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| Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1 | 
 enlarge | From: Microsoft Software
Category: Software
List Price: $269.99
Buy New: $145.00
You Save: $124.99 (46%)
New (39) Used (4) from $145.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  117 reviews
Sales Rank: 168
Format: Dvd-rom
Platform: Windows Vista
Media: DVD-ROM
Edition: Home Premium
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: 66I02387
Model: 66I-02387
UPC: 882224661256
EAN: 0882224661256
ASIN: B0013O54OE
Release Date: March 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 As an average PC user, I love it April 17, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have been using Vista for a few weeks now, and although I feel like I have only scratched the surface of what all it offers, I think I am in a position where I can now comment on it. My initial reaction is nothing but positive, and frankly, I don't understand why this product is such a lightning rod for criticism. I am by no means a techy person, so maybe I don't understand why it is so bad. I can only speak for myself, John Q. Average Computer User, Vista works great for me.
I like the speed and bells and whistles on Vista. Windows Media Player took a while for me to get used to, and I do think the former positions of the play lists and library were better, but I am now comfortable with the changes. Even though the locations are a step down in their differences, I think the sound and visual quality are better.
I tried using voice recognition before and couldn't get it to work (possibly because of my Kentucky accent), but it seems much better on Vista. I also like the Media Center's option of recording TV and the movie creator tool is far improved from the previous archaic versions.
I have enjoyed every option I have tried on Vista and am sure my experience with it will only get better.
 Wait. April 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The most important thing you have to remember to do, is thoroughly investigate the compatibility of your system. Don't just do the online checklists, call your computer manufacturer before you buy ANY Vista OS. Find out what you can handle or what you need to do to handle it.
With that said, this software is not ready to be released. Yet, here it is.
I also have Vista Ultimate on my Laptop, with better luck. But with this, I installed on my slightly older desktop. I had to upgrade the drive space and memory, and figured this would be a great way to pump up my computer. But, it does not look like it's doing too well. There is a jumping effect with the mouse, and everything feels jittery. Basically, feels unstable. I don't do much but web surfing, word documents and printing on the desktop. So, I was not expecting much. There are many elements that I like, but I have updated and removed and edited so much, and it still feels like it's about to die on me. I wish I could give it a better review with more information, but I can't do too much without it acting up. I've had the desktop for about two years, and it basically feels too old.
I'm giving it more time, and hope I will adjust. But, I would think this is best to be pre-installed with a new computer and not to replace an OS on your current one.
not terrible like some would make you think April 15, 2008
I went from XP SP2 to Vista x64 SP1 and had several issues, with an overall score of 2 out of 5 stars.
Then I went to Vista x32 SP1 and it has been a nice middle ground.
- Why Vista x32, instead of Vista x64?
x64 can't/won't run a lot of programs that x32 still supports. But I still can't run my old Palm pilot software unless I want to upgrade my PDA and use the newer palm software. At the same time, my wife is happy she can still play some of her older games, like Heroes of Might & Magic IV.
- Why use Vista x64, instead Vista x32?
It recognizes 4GB of RAM or more, whereas some applications in x32 only see 2GB. This is a big deal, especially for gamers / video editors who have invested in the more memory. Also, if you have multiple processors like I do, reportedly x32 isn't supposed to make use of the processing power, but I've read a couple of benchmarks that point to the fact that many home users won't notice a performance degradation if they choose to go with x32 over x64.
- The installation is faster than XP.
But. . .both XP and Vista x32 hate the SATA Raid drivers from my Nvidia NForce chipset motherboard (ASUS P5N-E SLI). I had to use the recovery disc from the vendor I bought the system from to load Vista x64. After that I was able to drop in the x32 disc and run a standard installation. It takes the x64 installation and moves the files to a folder called "Windows.old", which can be deleted at a later date.
- Canon printer identified easily upon installation.
- Nvidia G-Force 8800GT video card still needed separate drivers. I was hoping SP1 would have more drivers for common cards like this, but it didn't.
- I didn't have to install separate USB drivers like I did with XP, which was nice.
- Audio card recognized upon install. Not bad.
- 10/100 network card recognized at installation, but wireless card was not. Again had to scour the internet for the correct drivers.
- I have no issues with peer-to-peer software like UTorrent/Azereus. x64 would sometimes hang up.
