View Full Version : Want to try Vista Beta...Here is some info and tips...
MaxRat
06-26-2006, 10:46 PM
Welcome to Vista...
For those of you curious to what Vista brings I'll try to fill you in a bit. I have been playing with it for about 3 weeks now. First off, I will list the two computers I have installed vista on.
1st rig...Abit AV8 / A64-3000-venice-939 / 2x512 PDP-xblk / 80gb-ata-100hd / 16x's dvd-writer / fx5700ultra
2nd rig..Biostar M7VITpro / 2400-Athlon-xp / 768mb ram / 40gb-ata-100 / 8x's dvd-writer/ geforce2-mx-400
Now for starters, when I got my copy I downloaded it straight from MS. This took me about 4 hours with a 3.0mb DSL connection but, I downloaded the 32bit and 64bit at the same time. You can also order the beta 2 copy from MS for about $10.00 or wait for RC-1.
On each copy of Vista (test versions) you are allowed to install in on 10 pc's with the product key they give you and, activation is good until June, 2007 with all test copies.
Now, this download requires the use of a dvd-writer to burn the ISO to. The versions come as a 4.01gb (64bit) and 3.12gb (32bit) download size. This was very easy to do, I downloaded the versions and when done I burn the ISO with Nero-Express. This will create a bootable copy on its own with no further work involved.
Before you load Vista, Make sure you memtest your rig at stock setting and load it from stock settings. Vista seems to be very picky about ram timmings at the moment. Also as with any new OS, If you're into overclocking you may have to back it down to remain stable. I have seen many who can run 300fsb and others who couldnt get close. On my personal experience... I just built the AV8 and it memtested fine at 220x9 but, would not load or would not boot once loaded at theat speed even with more voltage all around... I can boot at 210x9 easily
Lets load Vista...I booted from the dvd and was greeted by an options screen with a list of options to load Vista...I chose the fresh install option...(the upgrade option is disabled by default in beta-2). After selecting the option the pc loaded files to ram then restarted. Once restarted windows loaded and began copying files. This didnt take much time at all and then proceeded to extract the files and then installed them..All in all it took one hour to full install Vista.
Once installed I was prompted to put in the product key and then a prompt for activation once online and another for automatic updates. I will tell you if you do the install from fresh make sure the time/date is current in bios before you start the install or if it rolls past the 14 day activation period once Vista boots for the first time it will not activate...That was the 1st bug I found...I had to start over with another fresh install...
Once Vista loads for the 1st time you are greeted by the welcome center with the new improved look. I noticed for the test version you have alot of options but with limited choices. On the AV8 Aero was enabled by default (this is the transparent look to the open windows). I also imediately noticed the side-bar that comes with Vista is a nice feature.
The thing I liked most right off the bat was not having to load all the needed drivers normaly needing to be loaded after the Install...They were already loaded during the install of the OS. Everything worked fine from the video card down to the internet connection...It was all plug and play. A few things need to be done before we get started loading programs. 1st we need to disable UAP (user account protection) via "msconfig" and then prevent Vista from requiring signed drivers. We must do this to load a program or Vista will not allow you to install it.. And it is done like this...
to prevent vista from requiring signed drivers:
1. launch BCDedit:
customize the start menu and enable the run command (like above)
in the run command box, type "cmd"
2. Execute the following command to disable driver signature checks:
bcdedit –set nointegritychecks ON OR
bcdedit /set nointegritychecks ON
EDIT: If anyone out there is trying to disable driver signing and its not working try replacing the -set with /set, -set didn't alway's work but /set seems to.
3. Reboot the computer
Now you should be ready for some programs... I will tell you about some of my experiences here...AVG-anti-virus would not install...I got a pop-up saying there was a known compatability issue and instalation would terminate...and it did... However, Avast would install and runs fine in Vista.. One thing nice is Vista has a sort of auto compatability mode that will change setting automatically to run a program say, under windows xp environment...
