Your experience with Vista Beta 2

[Skitzer]

Originally posted by: RobertR1
Anytips of how to fix the bootmanager?

Here's my scenario:
2HDD's
1 with 2 partitions, XP Pro and Vista
2nd just for data
Tried to go into XP pro and it said ntldr is missing (it's not, you can see it in explorer, in vista)
Tried a software called Vista Boot Pro and it totally f'ed everything up
Ran the boot system recovery before the Vista install off the DVD and it hacked it together to make it work so it can boot into vista.

What procedures do I need to reset everything so that I can go into Vista and XP? Also, when I have the 2nd hard drive connected it keeps installing bootmanager onto it and controls off that. I'm enjoying Vista itself a lot but this is a mess right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Try this program. Link to download

 

[mauiblue]

I downloaded Vista and installed it on my notebook along with Window XP Pro (dual boot) last night. It was easy to install with no problems. There were three drivers that Vista could not find (multimedia drivers) but other than that it was all good. I know that I could delve a bit more and try to find the right drivers that I need but its all good for now just to dabble with. I will be playing with it a bit more in the coming days.

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: Eug
Video: MacBook running Windows Vista with Aero Glass (960x540 Quicktime H.264)

(Check my sig if you want a smaller version of the video.)

Short 30 fps version (captured using a camcorder)

 

[RobertR1]

Originally posted by: Skitzer

Originally posted by: RobertR1
Anytips of how to fix the bootmanager?

Here's my scenario:
2HDD's
1 with 2 partitions, XP Pro and Vista
2nd just for data
Tried to go into XP pro and it said ntldr is missing (it's not, you can see it in explorer, in vista)
Tried a software called Vista Boot Pro and it totally f'ed everything up
Ran the boot system recovery before the Vista install off the DVD and it hacked it together to make it work so it can boot into vista.

What procedures do I need to reset everything so that I can go into Vista and XP? Also, when I have the 2nd hard drive connected it keeps installing bootmanager onto it and controls off that. I'm enjoying Vista itself a lot but this is a mess right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Try this program. Link to download

That software is what messed up my boot stuff

 

[Skitzer]

Originally posted by: RobertR1

Originally posted by: Skitzer

Originally posted by: RobertR1
Anytips of how to fix the bootmanager?

Here's my scenario:
2HDD's
1 with 2 partitions, XP Pro and Vista
2nd just for data
Tried to go into XP pro and it said ntldr is missing (it's not, you can see it in explorer, in vista)
Tried a software called Vista Boot Pro and it totally f'ed everything up
Ran the boot system recovery before the Vista install off the DVD and it hacked it together to make it work so it can boot into vista.

What procedures do I need to reset everything so that I can go into Vista and XP? Also, when I have the 2nd hard drive connected it keeps installing bootmanager onto it and controls off that. I'm enjoying Vista itself a lot but this is a mess right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Try this program. Link to download

That software is what messed up my boot stuff

There is another, I believe more difficult way to fix Vista's bcdedit.
Read this Link

 

[RobertR1]

Originally posted by: Skitzer

Originally posted by: RobertR1

Originally posted by: Skitzer

Originally posted by: RobertR1
Anytips of how to fix the bootmanager?

Here's my scenario:
2HDD's
1 with 2 partitions, XP Pro and Vista
2nd just for data
Tried to go into XP pro and it said ntldr is missing (it's not, you can see it in explorer, in vista)
Tried a software called Vista Boot Pro and it totally f'ed everything up
Ran the boot system recovery before the Vista install off the DVD and it hacked it together to make it work so it can boot into vista.

What procedures do I need to reset everything so that I can go into Vista and XP? Also, when I have the 2nd hard drive connected it keeps installing bootmanager onto it and controls off that. I'm enjoying Vista itself a lot but this is a mess right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Try this program. Link to download

That software is what messed up my boot stuff

There is another, I believe more difficult way to fix Vista's bcdedit.
Read this Link

Thanks. I was able to figure it out so hopefully it can help others:

Vista edits your boot.ini on the XP partition and makes it seem like bootmanager will control everything. This is NOT the case! All the bootmanager does is control Vista and OS selection page. Once you click on "Older Windows System" it goes right back into the boot.ini and uses the information out of that, like XP would because XP takes over now.
So what Vista had done was change my boot.ini to "D:\windows" instead of "C:\windows" seeing that Vista saw my XP Partition as it's "Drive." Obviously my XP Pro install needs C:\
After wasting waaaaay too much, all I had do was go into the boot.ini and change it back to C:

