TinyPortal

Ok, so many of you know that I am a broadband tech and spend countless hours dealing with "people" concerning their internet and technical issues.

Well this one ranks right up there with my previous Windows 99 story. (Search for it if you haven't read it)

Well, today I had a guy call up because his Windows Vista wasn't working right. He said he bought the software and it wouldnt run and kept giving him a disc error. Well, I started asking him the specs on about his PC to find out if it even supports a Vista upgrade and the guy kept saying "Huh!?! I dont reckon I have me a CPU!" 

A CPU? (Have not heard that term used since Nintendo used it to identify your opponent in single player games.)

So I quickly asked him how he planned on using this if he had no computer. He replied, "It's not for a computer, its for my hi-def TV and DVD system. This guy believed that he could install Vista on his DVD player and get the same PC functions off of his DVD and hi-def as he could on a PC. He said he wanted to use the web tv feature.

WEB F'n TV!!!!!!!

I had no tolerance (excuse the pun) and I simply laughed at this guy and disconnected the call. This seriously had to be a prank.

Can ANYONE be this ignorant? Wait! I don't want to know the answer. :o

And this is your problem how? lol That is too funny....

Oh he was a male blond. ;D

I have ordered a copy for myself, should be here tomorrow.  I went to the Microsoft web site and a scan was done of my computer and it past the scan with only my scanner needing updated drivers.  But after visiting a few other forums where it is being discussed, I am a little leery of installing it now.  I have made a backup of files; if I should encounter problems I can re-install XP.

Has anybody here upgraded yet?

I've said it somewhere here before, but as a general rule I don't update a Microsoft product until the first service pack release at least. XP will be a good operating system for quite some time. I'm in no hurry to update.

It just arrived by DHL.  I have got butterflies in my stomach at the thought of installing it and then having problems. It is the Vista Home Premium.  It is the full version although I know it would have been a hundred dollars cheaper if I had brought the upgrade instead but I detest upgrades!  I have run into problems with them and if you ever want or need to format you must use the older product first.

WOW! I love the package!

Well I will not be installing it, at least not now.  It wants you to uninstalled Norton first and Norton will not uninstall.  That is if I just want to upgrade and keep all my files, I could do a clean install and lose everything but I am not ready to reinstall all my software just now.

But the next time I need to format my hard drive, I'll install it then.

Quote from: IchBinâ„¢ on February 08, 2007, 09:09:36 PM
I've said it somewhere here before, but as a general rule I don't update a Microsoft product until the first service pack release at least. XP will be a good operating system for quite some time. I'm in no hurry to update.

I am with Ichbin on this one, I have a Dell XPS600, and after reading thru all the horror stories on the Dell forums about Vista not having drivers and other things to support programs and parts in most computers including the Dell models, I will be waiting until it is broke in more.

i just bought and installed windows vista business and everything it's ok! it is faster than my old xp! and it installed drivers (from Microsoft) for all my devices! i just love this os! i will keep it and i will erase my win xp installation!

Did you do a clean installation, where your drive was wipe clean?  I didn't want to lose my programs or have to go through the trouble of reinstalling everything so I am holding off for awhile.

If I could get Norton uninstalled I would have gone through with installing Vista today.  I have never had any luck uninstalling virus protection program with the remove system in control panel.  I had to go and download a removal tool from McAfee to get it off of Lauren's computer.

Have anyone else had that problem?  And if so, how did you handle it?

yeah I waited almost 18 months after XP was out before I upgraded.

Norton is the worst to uninstall.  I removed NAV 2003 and personal firewall 2003 less than two years ago. It wasn't that bad.They have removal tools on their site that you have to run to supposedly clean out the registry--not.

I advise using tuneup utilities reg cleaner and maybe crap cleaner and maybe regseeker--all safe to delete everything it finds imo. They all make backups so even if something happens you can recover.

I had everything in a folder on my desktop that I needed to run[still got it if you have 2003]. I think you have to do it in some order too but it is not bad. It sucks that you have to do it but not too bad..

http://www.tune-up.com/products/tuneup-utilities/

http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/

http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm

you can probably get a free version of kaspersky antivirus 6.0 [I just saw it somewhere for free after rebate]and use comodo firewall it it excellent and free.It works and  they play nice together.  norton just ain't worth it with the price of subscriptions renewal.Might as well get a new version.Comodo has many usefull and great freeware.

http://www.comodo.com/products/free_products.html

comodo has great usefull freeware..

