That is the way I felt about Vista 64 bit, when I got it, but I got used to it. So far XP had been my favorite, but eventually there will be no support for it. My old printer would not work with my Vista.

It takes a bit - but I really like Windows 7.

Look under "Libraries" for you pictures. There should be a "Pictures" folder there. If they aren't there - you need to change the spot they download to when you d/l them...that is if you want them under "Pictures"

If I understood it right, support for XP ended on July 10th, but I will keep my HP as long as it works. No new PC would come with XP. I'm not happy about that!

I'm curious as to why you went from HP to Gateway. When I have to get a new one, I'll probably stay with HP, but any advice is welcome.

Sue

I don't know why we went with Gateway. Our son did a bunch of research and we were at the store for ages, I got so tired, anyway, he called, and we can exchange it. I don't think gateway was on his list, but we got it anyway.

I liked XP very much and hated Vista, but find Windows 7 infinitely better than Vista.

I don't like a lot of things about Vista vs XP however there are a number of things I do like about it. The reality is that it's the current one, on which everything was designed, now it's going to be "7". I have my old machine with XP and would not upgrade it to Vista on a bet, but I do notice a few things when I need to use it that I had forgotten about and though I hate to admit it, were true upgrades about Vista. And let's face it, XP technology is a decade old now.

Buying a PC now, you should get Windows7. There's a learning curve with each new operating system but that's the way it is. I was going to take my old one and make it a Linux machine but I think I might just do that with the Vista one instead when I buy a new one.

I have very, very limited experience with 7 thus far but people I respect tell me it's not bad at all, and some really like it. For the average user, I'm sure they're going to "love" it in a lot of ways once the apprehension wears off and they get used to it. Like a new car, the light switch will be in a different spot, controls work differently but it's essentially going to do the same thing. Sometimes you need to get a new car.

You could get a machine custom built with XP on it. I have a couple extra copies of XP that I bought for some machines that were ordered and canceled. However you could run into driver issues and the like.

As far as Gateway vs HP? As the saying goes, a junkbox is a junkbox. There's not that much difference. The useful life of a computer these days has gone downhill. I'm a little different than the normal person (ask most anyone here!) in that I drive cars until they die, I don't replace appliances just to get a new color and I don't get rid of a computer to get something fancier. Form follows function. I bought the Vista unit I have because I needed a computer for a trip I was taking and the hard drive died in my other one and I didn't have time to repair it before leaving on the trip. I wanted a second machine anyway and I wanted to get something with Vista to try it out.

This reminds me, I need to check and see if the notebook I was looking at is still available.

The one thing I discovered with Microsoft operating systems is that with each new one you need to double the minimum RAM that the previous version needed. All the way back to Windows for Workgroups. That philosophy has served me well.

Cynic, thanks for the information below. Are you saying that it takes more ram for the things they are putting on the new PCs? I always take a printout of my present PC to be sure I get one as good as I have, usually they are better than mine. I used to replace my computers every two years for the new technology, but after I used XP, I wanted to keep it. I have Vista now and don't mind it at all.

"The one thing I discovered with Microsoft operating systems is that with each new one you need to double the minimum RAM that the previous version needed."

I have had 7 at home since Christmas...took a little bit to get used to things being in different areas...but as Iowagirl stated, if you follow her directions, I bet you find your pics.

I needed to change my office computer. I had gotten a new puter just after Vista came out...I was the first to have it at the office. This one has 7 on it. I HATE changing puters over, it seems I always lose something...when it is too late to go and find it again! 7 has this AMAZING Windows Easy Transfer! OMG!!! Talk about easy!!!! You have to buy a cable with a program, but it is soooo worth it! It has a step-by-step book! It took over 2.5 hours to move everything from one to the other, but it is set up the EXACT same as my Vista!!! All the emails, addresses ect were moved and then put into the new Windows mail.

This is also available for XP to Vista or to 7 (make sure you get the right one, I bought it at Best Buy). I am not sure it would be worth the money if you only have pics to move or a few files tho.

