Windows Vista Test Run - Why not?

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Raithlin

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I've received a Vista Ultimate Edition disc from work - I'm going to install and test at home for development purposes.

Are there any caveats, warnings ("Don't install" doesn't qualify, I'm afraid ;)) etc. that I should know about before the time? I use Thunderbird, Firefox, Visual Studio 2005, the new 2008 Express Editions, Open Office.org, various games (Civ4, TMNations Forever and others) and the odd tool and productivity enhancement. My nLite'd XP CD is ready for me to rollback with the minimum of hassle (I needed to reinstall anyway), and the machine is dual-booting with Linux, so don't bother trolling me :rolleyes:. You're preaching to the choir.
 
Only thing I can suggest is apply service pack 1 right after install. Some things may or may not work, so check online at Microsoft for compatibility info.

Other than that, I can't really say much except have an open mind when approaching it. It's a really good OS, with quirks that take getting used to.

Oh, hope you have enough RAM as well, that really is important to Vista.
 
I have 1GB of RAM, so it's kinda borderline. I'll implement some memory saving tweaks if I must, like shutting down services, not using the glass interface, etc.
 
When I installed Visual Studio 2005, it gave me compatibility issue warnings...
 
Raithlin said:
I have 1GB of RAM, so it's kinda borderline. I'll implement some memory saving tweaks if I must, like shutting down services, not using the glass interface, etc.
Click to expand...

I'm running Home Premium on my laptop with 1GB RAM, it's not giving me any hassles.

With Vista Business, you will have to get a good DVD watching program like PowerDVD or Nero Showtime, since DVD playback (parts of it) isnt' a supported feature.

If you install PowerDVD it installs the files needed for Business to playback DVD's with Mediaplayer.

As suggested, make sure to install Service Pack 1.

After installation, get yourself JKDefrag (freeware) and JKDefrag GUI, just extract both folders to the same directory and execute the GUI. Do a defrag, restart your pc, leave it for about 30 minutes to sort all the new files on the harddrive and use it as you like.

www.kessels.com/Jkdefrag/
www.emro.nl/freeware/

The more you use Vista Sp1, the faster it gets and please don't delete it's prefetch files, don't disable superfetch, try to leave everything at default as much as you can.

Edit: concerning those "tweaks", most of it is superficial nonsense and might slow down your pc more.
 
Thanks, teraside. I already have JKDefrag - awesome program. I'll do that. Concerning the services, I already disable unneeded services in XP, and yes, it works. Much like in Linux, why run services if you don't use them or their benefits? Why decrease security (in some cases, like Remote Registry, for example) for no benefit at all? That said, I'm careful, and err on the conservatice side.
I'll be running Ultimate, so no problem with DVD playing - not that I ever do anyway. We have a home theatre system for that. :) The most I ever do is play the odd audio file/CD.
 
I'm not quite awake yet Raithlin, I thought you said you received a Business edition disc :p apologies ;)

JKDefrag + a few minutes after defrag to sort itself out is the trick to do. My Vista boots in about 50 seconds and that's quite fast for me.

Just make sure to get the latest drivers for your hardware as well and as a rule, install it after the SP has been applied ;)
 
The best way to implement most of these tweaks is by vlite-ing your DVD.

You're already familiar with nlite so "slipstreaming" SP1 and disabling the services/components you won't need through VLite is a good idea.
 
Ekhaatvensters said:
The best way to implement most of these tweaks is by vlite-ing your DVD.

You're already familiar with nlite so "slipstreaming" SP1 and disabling the services/components you won't need through VLite is a good idea.
Click to expand...
Good point. I may well look at that, but for now I'm running a test install, so I might only do that at a later stage.

[UPDATE]
I've downloaded vLite, and will take a look later.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the help, folks. I installed last night, and it picked up all the drivers I needed. One Windows Update had my webcam, printer, sound and graphics card sorted. I've downloaded SP1, and will be installing that tonight.

One small note - the OS and Avast installed, and I'm sitting at 630MB RAM used!!:eek: Shock and Horror! Gonna have to work on that... :rolleyes:
 
Raithlin said:
Thanks for the help, folks. I installed last night, and it picked up all the drivers I needed. One Windows Update had my webcam, printer, sound and graphics card sorted. I've downloaded SP1, and will be installing that tonight.

One small note - the OS and Avast installed, and I'm sitting at 630MB RAM used!!:eek: Shock and Horror! Gonna have to work on that... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Mine sits at 544mb with Firefox open, my antivirus and a few miscellaneous programs ;)
 
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