![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Wednesday, April 04, 2007
- Author:
- Brian Boyko
- Editor:
- Jason Wall
- Google +1
30 Days with Windows Vista
Comparisons, conjecture, and controversy. Microsoft's new operating system is here, but is it ready for primetime? We spend 30 days with Windows Vista to see if it's worth the leap or if Microsoft should go back to the drawing board.
Acquisition, Installation, and First Boot
We originally hoped to get a copy of Windows Vista before the official consumer launch date because we wanted to have this article finished a bit closer to Vista's launch (rather than two months later). However, when we called up Microsoft, we were told that the demand for review copies of the software was quite high. Quite understandable. They did say that they would ship out a review copy of Windows Vista to us as soon as possible - and they did... about 5 days after we concluded testing for this article. Although unfortunate, we admire Microsoft for being willing to put their product to the test.
I decided to go pick up Windows Vista on the midnight launch at CompUSA at midnight, January 29. CompUSA was the only major retailer in Austin to hold a midnight release. However, when I asked the other folks in line, most were there for a deal on a wireless Bluetooth headset - not for Vista. Still, there were a few people who walked out with a copy of Windows Vista. I paid the full retail price of $229 for my non-upgrade retail copy of Windows Vista Home Premium and headed out the door.
Installation
I backed up my data to my Spire USB 2.0 80GB external hard drive, which was formatted as FAT32. Then it was a matter of setting the BIOS to boot from the CD, plugging in the disc, and letting Windows load.
Installation was relatively easy, but not what I'd call brainless. The steps for entering the basic settings should be familiar to anyone who has installed a Windows OS, including entering your license key and choosing your time and currency formats. There was one moment when the screen went temporarily black and I was afraid the install had gone horribly wrong, but that moment passed - Windows was just determining my screen resolution, but had neglected to give me a notice or warning.
On a fast computer, the installation can take as little as 20 minutes - like it did on Pugetina. On Whakataruna, it took a bit longer, closer to par for a Windows XP install. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Inserting the CD brings up a boot menu where you can choose either Windows Setup or the Windows Memory Diagnostic. Choosing Windows Setup will start loading files into memory, and will then load the Windows interface for the rest of the install.
The first screen has you choose your language, time format, and currency, as well as the keyboard layout. Then you click to "install now" and it will ask you for your product key. I kept the checkmark to automatically activate Windows when I'm online, checked. The next screen pops up the EULA, where you must accept the license terms to continue.
It will then ask you to choose between an upgrade and a "custom" - read "clean" - install. Since I wasn't upgrading the computer, I chose the custom install - not that I had much of a choice.
The next step was the partition manager, which listed all the partitions on my available hard drive. I had no need for a dual-boot setup, so I just deleted all the partitions and installed Vista onto an NTFS partition which took up the full capacity of the hard drive.
The computer then essentially ran on autopilot, stating "That's all the information we need right now. Your computer will restart several times during installation." It will also download the latest system updates from Microsoft during the install - assuming a working Internet connection.
It did indeed restart, and then started to set up Windows. I was asked to provide a username and password, name the computer, and choose a desktop background. It also prompted me to turn on automatic updates and select my time zone.
Then it did something which confused me. It asked me to select my computer's current location - Home, Work, or a Public Location. This seemed to me to be superfluous and I'm not sure what the difference would have been if I selected work or a public location – possibly some more advanced privacy settings - but I chose "Home." Perhaps more information could have been provided here so that the user could make a more informed decision.
After that, more waiting as the computer is on autopilot, asking me to "please wait while Windows checks your computer's performance." At one point, the screen went suddenly black and I feared the system had crashed during an OS install - never good - but it started working again - I realized Windows was just probing my video card, again. And again, a warning would have been nice.
It then asked me to enter my administrative password, and I booted into Windows for the first time.
First Boot
The first item of business was activating our OS. The rumor mill has stated that the activation procedures for Vista were a huge pain and an inconvenience to the user. We couldn't disagree more. We didn't have to make any calls or fill in any probing information pages from Microsoft. We selected to activate over the Internet and it was done. No muss, no fuss. Surprisingly, when we went to install the same OS on Pugetina after we formatted Whakataruna, we had no trouble at all activating it. It required no other verification or authorization.
The first boot showed a clean desktop similar to that of Windows XP - except that the Recycle Bin was now in the upper left-hand corner of the desktop and not in the lower right-hand corner. There was also the sidebar ("gadget-bar") on the right side of the desktop - which can be disabled, and is generally unobtrusive - at least at first. Disabling it gives you a pop-up telling you what you just did and how you can undo it.
It also displayed the Welcome Center, which would be useful for new Windows users. We have to say that it’s a good bit more functional than the virtually worthless Welcome Center in XP. You can check out your system devices to make sure they're all functioning and give your system the "Vista Performance" test.
I looked at the new Start menu interface, and it was a little unsettling at first to be rid of the automatically expanding and cascading menus. The navigation turned out to be quite simple - like browsing a file directory, and I could easily find the programs I needed to take notes (Notepad) and save screenshots (Paint). More than a few times we held our mouse cursor over “Programs” waiting for the menu to expand. Old habits die hard.