- Media player didn't play Div-x movies. Even DVD-players in the retail stores play Div-x movies. I had to install x-vid codex or divx codec to get this to work. Not impressed with Microsoft on this, but no biggie as it was easily resolved.
- I choose the use the free StarOffice, which is Sun Microsystems' version of OpenOffice. It is downloaded for free via GooglePak. This installs fine and I've had no problems with it.
- I'm still surprised Microsoft doesn't ship with more PDF support built in. StarOffice allows you to print to PDF. I also downloaded CutePDF which is a free PDF printer driver. Both work fine.
- The built in compression utility is still clunky from the XP days. I choose to use 7-zip, which is a free open source option.
- Visuals are nice and the stock wallpapers and stock screensavers are a nice improvement over XP
- I like how many administrative processes can be accessed more easily from the Control Panel
- Other than the lack of more than 2GB RAM support, my biggest complaint is folder/file sharing is so confusing and terribly managed. It makes it feel impossible when I want Computer B to see files across my home network on Computer A. . .but after hours I still haven't figured out how to get this basic process in XP to work.
OVERALL:
In a time when no more computers are being "allowed" by Microsoft to ship with XP, Vista x32 is a much better choice over Vista x64 for the normal home user. SP1 is a big, but free download so those who find a version of x32 for cheaper without this built in can easily download a service pack that is supposed to provide many enhancements and features including increased program compatibility.
NOTE: Please read the system requirements before upgrading from XP to Vista. Vista requires a lot more hardware than XP. With a good virus scan software and not going to strange web sites, XP is still a viable option as there isn't an overly compelling reason to move to Vista. . .yet.
 Convinced us to go 100% Apple April 15, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
My husband and I started our business back in 1985, shortly after the first Apple Macintosh came on the scene. Right away people told us the IBM PC Jr. was better. Today I don't know if anyone remembers the PC Jr., but of course we're still using Macs. Every few years we try out a PC, but each time it just ends up sitting in a corner. With this new Windows Vista system, I think we are to that point again.
It's not that it was that hard to install, but I'm just tired of bothering with it. There are so many versions of Vista, and no matter which one we try it doesn't seem to be much of an improvement over XP. It hogs up tons of memory, requires lots of software upgrading and no matter what we do we always seem to be missing a driver.
And everything, frankly, pales to the Mac world (just my opinion here, I'm not trying to convert anybody), at least in all the fields we use a computer for (writing, photography, publishing, bookkeeping, database management, video, music and our daughter's school work).
Maybe it's just that we are so used to a Mac, but every time we decide to try a PC as a side computer, we just get confused, get frustrated and give up.
With a business to run and a daughter headed to high school, we just don't have the time anymore.
If you're happy with the PC world and starting from scratch with a brand-new machine, Vista probably offers a lot. But not for us.
Awful April 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was pretty excited to try out Vista when it first came out, but after a week of using it, I uninstalled out of frustration and went back to XP. The GUI is pretty cool and from a glance, Vista looks great. But when you start actually using it is when the trouble begins. The biggest problem I had with it are the new security features. Whenever you install anything or make any changes to drivers, etc, a popup comes up asking you if you want to Allow/Continue? Maybe this is a great feature if you're in an office environment and don't want a bunch of people installing solitaire all day, but as an advanced user, it annoyed me to death. And even worse, there was no easy way to get rid of it until I found a workaround online that involved changing the registry. These popups came up ALL THE TIME. I would see them literally every 15 seconds when navigating the File Manager. Want to rename a file? Need permission. Want to move a file? Need permission. I was even specified as an Administrator under my user settings but Vista didn't care and still gave me the popups.
The next problem I had was that you pretty much have to do a clean install to get it working smoothly. If you try to upgrade, you are going to find it performs slugglishly. By "clean install," I mean you need to format your hard drive and install it as a brand new application. This alone took me about 4 hours of copying files to a backup drive and writing down all of the applications I would have to reinstall.
Vista seems like Windows ME all over again. I was hoping with the release of Service Pack 1 they would have fixed a lot of the issues users were complaining about, but no such luck. I eventually uninstalled Vista, formatted my drive AGAIN, and reinstalled XP. I will wait for Vista (or a new version) to become more user-friendly and for more of the bugs to be ironed out.
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