Vista RC1 Stopped working (Dec 31st)

[FrAsErTaG]

Im pretty sure they stopped giving them out
but if u are planing on buying it
you have 30days of grace so just grab the MSDN final from a source.... and pay for it when its out?
alternatively go back to MCE2005 for the meantime.. although the VMC is just so much more stable i find I would hate the thought of going backwards

[drewhiggins]

Try Jellybean keyfinder on a search engine. I think it works for Vista.

http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml


and then if you haven't activated give ms a call and you should be able to activate it

cheers and hope it works for you

[mich]

I managed to get RC1 to continue to work (limping all the way) until I can get an official vista RTM when its released in late jan/early feb.

By setting the date back, and installing power dvd 6, it works, but ofcourse since the date is wrong, the guide doesnt work which really limits its value..

by the time i've paid for vista, i reckon i'll have spent over $2K on my media centre + xbox360 (probably plus over $2K in my own labour too) which i'm really starting to regret when i could have had a topfield with network backup do almost as good a job for under $1K.

the media centre was supposed to be able to do dvd backups easily - well it doesnt - the programs that do do it are as buggy as an indiana jones movie, and take 1/2 a day to backup a single movie.

the media centre was supposed to be able to play divx - well i havent tried too hard, but the times i've tried, transcode360 has crashed every time i've tried to get it to work, and anyway, watching on a $99 divx stand alone samsung dvd player or something is probable better.

whats more, with the damn media centre, you either have to deal with inferior picture quality running straight from the PC, or put up with the unacceptably noisy whirring of the xbox360.

finally, the idea was supposed to be that i could store all my music on the media centre, except that media centre in vista stuffs up the cover art and just generally causes weekends of greif - of which i've had a decades worth of in the last 3mths. again, even if the cover art and the whole media sharing did work properly, you'd still have to put up with the whirring of the xbox which as an AV purist, is not acceptable at all.

its so increadible annoying - because if the xbox was silent, and everything else just worked as promised and was stable it would be the most awsome product out there.

at least i can thank the many many subscribers to this site for their help, because without them i'd have probably have slit my wrists by now.

[drewhiggins]

I think Vista Ultimate is more expensive than the whole MCE machine!!! The PC only cost $650 whereas Ultimate is $765.

So did that Keyfinder work for you at all?

[mich]

Originally Posted by drewhiggins

I think Vista Ultimate is more expensive than the whole MCE machine!!! The PC only cost $650 whereas Ultimate is $765.

So did that Keyfinder work for you at all?

I thought that the OEM version of Vista Home Premium was only around $200 - at least thats what i'm counting on it costing.

I downloaded the keyfinder and saw it worked in xp (which is what i downloaded it on) but since i got RC! to continue to work - sort of - i havent tried it in vista as yet.

[drewhiggins]

Is that right?

A quick maths lesson...





I think I read a Premium Home on winsupersite.com (remember US dollars) is about RRP $239 or upgrade $159.

http://winsupersite.com/reviews/winvista_02.asp

$1 in US dollars is about $1.25 in Australia so we can work it out via that way.

So Ultimate works out to be around $A500 retail because it is about $399 US and those are the latest market rates as of 3.1.2007 1.47pm

How does that work out when MS say they're charging $751, unless that is tax and manufacturing and GST and other stuff plonked on top.





Currency conversion tool - click here

[mich]

thats for the full boxed retail version - the oem version is cheaper - very close to the price that xp is now (or so i believe).

eg..

http://www.hboutlet.com.au/catalog/p...ucts_id=121264

[drewhiggins]

MS Windows XP MCE (Media Center Edition 2005) Operating System includes Vista Upgrade Redemption Coupon
[AT-XPMediaVU] $173.00 Products in stock (Qty): 1
Recommended Retail Price (RRP): $198
Our Selling Price: $173
Save: $25 Manufacture P/N: M93-00411
Brand: Microsoft
Warranty: N/A

Description:
Microsoft Windows XP MCE - Media Center Edition 2005 includes Vista Upgrade to Vista Home Premium (Freight Charges Apply.) OEM - sold with essential hardware or as box of 3 pcs)

Wow.

So you just buy MCE2005 then use the coupon and they allow you to upgrade?
So what's the difference between Ultimate and Home Premium besides pricing? They both have 3D UI, HD movie making, media player, media centre, movie maker and other stuff?

I guess it looks like Home Premium. It seems MS is doing dirt-cheap deals (for standards of Vista) because most people are satisfied with MCE and XP and don't see any need for this new OS until a good 2-3 years from now.

I'll probably buy Vista Premium and just have it sitting around for when I want it because I see no point upgrading yet. MCE works fine and my MCE machine is running well. I probably get it even cheaper than $170 (more like $100) because I know heaps of people who work in PC shops.

[mich]

$100 is extremely unlikely - from my time spent in retail, there is bugger-all mark up in MS windows.

for MCE - vista is a massive improvement. much more stable (except for the beta copies having all sorts of time bombs, - which is what started this thread) and alot better developed GUI. i'm very surprised you say you still use XP!

my overall gripe is still that media centres are massive headaches get working, and to maintain when compared to say a standard topfield PVR with similar functionality.

like i said earlier, if it was all stable and the xbox was quiet - it'd be the most awsome product around.

[drewhiggins]

Yeah but you can get more discounts if you know the right people. I agree Vista is a massive improvement but it is a massive system-hog whereas XP with the fancy effects and other stuff isn't as much because it is 2D.

Anyway, I am still happy with XPMCE. Most of my old apps don't work with it so until they work it would be a dual-boot system, and when they work then I may consider it.

When I tried running Vista with 512 ram it ran like a dog (actually a dog might run faster but anyway...). Most will wait until a Servo Pack is released.

However, VMCE did look cooler and you could have the video playing as a background image. Now that IS awesome. Second time round MCE was not a pain to get working...because I knew what to do. Vista MCE just pretty much worked.

How about a comparison library? 56k warning here...











I know what looks cooler but what is more stable is my concern.

FreeStyle was crippled until RU2, Apple FrontRow isn't that great (and looks weird and is odd to use), mediaportal is hopeless and MythTV, well it is not too bad and looks like a definite MCE contender.

And with Vista's out of the box decoder (although not brilliant) and OOTB digital/HD support it seems a lot better product than what MCE was, and over time MCE has become stable (in the 7 months I've been playing with it).

Just a pity that MCE2005 wasn't what VMCE is...I think we're getting off the topic here but it is a great discussion.