Now after messing around I found some nice features for the new Vista. One I found was in the control panel...Performance and ratings. I here you can check the condition of you OS and see how it's running and steps to take to improve its performance... Right away I was greeted with three things that were slowing down vista's performance. These were Avast (start-up and shut-down) and the Nvidia video card driver (start-up). After a scroll down you get a performance score...mine was 3.5. I have noticed the bigger the score the better, and it seems to heavily rely on CPU speed and HD space and then on to ram and video interface.
There is also a reliabilty monitor you can use after your pc has been up and running a minimum of 24-hours. This tells you what drivers/programs and updates were installed and if they were sucessfully installed or not and what problem it may cause. There seems to be alot of nice built in trouble shooters to help you get the most out of you pc. This sure helps to take the guess work out.
Also I had to activate my copy manually and the only place to fine the link was in the control panel-system...at the bottom of the page. Once activated you get the genuine label to replace the button...
Visuals are nice, especially with the Aero feature. You can change the intensity of the color and clearness. Although its not completely clear it is sorta see thru or apears to be.
The biggest feature I like is Internet Explorer 7. It is tabbed so you can view multiple sites in one window...but to operate the 3D-switching you need to have multiple windows open (windows key + tab). I also liked Media Player 11, although there seems to be some bugs in it. For one it rips cd slower then XP with MP-10 also the sound is glitchy when playing music and seems to happen more often under high cpu usage or sites with flashy pictures... Alot of people have this problem, myself included but not as bad as others.
Another part I liked was the networking capabilities in Vista...It automaticaly senced other pc's plugged into my router and prompted me if I wanted to share music files from other pc's. I also clicked the Network button from the start menu and it took about 10 seconds and it listed all the pc's plugged in to the router and networked them all... Easy as pie
The only issues I have really encountered are that I can't watch snapshots in Media Center and the sound issue other than that I really havent had any at all... I do notice the Vista seems to favor a Via chipset at the moment as people with Nvidia chipsets seem to have alot more issues from what I have read...
So far this has been a real fun OS to play with and I can wait to see the final release of it. Right now just from a fresh install I was at 8gb of HD space but RC-1 promises quite abit less as they are taking the most of the drivers out of the install and letting you get them via windows update...
I will try to list some sites that have some good info and tweaks available for you to also try...
One thing I should also add is at the current time there is no SLI support or Raid support so you'll be out of luck at the current time...
http://www.tweakvista.com/
www.nvidia.com
www.planetAMD64.com
I will try to answer any questions you have or anyone can feel free to add any info they have regarding there experience using Vista...Thank you
Panama Red
06-26-2006, 11:06 PM
Avast AV will run on Vista. And ATI has new drivers you can download. Both worked on my Beta 1. Haven't loaded my Beta 2 yet. Running mine on a Pent D 950, X800GTO/16, 2Gb of XMS DDR2667 on an Asus P5WD2 Prem. Vista really likes it!
Redo40
06-26-2006, 11:46 PM
I have it installed on a P4 1.6 Ghz with 1.5 Mb of ram and the only 2 real problems I have are with IE 7, it seems really slow and tops my cpu to 100%. It doesn't do this all the time, just occasionally. My other problem is with WMP 11, some videos run in slow motion, while others seem to be in fast forward. Overall I like the looks and feel of it.
Statica
06-26-2006, 11:47 PM
Nvidia has beta drivers as well.
MaxRat
06-27-2006, 06:55 AM
I havent noticed either of the issues you mention...The only issue I get the MP-11 is the sound glitch
IE-7 runs pretty fast for me...I havent had even 1 issue with it yet...although I do have Defender turned Off and the Anti-phishing as well as the pop-up blocker...you may try that...
Spearball
06-27-2006, 10:02 AM
Even though we are seeing all these problems and glitches right now, they wont stay forever. I've had problems myself but its just a test version to see what people think of it and stuff. Im sure when the real copy comes out most of the problems will be fixed and tweaked like they did for windows xp when it first arrived. I really can't wait for it to appear in store!:D
MaxRat
06-28-2006, 08:08 PM
Seems to work fine in IE_7....
