The wooden window sashes in my 1960s era home are held open by springs embedded in the sash tracks. Except when the plastic clips that hold the springs on the bottom of the sash break, and the springs retracts into the sash track, never to be seen again. I found a window supply place that sold me some of the clips, but they gave me no help in extracting the spring from its hiding place, short of removing the sashes and tracks from the window frame (major surgery). I was successful one time in hooking one spring with a piece of wire, fishing it out and replacing the plastic clip. But in repeated tries since that time on other springs, I have not been able to repeat the miracle. Does anyone have advice on fishing the window springs out of their hiding places? And what about a sturdier substitute for the plastic clips, that won't break?

I'm a first time home owner with a bit of home improvement experience from high school/college summer jobs. I'm looking to purchase/replace all the windows in the house myself and am looking for recomendations on whom/where to purchase them. I've found laundry lists of negative reviews on all the major brands, but it's hard to tell which are valid. I'm sure some of the problems are due to improper installation, some from the customer who is never satisfied, and other's being just a small anomoly for which the product may typically be great. I'm thinking about going with vinyl double/triple sliders for most the window and am looking for quality that will last at the best price. Another problem I've found is that some of the companies will only sell through a contractor and since I'm installing them myself, that's a no go. Any recomendations would be great!