I'm sorry too! I was appalled when I posted and it came up as one huge block. Let me see if I can break it down.
"But since they have a monopoly, there is no economic feedback."
Before I begin, I need to point out that I am an over 60 female who has become -- over a period of many years -- a reasonably savvy user. As for being a techno-geek, I don't go anywhere I might unsettle the delicate balance of my CPU.
That said, I'm a feisty old lady with an attitude, and I don't like getting ripped off. When I am, I'm very experienced at fighting back, so MS is going to get some serious economic feedback from me on Vista! Whether they'll pony up is another story, but everyone from the Board of Directors to the VPs for Development, Marketing, and any other relevant division are going to hear from me!
1 - I purchased a Dell Dimension with XP Pro and the "opportunity" to "upgrade" to Vista for a small fee, I think $15.
2 - I got the "upgrade", then hemmed and hawed about whether or not to install it. Finally, I did. That was the WRONG decision, and it's cost me dearly to reverse. And it's not all over yet!
3 - Vista was pretty cool for the first month or so, except it seemed to take forever to boot. Then some of my programs started doing wonky things. Then Vista started doing wonky things. It got weirder.
4 - When I booted, I got "NTLDR missing. Press any key to continue." I did, and got the same message again. I could eventually get up and running by playing with the boot sequence, but it was a royal pain.
5 - Went to the Dell Help site and was informed that Dell no longer supported this version of Vista -- the same one they had shipped to all the chumps who "upgraded" a couple of months earlier.
6 - Went online to see if I could find a fix to NTLDR Missing. Found lots of patches and protocols. Tried a few where I could understand what I was required to do. Result? Zip!
7 - This is when things really started to get expensive! I found out that the Vista software "upgrade" Dell and many other OEMs sent to their customers were CDs with incomplete software. It seems the REAL Vista software came on a DVD. Hoping to get Vista (and my computer) running again, I shopped around and bought an authentic Vista DVD.
8 - Tried to install it following the instructions but it would NOT install! Don't remember what the error message was. But I got it consistently every time I tried to install.
9 - Defragged my C drive and partitioned it because in my wanderings on-line I'd read you could install both XP and Vista OS. Tried to reinstall XP in the separate partition. That didn't work either. The reinstallation icon was pale and nonresponsive -- sort of like a MS engineer would have been if I had been able to get my hands on one.
10 - Found out MS was taking XP off the market, so I bought a brand new, sealed, never before used copy. $$$$$ again. Guess what?! That wouldn't install either.
At this point, I had exhausted every tactic I felt was within the scope of my abilities. My daughter's best friend since 2nd grade (they're 27 now) is dating an IT guy who was supposedly very experienced. Actually, he didn't have as much experience as I thought, but I only found that out much later.
He managed to get Vista off, but we couldn't get XP to install. Decided to back up my hard drive, format it, then try reinstalling XP. Everything else had failed. So, I backed up everything to my external hard drive. At this point, I should have turned off the external and disconnected it from the computer, but I only figured that out later.
So he formatted my hard drive. Finally, Vista was really and truly gone, thank God, but we still couldn't get XP to install. The button was lit and responsive, and the monitor would run through all the steps, and when we pressed the "Finish" button, it would start installing XP all over again!
That's when we found out that Dell has a hidden sector on the C drive with certain critical pieces of XP.
But since they have a monopoly, there is no economic feedback.
Before I begin, I need to point out that I am an over 60 female who has become -- over a period of many years -- a reasonably savvy user. As for being a techno-geek, I don't go anywhere where I might unsettle the delicate balance of my CPU.
That said, I'm a feisty old lady with an attitude, and I don't like getting ripped off. When I am, I'm very experienced at fighting back, so
MS is going to get some serious economic feedback from me on Vista! Whether they'll pony up is another story, but everyone from the Board of Directors of the VPs for Development, Marketing, and any other relevant division are going to hear from me.
1) I purchased a Dell Dimension with XP Pro and the "opportunity" to "upgrade" to Vista for a small fee, I think $15.
2) I got the "upgrade" and hemmed and hawed about whether or not to install it. Finally, I did. That was the WRONG decision, and it's cost me dearly to reverse. And it's not all over yet!
3) Vista was pretty cool for the first month or so, except it seemed to take forever to boot. Then some of my programs started doing wonky things. Then Vista started doing wonky things!
4) Then I started getting "NTLDR missing. Press any key to continue." I did, and I got the same message again.
