Joe from Findlay asks:  What do you think of Windows Vista?

Vista has been out now for a decent amount of time.  There are still bugs being worked out.  For the most part I think it has gone main stream as there is wide support for it now.  However users that want to use older programs on Vista may or may not be able to.  If you are willing to dump all your old equipment and buy new I would recommend Vista.  But if you want to upgrade an old computer to Vista I would not recommend that.  Vista is a power hungry application.

I would not recommend running Vista on less then a dual core processor.  One gigabyte of ram and 160 gig hard drive.  Running it on le then this will result in a slow system which over time will become hair-pulling slow. 

Essentially Vista is a beautiful eye candy upgrade.  The security is better right now because it hasn't really gone full force like Windows XP is. 
So when Vista catches on that will be the real security test.  Right now XP is still the most viable option in my opinion.  I have received calls of people buying new towers with Vista and they want to go back to XP. 
Of course in all fairness I got the same calls when XP first came out.  Bottom line Vista is the next windows now.  It's here to stay even if you like it or not.  Microsoft will stop supporting XP eventually but that is a ways off. 

Sandy from Findlay asks:  My computer crashed- what do I do?

Well if you're hard drive has crashed-  First you will have to replace the hard drive.  Then you will have to run a system recovery off a recovery disc.  Computers usually don't come with these recovery discs anymore.  There is a program to create these discs when you first get your computer.  If you have not done this and your hard drive crashes you will have to call the manufacturer and order a set of recovery discs.  These usually run around 20 dollars. 

The majority of computers now come with the recovery disc already loaded on the hard drive itself.  So when you get a new computer you should run the program and create a set of recovery discs with the program that is provided on your system. 

Well that's all for this month as always send your questions to jason@flagcitycomputers.net and you just might see them in Findlay Living!