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XP to VISTA; which Virus software?

Started by Coil Coyle, November 20, 2007, 09:13:24 PM

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Coil Coyle

Lori needed Vista installed on our perfectly good 2 GHz Althion a350e HP PC.

I tried CA for the internet protection stuff and the computer kept locking up. I've already been advised by every IT guy in the company to dump VISTA, but we can't.

Anybody got a software recommendation for protection on a 32 bit, 333MHz bus, XP to Vista conversion?

???
Coil

YellowJacket!

I use and trust AVG antivirus and best of all, its free.  It updates daily and has an incredibly small footprint and is not a resource hog like Norton.  My second choice is NOD antivirus but I can not find the link for the free version.
AVG is free to students and non-profit organizations and can be downloaded at www.free.grisoft.com .
Its running on all my PC's and all my customer PC's and I'm really happy with it.

David


Living the dream - I am now a Physician Assistant!!   :-)

YellowJacket!

On a side note, M$ has slowly been releasing some stability and improvement patches for Vista and it has been making progress.  MS will also be releasing a major service pack in Q1 2008 which will address many of the things that people like me grip about.  I can run my tablet PC under XP for about 5 hours on battery.  That same computer, when booted into Vista lasts about 1.5hrs on battery. 

David


Living the dream - I am now a Physician Assistant!!   :-)

Aelwulf

AVG Free is pretty good.  I used it up until I Recently tried ZoneAlarms full Security Suite.   That one's been working pretty well so far as well.

The better option would just be to stick with XP Pro. :D

Ah, such fun to be out riding...
*thunk*
What was that?!

'82 Yamaha Vision XZ550RJ
'07 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Mean Streak Special Edition (VN1600B)

YellowJacket!

I like Zonealarm too but its firewall is a bit pesky and blocks some legitimate sites and site functions without warning.  For instance, my changing avatar on this site does not function when I access the site from a PC with ZA on it.  Also, some sites like Desire to learn and WebCT have problems with ZA.  Both of which I need ot access for school.

Also, on some PC's that I installed SA Security suite on, I found later that it had been mysteriously disabled.  Not sure how it happened and the owners denied disabling it.


David


Living the dream - I am now a Physician Assistant!!   :-)

haunter

I use Windows One Care with no problems


I dont see everyones beef with Vista, I use it and love it and have no isses that aren't related to crappy drivers from manufacturers not named MS

and yes, I'm an IT Pro as well, I hate going to work and being back on XP
82 with fairing, rejetted, 83 turbo seca fork and brakes coming whenver I acquire the rest of the parts, and she stops breaking long enough to be in the garage for an upgrade instead of a repair.

Aelwulf

Yeah, ZA does have some touchy relationships with a few specifics.  I had serious issues with it with the original Everquest for about a month, it'd freeze the game with permission windows and I couldn't get out of it.  I learned how to manually change it in control then, and shortly after Sony made it compatible & also able to be played in windowed mode.

The new one was a pain with some things at first but I can add in a lot more manually now (such as specific ports) so that overall I have fewer problems.  Only one I had for a bit was MSN Messenger and even that works now.  It did find two viruses lurking on my machine that AVG Free had missed. :-\ But considering AVG is, well, free, I have zero complaints about that.  Very good program for a free offering IMO, used it for years.

Ah, such fun to be out riding...
*thunk*
What was that?!

'82 Yamaha Vision XZ550RJ
'07 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Mean Streak Special Edition (VN1600B)

Coil Coyle

#7
Quote from: haunter on November 21, 2007, 07:33:06 PM
I use Windows One Care with no problems


I dont see everyones beef with Vista, I use it and love it and have no isses that aren't related to crappy drivers from manufacturers not named MS

and yes, I'm an IT Pro as well, I hate going to work and being back on XP

Haunter,

           My circumstances dictate that I must resolve my Vista Problems. In the last 24 hours I have reformatted my a350e back to XP as it was supplied with the computer. I then updated to Service pack 2 and installed updates until there were no more available at MS support. I did not install drivers for my HP PSC2410 or connect my Seagate 500G USB hard drive while still running XP.

