Without any real appreciation of just how complex it must be to release an operating system (with all the inherent backwards compatibility issues that WILL surface) or to create software that is hard to pirate yet easy for legitimate users to have fair use of – let me simply say that Adobe and Microsoft have wasted a week of my life.
I speak of my recent Vista install (which has gone TERRIBLY) and my subsequent migration (well trial migration at this stage) to CS3.
First of all, if you’re planning on upgrading to Vista – I’d highly recommend upgrading only if you’ve got relatively new hardware to run it on. By this I mean hardware that the manufacturers are still willing to support with driver releases. Turns out my beloved NForce 2 motherboard is no longer supported by Nvidia and so I’ve got a few issues with Vista talking to my hardware. Seems Nvidia are at the core of my issues, with their ForceWare drivers for the graphics card still leaving a lot to be desired. And where the hell has nView gone! I have to rely on third party software just to run different wallpapers on different screens. Come on Nvidia or Mircrosoft, get your sh!t together on the dual screen front already!
Further to this, the graphics architecture changes in the OS itself prevent me from using my laptop as a third screen. Maxivista (the software I use to do this) isn’t compatible with Vista (despite Vista being in the name!)…. yet.
My keybard and mouse are now no longer supported (kiss the extra function keys goodbye), my webcam won’t work and my VoIP software crackles and splutters, probably due to an incorrect audio driver being installed on the system.
So I’ve basically spent the last week turning a perfectly fine (commercialy viable) computer into one that is far from where it needs to be.
And the reason for this pain? Well I want to get CS3 of course! Yep, all this just so I could install CS3 (which doesn’t work on Windows 2000).
But I’m not quite ready to put my money on the line and buy CS3. I was hoping to get my 30 days trial out of it, and get the software towards the end of this period. Looks like all the system restores and bios fiddling I’ve been doing has put an abrubt stop to that. Over the weekend I tried to load up Fireworks, only to see the “Trial Expired” screen…. wtf!? But I’ve still got 25 days of trial left I thought… loaded up Flash… same thing!!! So looks like I’ve now got to load up my old Adobe/Macromedia software so I can actually do some work today!
I feel like knocking up an invoice and sending it to Bill and Bruce for the last week of farnakling I’ve had to endure.
Fingers crossed things will get better… if not I’m pulling the pin and getting a Mac. And I think that’s a serious thing for the powers that be at Microsoft. When long time PC supporters and once staunch defenders of everything PC are jumping ship, I imagine those users with less “feeling” for their computer will be marching into Apple’s camp in droves.
well, since it’s not your faul just use crack for remaining 25 days 😉
Windows 2000?!?! Were you really using such an old OS?
In that case, I’m not suprised that your handware had driver issues 🙂
I’d not say your issues had anything to do with MS or Adobe. Microsoft publishes an extensive HQL for their operating systems which accurately identifies what hardware is supported for the platform. Additionally vendors generally certify hardware for the OS. Proper research could have saved you a week of frustration.
@marshall – hehe, it’s crossed my mind 😉
@Tony – yep, Windows 2000 – come on man, it’s only 7 years old! My OS was 7 years old, but my hardware is only about 3.
@TJ – I’d say considering they’re the ones selling and coding the software that it actually does have a fair bit to do with them. Hindsight’s a wonderful thing and I’d definitely take a different tack with my research if I was starting the process over again. I can asure you that not a single puchase gets made without copious amounts of time frittered away looking at every angle and every conceivable pro and con. Obviously in this case, googling “a7n8x vista drivers” may have helped somewhat, but the fact remains I am not ready to upgrade my rig just yet (and there’s a few reasons for this, money, travel later in the year). I am hoping that some of the drivers that are no longer maintained will get a once only update for Vista – there are a LOT of people out there whinging and moaning on Nvidia’s and Logitechs forums asking for support… let’s hope the company’s are listening.
I was surprised when some of the CS3 suite wasn’t supported on 2003 Server. How lame.
I’ve also had problems with Vista on newer hardware… The same weak driver support, applications crashing that don’t on XP or OS X, and lots of file system issues, including performance problems and data corruption. It’s no wonder that today news broke that Microsoft had to generate more XP product keys due to steady demand for anything not Vista. Combine that with the Direct X 10.1 rumors that all that brand-new super-expensive Direct X 10.0 hardware won’t support all of 10.1’s features, and I think it’s safe to say Microsoft is pulling some pretty boneheaded moves lately.