 

[CaptnKirk]

Originally posted by: RobertR1

Vista edits your boot.ini on the XP partition and makes it seem like bootmanager will control everything. This is NOT the case! All the bootmanager does is control Vista and OS selection page. Once you click on "Older Windows System" it goes right back into the boot.ini and uses the information out of that, like XP would because XP takes over now.
So what Vista had done was change my boot.ini to "D:\windows" instead of "C:\windows" seeing that Vista saw my XP Partition as it's "Drive." Obviously my XP Pro install needs C:\
After wasting waaaaay too much, all I had do was go into the boot.ini and change it back to C:

And what will it do to XP Pro when you remove Vista from a partition on another drive.
or is the MBR tampered with?

 

[RobertR1]

Originally posted by: CaptnKirk

Originally posted by: RobertR1

Vista edits your boot.ini on the XP partition and makes it seem like bootmanager will control everything. This is NOT the case! All the bootmanager does is control Vista and OS selection page. Once you click on "Older Windows System" it goes right back into the boot.ini and uses the information out of that, like XP would because XP takes over now.
So what Vista had done was change my boot.ini to "D:\windows" instead of "C:\windows" seeing that Vista saw my XP Partition as it's "Drive." Obviously my XP Pro install needs C:\
After wasting waaaaay too much, all I had do was go into the boot.ini and change it back to C:

And what will it do to XP Pro when you remove Vista from a partition on another drive.
or is the MBR tampered with?

Here's a good how to for different scenarios:
http://www.pro-networks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=74987

 

[Skitzer]

Well, something has gone terribly wrong with my Vista install. Had been working fine, although running a little slow, for about 10 days or so. I had all the drivers loaded and working fine and most of my apps installed and working. Last night when I booted into it it went to the desktop and that was as far as I could go. Nothing would open when I clicked on it. Keyboard was Ok and mouse cursor was moving but when I clicked on Start or tried to open the browser it just sat there and did nothing, no error messages nothing. I had to do a hard reboot to get out. I went into XP and it was working fine. Tried to boot back into Vista and same thing, went to desktop and then nothing. I googled and couldn't find anyone having the same problem. Tried to go into it in safemode but it just hung up at the black screen. Finally got mad and wiped the drive it was on and removed the boot files from XP. I'm going to reinstall it again but will wait until the disc I ordered from Microsoft gets here.
Strangest thing I have ever seen. Has anyone else experienced a lock up like this? I have no clue why it happened and no idea how to troubleshoot it if it happens again. I have thoroughly tested my hardware and XP is running perfectly.
I'll post back when the fresh install is done.

 

[Parasitic]

Does switching Vista to the Classic Windows interface turn off all the annoying program links and turn them back to just icons?
Finding options in Vista is damn impossible with all these cascading links.

 

[judasmachine]

I actually like the eye candy, but since my vid card is starting to die (badx800GTO being RMAed tomorrow). I don't have much experiance with it, but it runs nicely.

3.0C Pentium 4
4x256MB Corsair XMS PC3200
ABIT IC-7
X800GTO AGP
80GB SATA Maxtor

 

[ValuedCustomer]

OK, I guess I'm an idiot but I'll ask the stupid question: after I've downloaded the .iso from MS and burnt it to a DVD, what then? I have my laptop set to boot to the CD first but it's not working. Does the format need to be changed from .iso to something else? if so, how?

 

[batmanuel]

Originally posted by: ValuedCustomer
OK, I guess I'm an idiot but I'll ask the stupid question: after I've downloaded the .iso from MS and burnt it to a DVD, what then? I have my laptop set to boot to the CD first but it's not working. Does the format need to be changed from .iso to something else? if so, how?

You need to use a program like Nero or Easy CD Creator to create a disk image from the ISO. Look for an option in the burning software that says something to the effect of "create disk from image", select the ISO file and follow the prompts to burn the CD.

 

[imported_Cicero]

Hi Everybody!

I've been using Vista as a dual boot for a week now, I started out installing the x64 version but quickly gave up on that as it didn't go great on my system. So instead I installed the 32bit version.

Usability of the new interface: Once I figured out where stuff was I now quite like it.