We are a small Co, so we do not have tech support....I handle the program problems and my boss handles the hardware! :) This was Heaven sent! If you are switching alot of info....the $40. is well worth the cable/program!

My new laptop has Windows 7 and I really like it. Usually I am of the "if it aint't broke, don't fix it" club but this was an easy change for me. My favorite thing is the snap windows side by side. LOVE IT!

Support has been, or will be dropped for all versions of XP except for service pack 3. However, XP remains my favorite windows version. My wife moved to Vista on her laptop and hated it. She now has Windows 7 and says it is an improvement over Vista.

Some day, I plan to move to Windows 7 and skip Vista. This requires a complete clean out of the system - reformat of the disk. I dread that move, and expect some applications and hardware will no longer be compatible. If certain applications become incompatible, I'll resist the move as long as I can. These would be applications that are too expensive for me as a retiree to replace. I have an old finite element analysis program that is no longer compatible. To buy a new version is $16,000 the last time I priced it, so that will not be done unless I land a consulting job that needs it and can pay for it - not likely in my remaining life.

If you are having difficulty in finding your pictures, use the "Find" command to search your hard drive. If your disk has been subdivided into logical drives, you may have to search each logical drive.

The find comamnd does not need the entire name of the file to find it, just part of the name will do. It will, of course, list all files matching the same fragment. For example, if you searched for all occurences of *.jpg, you'll get every file having extension " jpg", not necessarily an efficent thing to do.

Suppose you have the followiong files:

1998 Joey 1.tif
1998 Joey 2.jpg
2000 Joey 1.doc

You could locate all these files by searching on "joey" and very likely would not get many extraenous hits. File names that contined the string, joey, would also appear such as jumpjoey.tif .

Recommendation: In the future, create folders with meaningful names in which to store your images. That way, you'll know where they are. Folder names such as:

Vacation Jun 2000
Year 2001 pic
Year 2002 pic
110Canon
111Canon

are examples.

Tip: Its a good idea when you set up a new computer to set aside a data drive for documnets and images. If you have one hard drive, a logical drive could be created on it. You would have 2 logical drives: one for the system files and the other for your personal files. I have 2 physical hard drives in my computer which becomes a natural thing to do. This separates your data from the system and application disk, and makes for more efficient use fo the "Find" command. On first pass, you need to search only the data drive, and if not found there, search the other drives. System and application files are humungous these days and requires much needless search time.

I back up my stuff every 3 months on an external hard drive and more often if I work on music or photos. I just reformatted my PC 2 weeks ago, set up protection software, deleted the unnecessary stuff, plugged the ex hard drive in, then I arranged the windows side by side and copy and pasted my personal stuff to my PC. I have done this so much I don't mind doing it at all.

Vala55, although it certainly doesn't hurt to compare to what you have, for the most part if you buy new verses even just a couple years old, the new machine will have more in the way of "power" and I use that term loosely.

Ram is often overlooked by people. They tend to look at processor power and forget RAM. Very, very few people can actually USE the processor power of today's systems at least on a regular basis. I always counseled people, and believe to this day that if there was a choice, go with less processor and more RAM. RAM is the Random Access Memory and sort of like a desktop for working. More RAM/desktop, the more files/projects you can work on comfortably. Hard drive is important and is like your file cabinet. Bigger hard drive/file cabinet, more files can be stored.
Jemdandy's suggestion is an old trick used by "geeks" for a long time. Store data on a different partition than the operating system. Then you can get your viruses, malware or whatever and blow away the partition with the OS on it and you have your data intact, though not necessarily uninfected. I started doing this a couple times and even used separate and sometimes removable hard drives but dealing with the different drives was a hassle and working on other systems without the same layout caused issues too. I've decided to go with semi conventional and just preach nonstop to people to MAINTAIN their systems!

IMHO, computers are like children. If people don't take care of them properly, they should be taken away! :) Unlike driving, having a computer is a privilege, not a right!