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  3. Is it good to use Vista ?

Is it good to use Vista ?

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  • L Lost User

    AFAIK you can only get it to DISPLAY the amount of memory correctly - but it still won't be using that extra above 3Gb. Can you actually do that on XP? I didn't think Xp could see more than 3Gb either? Always made me wonder why they sell machines with a 32 bit OS and 4Gb or more of Ram

    Take a chill pill, Daddy-o .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

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    Paul Conrad
    wrote on last edited by
    #42

    Haven't tried it myself, but I've read before that you have to use the /PAE switch when starting up Windows. And a few other things to get it to work with all 4GB... This for example, http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=989[^]...

    "The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon

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    • C Colin Angus Mackay

      I am running Vista perfectly happily with just 2Gb of RAM.

      Recent blog posts: *SQL Server / Visual Studio install order *Installing SQL Server 2005 on Vista *Tip of the Day - SysInternals * Meme My Blog

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      Paul Conrad
      wrote on last edited by
      #43

      My dual core 1.6ghz laptop with 1.5gb ram is running Vista Ultimate smoothly. VS2008 seems to run no faster or slower than it does on my XP machine.

      "The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon

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      • P Paul Conrad

        Haven't tried it myself, but I've read before that you have to use the /PAE switch when starting up Windows. And a few other things to get it to work with all 4GB... This for example, http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=989[^]...

        "The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon

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        L Offline
        Lost User
        wrote on last edited by
        #44

        AFAIK these 'hacks' can give you access to about an extra 512Mb of the 'mising' 1Gb - not to be sneezed at, I guess, but I also understand that the access to this extra memory is slower, and possibly only works with certain motherboard chipsets. Maybe I'll try it on my office PC and see what happens. If I don't reply, you'll know all didn't go well ;)

        Take a chill pill, Daddy-o .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

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        • L Lost User

          AFAIK these 'hacks' can give you access to about an extra 512Mb of the 'mising' 1Gb - not to be sneezed at, I guess, but I also understand that the access to this extra memory is slower, and possibly only works with certain motherboard chipsets. Maybe I'll try it on my office PC and see what happens. If I don't reply, you'll know all didn't go well ;)

          Take a chill pill, Daddy-o .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

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          Paul Conrad
          wrote on last edited by
          #45

          I've always wondered and may be upgrading to 64 bits anyways.

          "The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon

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          • P Paul Conrad

            I've always wondered and may be upgrading to 64 bits anyways.

            "The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon

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            Lost User
            wrote on last edited by
            #46

            If you go 64 bit, just make sure you're not developing with people rnning 32 bit! We have one developer in our team runnng 64 bit (long story) and the amount of angst it causes (3rd party tools not available, specific code in project builds to decide which machine it's being built on etc.) outweights its usefulness (in fact, I haven't seen and good side to 64 bit vista at all, frankly, in what we laughingly call the real world)

            Take a chill pill, Daddy-o .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

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            • L Lost User

              If you go 64 bit, just make sure you're not developing with people rnning 32 bit! We have one developer in our team runnng 64 bit (long story) and the amount of angst it causes (3rd party tools not available, specific code in project builds to decide which machine it's being built on etc.) outweights its usefulness (in fact, I haven't seen and good side to 64 bit vista at all, frankly, in what we laughingly call the real world)

              Take a chill pill, Daddy-o .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

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              Paul Conrad
              wrote on last edited by
              #47

              maxxx# wrote:

              If you go 64 bit, just make sure you're not developing with people rnning 32 bit!

              That's true. Not really conceptually any different than when I started doing software development, I got to see the transition from 16 bits to 32 bits, and it is pretty much the same idea all over again. While most folks were running 16 bits with 80286's and 80386-SX, I had a 32 bit 80386-DX and had to be careful about porting down to 16 bits from 32 bit development.

              "The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon

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              • P Paul Selormey

                Chris Maunder wrote:

                At a fundamental level it's more advanced and secure than XP

                In which way is it more secured? Is it the continues popup you get - what is even the name of that feature? Vista is a new OS and not yet really field tested, so the least we want to hear is that more secure stuff. Last year I upgraded my internet to broadband, my provider was advertising "more secure" on the TV. I ordered the upgrade just to be sent Mcfee anti-virus CD as the "more secure". To me buying a new PC with Vista might make sense, but to pop it on a current PC, there seems to be no reason. Best regards, Paul.

                Jesus Christ is LOVE! Please tell somebody.

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                W Offline
                werD
                wrote on last edited by
                #48

                ASLR [^]is an excellent example... wikipedia[^]or ms [^]would be a great place to look at more of them though...

