I just sent the following message via the normal Microsoft online support channel under the subject "Exchange Vista for XP Media Edition". It will be interesting to see when/how/if they respond. Hello, Support person. Please escalate this to management as you will not be able to authorize my request. I am not able to use my new computer efficiently on my simple home network. See the following thread on your TechNet forum for details. http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=1175590&SiteID=17 Management should read all 6 pages of posts. Why was this not tested and resolved before product release? Based on Microsoft online help and the above noted forum I can now access my XP desktop from the new Vista laptop. I cannot however access the Vista machine from my XP machine even though it appears as part of the workgroup. Even disabling all security and enabling full access to "Everyone", I get a message indicating that access is denied... contact system admin, etc." when I try to access the Vista machine. Even the "Public" folders are not shown as available. Using my old XP laptop (before it was stolen) networking was "plug and play". With Vista it is a nightmare that has cost me many hours and much frustration. I spent most of my working life as a software developer, so I'm at least somewhat proficient in dealing with matters such as this. I can't imagine how a typical home user deals with it... beyond paying someone to help them. As the forum posts show, even that may not result in a resolution. This is simply not acceptable. Then there is the matter of using an external monitor. Every time I restart Vista, I have to go through this... even though the external monitor shows a blank extended desktop at startup. 1) right click primary desktop and choose personalize2) click on "Connect to a projector or other external display"3) click on "Connect Display"4) on the "New Display Detected" click on "Display Settings" in the comment "To select different settings, go to 'Display Settings' in Control Panel" At this point you may wonder why I wouldn't go directly to Control Panel and click "Display Settings". As you are probably well aware, there is no "Display Settings" option listed in the Control Panel window. 5) Orient the two screens to match my physical setup and click "Apply" My XP laptop remembered all of that after I set it up once. The Vista laptop has to be shown again every time I reboot. "Use the Quick Restart option" you might say. That works in that Vista remembers the external monitor setup. However it loses the mouse cursor. The cursor either becomes invisible, or if visible, it won't move to the extended desktop. This never happened when I used the "Suspend" option on my old XP laptop. Please tell me how much it will cost to exchange my Vista license for an XP Media Edition license, including software that will wipe Vista from my computer and replace it with XP ME. According to the forum, reformatting the hard drive and installing XP is somehow blocked by Vista. Plus I don't think it is fair that I should pay full retail for XP, having already paid for Vista as part of my new computer. Since I am in Mexico, the shipment must be via trackable courier since the mail service is unreliable. Please include the cost of shipping. Please don't tell me to contact HP (my computer mfr.). They are as confused and frustrated by Vista as I am. As far as I'm concerned they are victims of the marketing machine that foisted a non-functional system on the OEMs. I am however sending copy of this correspondence to HP so that they will be aware of the situation. My email address isxxxxxxxxxxxx Thank you for your consideration. I await your response. Sincerely, xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Microsoft responded promptly (within 24 hours) advising me that since I was in Mexco, I should contact the support office here since there are system differences due to localization. I responded as follows. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am a US citizen who spends part of the year in Mexico. My computerwas purchased in the US and the localization is US. Please proceedappropriately. Since I will be in Mexico until next April, the XPMedia Edition conversion should be sent to my address here. I willprovide shipping details as soon as you advise me as to the cost.Thank you. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I will let you know what happens next. --- Unhappy Vista User

Microsoft again responded promptly (within 24 hours). I was told that I need to contact the "Sales and Information & Licensing Team" for more information on a "downgrade". A toll free phone number (for those in the US) was provided. I willcall tomorrowusing Skype to avoid a big phone bill. I will let you know what I learn about the downgrade process. Looking forward to being downgraded...Steve

Hi, We are sorry to hear this issue. Recently, we started to take part in and to provide technical suggestions in the Windows Vista forums to help our customer better use Windows Vista. Also we will try our best to provide assistance in as more threads as possible. We have checked the issue carefully and discussed this issue with several engineers of different technical specialties, we would like to share the following information for his reference. Regarding the share access issue: Some features of Network Sharing change in Windows Vista to provide improved reliability and security, while addressing a number of well-known problems and limitations in previous version of Windows. Some differences in file and printer sharing in Windows Vista are the following: The default workgroup name in Windows Vista has been changed to WORKGROUP. In Windows XP Home Edition, the default workgroup name