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Moving data from XP to Vista should go well

By BILL HUSTED

Cox News Service

November 25, 2007

Q:  I have a laptop computer with Windows XP and plan to buy a new desktop computer with Vista. I use the laptop when I travel and then transfer the files to my desktop when I am at home. Will I have any problems using files created or updated under XP and then transferred to the Vista machine, or vice versa?

—  P.D. Hughey

A:  No one can promise you a completely smooth ride with any operating system. However, I have computers running both Windows XP and Windows Vista at home. I have yet to have the first problem moving data and opening files, no matter which computer created them.

I use fairly standard programs at home, including Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop and the like. I suspect there are some less popular programs that may present problems, but even in questions from readers I haven't heard many squawks about moving files between Windows versions. The main complaint I hear is that some devices such as printers and scanners — especially those that are more than two years old — don't work properly or at all with Vista. In these cases, the manufacturer hasn't made the Vista driver — a small software program that serves as an interface between the computer and the device — available.

Q:  My question concerns whether or not I was duped when I bought my new computer. The store offered for $130 to get all the quirks out of Vista for me so it would run perfectly when I got home. Does Vista still have so many "issues" that this was a good idea? I'm just curious.

—  Kara Bryant

A:  I think it's a waste of money. Any real problems — assuming the software already had been installed — would come later when you had the computer at home and were installing your own programs and adding on devices such as printers. Even then, I wouldn't expect to see many problems.

If the problems stemmed from a lack of drivers for peripheral devices, as mentioned in the question above, the store couldn't solve that anyway.

Please send your questions to Bill Husted at bhusted@ajc.com. While he reads every e-mail, not all are answered. E-mails are selected for publication based on the likelihood that the answers will be of general interest.