Do you think it would help if I copied and pasted to a new thread for the people who cant access this thread...?
There is potential for alot more information that could be helpfull to people...thanks..
kev7555
06-28-2006, 08:28 PM
I'm running the 32 bit version on an AMD Sempron 2600+, 512 RAM, 120 GB drive and VIA chipset. After a few post-install glitches it seems to be running quite nicely today. Yes, Avast works well with it. Amazing how many of us have tried to load AVG without success and immediately gone to Avast. I guess some things are universal.
I like the IE 7 as well. Seems very fast on this system.
-Kev
Statica
06-30-2006, 04:21 PM
*bump* works fine on IE now.
MaxRat
06-30-2006, 06:09 PM
Statica.....
Thank you...Oh and by the way.... in the other thread pertaining to this one....I didnt mean to sound like I was giving a hard time or anything...I was merely being funny to the thread not working after I actualy did something....
A big thanks to all the PcMech'rs for a great place to be.....
Statica
06-30-2006, 07:55 PM
Stickied it for now
Mac Medic
07-01-2006, 07:19 AM
Very good article, but one question, why disable UAP?
MaxRat
07-01-2006, 11:56 AM
Why Disable UAP...
Because under Vista... the way it's set up you are NOT the administrstor...It does a sub-account so to speak for security... if you try to change something it wont let you hence "User Account Protection"....It's anice security feature that is supposed to help...but we'll see..
WOW...my 1st sticky.....
I'll see if I can find that link and post some more stuff....
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1974451,00.asp
(flash Vista tour)
http://www.vista-clarity.com/index.php?page_id=13
(more Vista drivers)
http://www.seewindowsvista.com/
(another flash tour)
http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...PA101_WH06.ppt
(powerpoint presentation)
Security Advances
Windows Vista introduces an improved security model that reduces a system's vulnerability to attack while still empowering applications. In particular, it makes the new User Account Protection (UAP) the default user account, and provides an easy-to-use temporary-privilege elevation model. As a result, malware installations are reduced and more OS functionality is made safely available to non-administrators. Security is further strengthened with a trust-based validation system through Mandatory Integrity Control, and Windows Resource Protection (the follow-on to Windows File Protection) guarantees a stable, read-only view of a running operating system.
Basically it says...The UAP takes the place as administrator... here is the liknk to the whole page...
http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/prodinfo/what/about/default.aspx
cadlewv
07-01-2006, 08:57 PM
I'll tell you what I really, really like... the parental controls. You can block out certain hours that can't be used, or allow only certain hours to be used. You can also block websites based on content, rating, see the top 10 sites your child (or whoever) visits, and even the top 10 sites they 'try' to visit but aren't allowed. Several options.
Overall, I am very please, and excited about vista so far.
Mac Medic
07-02-2006, 06:47 AM
Why Disable UAP...
Because under Vista... the way it's set up you are NOT the administrstor...It does a sub-account so to speak for security... if you try to change something it wont let you hence "User Account Protection"....It's anice security feature that is supposed to help...but we'll see..
WOW...my 1st sticky.....
I'll see if I can find that link and post some more stuff....
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1974451,00.asp
(flash Vista tour)
http://www.vista-clarity.com/index.php?page_id=13
(more Vista drivers)
http://www.seewindowsvista.com/
(another flash tour)
http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...PA101_WH06.ppt
(powerpoint presentation)
Security Advances
Windows Vista introduces an improved security model that reduces a system's vulnerability to attack while still empowering applications. In particular, it makes the new User Account Protection (UAP) the default user account, and provides an easy-to-use temporary-privilege elevation model. As a result, malware installations are reduced and more OS functionality is made safely available to non-administrators. Security is further strengthened with a trust-based validation system through Mandatory Integrity Control, and Windows Resource Protection (the follow-on to Windows File Protection) guarantees a stable, read-only view of a running operating system.