is MSHOME. If you upgrade a computer running Windows XP Home Edition to Windows Vista, it will keep its existing workgroup name. However, new computers with Windows Vista can have a different workgroup name than the other computers on your network. With different workgroups, it takes more time and effort to view all of the computers on the network. Windows Vista uses the Public folder, rather than the Shared Documents folder in Windows XP, to simplify file sharing. With Public folder sharing enabled, the public folders and all of the folders within the Public folder are automatically shared with the name Public. You do not have to configure file sharing on separate folders. You only have to either move or copy the file or folder you want to share on the network to the Public folder. Windows Vista by default does not allow simple file sharing. Access to shared folders, including the public folder (if shared), requires a user name and password. Simple file sharing is enabled by default in Windows XP Home Edition. The network location type in Windows Vista is a setting that allows Windows Vista to automatically configure security and other settings based on the type of network to which the computer is connected. The Windows Vista network location types are the following As a result, some customers may encoutner sharing issues between Windows Vista and Windows XP computers, if they are not configured correctly. Regarding to the issue that Windows XP cannot access the Windows Vista, please refer to the following suggestions: 1. Change the Network Location type in Windows Vista to private:-------------------a. Click Start, right-click Network, and then click Propertiesb. To the right of the network name and location type, click Customize.c. In the Set Network Location dialog box, click Private, and then click Next.d. In the Successfully set network settings dialog box, click Close. 2. Add the same accounts and passwords to all of the computers on your networkFor example, if you have three computers in your home and four family members that use them, add all four accounts with their passwords corresponding to your family members to all three computers. When this is done, each family member can access the shared folders of the other computers, regardless of which computer they are using. This is the recommended method, which provides protection of shared folders and prevents shared folder connection failures. 3. Disable password protected sharing When you disable password protected sharing, the computer sharing the folder does not require a user account or password. Anyone on your network can access the shared folders of the computer (provided the folder was shared for the Guest or Everyone account). This behavior is equivalent to simple file sharing in Windows XP. To disable password protected sharing, do the following: In the Sharing and Discovery section of the Network and Sharing Center window, click the down arrow next to Password protected sharing. Within the Password protected sharing settings, click Turn off password protected sharing, and then click Apply.. If the issue persists after that, please capture netmon for further research: 1. Download NetMon3.1 from the following websitehttp://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=18b1d59d-f4d8-4213-8d17-2f6dde7d7aac&DisplayLang=en 2 Log on to the Windows Vista with the local Administrator account.3 Run the Netmon MSI installer file to install Netmon3.1 on the Windows Vista machine4 To run Netmon, please right-click the Netmon icon and select Run as Administrator. 5 In the Microsoft Network Monitor 3.1 window, click Create a new capture tab.6 In the new tab, select all the Network Adapters in the Select Networks window.7 After that, press F10 to start NetMon. 8. Install and start netmon on the Windows XP machine as the steps 1. 7.9. On Windows XP, try to access the share folder on Windows Vista to reproduce the issue. 10. Once the issue occurs, back to the Netmon window and press F11 to stop the Netmon on both machines.11. Press Ctrl+S to save the information to a file. After that, please upload the files to the following space https://sftasia.one.microsoft.com/choosetransfer.aspx?key=3dbfd76a-194c-42c8-a61d-63368eeffec7 Password: EW^[WYWqvUSKL Regarding the multiple-monitor issue: It should work properly if the display adapter fully support Windows Vista and the right drivers are installed correctly. We also performed a test here, the settings can be stored correctly. As a result, I suspect that it may be caused by display adpater incompatiblity. As you know, driver is an important layer between system and hardware. On this issue, I would like to suggest that we apply the latest device drivers for the display adapter first to see if the problem can be resolved. Would you please let me know the model of the computer and its display adapter? I will be happy to help check the device/driver information. -------------------------- By the way, please understand that when a new version of operating system is released, some customers may encounter difficulties to use it because of the new features or different designed introduced by the new version of operating system. Microsoft always encourage our customers to use the newer versions of products because of their new features, and improvements in different fields. Also, Microsoft provides different support service offering to help our customers to better enjoy the new versions of our products, including Customer Service and Support (CSS), TechNet forum, and so on. So, if you encounter any futher questions when using Windows Vista, please feel free to post back here and we will be happy to help. Thanks for your understanding. Sincerely, Joson Zhou Microsoft Online Community Support