[Shop-talk] OT: Windows Vista

[Randall]

> If I get a Vista machine, can I plug the Maxtor in 
> and drag and drop the My Documents and
>   the Program Files folders (or at least the sub folders in 
> Program Files that have the apps I normally use, like Office, 
> etc) into the new Vista C drive?

You can copy the folders, but don't expect apps like MS Office to work.
There is a huge amount of stuff stored in the registry that won't be copied
over that way.

> If I pull files and applications off my Maxtor drive, am I 
> taking a chance that unwanted malicious files could also 
> hitchhike?

Yes, there is a chance of that.  Not sure how much of one, though.

FWIW, my advice would be to avoid Vista, especially on an entry-level
machine.  I know lots of folks that are so disgusted with it that they went
back to XP (even the IT department at work); and we're about ready to take
that plunge on the wife's laptop.  Even with as much of the whiz-bang
resource suckers turned off as I can figure out, it still runs like a sick
dog on a hot day.

Randall