          8 hours of email exchange with windows marketplace got my Digital Locker software download running and I have now installed Vista Business Edition and Microsoft Office for Home and Student. I then ran all of the updates I could find.

          My current situation is that the computer will restart itself but after a shutdown the on button does not light; the hard drive LED lights for a while and all of the fans stay running. It just doesn't boot up the setup screen or Vista.

          Lori's school had provided her with a DVD of Vista and I have a XP system restore disc that was made prior to installing Vista. I get the computer to boot by unplugging it and having either of these discs in eith CD drive works on occasion. As soon as the on button stays lit I can remove whichever disc worked that time and Vista comes right up.

         Oh, yeah. Installing a Vista certified PCI video card was the first time I ran into the no start. During troubleshooting of the GE Force 6200 video card their tech support took me to the F1 setup screen and I switched from AGP to PCI to fix that.

        What is the correct set of menu items to configure Boot and Advanced or any other thing on that setup that I may have screwed up to cause this failure to boot? I have tried AUTO and After Power Up but am now on the third choice, which I don't remember.

        Also, I used to have the HP screen come up but I changed to the regular black one and I don't remember how to go back to the HP.

        I'll love Vista too, if it will only run.

Help, I need somebody.

:)
Coil

PS
MAIN; First
Master Channel is HArd Disk LBA- Supported / Block 16 sectors / PIO:4 / Ultra DMA: Ultra DMA / SMART Monitor Enabled.
Option Menu below are;
Type = [auto] ; Block (Multi Sector Transfer) Mode = [auto] ; DMA Mode = [auto] ; 32Bit Data Transfer = [Disabled] <-?is that right?

Advanced;
Plug and Play OS = [yes] <-?is that right?; Primary Video Adaptor = [PCI] ; PS2 Mouse = [auto detect] ; Local Bus IDE Adaptor = [both] ; USB Legacy Mode Support = [auto] ; Onboard LAN = [enabled] ; Onboard LAN Boot ROM = [ disabled] <-?is that right?; Onboard Audio = [auto] ; Onboard 1394 = [enabled].


visionless

Vista has convinced me to buy my first Mac. 
When a whole nation is roaring Patriotism at the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and purity of its heart.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

'05 Katana 750    '82 XZ550
See 12 Visions all in a row!
http://www.myspace.com/ccoyle6731

YellowJacket!

Plug and play OS installed - "YES"
32 bit data transfer - In my experience, I leave it set to yes or on
onboard lan boot ROM - doesn't matter but I would leave it set to off unless you need to leave it connected to a network and your IT dpt needs to remotely start it up (doubtful)

The HP boot logo is a setting in the BIOS

David


Living the dream - I am now a Physician Assistant!!   :-)

Coil Coyle

Quote from: visionless on November 23, 2007, 04:14:44 AM
Vista has convinced me to buy my first Mac. 

Visionless,
 
            I have learned a lot about software during the 80 plus hours I have spent updating this perfectly fine computer to the newer system. It is an investment in Lori's education, also. In the future I am sure that I will always look back fondly at this PC, all the memories it contains, the $5K of CAD and Automation softwares that I can't run any more and of course it's historical place as our last PC.

Dave and Haunter,

            The next clue; it would not start last night after a button shutdown. The On button was just dead. I unplugged it and slept for 4 hours. This morning I plugged it in and it booted right up. Before shutdown last night I had set the Power menu for After AC Power Failure = [Power ON] ; it had been
{Stay Off} and {auto} on other tries.

           I'll try turning it off after this post and see if it has learned to use the button during this start.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.
;)
Coil




admin

Actually, this sounds more like a power supply or mainboard problem to me.
you are saying that you hit the power button and you get lights but no post ? ( power-on self test )
that would be hardware not an os issue.

if it's under warranty, call hp and have them send you a replacement p/supply or head out to
best buy/circuit city and pick one up.
it's the quickest way to find out which one is the culprit.

