Reviews for Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium - Upgrade

Nice New Looks but .....

Strengths: The Acedmic Upgrade's greatest strength is the discount price. About 50 percent cheaper then the retail version. Includes all the same features as the retail version.

Weakness: Slows down computer. Memory Hog(I Recommend 2 gigs of Ram) Caller ID feature removed.

Windows Vista Home Premium is nice on the eyes but can be hard on the wallet. The new system requirements make it seem like buying a new computer with 2 gigs of ram might be a better option then purchasing the upgrade at all. I also wish it had the caller id feature that was built into XP Media Center 2005.

Overall I would wait a few years until it becomes mainstream.

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Vista - new paint job but same old MS

Strengths: Installed very easily in my new system. Has a great new look, lots of bells & whistles plus flashing lights! Academic version is the cheapest way to go.

Weakness: Doesn't support 64-bit. Read the small print. Had to order a new disc from MS for $10 more (except the Ultimate version). LAN trouble with XP & too many annoying verification pop-ups. Typical MS-BS.

I installed the 32-bit upgrade version on a bare drive to try out while I wait for my 64-bit disc to arrive. (Thank you very little, MS.) It can be done without entering the key, but against their warnings of failure at a later date. I guess I'll find out one way or the other how the activation process will go after I get the new disc. Meanwhile, all I can say is "buy at own risk".

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Worthwhile if you need it

Strengths: Media Center program is very good support is pretty good

Weakness: sucks up memory and CPU and video card (GPU) like there's no tomorrow

If you need this, get it. If you are already using XP Pro and you're happy, don't upgrade. If you have an older system, don't upgrade. If you really need some of the new features, get it....

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Windows Vista Home Premium - Academic Upgrade

Strengths: Inexpensive. Easy installation.

Weakness: Need more than 1GB memory to run it smoothly.

This is an academic upgrade version of Microsoft Windows Vista, which means it has the same features but is much less expensive. Only eligible people can buy only one copy, though. At first, I installed it only my desktop, which is not so powerful and has only 1GB mmemory. Installation process is very easy. 1GB is spacious enough for XP, but painful for Vista Home Premium especially when I turned on all the nice features, such as Aero. When I added another 1GB, my system runs without a problem. Vista is nicer and more secure than XP.

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VIAO and VISTA

Strengths: Its Better than XP, leaner and better streamlining of data.

Weakness: We havnt found one.

My wife got a SONY VGN-220E notebook this year and it came fully loaded. I still use XP HOME on our home PC, and I must say after getting use to VISTA...WITH NO 3RD PARTY ANYTHING..except for the McAfee ISecurity program, every down load and every data update is 100 Xs easier, effortless all across the board
Iam getting VIsTA to replace the XP on our PC

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Academic Vista

Strengths: It's definitely easier to understand. It has a lot of features to help the impaired.

Weakness: Any old program that you may have had with XP may not be compatible with Vista. So you have to go and get new "Vista" ready software.

I love the software. It's user-friendly for sure. The graphics are definitely better. It's just an all around great product, and I would definitely recommend everyone upgrade to Vista.

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VISTA Home Premium Upgrade AE Retail

Strengths: Good resolution. Very reasonable price for this version. Some added features such as the sidebar with clock, and other various usefull features.

Weakness: Instalation is not completely trouble-free. This operating system is not always workable with some of the XP compatible hardware and software . . . and not all new features are improvements to XP.

After working with XP Pro for several years now, new is not always better. XP for me was stable and reliable . . . I am not yet convinced that Vista will be so good. Many drivers must be updated (if available) and various other software incompatibility issues exist, reminding me of the old ME operating system. You should also plan on 2GB of memory for the system to run well. Things may improve with time - I hope, but I not yet a great fan.

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By member: BigNinja - Mar 30, 2007

VISTA Home Premium Upgrade AE Retail

Strengths: High quality resolution. Fast and easy installation. Price is right.

Weakness: Had to start learning the operating system all over again. Unlike previous upgrades, this one makes a big change. Had to remove a few programs and change some drivers. Haven't found my favorite games.