I would not use their antivirus just yet. but when it comes out of beta I will try it.It will work by looking for suspicious activity rather than defined virii. it will be great I think.

you could use avg free and comodo firewall and pay nothing and have vista ready to install now.

I never had a problem with any antivirus I ever had and considering where Q has been :knuppel2: I am either lucky or the ones I had were great.

whoops time for csi and shark --later

Quote from: superQ on February 09, 2007, 01:52:34 AM
Norton is the worst to uninstall.  I removed NAV 2003 and personal firewall 2003 less than two years ago. It wasn't that bad.They have removal tools on their site that you have to run to supposedly clean out the registry--not.

Never had a problem with uninstalling Norton, now McAfee, that's a horror story!

Maybe just nav 2003 was the problem. Never was too impressed with Mcafee so never had it.Marian don't have it either.

It is impossible to remove Nav 2003 antivirus completely via add/remove programs or their own uninstaller for that matter. I got rid of of it and never looked back. If you didn't use the extra removal software you probably didn't get it all no matter what version you used.I wanted to be rid of it completely so i used all the extras.

Before I used them[the extras] the ca antivirus I used next would not install.Detected presence of another antivirus which I just removed via NAV uninstaller. CA antivirus removed like anyother software and was good stuff--and free.It left a load of stuff in the registry, which did not affect installation of the kaspersky, and was easily removed.

Remember what marian said

"If I could get Norton uninstalled I would have gone through with installing Vista today"

It is not really a problem it is more of a pain.

I hope the final comodo antivirus comes out before the kaspersky year is up and Q has to spring for definitions :oyou gotta be nuts :idiot2: to pay for antivirus

AVG is more than good enough for most purposes. Now if you are say--Crip, you need some serious protection and may have to actually pay bigtime.... >:D

Go COLTS.......

Quote from: TolerancE on February 07, 2007, 12:40:55 AM
Can ANYONE be this ignorant? Wait! I don't want to know the answer. :o

It's been many years since I did pc and app support work, but to answer the question...YES...people can be that ignorant.

BTW, to those who mentioned problems with Norton, etc. I would get it off the system (manually if you know how) and never reinstall another Norton product. Their old dos products worked great before Symantec days, but the current products are horrible resource hogs and I spent the better part of an afternoon getting rid of every trace that it had ever been on the system. I installed Kaspersky and have not had any trouble with anything getting through since, and it doesn't bog down my laptop.

Ok, I downloaded Norton removal tool and was able to remove it. So, I am now in the progress of installing Vista.  I am on Lauren's computer in her bedroom.  It tells me it will take several hours to install.  I am only doing a upgrade.

Now, I ran into some problems after installation and I want to share what I learned here with all of you.Ã,  I did an upgrade, which meant I would keep all my files and settings.Ã,  As you know I had to remove my virus program, Norton did have a removal tool, so it wasn't too bad.

But Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer would not work.Ã,  Clicking on the icon E usually logs me onto the net, but it would freeze with me instead.Ã,  I sought help from the online source and my problem was the Explorer's addons, like flash player and so on.Ã, 

I needed to go to 'tools' on the menu bar of IE, but it would not respond.Ã,  By accident, I learned that when I opened the compatibility scan, and click on the web address of any of the programs there that needed updating, that I was able to get online, Explorer worked and responded.

So I opened 'tools', and click 'manage addons, and disabled all except two that would not allow it.Ã,  I restarted IE and like magic it opened and so did Windows explorer.Ã,  I added back Flash and Google and it is still working.

So my advice to any who wish to take the upgrade rout instead of a clean install to disable before hand all addons for IE

It is working fine now and I love it so far.Ã,  And it is fast!

Im installing it on my laptop now , Have to free up some harddrive space first! Grrrrr! lol

Well good luck and try not to get to flustered like I did.  I was asking myself, why did I want to upgrade when everything was working so well.  :idiot2:

But I am glad I did. :up:

Lol i just want to upgrade to see what its like , If i like it i'll install it onto my main computer , If i dont like it i'll wait another while to upgrade onto my main computer

I am a little concern about one thing.  Remember that I had to removed Norton, well after the installation of Vista, I am without virus protection.  I have windows firewall which I think is a big improvement over the previous one in XP, but XP would tell you that you needed a virus program.  Did any of you add it back onto your system?  After getting rid of Norton I kind of hate putting it back on.

Quote from: Marian on February 13, 2007, 12:36:41 AM
I am a little concern about one thing.  Remember that I had to removed Norton, well after the installation of Vista, I am without virus protection.  I have windows firewall which I think is a big improvement over the previous one in XP, but XP would tell you that you needed a virus program.  Did any of you add it back onto your system?  After getting rid of Norton I kind of hate putting it back on.

