The Vista Hive

[Jassi]

This question might have been answered already but here it is again. My school allows students to install OS's through MSDN Alliance. If I were to install Vista Beta over my current XP install, will I have to re-format once I have the full version (whenever MS decides to release it)? How hard will it be to turn the Beta in to the final release?

 

[The J]

I'm pretty sure that Microsoft said that you will not be able to upgrade from the beta or RC1 to the retail version.

 

[Gseip]

I don't know if this helps, but I've tested Vista professional (V2) Beta and with an LAN with 62 workstations and 5 different and distinct programs/usages--- it stinks! It's twice as hard to get into (log in twice to three times depending on the application) and has security holes I could drive an F250 thru.
Two of my 62 ws would not ever recognize Vista Beta (V2). I think because they are dell v.110.
Multiple those two by 2065 stores and I've got 4130 computerworksations to replace.
You get the point???
G

 

[stash]

and has security holes I could drive an F250 thru.

Can you clarify this comment?

 

[imported_JoJo]

maybe its just because it is beta and the're rebuilding the tcp/ip stack
and since build 5472 there is actually this new stack which has its problems but
i must say it runs a lot faster then xp does now and i am supprised to be more
happy with it while still in beta then i am with xp sp2.
especially the colors en the way it looks and the audio which is far more superior
to its predecessing xp , using 32 bit interpolation now instead of 16 bit integer.
so if u like to complain on this marvelous product , at least wait till its finished.
Or try and do better.

 

[MDofPC]

Window Vista Beta 2 Tested

We recently gave windows vista beta 2 with the latest updates a test on one of our new computer systems. Here is what we experienced...

Good:
1. Great graphics and effects
2. Internet Explorer 7
3. Increased security features
4. Ability to add memory to your system via thumb drive
5. Easier and more powerfull for the average user

Bad:
1. Takes a long time to install
2. Some windows xp programs are incompatiable
3. Slower than windows xp
4. Vista requires alot of hard drive space and memory
5. Cannot install on a machine more than 2-3 years old

Conclusion:
Windows Vista is not nearly ready for release, they need to work on vista being backwards compatiable with previous software titles. They also should create a minimum and maximum feature for installation. In short Windows Vista is not nearly ready for release!

 

[The J]

Have you guys taken a look at the Vista Scenario Voting website? What it does is ask you for feedback and ratings on your experiences doing various tasks in Vista, such as downloading file, using the search, and installing/running programs. I've submitted feedback on a few scenarios and it seems like a good way to get your ideas and feedback to Microsoft.

Check it out at http://windowsbeta.microsoft.com/vista/intro.aspx

 

[IceBreakerG]

Does anyone know when we can expect to see some decent drivers from nvidia for Vista? The ones that we do have suck pretty bad. I've been "trying" to play Madden 07 in Vista since last night. Game will work fine for a little while, then all of a sudden it'll just lock up (usually after making a touch down).

Just for comparison, I installed the game in XP as well (same system, I'm dual booting it) and it doesn't do this in XP at all. The last time it locked up i was sort of able to see the task bar (i couldn't get it back to the desktop to kill the application), then i saw that their was a notification saying the display driver stopped responding which lead to my assumption that the beta drivers (88.16) suck ass horribly.

I think 3 months should be more than enough time to get some updated drivers available to us. But i guess thats too much to ask.

 

[Armorize]

ok wow so i've been running beta2 on my desktop for awhile now havent been on my desktop for awhile either, last time i used it I found out one of my video cards was wrecked... and now I think the next is starting to go, I have 2-sapphire x1600pro's one is 256 and the other is 128mb. I had it so I could dual boot between xp and it was fine with xp, but I think that vista is wrecking my cards....as im typing this my screen turned pink... I have a brand new monitor which im sure is perfectly fine... turning off DT now. anyone believe its possible for vista to do?

 

[IceBreakerG]

Originally posted by: Armorize
ok wow so i've been running beta2 on my desktop for awhile now havent been on my desktop for awhile either, last time i used it I found out one of my video cards was wrecked... and now I think the next is starting to go, I have 2-sapphire x1600pro's one is 256 and the other is 128mb. I had it so I could dual boot between xp and it was fine with xp, but I think that vista is wrecking my cards....as im typing this my screen turned pink... I have a brand new monitor which im sure is perfectly fine... turning off DT now. anyone believe its possible for vista to do?

Do you have that problem in XP as well? If it works fine in XP but doesn't work right in Vista, then its probably the video drivers. I've been having some weird issues with my video drivers in my laptop as well (I have a GeForce Go 6800). Look at my post above yours to see what I mean.

 

[compwarez]

have anyone use the new beta version already. i did. when i try to install second time, i got the message that is system error on it. the first time it is okay.

