Will buying Vista help my computer?

Question

Will buying Vista help my computer?

Answer 1

You don't know how to use XP, installing Vista will only make things worse. If you always had problems with programs closing and not responding you should call your computer company for service.

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PDF files are Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format not Microsoft works files! They are viewed with Adobe Reader.



Install Adobe Reader 8 to view PDF files on the internet.

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

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If you need to read and send Microsoft office files you have two options:



1) Buy Microsoft office:

Download a free, 60-day trial, of Microsoft Office 2007

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/HA101741481033.aspx



2007 Microsoft Office system suites

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/suites/FX101635841033.aspx



Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 $137

Complete package - 3 PC in one household - non-commercial - CD - Win - English

http://www.campustech.com/c/campust/title.html?id=mIS8QpvH&mv_arg=MSN161&mv_pc=131

https://usm.channelonline.com/rtech/storesite/Products/index.co?id=M003243839



Microsoft Office Professional Home and Student 2007 $170

Complete package - 3 PC in one household - non-commercial - CD - Win - English

http://www.campustech.com/c/campust/store.html?id=mIS8QpvH&mv_arg=MSFT&mv_pc=25



2) Install open office:

It is compatible with most Microsoft Office Professional applications.



http://www.openoffice.org/



Can import from MS application and export to MS application unless noted:

Base = Access

Calc = Excel

Draw = Similar to Publisher but not directly compatible

Math = Create equations

Impress = PowerPoint

Writer = Word

No equivalent = Office Outlook

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computer is constantly "not responding" and closing out the window on its own



Run "check disk" check both options and restart. (Runs a long time)

Run Disk Cleanup then Disk Defragment.

4 Ways to Speed Up Your Computer's Performance

http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/getstarted/speed.mspx



Run PC Pitstop "Full Tests"

http://www.pcpitstop.com/

It will suggest changes to improve performance if it finds errors. In the running programs section it will list programs that can be disabled to improve computer performance; start msconfig and uncheck these programs.



My guess is you may have a bad system file, bad program files, and malware on your computer. In severe cases you will need to erase everything and reinstall XP, your drivers, and your program files.



Bad System File:

Start> Run> enter "sfc.exe /scannow" in the run box.

Run. You will need the windows XP disk. This utility will check all system files against the disk and repair if needed.



Bad Program File:

Note which program stops responding. Consider uninstalling and reinstalling program.



You may have malware installed on your system. If you follow all the following steps it should get rid of your problem and prevent future problems. All programs listed are free.



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Update your antivirus and run a full scan



If you do not have virus protection install:

AVG Antivirus 7.5 Free Edition

http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/lng/us/tpl/v5

or

Free antivirus - avast! 4 Home Edition

http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

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Install Windows Defender (full time spyware protection)

Perform a full scan.

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

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Install the following five programs and run weekly or at least monthly. You need all five. They are not a substitute for full time spyware and virus protection.

Install and run now.



Ad-Aware SE Personal (update + full scan)

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php



Spybot Search & Destroy (update + immunize + scan)

Do not enable Tea Timer and SDHelper

After installation: update + scan + immunize

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html



SpywareBlaster: Update then open and click “enable all protection”.

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html



SUPERAntiSpyware free version: (update + scan)

http://www.superantispyware.com/



CCleaner: Do not install toolbar and recycle bin options

Removes tracking cookies, unneeded files, history

In options.

Set to run when computer starts.

Place cookies you want to keep in save list

http://www.ccleaner.com/



Note if a scan detects a problem but is unable to remove, start the computer in safe mode with the internet line disconnected and run a full scan.



In severe cases your system restore files will also be infected. In these cases you will need to turn off system restore to prevent malware hiding in the system restore files and reinfecting the computer during removal or during a future system restore. Turning off system restore deletes the system restore files.



Right click on "my computer"> Properties > System Restore Tab > Check box turn of system restore



After the malware is removed turn on system restore.