My biggest complaint is I no longer have on-line hearts or backgammon...my favorite games! I will keep looking for them...hope I can find them! I was a real pro at XP Pro...now I feel like a novice. With time and patience, I should figure it all out.

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Windows Vista Home Premium (Academic Upgrade) 32 bit...

Strengths: More security Aeroglass interface Very Stable

Weakness: Some manufacturers are slow to build good drivers with Vista signatures. Some programs crash in Vista, Or at least behave a little differently. User Account Control.

Windows Vista is the latest version of Microsoft's Home and Business Operating systems.
For the new user, it is very nice and self maintaining. However, for the very experienced user of MS products, it will take some time to find most items as they have been moved to new locations, sometimes hidden, etc.

The OS is very stable. Though some programs need a little work to work properly in the new environment. Software companies are slowly rolling out new versions that are more compatible. Most do work from older versions, however, some might be less stable, and will crash. I've had very few system crashes.

Uninstalling software seems to work a lot better in Vista.

User Account Control (UAC) can be a pain. I think some patches have been out to tame it down a little. Having to click a "Did you start this application" dialog box for some programs gets tiring fast. No memory for frequently used applications. On the other-hand, for experienced users, UAC can be turned off and all those annoyances are gone.

Networking works very well. We have 3 Vista PC in our house (1 Laptop - wireless, and two desktop systems - Wired) I also have a wireless printer/fax/scanner/copier that work great on the network.

I've had no problems running games (WOW, C&C...), and the games in Vista (Solitaire, Free-cell, etc) have been given a face lift; a real nice new look.

Bottom line, I believe, is that Vista is here to stay. Getting to know the new OS can take some time and a little frustration, but overall it is short lived. For the novice user, the self-maintenance routines will help keep your PC running well and keep it clean.

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Vista Home Premium Upgrade Review

Strengths: Upgrade installs easily and faster than previous versions. Clean interface and graphics much improved over Windows XP.

Weakness: None yet.

About the only thing in the upgrade process I do not like is the fact that the upgrade does not let you delete partitions and make new ones. I prefer to do a complete clean setup and format of the hard disk when upgrading. While you can still do what what Microsoft calls a "clean install", you have to do it in the existing partitions.

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Sweet, sweet Vista. . . . . . why do you hog my...

Strengths: Fast, UI is very nice looking. More intuitive UI surprisingly

Weakness: Resource hog. "Run" must be added back in to start menu. Hardware/software drivers that are not Vista compatible.

The Vista user interface is as nice looking as advertised & seemingly very fast. I've only got 1GB RAM in my XPS1210 but about 70% of it is in constant use by Vista. I have not noticed any performance hits though, but I think it may become an issue later on down the road. If you liked the Konfabulator add-on in XP, you will definintly like the Sidebar. It has made a believer out of me b/c I was conviced that I would hate the feature.
I upgraded my brand new Dell XPS laptop w/ it & it was a bit of a pain in the a**, so I suggest you know what you are doing. Make sure you know how to ID what drivers are for which software/hardware b/c you are bound to have some that are not Vista compatible. To be continued........

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Vista on the cheap!

Strengths: Cheap, full featured

Weakness: It's Vista... But we will all be using it in a year anyways

If you qualify for the Academic Upgrade, you should go for it. It makes it incredibly cheap, and if you follow the directions you can find on the web-- you can do a clean install without having to first install XP or 2000. It's fully legal and able to get all of the downloadable updates and services packs. And this version has AERO glass!

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"Windows Vista"

Strengths: New interface more friendly, easy to use!

Weakness: None

This version of windows it's better than XP, it looks cool, easy to find documents, I think Windows Vista is the best OS ever! I think it's nicer than Mac's OS!

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Windows Vista Home Premium

Strengths: Great interface, ease of use.

Weakness: The learining curve.

Functionally superior to Windows XP but the learning curve is somewhat aggressive. A lot of functions and features have moved or changed. Microsoft has done an excellent job in redesigning the Windows interface.

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Windows Vista Home Premium

Strengths: Excellent service, fast shipping, great communication and it was a very good deal.