5) Went to the Dell Help site and was informed that Dell no longer supported this version of Vista -- the one they shipped to all the chumps about two months before.
6) Went online to see if I could find a fix for NTLDR Missing. Found lots of patches and protocols. Tried a few where I could understand what I was required to do. Result? Zip!!!
7) Now things really started to get expensive!! I
found out that the Vista software Dell (and many other OEMs) sent to their customers were CDs that had only part of the Vista software. There was a DVD that had all the pieces. So I shopped around and bought it.
8) Tried to install it following the instructions, and now I couldn't tell you exactly what message I got, but it would NOT install! Gave up after several attempts.
9) Defragged my drive and partitioned it. Tried to reinstall XP in the separate partition. That didn't work either. The reinstallation option icon was pale and nonresponsive -- sort of like a MS engineer would have ended up if I had been able to get my hands on one.
10) Found out MS was taking XP off the market, so I bought a new, sealed, never before used copy, but that wouldn't install either.
At this point, I called in a friend of my daughter's forever friend who was reputed to have a lot of IT experience. Well, ultimately, he didn't have as much experience as I thought, but that was later.
With some help from a friend of his, he tried several fixes to "totally" uninstall Vista AND XP. It seems Dell has some secret partition where they stash critical parts of XP, and it was nearly impossible to get at. Formatting the hard drive wouldn't touch it. That was why the reinstallation disk and the new disk wouldn't work. As far as they were concerned, my computer was running XP!
Once we overcame Dell's little "safety device", we were able to reinstall XP from the disk I'd had all along. I was THRILLED to have XP back! But here's where I found out my helper wasn't as experienced as he needed to be.
At some point in getting ready to format C:, the program asked about removing all partitions. He answered "yes" and proceeded. Unfortunately, my external hard drive, where I had all my data backed up, was turned off but still connected to the CPU.
You guessed it! My external hard drive is now blank. I've got the name of someone who can probably recover it for me, but that will cost too!
Long, long, sad story short: Vista is a pile of garbage. I've parted with probably $400 trying to get it off and XP reinstalled. Not to mention six weeks or so of total aggravation and a useless paperweight sitting in the middle of my desk.
Decision #1: Now that I've got XP back and will hopefully recover my data -- no new software or comp
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I'm sorry too! I was appalled when I posted and it came up as one huge block. Let me see if I can break it down.
"But since they have a monopoly, there is no economic feedback."
Before I begin, I need to point out that I am an over 60 female who has become -- over a period of many years -- a reasonably savvy user. As for being a techno-geek, I don't go anywhere I might unsettle the delicate balance of my CPU.
That said, I'm a feisty old lady with an attitude, and I don't like getting ripped off. When I am, I'm very experienced at fighting back, so MS is going to get some serious economic feedback from me on Vista! Whether they'll pony up is another story, but everyone from the Board of Directors to the VPs for Development, Marketing, and any other relevant division are going to hear from me!
1 - I purchased a Dell Dimension with XP Pro and the "opportunity" to "upgrade" to Vista for a small fee, I think $15.
2 - I got the "upgrade", then hemmed and hawed about whether or not to install it. Finally, I did. That was the WRONG decision, and it's cost me dearly to reverse. And it's not all over yet!
3 - Vista was pretty cool for the first month or so, except it seemed to take forever to boot. Then some of my programs started doing wonky things. Then Vista started doing wonky things. It got weirder.
4 - When I booted, I got "NTLDR missing. Press any key to continue." I did, and got the same message again. I could eventually get up and running by playing with the boot sequence, but it was a royal pain.
5 - Went to the Dell Help site and was informed that Dell no longer supported this version of Vista -- the same one they had shipped to all the chumps who "upgraded" a couple of months earlier.
6 - Went online to see if I could find a fix to NTLDR Missing. Found lots of patches and protocols. Tried a few where I could understand what I was required to do. Result? Zip!
7 - This is when things really started to get expensive! I found out that the Vista software "upgrade" Dell and many other OEMs sent to their customers were CDs with incomplete software. It seems the REAL Vista software came on a DVD. Hoping to get Vista (and my computer) running again, I shopped around and bought an authentic Vista DVD.
8 - Tried to install it following the instructions but it would NOT install! Don't remember what the error message was. But I got it consistently every time I tried to install.
9 - Defragged my C drive and partitioned it because in my wanderings on-line I'd read you could install both XP and Vista OS. Tried to reinstall XP in the separate partition. That didn't work either. The reinstallation icon was pale and nonresponsive -- sort of like a MS engineer would have been if I had been able to get my hands on one.