I don't have Virus protection either and it tells you. What version of Vista our you running I have Ultimate and it puts a little yellow sheld in your icon bar at the bottom as a windows security alert, saying no virus protection found.

Quote from: pvcblueÃ,© on February 08, 2007, 10:57:57 PM

Quote from: IchBinâ„¢ on February 08, 2007, 09:09:36 PM
I've said it somewhere here before, but as a general rule I don't update a Microsoft product until the first service pack release at least. XP will be a good operating system for quite some time. I'm in no hurry to update.

I am with Ichbin on this one, I have a Dell XPS600, and after reading thru all the horror stories on the Dell forums about Vista not having drivers and other things to support programs and parts in most computers including the Dell models, I will be waiting until it is broke in more.

I have installed and I only had a couple of third party programs that would not work and after 2 or 3 days they have put up Vista compatible Programs. I have been working with vist since Beta1 to Present Ultimate full. It is a better system, but like IchBin said no need to run and buy XP is still a great system and will serve you well for a long time to come. I am just very big on visuals and love new software( I have to be the First on the Block to Get it)

I am using Home Premiums and yes I do have the yellow shield, it said Windows Security Alerts.  But still am uncertain on rather I should install a virus program.  How good is Windows Firewalled?  You know WinXP firewall wasn't too much and you were advise to use another firewalls besides the one that came with XP.

Okay, after clicking on the yellow shield, I was told that I did not have a virus program installed. I tried to install my version of Norton, 2004.  Windows would not allow it.  So I went to MS site and downloaded a 90 day trial of Trend Micro. They all run at least $30 a year. 

Yep , Its really all microsofts fault there isnt more choice for protection now , They delayed giving the security companies access to the vista code for ages........... I like the Aero feature though! Very cool!

The yellow shield is not to protect your system.  It is user notification of the updating utility of MSFT.  MSFT does have the new malicious removal tool, which is a scan for malware, virus, and other junk.  It is in beta now,  but you can use it now to scan your system free.  Just go to msft and search on "malicious" you'll see a page of links. 

I'm not sure if you can fully DL it.  I just allowed MSFT activeX on my computer. It took it about 3 hours to run.   

The windows firewall may be better, but remember it is not virus or malware/spyware scanner.  Firewalls control people getting in and out of your computer, and keep you ports from access by remote users.

I run Spybot, Ad-aware and AVG anti-spyware.  I use the AVG 7.5 version of the free virus scanner.  I have used the AVG for over 2 years and to be real honest I've been having results better than many using the Symantec.

My suggetion:  Do not use your system without a Virus protection.  There are so many new and very bad viruses now you don't have a chance of keeping your system clean for even a week, if you're actively using the web.  If you have a software firewall that notifies you whenever a bot lands on your computer seeking access you're going to see a daily barrage of near-do-wells are trying to get in.  I realize not all those bots are designed to damage your computer, because sometimes we cause it by things we click on websites.
I did read awhile back on some blog, where a hacker admitted he had a tool that could run through so many computers each night, that it was equivalent to a small country.

I put a Zonealarm personal firewall on my system recently and found one of my neighbors was defeating my security and using my LinkSys router on my broadband connection. I had  64 bit WEP security installed.  I have since gone to WAP2 and turned off my SSID broadcast.

There must be some slick new hacker tools how there for beating the WEP security.  I'm reluctant to go looking to what kind of security breaking tools are available. The hacking tools are probably easily available in the underworld of warez.

Hello All with Viata

Ok everyone even with Vista you need virus protection.  The best thing is thatââ,¬â,,¢s about all you need with the built in firewall and all the other things in vista you can run a good compact virus scanner and keep your machine clean.

I have been searching for one and have found one that works well with Vista.   Avast is a compact virus scanner that auto updates scans your mail and system and best of all its free to home users..

You can fine it at   http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html   I have been using it for about 2 weeks now  and it seams to be working well..  It works With Vista and Vista 64bit.

I use Windows Defender by Micorosoft, wich comes with Vista, but I have been using one version or another of it for quite sometime now, it has changed names a few times but still basily is the same program.  I haven't decided just yet which virus program I want to either buy or use.  I think I may try all of the one listed on Microsoft's site then make my decision.

In the past I have used Zone Alarm, bought version, McAfee, Norton as well as some of the free ones out there.  I think Norton bugs me the most, I like Zone Alam after I learned it.