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Run this time



Install VX2 tool for Ad-Aware and run tool

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/securitycenter/vx2_cleaner.php



CWShredder: run

http://www.trendmicro.com/cwshredder/



SmitFraudFix

http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/How_to_use_SmitFraudFix-t109268.html

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Additional run this time and as needed.



Microsoft OneCare Live, run “full service scan”

Updates windows, virus and spyware scan, disk cleanup, disk fragmentation (if needed), backs up registry and then cleans registry, and checks for open firewall ports

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm



Malicious Software Removal Tool (run “full scan”)

http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

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Rootkit Removal Guide

http://safecomputing.umn.edu/guides/scan_unhackme.html



Rootkits Removers (Pick any 2 install and run monthly)



AVG Anti-Rootkit

http://www.grisoft.com/doc/products-avg-anti-rootkit-update-app-art/?ver=1.1.0.29



F-Secure BlackLight

http://www.f-secure.com/blacklight/



Sophos Anti-Rootkit

http://www.sophos.com/products/free-tools/sophos-anti-rootkit.html

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Online Free Scanners:

Run Trend Micro, Kaspersky, and Panda Scan now.

Run a different one each month.



Trend Micro: HouseCall Free Scan (removes what it finds)

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

BitDefender Online Scanner http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html

Kaspersky Labs Online Scanner http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner

McAfee http://us.mcafee.com/root/mfs/default.asp?affid=294

Panda ActiveScan Free Online Scanner http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/activescan?

Symantic Online Scanner http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/ssc_eula.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym&plfid=23&pkj=ALUFRHYTINMHDKDCWLL&vc_scanstate=2

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Additional Information read:

http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Removal_and_Prevention:_Overview

http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Prevention:_Prevent_Re-infection

http://www.castlecops.com/f67-Hijackthis_Spyware_Viruses_Worms_Trojans_Oh_My.html

http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm

http://aumha.org/secure.htm

http://aumha.org/a/parasite.php

http://www.castlecops.com/t102301-Hijackthis_Guidelines_Read_Before_Posting.html

http://www.techsupportforum.com/security-center/hijackthis-log-help/15968-please-read-before-posting-

http://forum.aumha.org/viewtopic.php?t=4075&sid=901703d08c2ace31389ffef2d84b6607

Answer 2

initially i became into against the finished Vista mess. i at present rebuilt with living house appropriate and that i'd desire to declare i like it. practice for countless updates over the 1st few days, in spite of the incontrovertible fact that it style of feels to artwork with each and every thing I had on XP. I run quite often 32 bit stuff ( video games) so I caught with the 32Bit Vista. Many say the 64Bit runs better.. i think of living house windows 7 will go through in the commencing up launch like each and every living house windows releases do and would have matters till provider packs fix the a million.0 bugs. So I say swap now.

Answer 3

Wait, you can't view PDFs because you have Microsoft Works and you think installing Vista will solve the problem? Dude, that's the most bizarre and confused question I've ever heard.



1) Microsoft Works has *nothing* at all to do with PDF files (reading or sending them), I can't even imagine where you got that idea.

2) Adobe Acrobat is what you need to view PDF files, it's a free download from here http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/reader/

3) If there are issues with your brand new machine then slapping a whole new operating system in there isn't going to make things any simpler. Not least when loads of people are having issue with Vista anyway. Forget about it for the moment.

4) If you need Office for some actual real reason then yeah, but it by all means, but the fact that you seem to think installing new software is somehow going to magically help you with the unrelated problems you're facing doesn't fill me with much confidence that you've thought this through at all.



Seriously dude, your attitude to this is a bit odd. It's like having engine problems in your car so deciding to go out and spend $1000 dollars on new wheels. You don't just throw cash at random upgrades, you need to look at what's going on and what you need then make a decision.