10 - Found out MS was taking XP off the market, so I bought a brand new, sealed, never before used copy. $$$$$ again. Guess what?! That wouldn't install either.
At this point, I had exhausted every tactic I felt was within the scope of my abilities. My daughter's best friend since 2nd grade (they're 27 now) is dating an IT guy who was supposedly very experienced. Actually, he didn't have as much experience as I thought, but I only found that out much later.
He managed to get Vista off, but we couldn't get XP to install. Decided to back up my hard drive, format it, then try reinstalling XP. Everything else had failed. So, I backed up everything to my external hard drive. At this point, I should have turned off the external and disconnected it from the computer, but I only figured that out later.
So he formatted my hard drive. Finally, Vista was really and truly gone, thank God, but we still couldn't get XP to install. The button was lit and responsive, and the monitor would run through all the steps, and when we pressed the "Finish" button, it would start installing XP all over again!
That's when we found out that Dell has a hidden sector on the C drive with certain critical pieces of XP.
But since they have a monopoly, there is no economic feedback.
Before I begin, I need to point out that I am an over 60 female who has become -- over a period of many years -- a reasonably savvy user. As for being a techno-geek, I don't go anywhere where I might unsettle the delicate balance of my CPU. That said, I'm a feisty old lady with an attitude, and I don't like getting ripped off. When I am, I'm very experienced at fighting back, so MS is going to get some serious economic feedback from me on Vista! Whether they'll pony up is another story, but everyone from the Board of Directors of the VPs for Development, Marketing, and any other relevant division are going to hear from me. 1) I purchased a Dell Dimension with XP Pro and the "opportunity" to "upgrade" to Vista for a small fee, I think $15. 2) I got the "upgrade" and hemmed and hawed about whether or not to install it. Finally, I did. That was the WRONG decision, and it's cost me dearly to reverse. And it's not all over yet! 3) Vista was pretty cool for the first month or so, except it seemed to take forever to boot. Then some of my programs started doing wonky things. Then Vista started doing wonky things! 4) Then I started getting "NTLDR missing. Press any key to continue." I did, and I got the same message again. 5) Went to the Dell Help site and was informed that Dell no longer supported this version of Vista -- the one they shipped to all the chumps about two months before. 6) Went online to see if I could find a fix for NTLDR Missing. Found lots of patches and protocols. Tried a few where I could understand what I was required to do. Result? Zip!!! 7) Now things really started to get expensive!! I found out that the Vista software Dell (and many other OEMs) sent to their customers were CDs that had only part of the Vista software. There was a DVD that had all the pieces. So I shopped around and bought it. 8) Tried to install it following the instructions, and now I couldn't tell you exactly what message I got, but it would NOT install! Gave up after several attempts. 9) Defragged my drive and partitioned it. Tried to reinstall XP in the separate partition. That didn't work either. The reinstallation option icon was pale and nonresponsive -- sort of like a MS engineer would have ended up if I had been able to get my hands on one. 10) Found out MS was taking XP off the market, so I bought a new, sealed, never before used copy, but that wouldn't install either. At this point, I called in a friend of my daughter's forever friend who was reputed to have a lot of IT experience. Well, ultimately, he didn't have as much experience as I thought, but that was later. With some help from a friend of his, he tried several fixes to "totally" uninstall Vista AND XP. It seems Dell has some secret partition where they stash critical parts of XP, and it was nearly impossible to get at. Formatting the hard drive wouldn't touch it. That was why the reinstallation disk and the new disk wouldn't work. As far as they were concerned, my computer was running XP! Once we overcame Dell's little "safety device", we were able to reinstall XP from the disk I'd had all along. I was THRILLED to have XP back! But here's where I found out my helper wasn't as experienced as he needed to be. At some point in getting ready to format C:, the program asked about removing all partitions. He answered "yes" and proceeded. Unfortunately, my external hard drive, where I had all my data backed up, was turned off but still connected to the CPU. You guessed it! My external hard drive is now blank. I've got the name of someone who can probably recover it for me, but that will cost too! Long, long, sad story short: Vista is a pile of garbage. I've parted with probably $400 trying to get it off and XP reinstalled. Not to mention six weeks or so of total aggravation and a useless paperweight sitting in the middle of my desk. Decision #1: Now that I've got XP back and will hopefully recover my data -- no new software or comp