                DrewG, MCSD .Net

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                • M Mohammad Dayyan

                  Hi there. I'm using WinXp SP2. I'd like to know , it's good to use Windows Vista now ? Why? What are your reasons ?

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                  djwild
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #49

                  I Installed Vista on a 15GB partition and in two months it grew so much so that now there are only 500MB free on that drive. All other software I am using is on a different partition so those 14.5 gigs are just for OS! For one thing it constantly updates and requires restart. But the big problem right now is that I can't install SP1 because it requires 2GB of free space! I tried freeing up some space but didn't manage to get enough. Turns out that the Winsxs folder takes nearly 8GB, and there is nothing one can do about that. Unfortunately repartitioning is not an option at this point. So the only thing I can do is create a new Vista CD with SP1 integrated and reinstall. :wtf: This is my first experience with Vista, draw your own conclusions. If I were you I would definitely stick to XP.

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                  • M Mohammad Dayyan

                    Hi there. I'm using WinXp SP2. I'd like to know , it's good to use Windows Vista now ? Why? What are your reasons ?

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                    Bud Aaron
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #50

                    I have been running Vista Ultimate as my main development platform for several months now. I wouldn't go back to XP for anything but that having been said - Vista is a resource hog. I run it on my Dell Inspiron 9200 also but it is definitely slow. This machine sports an Intel Quad core processor and 4 GB of memory so Vista practically screams. One thing - USE UAC - it will save your life so to speak. I run Windows OneCare so virus scanning is always on but I've had no viruses because I have to give them permission to run. At first it got under my skin but now I wouldn't have it any other way. It will grow on you I guarantee!

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                    • M Mohammad Dayyan

                      Hi there. I'm using WinXp SP2. I'd like to know , it's good to use Windows Vista now ? Why? What are your reasons ?

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                      Christian Schiffer
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #51

                      Yes, it is, in the beginning the where lots of driver issues those are solved now. However, if you have a slow machine/less than 3 GB ram you might consider the 32 bit version of Vista because it’s faster on those kind of machines and maybe even remove the Vista Aero stuff. Vista got a lot to offer beside Aero, it really enhances my productivity, its faster to navigate around in the file system, I can run commands directly from the start menu, and it obviously is much safer than XP. I don't use Vista myself, instead I use Windows Server 2008 as a Workstation but I am running Vista at work and am very satisfied with it now. Now I am not saying that there want be a transitioning period for you, there will be, but I am sure it will be a short one and you will be very satisfied once you get to know Vista. Cons? Today? Hmm there aren't really any unless of course you don't have at least 2GB ram and a dual core CPU, but hey, who doesn’t have that today?

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                      • E Ennis Ray Lynch Jr

                        My work laptop is XP2 so I switched my personal laptop to Vista so I can be prepared in case the eventual switch ever occurs. I think some of the WPF things are neat, however, when I look at how much juice is draws from the laptop I wonder if companies have looked at the overhead cost of even developing in Vista. If your PC is drawing 200W/hrs to run a simple business app * 200 users that is a lot of power compared to the low draw that can be achieved with SP2 and an LCD. Heck, most of my apps business apps run near idle. But yet, I run Vista, no real reason.

                        Need a C# Consultant? I'm available.
                        Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know. -- Ernest Hemingway

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                        Christian Schiffer
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #52

                        If you’re using too much juice remove Aero that will reduce power consumption and speed up slow machines quite dramatically. That’s the quick fix, a better way is of course to disable all the services you don’t need and if that’s not enough, remove Aero, because Aero is really the guilty part in using resources. I personally use Aero, but hey, I have a 45nm Quad core Xeon so…

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                        • D djwild

                          I Installed Vista on a 15GB partition and in two months it grew so much so that now there are only 500MB free on that drive. All other software I am using is on a different partition so those 14.5 gigs are just for OS! For one thing it constantly updates and requires restart. But the big problem right now is that I can't install SP1 because it requires 2GB of free space! I tried freeing up some space but didn't manage to get enough. Turns out that the Winsxs folder takes nearly 8GB, and there is nothing one can do about that. Unfortunately repartitioning is not an option at this point. So the only thing I can do is create a new Vista CD with SP1 integrated and reinstall. :wtf: This is my first experience with Vista, draw your own conclusions. If I were you I would definitely stick to XP.

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                          Christian Schiffer
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #53

                          Well folks for you who have a 40 GB hard drive and only a 15 GB system partition, single core or less than 2 GB ram stay away from Vista. For those of us not living in the Stone Age, Vista is really great.

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                          • S si618

                            FWIW, I'm going with Windows Server 2008[^] instead of Vista for my new dev box.

