Winders Vista

[Terry Coombs]

Anybody still running this one ? I have an old laptop that Vista is the only OS I could get to load and I'm having trouble configuring the wireless connection . It hooks up to my intranet when using an ethernet cable but won't when using wireless . Can't figure out how to change the network name from the default to what I call my local network , and cannot access other comps or the internet on wireless . This comp will replace the one that I had hooked to my TV that died . I do have a cable available at that location but would still like to have wireless work too .

[philo]

Don't need to change the network name,

if you can see the network, just click on it and enter the password when prompted.

If access is denied it's probably because your wireless card is running a no longer supported protocol

[Terry Coombs]

I have no problem connecting to the wireless router , the problem is that none of the other comps on the network are visible , and I can't access the internet . This may all be moot , I have it playing to the TV but am having synch problems with media player when in fullscreen mode . Might be that a

1.5 Ghz processor with one gigabyte of RAM isn't up to the task . Shouldn't be much running , this is a fresh clean install .

[mike]

Sounds like a router configuration issue. Check access list to make sure you haven't restricted access. Assume by "no problem connecting to the router" you mean the setup pages? You'll have to have the DNS servers set up correctly to access the web. Normally, the defaults just work, but no telling what configuration changes have been made. I found that the easiest way to make a windows network transparent is to use the same username and password on all machines. Otherwise, you have some configuring to do. I never figgered that out. There are also a number of options in the network setup on the vista machine. File sharing options???

[philo]

Just what I suspected, your router is WPA-2 but the wireless card on your machine is an old WPA...since the OS is Vista, I have no doubt it's an obsolete card. Though you can connect, there will be negotiation.

[Terry Coombs]

This unit was originally XP home , I wiped it and installed Pro when I got it (used) . The wife was using it until it started doing the BSOD on startup . I tried Ubuntu , no joy , tried reinstalling XP (home and pro both) , no joy . I don't like Vista , but it would load and runs . I remember at one time we had a desktop that was Vista and the rest of my comps were XP , we had communication probs with it then too . The computer dates from 2005 , could well be a compatibility problem with the new (b,g,n ?) router .

[philo]

On 03/13/2016 05:52 PM, Terry Coombs wrote: tion.

Much to my surprise , once Sp1 or Sp2 is installed... Vista is a usable system.

If your wireless card came with your 2005 machine it's obsolete.

If you purchased it more recently however, look up the specs

I went through my junk box last year and got rid of all my old WPA wireless cards, they are not compatible with the WPA-2 wireless routers

[mike]

Ok, more info helps

Try this: Open Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\

Create LMCompatibilityLevel (DWord) and set the value to 1

I don't remember whether you have to reboot...do it to be sure.

I don't have a clear picture of all your other machines. If all your other machines are xp, that should do it. If other machines are newer, they might also require the registry edit. But then, they would have had issues also.

[Terry Coombs]

I have tossed in the towel on this one . Couldn't get Vista to perform predictably streaming video when it worked at all . Tried several more versions of Linux based OS's , all crashed during install . XP gave BSOD's on startup . It ain't worth the hassle .

[philo]

Good idea.

Though I am a firm believer keeping older h/w going.

I do not bother working on anything less than a 2ghz cpu with less than

2 gigs of RAM

[Terry Coombs]

This unit was fine running XP , but it has died now . If I could figure out what was causing the BS , I might try to repair it ... but I'm not even going totry . Cost me 50 bucks at a yard sale 8 or 9 years ago , was so eaten up with virus that they couldn't do anything with it . I wiped it and installed a new OS and used it until the wife decided it was hers ... now she's got the dual core tosh I replaced it with .

[philo]

If you want to find out, might as well start by running memtest to see if the RAM is any good.

Next, a hard drive diagnostic

I might try to repair it ... but I'm not even

[Terry Coombs]

Well , it turns out the HP a1600n that was up in the attic DOES work . IIRC I thought it was having a compatibility problem with the VGA/HDMI device . Turns out I just wasn't waiting long enough for it to come up . I dumped a bunch of programs that aren't needed to stream video ... now if I can get flash player to update , I'll be good to go . Been having problems with flash updates on all my comps . I wonder if I paused my adblocker ... This box has an Athlon2 2Ghz dual core processor and now has 3 gigs of RAM .May just have to d/l torrents of what we want , seems most are out there the day after they air .

[Paintedcow]

I have to ask!

Why did you even try to install Vista, knowing it was Microsofts biggest failure of all time. The scary thing is that Windows 7, 8, and 10 are all based on the corrupt code of Vista. That's why I'll never use anything newer than XP.

[Nil]

On 16 Mar 2016, [e-mail] wrote in alt.home.repair:

a) No, it wasn't. Ever heard of Windows ME? Microsoft Bob?? The fact is that Vista was not that bad. Its security settings were unnecessarily draconian and it required too much horsepower to run smoothly, but it was perfectly usable if your computer was up to the task. Most or all its issues were ironed out in Windows 7.

Please define "corrupt code" and show us an example.

That's your prerogative, of course, but I think your reasoning is based on a flawed premise.

[Terry Coombs]

Because I had it ... figgered it was worth a try . If that laptop had been a dual core with more RAM it mighta flown . Got an HP a1600n online now , it seems to be working OK for most everything .

[Terry Coombs]

Umm , is it XP in particular or Winders in general you don 't like ? If I could get the wife to go along I'd be using Ubuntu , but she refuses to budge . And you know what they say about "if Mama ain't happy" ... and so we still use Windows . But AFAIC XP was the last good one .

[Paintedcow]

Nah, you're just feeding the Oren troll. I've had that idiot in my killfile since the first day I came to alt.home.repair.

I agree, XP was the last good one, and Windows98 was the other good one. (I use both). Windows 2000 was tolerable, nothing else made by MS was ever worth anything.

Although I hate Linux, and would never even consider trying it again, I suggest you buy another computer if you want to use Ubuntu. Better for the marriage too :)

Anyhow, I wish there was a THIRD choice for operating systems..... (which runs on a PC), because Macintosh is another choice.

[Mark Lloyd]

[snip]

Windows 2000 might be called obsolete now. It was still better once.