Answer 4

Vista is still in it's infancy. Stick with the OS you have, it's likely more stable. Your pc obviously has issues that need to be resolved - you might want to try cleaning it of viruses, spyware & other problems (avast, avg antispyware, spybot, ad aware > all free). Use cleanup & ccleaner > free. You might also want to try rolling back the pc to a more stable time, or reinstalling the os to work out any windows related issues. Then make sure to update everything,



Download adobe reader for viewing pdf's - pay version lets you create pdfs. > free



Download open office. It's fully compatible with MS office > free

Answer 5

Just to break down things a bit...



"computer is constantly "not responding" and closing out the window on its own" - Sounds like a problem with your OS installation or possibly a hardware problem. Can you check your Event Logs to see if any disk related errors are showing up?



"I can't view any PDF files from the internet or send any PDF documents beacuse noone else has works." - PDF is not a Microsoft format. PDF (Portable Document Format) is an Adobe format. You probably just need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader from http://www.adobe.com (the reader is free, if you want to author files, you'll need Adobe Standard edition which isn't free, or you can author in MS Word and use a free open source application called PDFCreator - available on the SourceForge website).



"What should I do to eleviate these probelms, and should I purchase Vista or just Office 07', both, or neither?" - Most people agree that waiting to upgrade to MS Vista is probably the safer path at this time. Vista has a lot of rewritten code and Microsoft has a tendency to release fairly buggy/exploitable code. I'd wait until at least SP1 is released and tested before even considering an upgrade. MS Office 2007 won't solve any of the problems you mentioned. I haven't seen it but generally the features in the MS Office releases since MS Office 97 haven't been useful enough for me to justify upgrading. If you are only doing basic documents and email, MS Works should be fine.

Answer 6

Sounds like you just need to reinstall the software and/or drivers. Have you got the latest version of Adobe? I would highly reccomend downloading the latest Adobe reader and acrobat to see if that resolves the PDF issue, If anything Vista will cause more problems with the system. And if all else fails, you know what tech will tell you, run an operating system reinstall.

Answer 7

I am a litle confused by the question. PDF documents are created by Adobe products and not Microsoft. If it is PDF documents that you are having problems with, I would recommend removing and re-downloading Adobe Reader.

Answer 8

The answer is yes and no!



Your computer obviously has some issue - they sound like spyware/virus related - you could use a free online antivirus scanner to check this.



Regarding Works and Office, you would still ned to buy office as well as Vista if you wanted that functionality - the same goes for Adobe Reader, howver that is a free download from www.adobe.com



My Suggestion would be to back up your files, reinstall Windows XP - your computer supplier should have supplied some disks and the Key. This will give you a clean installation.



Download a free antivirus from http://free.grisoft.com

Download Adbobe reader from www.adobe.com

You could even download open office which is a free Office suite which will allow you to create documents and spreadsheets which are readable in standard office.



This will save you the cost of Vista and the hassle of having to learn a new Operating system! I would wait if you do want to get it until the first service pack is released.

Answer 9

You most likely have some form of spyware or viruses or a combination of the two from what I can tell from your description. Here's my tip:



First go to download.com and download AVG and Lavasoft Ad-Aware. These are free antivirus and spyware/adware blockers and are some of the best I have.



Second update and run a sweep of both. First AVG then Ad-Aware. This should remove the "not responding" and closing of windows.



As for your problem I recommend Office 200...3 I believe is the year. 2007 is nice, but if you're looking for a sturdy word processor, Access, and PowerPoint presentation combo 2003 is a great package. Vista is a new Operating System so it's not very stable at the moment. I wouldn't recommend buying Windows Vista for another 2 years so that Microsoft can fix a lot of the problems and more programs can become compatible with it.

Answer 10

PDF has nothing to do with Microsoft Works. If you want to be able to view PDF files, you need Adobe's free PDF Reader. Get it here:

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Answer 11

vista is still beta version! if your pc is at least a 3.0 maybe.. but i wouldnt spend the money! go with xp pro or home. unless your pc is a P3 then you will need like y2k or some older!

Answer 12

Just buy office.