QuoteThere must be some slick new hacker tools how there for beating the WEP security.  I'm reluctant to go looking to what kind of security breaking tools are available. The hacking tools are probably easily available in the underworld of warez.

WEP is NOT the way to go for security on a router.  I was using WEP on my router and my nephew brought his laptop over and laughed and with  in 3min was in my system. 

WAP is safer but to a good hacker is not foolproof but can keep most people out.   

A word of advice when setting up a net work.

DO NOT LEAVE THINGS AT THEIR DEFAULT SETTINGS!!!

When setting up workgroups donââ,¬â,,¢t use WORKGROUP or MSHOME set it to something different.  And on the router change the ADMIN password.   These are the 2 most missed things when setting up a home networkââ,¬Â¦

Wasn't terribly thrilled with Vista myself.  Aero is nice, I do like the changes to Explorer itself (not IE, that POS I never use) But other than that, it's still basically XP bloated beyond belief. Even after removing a lot of the services that I don't want running (search and whatnot), still takes a lot more memory and is a lot slower.  (My system isn't state of the art but its no turkey either, shoot just copying files across my network was drastically slower)  No thanks.

If you do want to run Vista tho, absolutely, you do want to install a real firewall and antivirus.  Don't rely on their watered down firewall, and UAC is a joke/annoyance.  (How can they have not learned from Linux's security by now?)

Was never a fan of Norton, slow and bloated as well.  For antivirus I'm a fan of NOD32, which is Vista ready.  (Lean and fast.)

ZoneLab's has been dragging their feet getting ZoneAlarm Vista ready for some reason, not like it's been in publicly available betas for over a year.  Kaspersky is offering a beta/trial for Vista that runs into May, seemed to work pretty well on my test system. If anything use the free trial until ZoneAlarm catches up.

But regardless which way you go, pick one and install it asafp.  All the pretty UI upgrades aside, it's still Windows, and it's still a virus/spyware magnet.

It is and always will be I guess.  But I know it and I really don't want to learned something new.  Old dog new tricks as they say.  ;)

I have been thinking about obtaining Vista for a while now, but like all new OS, I think I am going to wait for a while until they work out all the bugs, maybe 6 months of so, Vista isn't going anywhere any time soon, and my XP works just fine for now.

I just have this feeling that if I plunge into vista too soon then it might end up like Window ME the nightmare from the city down under. I also haven't seen to many good reviews on it just yet, meaning that in most of the tech websites other people are having problems as well.

Someone mentioned something about Norton software in here, and I want to let you know something. I used Norton for a number of years, and I was so devoted to them that I just couldn't trust anyone else. I went to a computer show in a near by city and was talking to a lot of computer junkies and some of the best repair techs that I can put my trust into, and they all said the same thing, Norton isn't as great as some people think, and they wouldn't trust their computer to Norton in a Million years, some even said that Norton works against you and not for you. Price is to high and there are a few good programs that are free, so why pay for something that works just as good, and you don't have to pay for it?

just my two cents on that subject.

Quote from: Robert on February 19, 2007, 06:46:28 AM
Someone mentioned something about Norton software in here, and I want to let you know something. I used Norton for a number of years, and I was so devoted to them that I just couldn't trust anyone else. I went to a computer show in a near by city and was talking to a lot of computer junkies and some of the best repair techs that I can put my trust into, and they all said the same thing, Norton isn't as great as some people think, and they wouldn't trust their computer to Norton in a Million years, some even said that Norton works against you and not for you. Price is to high and there are a few good programs that are free, so why pay for something that works just as good, and you don't have to pay for it?

just my two cents on that subject.

I'd have to agree with you on that one. I still have good memories of my experiences on the old Norton DOS products though. I use Kaspersky on my company laptop, and AVG & Avast on my home systems on my network and they work just fine.

Quote from: bigb on February 15, 2007, 04:44:37 PM
WEP is NOT the way to go for security on a router.  I was using WEP on my router and my nephew brought his laptop over and laughed and with  in 3min was in my system. 

WAP is safer but to a good hacker is not foolproof but can keep most people out.   

A word of advice when setting up a net work.

DO NOT LEAVE THINGS AT THEIR DEFAULT SETTINGS!!!

When setting up workgroups donââ,¬â,,¢t use WORKGROUP or MSHOME set it to something different.  And on the router change the ADMIN password.   These are the 2 most missed things when setting up a home networkââ,¬Â¦

This is one of the reasons I had our house wired for CAT6 Ethernet shortly after we bought it.