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PUTALE
04-16-2006, 12:16 AM
I thought that I would share my own experience after testing Windows Vista, you can consider this as a mini review or maybe just a simple feedback after testing it out:

After testing the new windows Vista for a few months on and off, I have to say, I am really impressed by the new Windows. We have all heard and somewhat excited about the next generation of Windows, namely Vista. It’s been a long wait for many of us and it seems like the wait will have to be longer than expected. However, my initial reaction to the operating system after have testing the latest build (5342) is that the wait maybe is a good thing. I am not going to recount on all features of Vista as you can find many of them online, I am merely want to say my own experience with Vista.

I absolutely love the new Vista installation process. You basically setup the system initially and then pretty much the whole installation is automatic. Unlike the XP once the computer reboots, it will actually ask you to input the information such as region and username, etc during installation, Vista ask the serial number and then you just let it install the whole OS, which during the testing it’s like 1 hour, and then it’s done. It will then prompt you for user information and such. I like this way much better as you don’t have to come back in the middle of installation process to input the information, you can let the machine install it until it’s done all in 1 step.

What I like about Vista is that the new look is awesome. The amount of visual changes that has been included in Vista is probably the most that MS has done to windows operating system since Windows 95 in my opinion. Vista’s visual is stunning nonetheless. The Windows XP is great looking operating system but the truth is that it’s still resemble the old Windows 95. Now, Vista is no difference from the old windows but it’s better designed and much easier to use. Of course, these new changes will take some time to get used to, but once you learn and get used to it, it’s actually pretty nice updates. One thing that really do need some learning is the new windows explorer. I have been so used to the old explorer and all the icons and clicks, the new windows explorer lacks a lot of the old icons, so it does takes quite amount of time learning it. In Vista, when you mouse over any of the tabs on the taskbar, it will show you the content of that window. The preview of each opened windows is not that useful, in my opinion, as it’s a bit hard to see the information. I rather MS to have an option like it has included in IE 7 where they will show all the opened windows as icons so you can see all the opened window at once.

I like the sidebar and gadgets. In addition, the new IE 7 does seem to bring the much needed updates, such as the tab browsing. But it doesn’t stop there, it also has much cleaner look and the one great feature that it has is that it will let you view all the tab sites as icons so that you can choose which of the opened tabs that you want to view. I also like the new security features included in the operating system. Granted, most of use probably will dump it and opt for a third party software protection suite but it’s really nice to see MS included it in the operating system so in case someone who doesn’t want to buy a third party software could get the much needed protection.

The new control panel is nice and MS has shuffled, rearranged a lot of stuff that controls a lot of options about your system. For those who are so used to the old way of controlling your display properties, hardware options, etc, I found it to be a bit challenging with the new control panel. It’s a bit overwhelming and poorly organized I think. A lot of redundancy. There’s some logic and organization but, for me, I think it’s a bit hard to use, which I guess in time, I will learn to find where are all the options are.

Of course, all these good features come with some price, as the system requirement are much more demanding than the current XP. My experience is that although Vista is great operating system, Microsoft do have to work harder to bring down the demanding system resources. In addition, it would need to improve on the stability of the operating system. The current build is much more stable than the previous build but it’s still crashes quite often. Of course, one of the problem could due to the lack of drivers. Vista does include quite a lot of drivers as it recognize my graphic card, network card but most of these drivers are still not performing up to date and hence I can’t really test the real power of Vista. Like I said in the beginning, I think waiting maybe is a good thing, maybe giving MS a bit more time, we could get a much stable system that has all the kinks worked out and we will be able to really enjoy the experience that Vista will brings.

Kougar
04-20-2006, 09:26 AM
Heya. Thanks for the post/review... Although now I have a few questions for ya! ;)

Is there any difference, or more importantly, any improvement with how Vista handles the XP's "Program Access and Defaults" option? And secondly I assume by security programs you mean Windows Defender, and such?

