Fresh Vista Ultimate Install

[hondaf17]

I'm doing a fresh install of Vista Ultimate on a newly-built PC tonight. Question is this:

What essential programs do I need to install in conjunction with Vista? E.g. - I've heard Vista is more secure --- do I still need to install Symantec Antivirus? Do I still need tools such as Lavasoft's adaware? Anything I need to be aware of to try and make it go smoothly?

Should I partition my 250 GB HD into one partition solely for OS and one partition for everything else? If so, how big of a partition does Vista Ultimate need?

People with experience on these items, I'm looking forward to hearing back from you.

Thanks.

 

[Chunkee]

1 partition is fine. Keep it simple.

As for AV, you will always need it. www.eset.com try the 30 day freebie. Best AV and great for spyware also.

Good Luck

 

[Navid]

I use Vista.
You need an anti virus. AVG (free) is compatible with Vista. I have been using AVG for the last 6 years and am using it on Vista.
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/lng/us/tpl/v5#avg-anti-virus-free

You may want to download Vista drivers before installation and put them on a partition/drive that you can access from Vista.
At least, make sure to get the Vista driver for your network interface card. Most cards are included in Vista. But, not all.

If you are one of those who can live with an install for a very long time (years?), you have no reason to partition.
If you are one of those who like to re-install or restore the OS frequently, like me, partition so that you can place only the OS on one partition and all your data on another. Then, when the time comes to re-install, you can do it more easily.

If this is your only PC, plan for a dual-boot so that you can go back to XP while you are ironing out Vista.

For the sake of keeping the forums organized, do not post on the General hardware forum about this!

 

[hondaf17]

Thanks for the responses. I will stick to 1 partition and will download AVG and as many drivers as I can find beforehand.

My mobo has onboard NIC, and has the Gigabyte NForce4 driver - this should work, yes?
Also, I forgot to mention I plan on installing 64-bit, since I have an AMD X2 5200+...can I anticipate additional problems?

Thanks.

 

[russki]

can you provide a more complete hardware list?
i know nvidia has whql motherboard drivers that were released post vista, so check their website

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: hondaf17
Thanks for the responses. I will stick to 1 partition and will download AVG and as many drivers as I can find beforehand.

My mobo has onboard NIC, and has the Gigabyte NForce4 driver - this should work, yes?
Also, I forgot to mention I plan on installing 64-bit, since I have an AMD X2 5200+...can I anticipate additional problems?

Thanks.

There are less drivers/programs available for the 64-bit version. You don't have to install the 64-bit version.

I cannot emphasize enough: If this is your only machine, you need to plan for a dual boot with XP. If you don't you will be sorry!

 

[InlineFive]

Vista has improvement but Windows XP could also be "secured" enough for the home user with a bit of common sense. That said, you still need AV and AS:

1. NOD32 or Kaspersky
2. Windows Defender (comes integrated with Vista)

And the usual standard mishymashy:

3. Java Runtime 1.5.x
4. Adobe Flash Player
5. Adobe (Acrobat) Reader

Still, you will greatly benefit from utilizing UAC to it's fullest and running as a Limited User.

 

[hondaf17]

Originally posted by: russki
can you provide a more complete hardware list?
i know nvidia has whql motherboard drivers that were released post vista, so check their website

I have this gigabyte GA-M55SLI-S4 Nforce4 socket AM2 motherboard. I checked out Nvidia and it appears I can get a Vista 64-bit driver from here.

I have this Sapphire Radeon X1950 Pro video card. I checked out ATI and it appears I can get Vista 64-bit driver from here.

I don't have any other hardware - just using the sound on my mobo, and I've got dual NEC DVD burners, but I'm not anticipating a problem with that.

Question - how do I install Vista if I need downloaded Nforce4 drivers for it to work properly? Will I be able to get it installed and then just update manually? Will the Nforce4 drivers ensure my onboard LAN works, so that I can download new drivers post-install?

Thanks guys.

 

[hondaf17]

Originally posted by: Navid

Originally posted by: hondaf17
Thanks for the responses. I will stick to 1 partition and will download AVG and as many drivers as I can find beforehand.

My mobo has onboard NIC, and has the Gigabyte NForce4 driver - this should work, yes?
Also, I forgot to mention I plan on installing 64-bit, since I have an AMD X2 5200+...can I anticipate additional problems?

Thanks.

There are less drivers/programs available for the 64-bit version. You don't have to install the 64-bit version.