Basically it says...The UAP takes the place as administrator... here is the liknk to the whole page...
http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/prodinfo/what/about/default.aspx
I know what UAP is, so again i'll ask, why disable it?!?!?!..... Luckily it will be enabled by default and hopefully most average users wont turn it off. Those who do will be quite irresponsible. Most people seem to forget that if they get infected they not only harm themselves they also have the potential of harming thousands of others by spreading whatever it is they have to everybody in their address book, sent mail folder etc... UAP is designed to help prevent this and IMO it's extremely poor advice to recommend people turn it off. Not so much the people who use this site as they are generally a lot more security conscious than the average user but a blanket recommendation to disable the feature is dangerous.
MaxRat
07-02-2006, 08:12 AM
I know what UAP is, so again i'll ask, why disable it?!?!?!..... Luckily it will be enabled by default and hopefully most average users wont turn it off. Those who do will be quite irresponsible. Most people seem to forget that if they get infected they not only harm themselves they also have the potential of harming thousands of others by spreading whatever it is they have to everybody in their address book, sent mail folder etc... UAP is designed to help prevent this and IMO it's extremely poor advice to recommend people turn it off. Not so much the people who use this site as they are generally a lot more security conscious than the average user but a blanket recommendation to disable the feature is dangerous.
Not really....
As for the Beta you have to disable "driver signing" to get some programs to work.... and the only way to disable "driver signing" on some Vista installs is to disable UAP....Other wise if it's enabled you get a nice error...go ahead try it...
Edit...I only recomended turning off UAP for the people who want to try Vista-Beta and want to install programs that wont work with driver signing enabled...I agree that turning off UAP on the final release version would not be a good Idea...It totally defeats the security feature it was designed to be....
Mac Medic
07-02-2006, 08:16 AM
Nah, I doubt i'll ever get vista. I've already sold all of my XP licenses as I never used them, the only one I have now is my 2000 server which has been rock solid for years, although I never touch it and that maybe why... Will you disable UAP in the final version of Vista assuming it works as advertised?
MaxRat
07-02-2006, 08:20 AM
Will you disable UAP in the final version of Vista assuming it works as advertised?
Not unless I have to...to get a program installed then I'll turn it back on after the install...
I have Vista on my wifes rig and I have yet to disable UAP or driver signing...Because everything I have installed worked or it told me it was incompatable with Vista...so it hasnr been needed yet...
But also if it's incompatable with Vista you can install a program under XP compatability...
MaxRat
07-17-2006, 11:02 AM
MS to release a new Vista build in a few days....
I also see here...That if you activated your copy before june 30th you'll get RC-1...I dont know how true that is...because I was told you'll only get it if you bought a copy of beta 2 from MS....so we'll see...
Adding another Vista resource site..
www.pro-networks.org
alot of vista info there plus a whole forum for it with almost all questions already answered...
kev7555
08-18-2006, 12:38 AM
UAP is not a universal solution to infections. It simply protects the idiots from themselves.
For those of us who keep a close watch on our security and run a clean machine, UAP is unneccesary. I don't need Windows checking on me to see if I really want to start a request or process.
I, for one will disable it on all Vista machines I use.
-Kev
MaxRat
08-30-2006, 05:59 AM
Build # 55.36 was released yesterday....
And again...MS is only letting 100,000 downloads go...you use the same key as you did for beta-2
This one is only being released under 32-bit (x86)....just thought you'd like to know....
cadlewv
08-30-2006, 07:41 AM
Thanks for the heads up. Downloading it now. It appears that it will let you install it as an upgrade from Beta 2. Might try that, if only to see how well it works.
MaxRat
08-30-2006, 12:45 PM
Also...
If you need to disable "driver signing" to use programs....
You hit F8 during windows boot up....
MaxRat
09-08-2006, 04:18 PM
Vista RC1-5600 was out yesterday to the general public....
uses the same key code and is good til May-2007...both x86 and x64 are out this time...
Panama Red
09-08-2006, 09:33 PM
Thanx, MaxRat. Got it.