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                            Christian Schiffer
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #54

                            I totally agree, I do the same, unfortunately at work I have to use Vista. But hey, I would not trade that for XP.

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                            • P Perspx

                              It's been fine for me except was a real pain to set up - had to try 5 network cards to find one that was compatible, and remove all of my PCI cards during the install.. But that was a year ago so things mught have changed now :) Regards, --Perspx

                              "The Blue Screen of Death, also known as The Blue Screen of Doom, the "Blue Screen of Fun", "Phatul Exception: The WRECKening" and "Windows Vista", is a multi award-winning game first developed in 1995 by Microsoft" - Uncyclopedia

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                              Christian Schiffer
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #55

                              Yes, they have, the driver issues are mostly solved now, even 64 bit drivers are generally available.

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                              • W werD

                                ASLR [^]is an excellent example... wikipedia[^]or ms [^]would be a great place to look at more of them though...

                                DrewG, MCSD .Net

                                P Offline
                                P Offline
                                Paul Selormey
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #56

                                Try read this...[^] or the actual report[^] I like the conclusion in this[^] Again, until that OS is fully tested, the security thing, which even being patched every month if not week, is a simple unproven theory. Best regards, Paul.

                                Jesus Christ is LOVE! Please tell somebody.

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                                • L Lost User

                                  AFAIK these 'hacks' can give you access to about an extra 512Mb of the 'mising' 1Gb - not to be sneezed at, I guess, but I also understand that the access to this extra memory is slower, and possibly only works with certain motherboard chipsets. Maybe I'll try it on my office PC and see what happens. If I don't reply, you'll know all didn't go well ;)

                                  Take a chill pill, Daddy-o .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

                                  S Offline
                                  S Offline
                                  SevenCPA
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #57

                                  These limitations are due to the Win32 memory model. Win32 memory model was concepted in early 90's, when desktop machines were delivered with 4MB; at those times, 4 GibaByte was a really huge amount of memory. Microsoft decided to divide the addressable space (4GB) in two, 2GB, sections - one for the OS, the other for applications. Therefore, no Win32 application shall access more than its 2GB share of memory. Under this model, a machine running with 4GB is using intensively the 2GB share for apps and the first giga of the OS - the second is not used, in most desktops. Microsoft has noticed exactly this: the OS rarely uses completely its share of 2GB; so, they decided to support PAE (an hardware feature), to divide memory differently in 3GB for applications and 1GB for OS. However, few applications are prepared to PAE (mostly, server applications), so, the probability of having an app using the extra 1GB is relatively small. So, under the PAE model, you usually fall on the classic Win32 model: apps using franticly their 2GB (because they were not developed to take advantage of the extra giga), and OS kernel running in 1GB.

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                                  • C Christian Schiffer

                                    Yes, it is, in the beginning the where lots of driver issues those are solved now. However, if you have a slow machine/less than 3 GB ram you might consider the 32 bit version of Vista because it’s faster on those kind of machines and maybe even remove the Vista Aero stuff. Vista got a lot to offer beside Aero, it really enhances my productivity, its faster to navigate around in the file system, I can run commands directly from the start menu, and it obviously is much safer than XP. I don't use Vista myself, instead I use Windows Server 2008 as a Workstation but I am running Vista at work and am very satisfied with it now. Now I am not saying that there want be a transitioning period for you, there will be, but I am sure it will be a short one and you will be very satisfied once you get to know Vista. Cons? Today? Hmm there aren't really any unless of course you don't have at least 2GB ram and a dual core CPU, but hey, who doesn’t have that today?

                                    J Offline
                                    J Offline
                                    Jaime Olivares
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #58

                                    I am happy with my Vista laptop, just 2Gb /160GB HD / dual core. I have never seen my memory full working with Visual Studio or Office. You will require a least a month to tame it, but the benefits are big, as many members have exposed here. I noticed the drivers problems, every gadget I buy must be carefully checked for Vista compatiblity, but I think this is not a big issue. Buying Vista-compatible hardware is an indicator for me to have the lastest products. Of course I would never recommend to upgrade a system to Vista. I think every system must ran with the OS it was designed for. If you want Vista, sell your XP machine at ebay or a garage sale, and buy a new computer.

                                    Best regards, Jaime.

