Filed under: Business, OS Updates, News, Microsoft
One in three new Vista machines downgraded to XP
You probably knew that a lot of dissatisfied WIndows Vista users had downgraded -- some might say "upgraded" -- to Windows XP. It was never clear exactly how many people took that step, but it was enough that Microsoft extended the shelf life for XP for a while. Now we have a number, thanks to a survey by Devil Mountain Software: nearly 35% of new Vista machines are being downgraded. The survey used data from PCs that have been shipped in the last 6 months, and included machines that were downgraded by vendors before delivery or by users after the fact. The Register seems to think that Microsoft is shifting focus away from Vista, and instead increasing the marketing effort for its next major OS release, Windows 7. I hardly think these numbers spell doom for Microsoft, but they hopefully provide some incentive to look at why customers are ditching Vista and address their concerns.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
LeeH said 9:40AM on 8-21-2008
Yep I gave Vista a good try but eventually "down"graded to XP and couldn't be happier. It was a hassle to make the change since some of the hardware on my new laptop didn't have official driver support but after everything was straightened out I was much happier with the UI, stability and performance. As time goes on, there'll be less reason to "down" grade as the Vista quirks are ironed out and hardware performance/support of new machines improves.
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Todd said 10:05AM on 8-21-2008
( Said in my best Nelson from the Simpsons impersonation ) "Ha, ha!"
Flashback to January 2008 - "Windows Vista is the most successful product in the history of commerce!" - Steve Ballmer
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FallenAce said 10:13AM on 8-21-2008
A lot of businesses use XP because Vista hasn't been field-tested by proprietary software vendors.
For example, the company for whom I work presently has all commercially-built workstations downgraded by the manufacturer or customizer (E.G. CDW) because a company who writes software for bank and credit union check archiving hasn't bothered to check for compatibility. This article seems a little misleading since it isn't a preference by the users that makes the decision on the OS, but the confirmed compatibility with a software vendor. As of now, not even SP3 is confirmed to work with the software. I imagine many companies operate similarly in this regard.
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Josh said 11:06AM on 8-21-2008
Yawn. More twisted statistics. Most of those downgrades are for enterprises which is totally normal, same thing happened back with XP, same again in the future.
Of my university (20 000 students) walking around I see perhaps 1 XP laptop for every 10 vista computers. And I only know one person who actually downgraded.
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Jamus said 1:54PM on 8-21-2008
I think the difference is that of those 20K students, almost every one of them probably bought that computer on their own as opposed to enterprise buying where you do not want to have a patchwork quilt of computers. You buy 1000 and get a volume license to downgrade if you prefer. To keep things smooth, you keep them on XP until all can be transferred to Vista (at some point).
Al said 11:09AM on 8-21-2008
And how about people and companies who have not even upgraded there systems because of Vista installed
on the newer computers.
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Gutter said 12:57PM on 8-21-2008
Unless someone can dig up some numbers about XP's launch, and how many new XP install were reverted to Win98se back in the days, I don't see how this is relevant.
People hate Vista because they are used to XP, not because Vista is the Devil's work like "power" users want you to believe. Any statistics is useless unless it can be compared to others taken in similar situations.
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kojo87 said 1:49PM on 8-21-2008
Bingo. most of the people downgrade to XP were never there for the switch from 2000 to XP. this is the first OS change they ever experienced and they're freaking out. what is really baffling is that Vista is pretty similar to XP. my first computer experience was on one of those dumb old iMac in second grade computer class, then my dad's friend gave us a Windows 3.1 machine in 1997. got a Gateway with 98 on it right when it came out. then we got a $400 HP with XP a few years after it came out. i was definitely most familiar with XP but i used enough other OSs that you just gotta use what you have because thats what you got.
i built my desktop with Vista Ultimate about a year ago and now that all the driver issues are fixed there is no reason people cant sit down for 20 minutes and figure it out. its not hard. people just dont like when their comfort zone is disrupted.