Drivers: One of the big issues currently with Vista which should improve soon. The only device not configured is the Lightwave USB dongle (haven't tried the XP sentinel drivers on it yet). The Video card drivers are the latest ATi betas, OpenGL is busted though the drivers work fine with 3dmark 06 (10% lower score than XP x64). screen res goes back to 1024 x 768 @ 60hz everytime the system is booted.

General Comments: The various changes to the control panel applets are quite good. IE7 runs fine, I Like the changes to applets like the Event Viewer. Speed isn't bad for a beta.
Overall Vista has promise considering the big changes MS are making compared to XP.

 

[DetroitSportsFan]

Lets see ... I've installed both the 32 bit and the 64 bit. I've done a clean install with both, and an upgrade install with the 32 bit.

Over-all, its ok for a beta ... The bigger problem I've been having is with the drivers. The nforce network controller built into both beta versions is awful. Once driver support is improved, we'll be able to get a better "read" on the operating system.

In the meantime, any suggestions on alternative nforce networking drivers for Vista Beta 2?

 

[thesurge]

quick question (warning: may seem retarded) will my system get the highest computer level or w/e it's called in vista to display all the possible eye candy? or am i suddenly shorthanded with an otherwise fast computer.

system:
opt 144 @ 2.6 ghz
1 GB corsair
x800 gto overclocked

 

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally posted by: thesurge
quick question (warning: may seem retarded) will my system get the highest computer level or w/e it's called in vista to display all the possible eye candy? or am i suddenly shorthanded with an otherwise fast computer.

system:
opt 144 @ 2.6 ghz
1 GB corsair
x800 gto overclocked

If you were to put an opteron 165 in place of your 144, our specs would be identical. Vista rates my machine a 3.

 

[gizbug]

Bluetooth doesn't work for me in beta 2.

 

[archcommus]

Is there a way to change the location of your user directory without messing with the registry?

 

[themisfit610]

I think vista is very beautiful visually. Installation was pretty painless. Drivers were a little funky. The latest nVidia betas were very jumpy, and the new control panel which I despise was extremely buggy - forcing SLI8xAA when I dont even have SLI lol... I had a lot of crashes and issues getting the stupid thing to shut down. I had to hit the reset switch a lot more than I was actually able to soft-off.

I dont like the direction M$ is going with the reorganization however. I think XP really got it right. Theres very little wrong with the XP interface. I really like the new alt-tab functions, and of course all the pretty hardware rendered graphics are very plesant. The sidebar thing is nice, though I like apple's implimentation a lot better. Overall it's pretty ho-hum, but it shows promise. I will reserve judgment until it's officially released, and has had a few months to mature, and have software vendors catch up.

It was a fun test drive though

~MiSfit

 

[BD2003]

According to a review of a more recent build, there is some hope - performance is much improved, install time is much lower, and praise the lord...list view is back. No word on any UAC changes, but it appears to be back on track.

 

[Tarrant64]

I've got it up and running. I posted some stuff on it on my website. Nothing too serious like a complete review or anything, just my first hand experience. Still working with it a bit though...

I like it. It's a change. It's a memory hog though. A lot of drivers installed right off the bat and that was a big bonus. Some others didn't. Not a big problem. It's still a little sluggish though. Not exactly sure why. I am debating on video card upgrade, but I am trying to find a reason other than Vista to do so...

 

[stash]

Originally posted by: BD2003
According to a review of a more recent build, there is some hope - performance is much improved, install time is much lower, and praise the lord...list view is back. No word on any UAC changes, but it appears to be back on track.

Thurrott is a tool. "5456, what beta2 should've been!" Uh, no Paul, beta2 was beta2 and 5456 is a build from the RC1 branch.

What an asshat.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: stash

Originally posted by: BD2003
According to a review of a more recent build, there is some hope - performance is much improved, install time is much lower, and praise the lord...list view is back. No word on any UAC changes, but it appears to be back on track.

Thurrott is a tool. "5456, what beta2 should've been!" Uh, no Paul, beta2 was beta2 and 5456 is a build from the RC1 branch.

What an asshat.

How does that make him an asshat?

 

[stash]

Because beta2 is a beta? To say that a build that is a pre-RC1 build is better than a beta build is a pretty obvious comment, and shows his lack of understanding of the development process.