Windows Vista support ends in a month:11 April 2017

Just a heads-up for anyone using Windows Vista who wasn't aware already.

Vista goes out of support in a month's time, with 11 April 2017 being the last day of support.

(As when Windows XP went out of support, you could argue that a Vista machine is only any worse off in May 2017, because it probably wouldn't have had any patches before then in any case.)

Microsoft's take on it is here, although unsurprisingly they suggest Windows 10 is the answer:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/22882

Some people will decide to stick with Vista and take the risk, some will upgrade the machine or the OS, but whatever you do, for Vista users it's time to decide.
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  • pmartin86
    pmartin86 Posts: 751
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    I still shudder when I come accross Vista...possibly one of the worst OSes ever to exist!
  • Jivesinger
    Jivesinger Posts: 1,221
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    pmartin86 wrote: »
    I still shudder when I come accross Vista...possibly one of the worst OSes ever to exist!
    I never really used it - when it first came out there were some horror stories with the first version of Vista, so I stuck with XP on my laptop with its 'free upgrade to Vista' offer.

    Then I went straight from XP to Windows 8 and then Windows 10 so I skipped Vista and 7.

    My understanding was that some of the initial Vista issues were due to 3rd party drivers though, and that some will defend Vista as being OK by the time it got to the last Service Pack.
  • John_Gray
    John_Gray Posts: 5,820
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    Jivesinger wrote: »
    My understanding was that some of the initial Vista issues were due to 3rd party drivers though, and that some will defend Vista as being OK by the time it got to the last Service Pack.
    A lot of the problems with Vista were because the specifications which Microsoft stated for PCs using Vista were not high enough. More powerful PCs did not have so many problems.
  • Mr.Generous
    Mr.Generous Posts: 3,333
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    I had a Vista laptop, after months of frustration at how slow it was I wiped it and put XP Pro on. Much better OS. I waited for win7 before buying anything else. IMO a £300+ laptop should be ok for home use even now. I am tech savvy, didn't clog it up with carp and yet still it took for ever to get things done.

    I'd probably be able to do everything I do now on XP or Win7 if it wasn't for the security worries. Lets hope Win10 stays supported for a bit longer.
  • i won't use it any more!
  • Kim_13
    Kim_13 Posts: 2,314
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    I have an old PC with it. Tried using it recently to make do until I found a new laptop, but it was just too slow. It only has 2GB RAM so that must have caught up with it in 2017 (was running fine when I last used it in 2010/2011.)

    Never minded Vista as I wasn't an early adopter with the issues. Windows 8 was unbearable for me; had to help someone out with theirs and it made me angry.

    10 is slightly annoying and I miss Movie Maker (no longer available for download as of 2 months ago and I got my new laptop last week.) The alternatives it seems put watermarks on videos unless you pay :(

    Windows XP and 7 were the best IMO.
  • NiftyDigits
    NiftyDigits Posts: 10,459 Forumite
    Kim_13 wrote: »
    I have an old PC with it. Tried using it recently to make do until I found a new laptop, but it was just too slow. It only has 2GB RAM so that must have caught up with it in 2017 (was running fine when I last used it in 2010/2011.)

    Never minded Vista as I wasn't an early adopter with the issues. Windows 8 was unbearable for me; had to help someone out with theirs and it made me angry.

    10 is slightly annoying and I miss Movie Maker (no longer available for download as of 2 months ago and I got my new laptop last week.) The alternatives it seems put watermarks on videos unless you pay :(

    Windows XP and 7 were the best IMO.

    You can run a clean install of Windows 7 to it. Will bring new life to it, so can be used as a back up well into the future and bring Movie Maker back to you. Download Windows Essentials 2012 (Offline installer) for installation later. What's the brand name and model number?
  • Kim_13
    Kim_13 Posts: 2,314
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    You can run a clean install of Windows 7 to it. Will bring new life to it, so can be used as a back up well into the future and bring Movie Maker back to you. Download Windows Essentials 2012 (Offline installer) for installation later. What's the brand name and model number?

    Old PC is a Dell Studio Hybrid. It's the only thing that will run Creata Card Gold 3, so now that I've got a new laptop for day to day use I'll probably leave Vista on it.

    Thanks for the link; would I be able to install it on my new Windows 10 laptop? It has 4x the RAM of the Dell so it's my best option for video editing.
  • robin58
    robin58 Posts: 2,802 Forumite
    I always remember a American radio programme talking about the time of the release of Windows 7.

    He said a shop selling the Microsoft OS, there was 2 wired bins. One had the new system Windows 7, which was empty. The other basket had Vista in it, reduced to a near give away price and it was full. Said it all really.
    The more I live, the more I learn.
    The more I learn, the more I grow.
    The more I grow, the more I see.
    The more I see, the more I know.
    The more I know, the more I see,
    How little I know.!! ;)
  • NiftyDigits
    NiftyDigits Posts: 10,459 Forumite
    Kim_13 wrote: »
    Old PC is a Dell Studio Hybrid. It's the only thing that will run Creata Card Gold 3, so now that I've got a new laptop for day to day use I'll probably leave Vista on it.

    Thanks for the link; would I be able to install it on my new Windows 10 laptop? It has 4x the RAM of the Dell so it's my best option for video editing.

    Makes no sense to keep Vista on it unless you are going to throw it away. It costs nothing to upgrade to Windows 7.
    If it is the Dell Studio Hybrid 140G, the latest BIOS/firmware upgrade Ihere should contain the upgraded licence needed to install Windows 7 cleanly for free.
    Then you can decide as to whether to stick with Windows 7 or to upgrade again for free to Windows 10.

    What's the Service Tag on it?

    Can fit 4GB of RAM(if it doesn't already contain that much) example and add an SSD. Not that I would spend that much on a machine not in general use. But there is still life in that machine and those changes will transform it's performance.
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