Taking the Vista Plunge on a Thinkpad T60
Windows Vista has taken a lot of abuse since it first came out. And even though I had never used Vista myself, I believed the negative comments without question and even joined in the mud slinging a few times. But was I right to accept the negative comments without trying it for myself? Obviously the answer was “no.” And since I was starting to hate my current installation of XP Professional, I decided the time was ripe to take the Vista plunge and confirm or negate everything I heard for myself.
Which version of Vista?
Vista has no shortage of versions to choose from (or as I prefer to call them - flavors): Home, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate. Each with an increasing price tag and an “upgrade” or “regular” version. Since I’m not a fan of the upgrade road I knew I wanted a regular version. Unfortunately the price was more than I wanted to spend but I managed to find the more affordable Original Equipment Manufacturer’s (OEM) option
The OEM version of Vista Home Premium
A regular OEM version is what I wanted but I still needed to select which “flavor” or Vista to install. Fortunately, that decision was easy. I’ve read the Microsoft comparison charts, and have been listening to the Windows Weekly podcast for over a couple of months so I already knew I wanted Vista Home Premium. The other “flavors” aren’t bad, they’re simply not what I need. The Home version is too stripped down, the business removes all the fun stuff, and Ultimate doesn’t seem ultimate enough.
With all of the decisions made, I placed my order of Vista Home Premium OEM version at Amazon.com
Windows Vista installation play-by-play
My new copy of Vista arrived at my door within a few days of placing my order. And with all of the pre-installation prep work complete, I was ready to start the installation first thing the next morning.
5:20 AM Started the Vista installation.
- Doing a straight installation but could have done an upgrade if I started from an active Windows session.
- Hard drive options displayed my partition information. I was able to format the drive when I selected the advanced options. Also, there was a 9 MB partition I could not touch. I suspect it was a manufacturer specific configuration. Besides, it was only 9 MB so it wasn’t a big deal.
5:40 AM First phase of installation complete
- Windows reboots and starts “completing the installation” (that’s what the screen message said)
5:43 AM Second reboot
- Added my first user account
- Password was recommended but I could have also opted to skip the password
- Gave my computer a “name”, selected a desktop background, time zone, and confirmed the current date and time
5:47 AM Performance check starts
5:52 AM Desktop gets “prepared”
- Windows displays my hardware configuration:
- Processor T2400 @ 1.83 Ghz
- 1.99 GB of RAM
- Mobile Intel 945 GM Express Chipset
- Windows informs me that “connecting to the network is taking longer than usual.” I was sitting too far away from my wireless router — Doh!
5:57 AM Connected to the network, activated Vista, and the installation is finished!
I was certain that when I bought this version it came was packed with Service Pack 1 (SP1). Unfortunately I wasn’t able to easily confirm that so I decided to force Vista to check for updates and it found 61.
Downloading the updates (approximately 200 MB) didn’t take too long but I was able to go and make a fresh pot of coffee during this post installation step. Once complete, Windows started to install the updates and this is where I encountered my only significant problem.
Update installation caused the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSD)
My first, and so far only, BSD took place while Windows was installing update 22 out of 61. Once my machine rebooted I was able to pick up where I left off and installed the remaining updates without a problem.
The update problem produced 2 error codes: 80070103 and 800F020B. I’ve done some quick research and the problem appears to be associated with the Intel driver for the Express Chipset. When I reviewed the update history I found 2 failed updates and sure enough they were both related to Intel drivers:
- Failed: Intel Corp Display Mobile Intel(r) 945 Express Chipset Family
- Failed: Intel network Intel(r) Pro 1000 PL network connection
Despite the failed update, I don’t have any problems running and using Vista. Of course, since I always run wireless, I have no idea what might happen if I try to use a wired ethernet connection. Things are “allegedly” broken but I’m in no rush to “fix” them because I’m seeing no negative impact. I will eventually, however, do some further research into this problem and see if I really need to take corrective action.
Initial impressions of Vista on my T60 Thinkpad
Only time will tell whether I’ve done the right thing or embarked on a fool’s journey. For now, however, I’m very happy with Vista. The installation hit one bump along the road but easily managed the problem and it hasn’t impacted the work I need to get done. Aside from that, here are some other random initial observations:
Performance: Runs slower than XP but I expected that. I haven’t done any performance tuning nor have I turned off the visual effects. For now I like the added visual effects even though I had them turned off in XP I think I’ll leave them on in Vista.
Gadgets: The sidebar and gadgets are very cool. More than eye-candy I think these gadgets can add some real value to the desktop. Obviously not everyone wants to see another clock on their desktop but the cpu and memory performance gadgets are great for anyone that routinely opens Task Manager to check on how hard their system is working.