Weakness: none that I'm aware of

This was a very smooth transaction. I can't think of a single thing to complain about that wouldn't involve free products and free shipping. I highly recommend this merchant. If you have any questions ask him. He was happy to answer all of my questions and do so in a timely manner. Excellent!!

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Vista

Strengths: Works great after a few upgrades.

Weakness: Had to update with a new scanner printer fax, and the video card.

I got this to keep up with class and it is working great after all the upgrades. I like the new features over XP but it takes a little looking to find things like add remove software feature, and the windows mail is a little different for importing the contacts. All in all it is OK and meets my needs.

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Windows Vista Premium Academic Edition

Strengths: Easy to install, upgraded over XPSP2, fast using Athlon 3000+ 1 GB DDR2, SATA HD

Weakness: None

If you did not know otherwise you wound think that you are using Vista Ultimate the full version! Used for over 2 months with no problems, had all drivers for ECS MBoard Nvidia 6100 GeForce chipset. Turned on automatic updates and and continue to receive updates without any problems. Took less than 30 seconds to validate! Has nice desktop features and would recommend to others! Note: i first did a clean install of XPSP2 and then upgraded to Vista straight from the desktop! Took about 30-40 minutes for both installations. Seller has nice price & delivered as promised!

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Windows Vista is so-so

Strengths: Comes with media center. Graphical interface is nice.

Weakness: Buggy at times and freezes up or runs very slow even though I have 2gb of ram.

I bought this because I needed windows media center to run some hardware I have. I would have gotten the 2005 edition instead of vista but I figured I would need this eventually anyway. The operating system runs fine but has problems with software that is not yet ready for it. It is honestly hard to give a thorough review after only a few weeks of use. It will be a couple years before I can really know whether I like it. For now, it is fine and not spectacular. As I said, I only got it because I felt I had to, to run some hardware I have.

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Vista: Not quite ready for prime time.

Strengths: Academic license price is right, more attractive user interface, Media Center capabilities, more secure than previous Microsoft operating systems.

Weakness: Software incompatibilities, high system requirements, security "upgrade" is often a hindrance, those familiar with previous versions will have to relearn quite a bit.

All in all, Windows Vista Home Premium looks like it's quite an update to the venerable Windows XP OS, but once you start using it regularly, it's obvious that there's a ways to go before it's anywhere near as usable as Windows XP. From the get go you'll notice that there are some steep hardware requirements, particularly if you want to use the Aero interface. This I find puzzling since Aero really doesn't look as good as OS X or Beryl on Linux, but that's the price of admission.

User functionality is another area that gets a hit, thanks to Microsoft's security upgrades and the fact that it was apparently decided upon to make common control panel groups as hard to find as possible (Network Connections comes to mind). The security "upgrades" is more an annoyance than a hindrance, but having to click allow for everyday tasks quickly becomes something you loathe. Probably the final area that irks the everyday user are the software incompatibilities. While some of these can be worked-around by using patches or running the programs in compatibility mode, ultimately it shouldn't be necessary with an OS that's supposedly compatible with its predecessor.

The one thing that does stand out as a must have feature, at least if you need Media Center or have a Media Center extender (such as an XBOX 360) that you'd like to use to stream music and video, is the Media Center functionality, which basically makes your PC a total entertainment hub, complete with attractive TV-centric user interface. That's something I needed, and the only reason I purchased this product. For business and everyday home use, save your money and hang on to XP for a while longer.

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VISTA Home Premium Academic Upgrade

Strengths: Very good looking, lighter than XP, Strong security but annoying.

Weakness: Problems about compatibility of softwares

I expect less patches than xp but still too much and it's OK! Definitely lighter than XP for my renovo 3000 V100.
Built-in bluetooth and finger print device have problems. These are used to operate with some applications but Vista has no applications as bundles on XP.

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Great, for a powerful machine . . .

Strengths: Very nice interface

Weakness: Need a strong graphics card

I have to admit that I love the new Aero interface. But, you need a fairly powerful computer with a nice graphics card to be able to experience the whole thing. I do like that media center is included in this version. Hooked it up to the 360 and it works great.

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Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

Testseek.com has collected 9 expert reviews for Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium and the average expert rating is 84 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use Testseek.com to see all ratings, product awards and conclusions.

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