Vista is ok, just very annoying, you need decent hardware for it to behave itself.
I'm too lazy and too cheap to spend more dough with m$ so I still run w2k on my home
pc, it's fast, doesn't annoy me and is very well behaved...


-Ron


Quote from: coilXZcoyle on November 23, 2007, 03:26:11 AM
Quote from: haunter on November 21, 2007, 07:33:06 PM
I use Windows One Care with no problems


I dont see everyones beef with Vista, I use it and love it and have no isses that aren't related to crappy drivers from manufacturers not named MS

and yes, I'm an IT Pro as well, I hate going to work and being back on XP

Haunter,

           My circumstances dictate that I must resolve my Vista Problems. In the last 24 hours I have reformatted my a350e back to XP as it was supplied with the computer. I then updated to Service pack 2 and installed updates until there were no more available at MS support. I did not install drivers for my HP PSC2410 or connect my Seagate 500G USB hard drive while still running XP.

          8 hours of email exchange with windows marketplace got my Digital Locker software download running and I have now installed Vista Business Edition and Microsoft Office for Home and Student. I then ran all of the updates I could find.

          My current situation is that the computer will restart itself but after a shutdown the on button does not light; the hard drive LED lights for a while and all of the fans stay running. It just doesn't boot up the setup screen or Vista.

          Lori's school had provided her with a DVD of Vista and I have a XP system restore disc that was made prior to installing Vista. I get the computer to boot by unplugging it and having either of these discs in eith CD drive works on occasion. As soon as the on button stays lit I can remove whichever disc worked that time and Vista comes right up.

         Oh, yeah. Installing a Vista certified PCI video card was the first time I ran into the no start. During troubleshooting of the GE Force 6200 video card their tech support took me to the F1 setup screen and I switched from AGP to PCI to fix that.

        What is the correct set of menu items to configure Boot and Advanced or any other thing on that setup that I may have screwed up to cause this failure to boot? I have tried AUTO and After Power Up but am now on the third choice, which I don't remember.

        Also, I used to have the HP screen come up but I changed to the regular black one and I don't remember how to go back to the HP.

        I'll love Vista too, if it will only run.

Help, I need somebody.

:)
Coil

PS
MAIN; First
Master Channel is HArd Disk LBA- Supported / Block 16 sectors / PIO:4 / Ultra DMA: Ultra DMA / SMART Monitor Enabled.
Option Menu below are;
Type = [auto] ; Block (Multi Sector Transfer) Mode = [auto] ; DMA Mode = [auto] ; 32Bit Data Transfer = [Disabled] <-?is that right?

Advanced;
Plug and Play OS = [yes] <-?is that right?; Primary Video Adaptor = [PCI] ; PS2 Mouse = [auto detect] ; Local Bus IDE Adaptor = [both] ; USB Legacy Mode Support = [auto] ; Onboard LAN = [enabled] ; Onboard LAN Boot ROM = [ disabled] <-?is that right?; Onboard Audio = [auto] ; Onboard 1394 = [enabled].




admin


a couple of other notes.
if you've changed bios settings and you are not sure what they should be,
there usually is an option to reset back to the defaults, you will usually
be fine with those and it may fix the problem you are having.
as far as the pretty hp boot up screen that hides what the pc is doing ?
why turn it back on, you'll want to know if there are any errors and
if the systems detects all of the devices on power up.

alternately, if there is no reset to defaults option, pull the battery off of the
mainboard for about 4 or 5 minutes, that will reset the bios settings to the defaults.
try that and see if it fixes the power-on problem.

as far as a/v software for vista goes, avg and zonealarm are both fine.
we use mcafee corporate at work. it is quite different from the consumer version.
which I would not recommend to anyone, it's in the same league as norton.
both garbage.

-Ron

Coil Coyle

Thanks, Ron.