Moggy6
09-18-2006, 03:23 PM
Installed RC1 build 5600 and seems great, only problems I find is some programs won't install Avast Updates is disabled but can be updated from main program, Divx Player just won't play, Nero 7 won't install and Media Player won't play some D/l video but sound is OK.
Regards john
mairving
09-28-2006, 10:12 PM
RC1 seems so far to be a lot more stable than B2. A couple of things that I noticed.
-Installed from DVD over a basic build of XP. It wouldn't upgrade but it didn't seem to give me an option to format the drive. There was an option to move the existing files to a new directory. Installed much more quicker than before and after 150Mb or so of updates, I installed MS Office Pro complete. When I looked in My Computer it said that I had 52.2GB remaining of 74.4GB on a 80GB hard drive. So about 22GB! Only about 6GB was from the previous install. Basicaly it moved Program Files, Documents and Settings and Windows directories over.
-Noticed that by default the defragmenter runs every night.
-Some wierdness in RDP connections. When I tried to connect with it to a Windows 2003 Server, it warned me that it was not a Vista RDP and tried to talk me out of connecting. When I connected I had no option to enter the domain other than the @ .
-Eye candy is pretty nice. The desktop images are quite nice.
-Some nice new games, Ink Drop and Maijong.
MaxRat
09-29-2006, 06:37 AM
Thanks for posting the info...
there are still many bugs in the RC1 but it seems better than before...still seems chipset oriented but not sure...seems like different people get different result...not consistant at all..
5728 came out a week ago... And the warning is that it may not be as stable as RC1...but it sure seems and feels like it...
The intergrated graphics drivers are alot more refined and newer and quicker than the ones posted on the manufactures sites...
I also zero fill the drive and then do a fresh install of Vista...The upgrade doesnt seem to work as well as it should...
I have also noticed about installing over the top seems to just use alot more space...This is why I just started zero filling it...more time but best bet for me...
rjfvillarosa
09-29-2006, 05:36 PM
I have just installed RC1 on an old faulty harddrive that I had lying about; it is installed on my Toshiba laptop running on a P4 3.2 HT and a gig of ram. First impressions are good apart from a couple of little niggles, it seems to be running a little slow (that could be the bad harddrive), the eye candy is almost as nasty as my first impressions of XP, even my wife (totally not computer interested) says the icons look like preschool stuff.
I was disapointed that AVG7 doesn't work properly, it installed and updated but some of the options in the control center were not working, I have now installed Avast.
I have had to download the ATI Mobility Radeon drivers from ATI and I was surprised to see that the download file was 74.6mb.
I can see both sides of the UAP argument and for old hands like us, being prompted everytime we want to do something is a little annoying, but, for the less malware savvy out there it looks like a good feature.
Setup was a "walk in the park" it was so easy, everything was installed and only my video drivers needed updating, networking and sound both worked straight off the bat so that was good.
Again, first impressions are positive lets see what happens as we go, I am that happy with it, one of my suppliers has a 100gig notebook harddrive on offer at the moment and I am tempted to buy one just for Vista, I can't install it on my main machine as all my business software and files are on there, and my loaner is out on loan. :o
rjfvillarosa
10-01-2006, 12:55 PM
I have had to download the ATI Mobility Radeon drivers from ATI and I was surprised to see that the download file was 74.6mb.
A quick update: the ATI control center almost crashed Vista and I had to go as far as a format and reinstall, the control center could not be uninstalled in any way at all and was causing so much trouble hence the reinstall. I have downloaded the ATI Radeon mobilty 9600/9700 drivers again and they do not work at all.
I am finding Avast almost as intrusive and annoying as Norton but I am going to play with that over the next few days to see if I can improve things.
Despite a few minor glitches I really like it and I think non computer savvy users will benefit from a lot of the features, it is certainly very user friendly and easy to use.