Added Assistance: Normally I don’t like programs that “take control” in effort to make things easier for the user; however, some of the extra help Vista provides is making my transition easier. So for now I’ll let Vista control my user experience.
The Interface: The new layout will take some getting used to but I honestly think the interface is much more intuitive than previous versions of Windows. And I absolutely love the new naming conventions for default user folders such as documents, music, videos. Long gone are “My Documents” “My Music” etc. I always knew those folders were mine so I didn’t need the operating system reminding me.
User Account Control (UAC): This feature is nothing more than an extra prompt whenever you do something that requires an extra level of access. The hope is that with this extra level of confirmation users won’t accidentally do damage to their system or enable some malicious code to run without knowing. I have NO PROBLEM with this extra prompt, and normally I would. It’s not nearly as intrusive as some people claim. Basically if you have ever used the Zone Alarm firewall or similar product, and set your protection level high, then you’ve already experienced the extra “are-you-sure” prompt. The UAC prompt is no big deal and you really only see it when you’re installing new software. This issue has been extremely overblown by the Vista complainers.
Applications: I haven’t installed many applications at this point (only enough to get back to work). Applications such as Twhirl (Twitter client), Pidgin (I.M. client), Firefox, and Evernote all installed easily and running without a problem. Applications for work such as Lotus Notes (release 8.01 Eclipse based version) and Sametime Connect 8.01 didn’t install as easily (if at all) and don’t run very well; however, I am still tweaking these apps in hopes of getting them to run a little quicker.
Should you upgrade to Vista?
Overall my Vista installation went well. I’m glad I upgraded but that doesn’t necessarily mean that should too. Whether you should or should not upgrade is question with no absolute answer.
The answer comes down to you and your current computer situation. If you have a fully functional computer with XP, and you’re happy with it, then do NOT upgrade. Vista is very nice but the benefit from an upgrade isn’t big enough to abandon a working copy of XP. Also, if you have older hardware, then do NOT upgrade. Vista is fairly resource intensive and to fully enjoy the new features, you’ll need to run it on newer hardware. That old 2.4 Ghz Pentium 4 with 512 MB of RAM and an 80 GB hard drive just won’t do Vista justice.
On the flip side, if you have fairly powerful hardware and hate your current installation of XP for whatever reason (which, by the way, was my case), then by all means upgrade. The graphic enhancements and more intuitive layout is probably just the change you’re looking for. Also, if you’re shopping for a new PC and it comes with Vista pre-installed, take it. Don’t downgrade to XP. You’re NOT “pulling a fast one” on Microsoft and an older operating system on brand new PC makes no sense.
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[...] and even joined in the mud slinging a few times. But was I right to accept the negative commehttp://www.techtraction.com/2008/07/23/taking-the-vista-plunge-on-a-thinkpad-t60/Read “RE: Windows XP Errors in microsoft.public.windowsxp.general” at [...]
Enjoyed the humor regarding “My Documents” etc. I actually chuckled out loud while reading it because it was SO true.
As for the failed updates for the Intel Chipset and NIC, I would recommend going straight to the Intel website and see what Vista drivers they have available to download and use those. A wise instructor once told me if the current driver works don’t change it. I’ve only regretted not following that advice one time and thank goodness for the “Rollback Driver” feature.
A couple words of wisdom for prospective Vista users:
1. If you are ordering a new PC or laptop with Vista, make sure that you start out with a MINIMUM of 2GB RAM. From all the pissing and moaning I’ve read from other users, 1GB worked but they weren’t happy until they added another Gig. I would even go as far as making sure that the RAM on my new PC or laptop could be upgraded to 4GB if I ever wanted to.
2. Again, from what I’ve read from tech savvy IT geeks you don’t want to buy a new laptop or PC thinking you can downgrade it to XP. Many of the hardware vendors are not offering XP drivers for Vista machines.
My supervisor and his admin both have HP Vista laptops that I ordered and they love it. What I didn’t care for was the bundled crap that comes with it. I would rather take an upgradeable laptop or workstation and load Vista from scratch and the apps that I want.
Yes, the more RAM the better but I think 2 GB is more than enough to keep Vista happy; however, if you’re someone that opens dozens of apps and leaves them open, then you’ll probably want more RAM. I usually only have no more than 6 apps open at the same time and 2 GB is seems to be plenty.
Again, if you’re buying a new PC with Vista pre-installed, don’t downgrade — you’ll gain nothing in the process.
Also if you want a clean install of Vista on a computer with Vista pre-installed, consider purchasing an OEM version like I did. The savings are significant and you’ll always have the option to do another clean install in the future if needed (much better than the “recovery” disk option). Also, you can try a “crap” remover such as “PC DeCrapifier” (http://pcdecrapifier.com/) which won’t require you purchase a separate copy of Vista.
Thanks for the comment.