 

[C Dub]

I've been trying to install Vista. I can install Build 5342, but any build after that (including 5536 that just came out) will not install. During the install process it reboots and I get an error message saying that the install rebooted unexpectedly or had an unexpected error and can not continue. This happens consistently and it simply won't install. My system specs are in my sig, just wondering if anyone else has had this problem and knows which piece of hardware is responsible.

It better not be the mobo, because all over the box it says it's designed for vista, lol...

 

[C Dub]

Originally posted by: C Dub
I've been trying to install Vista. I can install Build 5342, but any build after that (including 5536 that just came out) will not install. During the install process it reboots and I get an error message saying that the install rebooted unexpectedly or had an unexpected error and can not continue. This happens consistently and it simply won't install. My system specs are in my sig, just wondering if anyone else has had this problem and knows which piece of hardware is responsible.

It better not be the mobo, because all over the box it says it's designed for vista, lol...

A little more info - I sat there and watched the thing really closely, and it BSOD's in the "Completing Installation" phase of setup. The BSOD is so quick that I couldn't read any of the info on it before it rebooted the system, it ignored the PAUSE/BREAK key. I was able to make out NTLDsomething.sys

This system is totally empty. Brand new hard disk, raid isn't even hooked up yet. Only thing in there is the vid card, hard drive and DVD drive.

 

[gsellis]

C Dub - Try putting a previous build on like 5482 and then doing an in place upgrade. I had to do that as there are issues with the IAStor 82801ER driver and installing to a logical in 5536.

Beware on temps too. I have to bug a problem with CPU temps and fan controls.

 

[C Dub]

I think the problem is the video card. It crashes right after the "detection flicker." And apparently there are no 7950gx2 drivers for vista yet. *sigh*

Back to XP64.

 

[lokiju]

Anyone else get invited to try out RC1?

I'm d/l'ing now.

Will install later on.

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

Downloading. Should be done in about two hours. Let me know what your build is once installed.

 

[DarkManX4lf]

Is it possible to upgrade Vista? Say if I installed Beta 2 and then a new build comes out next week is it possible to upgrade to it ? how bout without downloading a whole dvd ?

 

[CrystalBay]

I just did an upgrade from 5384 to Pre RC1 5536 no problems at all. It just took a while longer than a clean install... The new release uses about half as much memory as in 5384, much better build

 

[Underclocked]

Same here. Downloaded the iso, burned the DVD, booted into my existing install and did the upgrade. Took quite some time to complete and had to re-activate using the same key.

MUCH better performing build!

Was using Avast on the previous build, using Trend Micro PC-cillin on 5536.

 

[Seeruk]

The 5536 is the best build yet.

Clean install in 14 minutes (plus another 5 while it did all the intro and performance testing crap)

Rock stable so far in 2 days with all kinds of apps from Office 2007 beta, Eve Online, even the Vanguard beta!

Performance is much much much improved on beta 2, which in turn in was way better than all the previous builds by a mile.

I'm testing a lot of the extra crap like the Trend AV, Live Messenger, Live Desktop, OneCare etc too to see whether I will recommend them to my desktop customers and so far they are all looking good, the AV and Defender in particular are much less of a performance hit.

So far so good... and of course it looks purdy too!

http://erzz.com/downloads/desktop.JPG

 

[Mesix]

I have (and use) beta 2 but never received an invitation for RC1


Where can I get it?

 

[Robor]

I've got 5536 installed. Looks pretty nice. No stability issues so far but I downloaded Avast 4 Home (based on this thread) and Windows said it wasn't compatible. I did not attempt an install anyway.

 

[CrystalBay]

The UAC is much less annoying also , I may even leave it on....
Is anyone having problems with Trends AV? I keep getting the Pc ComTl stopeed working error.

 

[batmanuel]

I agree about UAC, it is definitely much improved in the release. It doesn't seem to totally drop you out of Aero like the UAC in Beta 2 does. Also, my HP PSC 2210 finally works, so Vista is a hell of a lot more useful than before. They also finally fixed a graphics issue where the OS became unusable when I tried to span the desktop between two different-sized monitors (I just got a black screen with just a mouse pointer). The RAM usage is also a hell of a lot better, but Media Center still runs like crap when it starts up. It is so bad, it makes you think the app is locked up at first.

Flip 3D looks a lot better with the antialiasing, but I still wish they would have gone for a shameless rip-off of Expose for the sake of the user experience. I'm guessing that we'll see more mice with a secondary application scroll wheel like the new logitech MX Revolution, which may make Flip 3D easier to deal with in the long run. I'm betting on a dedicated Flip 3D keyboard key in a lot of the new MS keyboards around year end as well.