[jbm1991]

Originally Posted by Bob Cerelli

...but don't see the same thing being there with Vista.

careful now, wouldnt want to be possibly criticising vista would we now

[Bob Cerelli]

I know. It was a bit risky to say that ;-) You might get another long PM message.

But it is the truth.

[managed]

'The truth is out there', the trick is to recognise it when you see/read/type it

[Bob Cerelli]

Yep.

[wacky.banana]

Guys,

Seems in asking for help I may have unwittingly uncovered a hornets nest on here. I never realised people were so precious about an OS and had such entrenched positions. Its a pity this thread has moved away from my original request; however its been a big eye opening moment for me as I have not been on here for quite a while.

I hope we can all accommodate each other. The simple rule I work to is if I can't offer a constructive comment or help someone I don't bother posting on a given thread. That way the risk of being "offended" becomes minimal.

Anyway back on topic: some drivers work and some don't. I have not been able to get around the central issue that I started off with, ie to force install a driver I am happy with. I have spent some time looking at Vista policies but nothing jumps out.

So where do I go from here? Well, first, I am going to strip Vista out of my system and go back to XP. Next, I am going to build a small dedicated box outside of my system where I can do some further test and learn. From that I will then make a reasoned judgement as to whether to become an adopter or not.

I am still staggered by the level of resources required to run Vista, compared to, say, a Linux system. However I don't want to kick off another argument on here.

To all who have offered positive comments of help, thank you very much indeed, very much appreciated. For now its back to some heavy reading and research especially on the issue I first came here with.

WB

[jbm1991]

did you try using the "hidden admin" account that comes with vista? ive forgotten how to get it to come up now but im sure a quick google search will resolve that. with the hidden admin UAC is automatically turned off and it might light yet install the drivers.

[jbm1991]

an article on the hidden admin account can be found here

[Bob Cerelli]

If you search around the Internet, you will see how Vista deals with unsigned drivers. So far, as posted earlier, I have not found a solution like you was available when it first came out with Windows2000.

[jonmcc33]

Originally Posted by jbm1991

did you try using the "hidden admin" account that comes with vista? ive forgotten how to get it to come up now but im sure a quick google search will resolve that. with the hidden admin UAC is automatically turned off and it might light yet install the drivers.

It's not "hidden", it's disabled by default (unlike Windows XP) which is a good thing. You should rename it as well.

[Bob Cerelli]

Originally Posted by jbm1991

an article on the hidden admin account can be found here

Nice article. Even calls it "Enable the (Hidden) Administrator Account on Windows Vista"

[jbm1991]

Originally Posted by jonmcc33

It's not "hidden", it's disabled by default (unlike Windows XP) which is a good thing. You should rename it as well.

i didnt say it wasnt a good thing. why would i rename it? and even microsoft call it a hidden account.

[Bob Cerelli]

Exactly.

So hopefully you and I can continue to actually contribute to the forum.

Again, nice article and thanks for the post.

[jonmcc33]

Originally Posted by jbm1991

i didnt say it wasnt a good thing. why would i rename it? and even microsoft call it a hidden account.

Microsoft calls it this? Can I see some proof from a Microsoft website? Just curious.

It is good security practice to rename the account. You should actually rename and disable it so the fact that it's disabled in Windows Vista is a good thing from the start.

[jonmcc33]

Originally Posted by Bob Cerelli

Nice article. Even calls it "Enable the (Hidden) Administrator Account on Windows Vista"

Not a Microsoft website.

[jbm1991]

Originally Posted by jonmcc33

Not a Microsoft website.

well done detective, run along back to CSI now

i was implying that microsoft call it hidden on their website. i wasnt referring to that website.