I cannot emphasize enough: If this is your only machine, you need to plan for a dual boot with XP. If you don't you will be sorry!

Ok - I will plan for a dual boot - I have XP Pro as well and have installed that numerous times on other PCs without a hitch. Question - how do I prepare for a dual boot, and can I remove the dual boot once I have Vista working the way I want it?

 

[bigi]

I run Vista Ultimate 64-bit. AVG antivirus free works with 32-bit only. For 64-bit use avast free edition.

 

[Navid]

One of the cleanest ways to dual boot is to have XP on one hard drive and install Vista on a second hard drive. Then, all you have to do to switch is to press F11 (or another function key depending on the motherboard) to get to the boot device selection menu and choose one of the two hard drives.

If you do it this way, you do not have to deal with which OS to install first and how to get rid of one some day and what to do to go back to XP .........
If you do a search on dual booting Vista, you will find many threads with people asking those questions since they did it the easy way (installed Vista with XP already installed) and now they are stuck.

If you have a dual boot setup, you can always use XP if you forget something!
For example, as long as you have the driver for your NIC (saved on a partition that you can access after you install Vista), you should be able to upgrade and access the web to download the rest of the drivers. But, if you forget to download the driver, you will be in trouble. But, with a dual boot, you just boot to XP and download what you need and go back to Vista to update the driver.

 

[hondaf17]

Originally posted by: Navid
One of the cleanest ways to dual boot is to have XP on one hard drive and install Vista on a second hard drive. Then, all you have to do to switch is to press F11 (or another function key depending on the motherboard) to get to the boot device selection menu and choose one of the two hard drives.

If you do it this way, you do not have to deal with which OS to install first and how to get rid of one some day and what to do to go back to XP .........
If you do a search on dual booting Vista, you will find many threads with people asking those questions since they did it the easy way (installed Vista with XP already installed) and now they are stuck.

If you have a dual boot setup, you can always use XP if you forget something!
For example, as long as you have the driver for your NIC (saved on a partition that you can access after you install Vista), you should be able to upgrade and access the web to download the rest of the drivers. But, if you forget to download the driver, you will be in trouble. But, with a dual boot, you just boot to XP and download what you need and go back to Vista to update the driver.

Thanks.

So since I have another computer running WinXP (installed on partition C), I can just put that HDD into the PC with Vista and select which HDD to boot from? Will it be a problem if both Vista and XP are installed on C partitions, but on different Hard Drives?

 

[Navid]

If you do have another PC, you should not need a dual boot then.
Just download the file you need on your XP PC, burn it to a CD-RW or DVD-RW, put the CD or DVD in your Vista PC and use the file.

But, to answer your question, you cannot take the drive from one PC and put it in another and expect to be able to boot to it unless the two PCs are identical (identical motherboards to begin with).

 

[hondaf17]

Originally posted by: Navid
If you do have another PC, you should not need a dual boot then.
Just download the file you need on your XP PC, burn it to a CD-RW or DVD-RW, put the CD or DVD in your Vista PC and use the file.

But, to answer your question, you cannot take the drive from one PC and put it in another and expect to be able to boot to it unless the two PCs are identical (identical motherboards to begin with).

Ok - thanks for the info - since the PCs are not identical it is good to know this will not work. I will plan ahead and burn as many programs/drivers onto CD as possible for use in Vista install, and if further is needed I'll do what you said above.

Thanks everyone for your ideas throughout the day - I'm excited to give this a try tonight and will report back with my results.

Regards,

 

[hondaf17]

Hey Guys,

As promised, I wanted to post my results.

I'm currently running Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit edition, and so far so good! Thanks to the suggestions in this thread, I'm successfully running avast anti-virus, I downloaded the Nvidia NForce4 Vista 64 drivers from the Nvidia website and installed those (after Vista install), downloaded the appropriate ATi drivers and installed those (after Vista install), and all is a-ok (so far)!

The only hickup was sound. I didn't realize the Nforce4 drivers wouldn't include the appropriate Realtek AC97 drivers. So I had to download these from Realtek's Website and install them. When it still wouldn't work I went back to the basics of my build, opened up my case, and realized I had HD Audio cords plugged into the front panel port of my mobo - this must've interferred with the AC'97 of the onboard audio, and once I unplugged those cords all sound worked great.

Now I'll take on the task of getting programs/files on here and learning the new features of Vista. (Oh, I did not create a second partition - everything is installed on one).

Thanks guys - you helped me be adaquately prepared and I appreciate the suggestions. Happy computing!