        It's running fine if I just unplug it at least 10 minutes after shut down and turn off the Modem. When plugged in again it starts right up  and turns the modem on by itself. <Is that right?

        I'm going to do the anti virus now.

        Pushing the button does start the POST but it only lasts about three seconds. Everything sounds like a start but the power button stays off and the screen doesn't light. The Modem does just start talking away though.

:-\
Coil

YellowJacket!

Remove the modem from the system for now until you get everything installed.  I have seen many bad modems wreak havoc on a good system.  If you don't have dial up and don't need the modem, just leave it out.  If you do need dial up, go to the manufacturers website (with anotther computer if you can) and download the latest drivers for it.

Ron, you make a good point about the PS.  PS's can me very flakey at times and drive you crazy, especialy if they haven't done you the courtesy of completely blowing out.

David


Living the dream - I am now a Physician Assistant!!   :-)

ironb12s

I rely on FixIt from VCOM.  Sure, you have to pay $25 to get it, sometimes less, but the utility is unsurpassed, with scheduled virus and spyware scans that you can choose, pattern file updates at least once every 3 days, and a status page that lets you know how vulnerable your system is when you start it.

I've got FixIt on 5 PC's, 3 desktop and 2 laptop.  Since installing, haven't had to reboot unless a Windows update got downloaded.  No, I have NO plans to go to Vista, heck, they just barely got XP stable and then they announce a major upgrade...Microsh*t strikes again.
*************************************
SOC-UK 19744*MIG 821*IBA 9200*AMA 580210
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Book: "She don't look like much."
KayLee: "'Ah-uh, she'll fool ya."

admin

#16
Jim, Dave's right eliminate the modem from the equation for now
I didn't realize you were running an external modem.
the powering on when you plug it in is a bios setting that you may
want to change to help troubleshoot this issue.
set it to stay off
ie wake on lan -> disabled
  boot rom -> disabled

technically if you don't get a display/memory count and device detection then
that isn't what's called post.

I have in the past seen strange symptoms from  bios settings so I would still suggest pulling the
battery for a few minutes to reset the bios, disconnect any external devices and
check it all again to see if it boots up properly.

anyway, you are still describing what soulnds like a power supply/ mainboard issue to me
based on your symptoms, it's likely to be a bad capacitor.


let us know how you make out after these tests.


-Ron

btw, I'm around all day today, doing an exchange mail server upgrade for work.
400 users, 60+ gigs of email, I'll be spending most of the day just moving the mailboxes
over to the new server.   :(
if you need help you can call me, pm me for my phone number.    8)



YellowJacket!

Actually, some OEMs hide the post status screen to keep the uninformed from doing things they shouldn't. Its usually hidden behind the logo screen.  Or, they use a Quick-POST which skips the memory count and PNP detection in order to make the system boot faster.
The bios setting is usually "display post screen" or "display POST results" or disable system logo.  If you are not sure though, don't worry about it.  Messing with BIOS settings can cause some problems.  I have to agree with Ron too on removing the BIOS battery to reset it if necessary

David


Living the dream - I am now a Physician Assistant!!   :-)

couchflyer

I haven't seen any mention of RAM.  I don't now a whole bunch on Vista, but I know a guy who was testing a beta version of Vision for MS.  He said that program is a RAM eater.  He wouldn't run Vision w/out at lest 3 megs of RAM.   Do you have enough RAM?
1982 Yamaha Vision ~ 1 Black & 1 Red
2008 Ducati Hypermotard S
2008 Ducati 1098 ~ Track only
Sola Scriptura

YellowJacket!

3 MEGS of RAM??  You mena 3 gigs right...  Hadn't had 3 megs of RAM since DOS.  ;D

I have one PC runnig 1.5 gigs and another running 2 gigs of ram.  Anything less than 1 gig og ram will bog down.

Good point couchflyer.

Oh, and the beta version of "Vision" was in 1981 - 1982.  ;D

David


Living the dream - I am now a Physician Assistant!!   :-)