m_Chuk
04-20-2006, 03:32 PM
Another Opinion:
I have Athlon XP 2500, 1GB RAM, ATI 9500pro video. So one day I decided to take a look on Vista OS.
I am thinking to change hardware so it was interesting for me to test Vista on the old one before making a decision.
It was important for me to hold both XP and Vista systems on my PC. So I started the setup.
I had XP installed on one of two HD available in my system. It was the last time I saw it:).
After Vista was installed, I am talking about build 5342, I was unable to start up with previously installed XP.
I have to say that Microsoft really improved the setup routine compare to XP and older systems. You have only entered a product key, name/password and select right partition, after that the setup will proceed automatically. The only one problem was the progress bar of the setup. I was very disappointed after 20 minutes without any changes on my monitor. So it took something like 50 minutes to finish and after - 10 minutes to start. The first issue was to setup my hardware; Vista didn’t recognize my Sound and Wireless Network cards. I was very impressed after automatically update on those unrecognized devices. It WORKING, Vista updated them from internet and everything begins to work.
The next issue was performance. Vista was running with glass GUI without any problems. Without software installed its looks really perfect may be except of annoying questions about allowing execution programs execution, security messages on each activeX control and e.t.c. Media Player working to slow compare to other even free ware solutions. Also I had problems with previewing my Nikon d50 photos with 6 MP resolution; it simple took a lot of time. As a programmer it was interesting for me to see a memory and CPU usage after running different software. One of the biggest problems in development of resource heavy software for previous Windows system is a memory allocation. XP 32bit system allows allocating 2mb virtual memory per process, there is some tricks to increase it to 3 mb. The problem is not in a small size of the virtual memory, the main problem is memory allocation fragmentation. Microsoft has a solution, but you have to manage memory allocation and virtual address space allocation by your self. In Vista case it was very interesting to see 700 – 800 mb memory usage before and after running Adobe Photoshop 9 CS on it. You can find a lot of information about memory usage improvement and about smart fixed memory allocation in the Internet, but nothing will help you to understand what really happens.
Also it’s very strange to see that you system after starting begins to work faster and faster. Microsoft announced they new feature that built smart recently used files/memory cash and it’s really working. After installing and testing Photoshop and Office my resolution was – TO USE, even on my “old” PC. The slowest applications and features was Vista multimedia features and gadgets, that I don’t need, It’s looks wonderful but work to slowly on my PC.
After one week of using Vista I have to sign some problems that are not so important but may cause people not to use Vista from beta releases.

1. Some CD emulators such us Alchohol 120%, Nero7.x, Daemon Tools not working with Vista. Alcohol cause blue screen and you have to repair system by using last known good configuration.
2. Some software has access problems when trying to save some changes in Win directories and registry. Even MS Office 2003 had a problem like this, but you can push ignore button when problem appears.
3. Also very interesting performance problem with files that was created before Vista Setup. You have to change access right before using them with Vista. If you don’t, the files are read only for Vista software, not for user, and for user it’s takes also a lot of time to manipulate with them.
4. Security is bothering you all over the time.
5. Finally I didn’t found any way’s to setup both XP and Vista OS on PC, after attempt to setup XP on the second HD, Vista failed to start up.

Final conclusion is that Vista is a step forward for Microsoft. It’s really has a beautiful look and improved GUI. But Microsoft has to prove the power of internal system changes and give us real reasons to make this switch.

PUTALE
04-20-2006, 06:33 PM
Heya. Thanks for the post/review... Although now I have a few questions for ya! ;)

Is there any difference, or more importantly, any improvement with how Vista handles the XP's "Program Access and Defaults" option? And secondly I assume by security programs you mean Windows Defender, and such?

1-Well, the whole control panel has been bloated with features and icons(in my opinion, very poor design and complicated and too many options). I haven't played much program access and defaults, but i will look into that.

2-the security, yeah, vista has more security build in, such as windows defender and such. Not only that, there's more than just a simple program. There's "user account protection", which prevent people from doing some risky jobs on their PC, but it's not really fully working and very poorly designed and just a tad annoying with all the warning. Hopefully it will get much needed improvement.

Like I said, Vista is a good improvement for MS, but the current build is packed with a lot of new things. Unfortunately though, I feel that the code is still need much improvement and reworking. I hope MS can really get the jobs done and write a better codes and fixing all the annoyance. Do remember that this is still realy early in the beta testing stage (despite the fact that MS promise to deliver it at the end of year, or early next year , which I highly doubt it, unless they once again deliver a half done, pretty much broken OS). I rather that they take a bit more time and get things done before just package the whole thing and deliver it on time.

