt and you're all set. Doesn't even require disabling UAC... or a reboot.
 
That's the point I was trying to make. Hybrid to me, sounds like patchwork, bandaid solution. Clean is just that...clean. there's no chance of leaving anything behind, because it's a clean install. I see the point of a hybrid install for people who are taking the plunge and upgrading the OS themselves for the first time....but I don't see that as a power user function. Clean's always been the way to go.
 
djnes said:
...who honestly keeps stuff in their My Docs folder anymore? That's what the whole concept of a data drive is.
Click to expand...

I do. And so does anybody else with enough nous to realise that if you change the 'Documents' pointer to a location on your data storage drive or partition you make application configuration a whole hell of a lot easier.

It ain't 'My Documents' any more. Vista deals with Documents, Music, Pictures by using separate pointers, and the location they point to doesn't need to be inside the overall 'Users' folder.

Most applications default to the relevent 'Documents' or 'Pictures' folder for file storage, and most applications call on Windows functions to do file storage tasks. So, when you're configuring you default file storage location in an application it makes sense to have had the relevent pointer configured to point where you want it to. You'll be spat straight to the correct general location and you'll only need to select or create an appropriate sub-folder for your default storage location.
 
But what's the point of changing it, when you can just save the files in a Documents folder on the D drive anyway? The My Docs aka Docs folder doesn't have any special features to it....so I don't understand the attachment to it. I don't see any point in the redirection, when you can just save your files elsewhere anyway.

Those apps that default to it, only do it the first time. Once you begin using the folder on your storage drive, they will default to it each time after that. I understand the reasoning to save the files off the system drive...but why change operating system settings when you don't have to?
 
I can say the exact same thing for my method, but I don't have to mess with OS settings. Furthermore, if I was to re-install my OS, I wouldn't need to reconfigure anything. My previous Documents folder on my data drive would be untouched, and ready for use right away.
 
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