MaxRat
10-01-2006, 01:55 PM
the drivers preloaded in 5728 seem to work rather well and they are newer than the ones posted on the site...;)
spartan015
10-01-2006, 02:23 PM
i installed this on a 20gb with my amd xp 2500, 1.5gb of ram, geforce 6200 so i could recover data from my 80gb hard drive. this was the neat thing about vista (tho laggy, it put quite a system strain on my amd, even tho it was running at 2.4ghz, then dropped down to 2.01) was that i could open up windows xp user files that were locked to me. i never did figure out how to open files that are in the user accounts. so i thought i lost like 30gb of data, in the end i didn't lose any data, i just opened up the folder, the annoying part was the constant clicking and wanting to open the file, every single file, doc, etc. had to get permission to look at file.
so hopefully this should run fine on the new comp. i got the dvd btw, when b2 was out, so my rc1 comes in soon for free. its in a nice package and it comes with both versions, 32 bit and 64 bit.
MaxRat
10-01-2006, 05:56 PM
Just keep checking MS..If you got Beta2 then you can get all the public releases...Just check for updates....
I have it installed on a Via based XP-2400 (133) with 768mb of ram and suprisingly it run pretty fast... I dont notice any lag but it does take a little longer to get to the desk top...
The more I use it the more I like it....
MaxRat
10-07-2006, 08:59 PM
Okay....
For all of you following this....here is Vista RC2....
http://download.windowsvista.com/preview/rc2/en/download.htm
get it while you can...both 32 and 64 bit versions....
Seems we can expect the full version anywhere from November 18th till December somewhere...
whubbard
10-08-2006, 01:10 AM
Thanks for the link...two questions.
1) To activate should I just use my RC1 product number?
2) How did you find this link, the website is still only advertising RC1?
MaxRat
10-08-2006, 06:18 AM
1)....yes....
2)....Magic....
I get email notifacation....;)
comp615
10-16-2006, 04:33 PM
RC2 link isn't working for me. Just takes me to the vista homepage...also, any word on getting this to work with RAID? I think I saw somewhere a guy who had gotten it going using the Intel Matrix XP drivers
RC2 is no longer available for public download, you are too late.
comp615
10-16-2006, 06:08 PM
IS RC2 that much better then RC1? I could prolly find ways to download it if it's worth it ;)
MaxRat
10-16-2006, 08:09 PM
it's changed alot....
To do raid you have to start the install under XP and supply the raid drivers that way...
Mac Medic
10-19-2006, 07:36 PM
I'm not sure if I can post this here so I'll ask first. I am currently rendering a video of a Vista Installation that I will post on youtube if anyone is interested in seeing the install process. It's 33 minutes of boring with a little zooming and panning to try and alleviate the tedium a little. If you're interested let me know, and if I should start a new thread please tell me also.
MaxRat
10-19-2006, 09:07 PM
I wouldnt see why you couldnt post it in here...
As long as it's per forum rules I'd personally love to have it here...
Just make sure you say which version of Vista you are filming the install for...some versions install a little different...;)
Thanks...
Mac Medic
10-20-2006, 09:09 AM
The version is shown in the video, I zoom in on it. Due to youtube's 10 minute length restriction I had to trim it down to 9.57, still extremely boring though. One nice thing is that I had activity monitor running at the same time so that I could see real-time resources used by Vista.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iW-2swPtJU
MaxRat
10-20-2006, 10:39 AM
I dont know if it's just me...but it's blury and cant see it too well...?
got res at 1024x768...I try different and see again...nope..bury on any setting....
But it's nice other than that..;)
Mac Medic
10-20-2006, 11:52 AM
I just made 4 more that i'll upload to youtube. Unfortunately they re-render them at a much lower quality than the original. The original is 1280x800 and looks great!.
Mac Medic
10-20-2006, 12:12 PM
These, I think, are a lot better. It's the entire process split into 4 parts. I zoom in more on Vista so you get a little better idea of whats going on. Activity monitor tells the tale well, over 600mb ram used during the install process! Get gobs of memory before running Vista.