PUTALE
04-20-2006, 06:35 PM
m_chuck
when I install the beta on the system that I had xp, i can actually dual boot without any trouble (although that was previous version). Did you edit your boot options(I think vista automatically create dual boot options), what you have to do is check the boot loader to make sure that they are directed at the right HD and partitions.

liqnit
04-20-2006, 07:02 PM
1. Some CD emulators such us Alchohol 120%, Nero7.x, Daemon Tools not working with Vista. Alcohol cause blue screen and you have to repair system by using last known good configuration.
2. Some software has access problems when trying to save some changes in Win directories and registry. Even MS Office 2003 had a problem like this, but you can push ignore button when problem appears.
3. Also very interesting performance problem with files that was created before Vista Setup. You have to change access right before using them with Vista. If you don’t, the files are read only for Vista software, not for user, and for user it’s takes also a lot of time to manipulate with them.
4. Security is bothering you all over the time.
5. Finally I didn’t found any way’s to setup both XP and Vista OS on PC, after attempt to setup XP on the second HD, Vista failed to start up.

Final conclusion is that Vista is a step forward for Microsoft. It’s really has a beautiful look and improved GUI. But Microsoft has to prove the power of internal system changes and give us real reasons to make this switch.
thanks for the info about the cd emulatures i was planing on using them .
about the dual boot option i am sure it will fixed in coming betas

Kougar
04-21-2006, 12:49 AM
Okay, this may be why: Windows XP & Vista (http://dotnetaddict.dotnetdevelopersjournal.com/vistaday1.htm)

YOU MUST NOT INSTALL BY BOOTING THE VISTA DVD TO CREATE A DUAL-BOOT

If you put the DVD in and boot from it, when you install Vista, you will no longer have your old Master Boot Record, or your old boot.ini file. If you want to create a dual-boot of Vista and whatever you used to be using - you need to boot up your "old" operating system (XP Pro seems to work the best), then insert the Vista DVD, and then choose to Install Now.

You will eventually see a screen that asks if you 're going to perform a Custom install or an Upgrade. Since you booted from XP or some other non-Longhorn OS, you cannot click the Upgrade link - you'll have to click the Custom link. This then prompts you for the location of Vista and the computer name. Those are (rightfully so!) the only two pieces of information you need to provide during the entire install.

m_Chuk
04-21-2006, 06:38 PM
Yes I installed Vista from bootable DVD and may be these cause problems. I also tried to install XP after Vista and as the result one of the boot files was corrupted. They propose to use repair utility to solve the problem I decided not try it.
About programs axes and all other security gimmicks, I think the simple user will not handle this. Now even my girlfriend can setup Vista but I don’t think she can use it and answer those strange questions all over the time.
In addition I don’t think that serious changes in Vista kernel will take place, because to debug such things in half year/one year even for Microsoft after releasing beta 2 will be impossible. May be it will work faster; because I heard about speed reduction for beta version of Microsoft software because of debug features inside those beta products. And also saw those problems with beta 2 MS Developer Studio 2005 buy using Microsoft implementation of STL (Standard Template Library).
Conclusion that today Vista useful only for developers and for people that want to feel new Vista OS taste.

PUTALE
04-21-2006, 06:48 PM
m_Chuk, you should always install the newsest OS over the older OS. Ie you should actually install XP first, then install Vista. Usually MS will automatically setup the bootloader if the newer OS is installed on top of the older OS. I had XP in a system then instlal Vista on a diff HD, and I was able to boot to either OS without any trouble.

m_Chuk
04-23-2006, 08:20 AM
Thanks PUTALE for info. I will try to setup XP first on a different HD also. I forgot to tell that I tried to setup Vista after XP was installed on different partitions of the same HD. Vista change some data in MBR, and may be is impossible to setup it on the same HD with diff partitions. I didn’t want to use my second IDE drive for XP OS, but now I think I have no choice.

PUTALE
04-23-2006, 08:52 AM
I think you can actually setup 2 partitions and have dual boot. I do believe that it's do-able. Just make sure that you have the appropriate partition (xp needs at least 4gigs while vista needs 8-9gigs of space). make sure that you format the partitions with ntfs(otherwise, vista won't read them and will force you to format the whole HD, I think).