Someone please give me some Vista tech support

[USRoadTripper]

First, the specs...1.8gh Core 2 Duo Processor, 1Gb RAM and whatever video card comes built into this motherboard (Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3000 (Intel® GMA X3000) onboard graphics subsystem)

 

My primary problem is that it is flaky about recognizing the video card. Windows Movie Maker and DVD Maker will sometimes open, and sometimes not. It started off not opening, then I'd restart and it would open, then not, then yes, now I am back to not opening because it says I don't have a fast enough video card. But obviously I do when it works flawlessly some of the time! I've tried everything I can think of...have downloaded the driver update from Intel and uninstalled/installed it three times to no avail.

 

Another problem is that my graphics settings reset every time I turn the computer off. The monitor automatically resets to 800x600 resolution and it never remembers which custom cursors I tell it to use. It also resets every folder I open to "large icons" instead of "medium icons"eventhough I have told it to remember each folder's individual view settings.

 

Also, I have some files on the computer that, when I try to delete them, it says that I don't have permission to delete them. One is iTunes, which I installed before realizing that it wouldn't work yet. There are these two files that, no matter what I do, I can't delete. I also had this issue with some things in the Start menu that I couldn't delete. I mean...who am I supposed to get permission from??? It's MY computer!

 

And finally...how in the world do I get the "Windows Aero" thing to show??? Is my inability to get Aero to work related to how it's freaking out about the video card? And I've never seen an option for transparent windows, which is something that is touted so highly in all the advertising.

 

Overall, I don't hate Vista the way I thought I would, but these four things are beyond frustrating!!! I tried searching on some Windows support sites, but everyone seemed so rude if you asked simple questions...like you were so obviously wasting their time. So any help anyone can offer is greatly appreciated!

 

-Julie

[BarryH]

I din't have too much Vista experience, but the Windows Aero interface is just a neat way to see your icons and desktop. It gives you a 3-D window that you can move all around. I don't see any use for it other than to go "ohh, ahh!"

[sixflagsmagicmountain]

Well, I haven't used vista much, so I couldn't help much, but the files that you can't delete, try rebooting in safe mode by pressing F8 during startup and selecting safe mode, and delete them that way, that's what I do when my computer does that.

[Carnage]

Reformat and install WinXP?

 

Sorry I don't have a better answer for you, but everything I read shows that Vista is a pile of crap and really should not be installed at all.

[Meteornotes]

Do you have a seperate video card, or are you using motherboard video? If it's the latter, that's likely the problem. Motherboard video shares its memory with system memory, and will often run out of memory that it needs and will cause problems like you describe.

 

Here's a way for you to check your available video memory:

 

Go to Start

Select Run

At the prompt, type "dxdiag" (without the quotes).

 

This should bring up the Direct X diagnostic tool. Go to the display tab, and look for the field labeled Approx. Total Memory. That shows you the video memory available to you. Compare this number to the video memory number required to correctly operate the applications you're having trouble running (this information should be on the product box or manual), and if this number is lower than the video memory required, you'll either need to add more system memory or buy a dedicated graphics card.

 

Let us know if this helps you track down your problem.

 

dt

[Corkscrewed]

This may be unrelated, but 1 gig of RAM does not sound like it's enough to run Vista smoothly. I'd have at least 2 before settling in.

[Carnage]

This may be unrelated, but 1 gig of RAM does not sound like it's enough to run Vista smoothly. I'd have at least 2 before settling in.

 

It's also that most programs have not been updated to run on Vista properly.

[Ed]

I've heard alot of internet providers are having a hard time upgrading to Vista working systems.

 

I'm amazed your pc doesn't blow up Julie! If I were rich enough i'd buy a Mac.