Greetings,

I'm a system builder who just successfully completed my frist PC. I installed the system builders edition of Vista and everything went smoothly for a few days. Uneplainably windows then decided it didn't want to boot anymore and I lost everything I'd downloaded/installed/etc. I really don't want this to happen again and I wanted to know if there was anyone who could help me to stabilize Vista and not have to worry about this happening again. Also, I've discovered all the old security devices I'd used on my old system (Hijackthis, AVG, Spyware SD) don't work with vista. What I'd really like is for someone to list me some programs,updates, and such. Thanks!

Hijackthis, AVG, Spybot SD, all work on Vista.

Keep it simple at first and don't install too many new programs at once.

Have at least 1 gig of ram installed.

Monitor the system stability and health through the Control Panel > Performance Information and Tools section.

Make sure System Restore is working and you know how to use it. Do not hesitate to use it anytime you install something that does not go well and want to completely revert to the pre install state.

Avoid major Security programs like Norton and McAfee. You can do fine with just AVG and the built-in firewall. Too many people are being persuaded to install more security apps than they need. Common sense and good behavior is your best protection.

Disable the Aero interface even if you have enough ram to run it. This is the "desktop composition" option you will see in the Advanced part of the Performance section.

If you install the Ultimate or Business version you will have a full drive backup utility available. Learn how to use it. Some things even System Restore will not fix. This will.

A couple things to mention.
Client refers to "system builders edition of Vista"
That might be Vista Enterprise or Business , unless it is an upgrade. Upgrades could be disappointing due to new hardware requirements. Enterprise and Ultimate includes BitLocker Drive Encryption and Complete PC Backup and Restore.
Another quirk, all versions support multi core cpu's but only Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise can support dual processors
There are complete changes in the way Vista boots up.
The old NTldr and Boot.ini files are no longer used unless you want a dual boot configuration.
The system bios reads the master boot record and transfers control to code in the MBR which is placed there during setup. Then the new Windows Boot Manager starts the OS loader, (Winload.exe.)
Best bet is not to try a clean install, but a reinstall, with the repair option selected, unless you think Bit Locker is keeping the computer from booting up.

System Builders might want to try Windows Vista Inside Out, (Microsoft press, Bott, Siechert and Stinson,) for a little light reading, and the System Builders web site,
http://www.microsoft.com/oem/english/default.mspx

If you use BitLocker Drive Encryption on a computer that has the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) security hardware, the TPM checks the system during startup for conditions that could indicate a security risk. These conditions could include disk errors, changes to the basic input/output system (BIOS).

see
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/fc554c30-32d5-4bc2-9971-be5c16a874151033.mspx
for help.

Hope this helps, it is definitely a confusing subject.

One final thing - depending upon your hardware, you should also check compatibility with all your hardware and Vista. For instance:

I first installed Vista Ultimate (Upgrade) on my Tyan motherboard, which died while testing the final RTM that I bought from digitallocker.

I then bought an MSI p4 mobo, upgraded my CPU to a P4 3.2 GHz and tried to use the same HD / install - no go - Vista did not like it, not even in Safe Mode - I was forced to re-install completely.

Finally, my mobo being older, perhaps there are some issues here -or perhaps it is something else - but Vista does not like booting when I have my USB Hub plugged into an outlet - everything that I have on the Hub can be plugged in directly to the mobo and Vista will boot - but if the hub is plugged in, My system hangs at the Info screen that is displayed immediately after POST. I have tried many different settings in BIOS, including default, and optimized, and hand-set values through out the BIOS to no avail - if the Hub is connected, the machine sits there.

Over at CoU, there is a lengthy thread about how a user installed WinPatrol and RogueRemover and how they would not start up, being blocked by Vista (although the user said Defender, it wasn't, actually) - a completely uninstall and rebooting of each product, followed by titillating and rebooting after each install, solved the problem - so, try no to install multiple program without at least rebooting once - and this hold true more so for Anti-Malware programs than other programs.

Finally, try to use the latest version possible - program written more than 2 years ago were not written with Vista in mind, and may have some dire consequences.

Greetings All,

My brother bought me a new HP Pavillion w/ Vista Home Premium installed. I find Vista rather "buggy" and way too "bloated", I dunno what Microsoft does, but thier "spaghetti code" is beginning to drive me nuts!!!

I do check all the specs of S/W & H/W I picked out to go with my new PC. Everything is HP®, except my LCD, which is LG® & make sure I don't DL too much & .exe too many programs.

I see a thread regarding Vista & CCleaner. I have to see what they have to say. Y'all take care

Carry On...David

_________________
Warm Regards,
David (esacnitsuj)
EULAGree With Security