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcVGyk4cXbI
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLC6224lGDE
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY_nzvFQbcs
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMmn81E04p8
May need a few minutes for these to become available.
I did a scan to see if my PC was ready and the only issue was with my RADEON 9200 PRO : the graphics chipset make and model ; DirectX 9 Capable Card (ID: -26) With 64MB memory .:confused:
MaxRat
11-28-2006, 06:52 AM
Yep Vista like cards with 256mb of ram...
But you can run Vista with that card you just wont be able to use Aero with out the hack...
If you want to try it on a old box that has that card...by all means do so...I have it installed on a old 2400 Socket A with a GeForce 2 MX-400 card and it works fine...;)
MaxRat
01-02-2007, 09:29 AM
Update....
For those of you still maybe following this thread....I have gotten the new RTM (build 6000) and have been playing with it and have found some subtle differences...
1st of all...all versions come on one DVD...x32, x62 and from basic to ultimate all on one 4.4gig dvd...
You can upgrade from within XP if you choose...once you put the dvd in you get a screen asking you to choose between x32 and x64....
I suggest if you upgrade hit the link down lower and read "What you should know before upgrading" there maybe things that pertain to you before you upgrade...
I decided to just do a fresh install from a partition on my hard drive...I booted to the DVD and got a black dos screen with which to choose between x32 and x64...I hit the x32 and proceeded...
In the next set of options you will be asked for your product key.... If you supply your key you will be promted to install the version you bought....Now if you leave the key blank (yes blank) it will use a default key and you will be prompted to choose which version to install...
Now you think...I'll just leave the key blank and install the version I want and all will be fine...yes and no.... yes you can install without a key but it acts like a 3day trial and after that you get the fun of installing the Right version with the supplied key or buying a new key from MS for the version you loaded.... so it's best to use your key and select the corrct version and the install...
Now the install is much faster than previous versions...I installed in 10mn or less to a fully loaded desktop....windows update kicked in before anything and loaded any drivers that werent in the install pack... I had to do nothing after the install to get it going...
Now as I sit here from Vista I can tell you it feels much snapier than previous versions...with 2gigs of ram I am only at 19% usage compared to other versions where I spent alot of time over 30%...It is a resource hog out of the box with 44 processes running out of the box...also it doesnt take long to fill a drive with info...I loaded up IE and Media Player and added Avast and I started add up the space....I loaded 7gig of music to MP-11 and suddenly I have over 20gig of space used...so between those it's larger than we are used to but...
There are alot of nice features with Vista...to many to list and the Icons are alot nice looking...The eye candy is very nice and Aero works like it should...
So far I havent had any problems with what I have had to throw at it....
The way I have it set up is as a dual boot...I have 2 hard drives in my PC...a 120gig that just has XPpro64 on it then I added another drive I loaded XPpro32 on half and loaded Vista-32 on the other half...while I installled the 2 OS's I unhooked the xp64 drive....then after Vista I re-hooked up the drive...so I only got a dual boot on xp32 and Vista32...
The only things so far i dont like is Media Player11 has sound oscillation....even with auto leveling on...(sound goes up/down slightly) I think a better driver may change this... will try later....
Now the only other thing I dont like is when you defragment your drive...Vista does all the drive connected to your pc.... it defragment both hard drives wit the other OS's on them...
I dont really care for this feature and soon as I can find a setting to change this I will.... but other than that....I am alot happier with this version over the other RC's I have tried...
So to you guys still thinking of playing...when it's released to the general public in the end of this month it seems like it's going to be alot nicer than originally planned...;)
comp615
01-02-2007, 07:49 PM
thx for the update, I also noticed the defragment thing you listed. It bugs me too. Should still have "select a drive" and then all local disks as an option. I dual-boot also and assume there might be issues with defragging the XP drive. (they defrag each other back and forth)
MaxRat
01-03-2007, 11:24 AM
you can open command promt and type defrag.exe and get advanced options....but I haven done it yet...it's on the help link while defraging....;)
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