Why does Windows screw up so often in so many ways?

You stated your problem yourself. McAfee. It's absolute crap, same as Norton, and the first thing a real tech does is trash it.

Another interesting thought for you. Windows Me. That OS truly seperated the gurus from the wannabes. Those people who "professed" to be techs were all complaining how crappy it was...

The really good techs, the ones that actually knew how to build computers, went "meh.. no big deal".

Any time I hear someone say "Millenium sucked" I know right away they're a wannabe, despite the number of excuses they make up.

I sold I don't know how many machines with Millenium on it and never once had an issue.

Mind you, the true techs also knew a few basic facts about Me:

1) it was picky with hardware. The trend at the time was to see how cheap one could build a computer, and most so-called "techs" were throwing together absolute garbage and scratching their heads with a stupid look on their faces when Windows crashed.

2) It was an interim OS. It was never meant to last and had limited, good hardware support. It's purpose was two fold.. Test key XP technologies before release and line Microsoft's pockets while they were at it.

Was it great? No, it wasn't.. But it did the job it was supposed to do.

For the insinuations that I'm a Microsoft PR.. *yawn* I've heard it all before. Truth is, I actually know what I'm doing, I actually know what I'm talking about and it rattles some peoples cages because they know they're going to get called on their crap.

There are MS products I can't stand. Office 2007 is one of them, as is their retardedness with the OOXML standard. I actively push Open Office as an alternative. Live One Care.. A steaming pile of crap. AVG with MBAM and Spyware Blaster completely kill it. You get the point.

My gig is that I don't take sides, I just tell it like it is.. I stick to my guns and I always try to give people the best value for their dollar... You can look for that take consistently throughout my postings.

the reason why microsoft takes so long fixing there OS's is there R&D come after it is released its a cheap way than doin testing and paying someone for it

i do balive the only testing and such ever done before it hits the shelfs is with gates and his 2nd in command (now ceo),to add or take things out other than that its pretty streight foward and such

Actually that's not accurate. MS products get tested by 10's of thousands of beta testers before they hit the shelves. I was one of the people that beta tested Vista and Windows Home Server, for instance.

Did the Beta testers for Vista warn Gates it was seriously flawed? Or at least that's what I always heard from everyone I knew that used it. Me and XP Pro are the only ones I have any experience with. Tech people kept telling me half the problems I was having with my old machine stemmed from flaws built into Me, the other half from Norton. A few said it was the Gateway Essential 700 itself that had the problem. All I know is when I got the Dell with XP on it, I had very few problems until recently. I got McAfee and a lot of troubles began. So I think that adweston is certainly right about that. But, I can't help but wonder what part XP plays in the problems as well.
At any rate, I still think that it wouldn't hurt for Microsoft to look into the idea of creating a fresh code. Anything that's been around awhile can usually use some improving in one way or another.
Is Spyware Blaster really better than Spybot? Lately, I've heard that a lot.

actually as far as i know the beta was better than when it came out cuz it had all its drivers and such

but then they nerfed it before launched

I think that the notion that Vista was "seriously flawed" when introduced is an urban legend. I got my Vista Ultimate as an OEM installation, only five months after its introduction, on a modestly priced Dell desktop. After I cleared all the crap that came with it (Symantec Security, Office trialware, some games), I installed my own Security suite, Open Office, a higher version of MS Works I already had and my system went on without a glitch or any failure of any kind for over a year. It took SP2 to achieve that level of stability in XP.

The first problem, now resolved had to do with the inability to install SP1. This proved to be due to incompatibility of some drivers, which I blame on Dell since they are the ones that put the box together. You cannot expect an OS designer to make the program compatible with a zillion different devices people plug into their computers.

As to a "problem between a chair and the keyboard" it happens more than most of us realize. I know, I had been one in the past, and will probably be one in the future. There is no shame in learning from your mistakes. That is why forums such as this are priceless locations for learning. If you have a problem, state clearly what it is, and ask how to fix it. The when somebody tells you to do "this" instead of "that", and "this" works, thank for the advice and close the thread. Open a new thread to pontificate on the state of the software industry.

this is a different thread from the one where I detailed my problem with the missing files, System Restore, and the hard disk. I'd never put all that in one thread. And I always thank anyone who offers help as my Grandmother raised me right. On this thread I simply wanted to know what the deal is with all the glitches in Microsoft products.
"The problem is between the keyboard and the chair" is most insulting. I do what the instructions on the software or whatever it is says to do. I'm very careful about what I download. When I eat macaroni and cheese in order to afford the "better" product, I expect to it work as advertised.

And no, I don't expect a software engineer to plan for each and every one of the devices people hook up to their computers. One CD\DVD burner is all I have hooked up to mine.

It seems some tech folks like Vista, many don't. That's fair, but let's not insult the people who want to know what's going on.