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                                    • S SevenCPA

                                      These limitations are due to the Win32 memory model. Win32 memory model was concepted in early 90's, when desktop machines were delivered with 4MB; at those times, 4 GibaByte was a really huge amount of memory. Microsoft decided to divide the addressable space (4GB) in two, 2GB, sections - one for the OS, the other for applications. Therefore, no Win32 application shall access more than its 2GB share of memory. Under this model, a machine running with 4GB is using intensively the 2GB share for apps and the first giga of the OS - the second is not used, in most desktops. Microsoft has noticed exactly this: the OS rarely uses completely its share of 2GB; so, they decided to support PAE (an hardware feature), to divide memory differently in 3GB for applications and 1GB for OS. However, few applications are prepared to PAE (mostly, server applications), so, the probability of having an app using the extra 1GB is relatively small. So, under the PAE model, you usually fall on the classic Win32 model: apps using franticly their 2GB (because they were not developed to take advantage of the extra giga), and OS kernel running in 1GB.

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                                      dojohansen
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #59

                                      SevenCPA wrote:

                                      So, under the PAE model, you usually fall on the classic Win32 model: apps using franticly their 2GB (because they were not developed to take advantage of the extra giga), and OS kernel running in 1GB.

                                      That doesn't really make sense. You said there's 2GB for "applications", so even if any SINGLE application isn't "designed to use more than 2GB" you should still be able to use the extra gig by launching more apps. Also, SQL Server *is* designed to basically allocate as much memory as it can, or more precisely to cache as aggressively as possible, and it does take advantage of the extra memory. (I'm sure you already knew - you mentioned servers and all - but it might be of interest to many readers.) I'm curious though how exactly "most applications" would be designed in any way to deal with the 2GB memory limit. It seems to me this should be "a hidden implementation detail" of the OS and not something applications should be concerned with. I'd claim that application developers try to write reasonably efficient code making reasonable tradeoffs between time and space, but without any regard to a 2GB limit and indeed in most cases without even knowing about it's existence.

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                                      • S SevenCPA

                                        These limitations are due to the Win32 memory model. Win32 memory model was concepted in early 90's, when desktop machines were delivered with 4MB; at those times, 4 GibaByte was a really huge amount of memory. Microsoft decided to divide the addressable space (4GB) in two, 2GB, sections - one for the OS, the other for applications. Therefore, no Win32 application shall access more than its 2GB share of memory. Under this model, a machine running with 4GB is using intensively the 2GB share for apps and the first giga of the OS - the second is not used, in most desktops. Microsoft has noticed exactly this: the OS rarely uses completely its share of 2GB; so, they decided to support PAE (an hardware feature), to divide memory differently in 3GB for applications and 1GB for OS. However, few applications are prepared to PAE (mostly, server applications), so, the probability of having an app using the extra 1GB is relatively small. So, under the PAE model, you usually fall on the classic Win32 model: apps using franticly their 2GB (because they were not developed to take advantage of the extra giga), and OS kernel running in 1GB.

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                                        andlov
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #60

                                        "Microsoft has noticed exactly this: the OS rarely uses completely its share of 2GB; so, they decided to support PAE (an hardware feature), to divide memory differently in 3GB for applications and 1GB for OS." I think you meant the /3GB switch here. The /PAE switch gives the OS access to memory above 4GB (how much it actually can use depends on Windows version), but each application is still restricted to its 32-bit address space. An work-around for this 4GB (per application) limitation is to use the AWE API.

                                        modified on Monday, August 4, 2008 5:47 AM

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                                        • S SevenCPA

                                          These limitations are due to the Win32 memory model. Win32 memory model was concepted in early 90's, when desktop machines were delivered with 4MB; at those times, 4 GibaByte was a really huge amount of memory. Microsoft decided to divide the addressable space (4GB) in two, 2GB, sections - one for the OS, the other for applications. Therefore, no Win32 application shall access more than its 2GB share of memory. Under this model, a machine running with 4GB is using intensively the 2GB share for apps and the first giga of the OS - the second is not used, in most desktops. Microsoft has noticed exactly this: the OS rarely uses completely its share of 2GB; so, they decided to support PAE (an hardware feature), to divide memory differently in 3GB for applications and 1GB for OS. However, few applications are prepared to PAE (mostly, server applications), so, the probability of having an app using the extra 1GB is relatively small. So, under the PAE model, you usually fall on the classic Win32 model: apps using franticly their 2GB (because they were not developed to take advantage of the extra giga), and OS kernel running in 1GB.

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                                          Paul Sanders the other one
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #61

                                          The preceding post is not quite right. Windows divides the address space in two, not the use of physical RAM. What this means is that any one application can only use 2GB RAM, but if you are running more than one, they can each use 2GB so, for most people, all is well. There is a way of giving applications 3GB and the kernel only 1, but I don't recall how you do it or what the downside might be. I think it's mainly for people running SQL server, which like *lots* of (addressable!) RAM.

                                          Paul Sanders http://www.alpinesoft.co.uk

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