As the motherboard on my old self-built PC was failing at regular intervals decided that it was time was ripe to replace it with a completely new system.

Having eagerly awaited November’s PCW, I immediately ordered a shiny new Mesh that was your Best Buy. When it arrived, all I had to do was switch my old files and programmes across from my old XP machine and reap the benefits of the Vista based system - or so I thought.

OK, so I knew that I would have to learn the new Vista way of doing things. I could live with that; it just takes a little bit longer to get familiar with it. I was also pleased to see it recognise my peripherals immediately, especially my old Epson printer. I was becoming impressed. However, then the shine started to wear off.

I first tried to synchronise the clock with internet time, which didn't work. Next I put the computer into sleep mode. It would reactivate on a touch of the wireless mouse, but then lock up. Only a hard reboot would get me running again. A search on the internet provided no solutions, so my PC now stays on all the time.

Then I decided to play some music on my fancy new 5.1 surround sound system. Great, except that the rear speakers wouldn't function. They work fine in the Control Panel test, but not with any application (e.g. Windows Media Player, iTunes or Real Player). Another search on the internet showed that this seemed to be a common problem with no apparent solution until Microsoft sorts out the drivers.

I am sure I will find other issues as I progress, but while I quite like some of the Vista features, it would have been nice to be forewarned of the key problems. PCW has done some great articles on getting the best out of Vista, but nowhere can I find a list the main bugs that await resolution by Microsoft.

Can you help?

Mike Dunne