I’ll be glad when I have my MacBook Pro and will be (mostly) done with this OS 🙂
“which doesn’t work on Windows 2000”
So a Vista install doesn’t work on a machine old enough to be a W2K box? Huh. Isn’t there a test program you can run that checks for compatibility first?
BTW, OS X “Leopard” states compatibility from G3 to Xeon, or pretty much any relatively modern Mac desktop or notebook, PowerPC or Intel.
@Michael – I tried that, but would you believe you needed to have XP to use it! lol
And before anyone asks, I bought XP (about three years ago ) and took it back. Didn’t do anything for me so I decided to stay with W2K.
I’d be pretty keen to try out a Mac Book Pro… and am aware of the forth coming update to OS X.
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/01/29/xp-vs-vista/
this shows that there is really no good reason if it comes to performance to upgrade to vista.
I did the upgrade and it’s nothing but a slow OS.
ps: my spect are not too bad by thew way
cpu AMD dual core 3800+ with 2 gig’s of ddr2 533mgz ram with a nvidia pcie 7600gt ddr3 256mb video card and it feels like I’ on a p3 with 256 pc100 with win 95.
MaxiVista is so cool that I have decided to keep that rather than to upgrade to Windows Vista yet. They said that they are working on a WDDM capable version.
By the way, MaxiVista launched in 2003, way ahead of Windows Vista being announced so you can’t blame them for the name 😉
Merick
I didn’t notice if you’d tried compatibility mode for any of the software you’re having issues with? It helps with quite a few things.
Ouch! That’s some serious pain.
I’d suggest making plans to update your system in any case if you’re intending to move forward to CS3 and/or Flex Builder 3. Speaking from personal experience, you’d be much happier if you have plenty of memory and a fast CPU (or two) under the hood whether you stick with Windows 2000, Vista or make the move to OS X.
My company pulled the proverbial pin about a year ago and migrated entirely to Mac Books and Mac Book Pros for day-to-day usage. While they weren’t particularly inexpensive relative to comparable PCs, it’s definitely been a boon for us developers, as the combination of Unix and virtualized Windows XP lets us run practically anything on a single machine (e.g. X11 applications, Visual Studio, Windows-only Office apps like Visio and Project).
Personally, I’ve had no trouble installing and using CS3 and Flex Builder on my MBP, and I must say that my system is quite a bit more stable compared to my old Windows box. And lastly, it’s certainly nice to not have to dig through boxes of CDs looking for drivers just to use the machine’s built-in video card, camera, trackpad and keyboard when you need to reinstall from scratch.
Jim
@adam – yep, I’ve tried compatibility mode on various driver installs all with very little success. Things normally end in a BSOD.
@Jim – I’m at a bit of a juncture in my work life, which is causing me to stop and reassess which direction I’m headed. This is related to my computer upgrades as I’m holding out for the end of the year so I can buy a new laptop and work from that (whilst travelling). So upgrading CPU, memory (I actually did buy 2Gb of memory for my old NForce 2 motherboard and a new SATA HD) etc isn’t really an option for me at the moment. I actually checked out your site and noticed there’s some Flash/Flex jobs going… which are the types of things I’ll be applying for in the next few months. Don’t suppose you can put in a good word for me with management 😉
I can certainly sympathize. I actually just ran into the same problem with cs3 not installing on win2k and the same motherboard. I have been looking for a solution, but nothing workable to date. Downgrading to Vista is not a option and I am looking at building a new system that would likely run it just fine, but I still would like to keep my older system intact and workable as a secondary workstation for minor work. I saw somewhere that you could modify the xml install files to get it to install on win2003 server and possibly the win xp 64 bit version, but I have not found a way of getting it to go to win 2k yet.
Which is a shame, because to my thinking as a Adobe Certified Designer, Developer, etc…. I dislike being forced to “upgrade” my OS enough that it may end up loosing them my support.
MaxiVista now supports Windows Vista and Windows 32/64 Bit including WDDM: http://new.maxivista.com
Michael