Recently bought a new computer:  very fast & powerful, compared to what I used before.

Previously, believe it or not, I had been using Windows 98SE.  Windows Vista is, of course, a huge step up.

So far, I only have three complaints with Windows Vista.

1. Trying to find a file, particularly a system file, is too damned hard.  What’s with the “Roaming” folder which can’t be found unless you enter some sort of specialized shortcut search in the search feature of the Windows main menu?  True, I suppose I could just search for those files, but I miss being able to pull up an authentic and complete tree of all files on the computer.
2. Much software still is only for Windows XP or before — or so it seems.  I’ve been checking out games and other software which my more powerful computer can finally find, and most list compatible operation systems at XP and/or below.  Are many of these still compatible with Vista?  Vista’s peculiar, I know, and I worry that they wouldn’t be compatible unless Vista is also listed on the supported operating systems; but many of those games etc. were produces and boxed prior to the advent of Vista.
3. After only a couple days of use, I’ve had my first crash.  Don’t know what happened, although I was trying to view a web page.  The screen went blank, flickered back on, went blank again, then, very oddly, the screen reappeared with mish-mashed symbols all over it before going blank again.   I had to turn off the power, wait a few seconds, and power up again before I could do anything.  This has me worried; but it’s the only crash I’ve experienced so far.

The most troublesome aspect of migrating to this new computer and Vista is the typical transfer of browser settings, including passwords and bookmarks and so forth; plus, just generally transferring media and other files from my documents folder. The Firefox and Thunderbird settings were not much problem after I found the procedure online. (Now, with the more powerful computer and my previous DSL service, the Internet is a cinch to browse quickly! Plus, I have no lag time when viewing video online. And, Firefox works much better; previously, it had been slowing down quite a bit, with the many add-ons I use, because of the less-powerful computer.) However, I’m a novice when it comes to being able to transfer other files directly from one computer to a new computer. Although I’ve worked with networks before, it’s been a long time, so I don’t know the simplest way of networking two computers to allow for easy transfer. I don’t need to keep them networked; I just want to be able to transfer large numbers of files quickly. I think I’m going to try using an “ethernet crossover cable” to connect them directly, once I can find one. Is this process as simple as merely connecting them with the cable? The only similar cable I found, casually searching, was a cable made specifically for transferring files between an XP and a Vista-enabled computer — but my previous system was still 98SE! For now, I’ve just used a writable disk to transfer some of the most important files.

So far, Vista seems to work like a dream. I’m thankful for the many security settings and operations that come with Vista. I still have some test driving to do, however.