Bill said 4:01PM on 8-21-2008
I don't know what all the fuss is about really. I got Vista Business (32 bit) on a new PC and quite like it. I wouldn't dream of downgrading to XP now.
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Kevin said 1:23AM on 8-23-2008
That's because you haven't get fucked by it. At my line of work - IT support, i have seem many people got fired because of OS issues, files can't copy/ transfer, instability and driver hung issues, they can't do their work for days, even weeks. As a result they got canned, their IQ is at questions here but I guarantee you, they will never trust windows software ever again.
Don't favor this OS just because it worked now, stability is for long run, if the program is written thoughtfully, there won't be a demand for service packs right after its lunch. Performance package one after one, fixes after fixes and there are still unsolvable problems, even after a full os reinstall. So until then you are just a regular Joe with a ticking bomb. This is how I look at vista, so called Windows Edsel, stay the hell away from it.
Rod said 1:02PM on 9-30-2008
My Vista Business sucks. Without touching my keyboard, it'll click on a link on a page and take me to it. It's almost telling me, "You took too long to click on something so I clicked on something for you."
Another issue, the cursor picks up icons on the desktop and elsewhere for no reason. You have to shake em off and then go back to moving your cursor. Who came up with this Vista bullshit and why hasn't it been fixed? Or did Microsoft outsource to China too?
comhcinc said 6:31PM on 8-21-2008
these numbers are based off of 3000 computers sold........how is that a big enough number to do a fair comparison? i am sure the local bestbuy sales that many every two weeks.
i am sorry but i just don't think enough research was done to be making such broad statements.
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Unknown said 6:37PM on 8-21-2008
well whatever you chose, XP or Vista, Microsoft still gets your money
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Jon2309 said 8:49AM on 8-24-2008
A large amount of windows users would like to disagree with you, there.
KBallweg said 8:00PM on 8-21-2008
I'm having to flip five new Vostros because Vista doesn't play well with NW 6.5. I had planned to use these with a tolerant group that uses it at home as a way to start the process of converting. Vista can be talked into working with NW 6.5, but it's an effort, and I need machines on the line now. Fortunately Dell made sure their SATA drivers are retro enough to work with XP Pro installers.
Mind, it's not so much a problem with Vista, it's more on Novell's door with this one. Which is why I'm thinking the next step is to jump to MS server '08 for my next rev of server updates, and then do the Vista intro. It's not an issue of being anti-Vista, just having to weigh the cost benefit ratios for the now, while accepting that the change is going to have to come long before we see a trustable version of 7.
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Abe Simpson said 9:58PM on 8-21-2008
I avoided any qualitative description by saying I've retro-graded to XP.
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George said 9:49PM on 8-23-2008
Yeah, this is pretty bogus. And to all of those who spout the slow business adoption...http://www.betanews.com/article/Windows_XP_Adoption_Rates_Slow/1118943913
That article was posted in Jun of 2005. At that time, there was still a 48% usage rate of Windows 2000. FOUR years after XP was released. Vista's just fine.
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YpoCaramel said 12:40PM on 8-24-2008
Assuming its true, about 60% upgraded. That's fine, Vista is still growing.
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Paul Norton said 8:44PM on 9-11-2008
I agree. Microsoft has come out with another Windows Me. I have been ordering Dell PC's and am charged an additional $99 to downgrade to XP Pro. We are doing business out here not playing MP3's. I hope Microsoft learns from this but it's doubtful.
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Racetrack_Owner said 7:22PM on 9-18-2008
We gave Vista a year to shake out the serious issues, then we upgraded most of our machines, and we're all very happy with it. XP already feels "old" when I have to go back to it. Not as outdated as 2000 did compared to XP, but I still find myself being surprised at much I miss little Vista features.
My only real complaint is the lack of drivers for older hardware. I'd love to update the various little utility computers around the house, the MP3 server, the infrared/AV controller, etc.
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