Windows Vista upgrade guide, part 3: will it blend?

Well, we've covered XP and Vista from a software and features angle, and we've helped plot out your upgrade decisions from a hardware standpoint, but now we're turning the upgrade guide over to you: the early adopter. You're already running Vista Ultimate (hell, you've been running the RTM since the day it leaked, er...) and you've gotten acclimated to the ins and outs. So we want to know, will it blend? In other words:

• Does all your software work like before?
• Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
• Is it integrating with your network alright?
• Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?
• What kinds of bugs are you seeing?

Let us know how Vista's doing for you; let your fellow Engadget readers gain from your wisdom, be the first on the internets to gripe about early Vista release problems, let it all out.

P.S. -Mac nerds, please stay out of this one -- the Windows nerds have a mission to complete.

See also: Windows Vista upgrade guide - part 1: software, Windows Vista upgrade guide - part 2: hardware

[Jacob Schlottke @ Jan 30th 2007 2:49PM]

* Does all your software work like before?
WS_FTP Doesn't work.. Wi-Fi needed a firmware update to work.

* Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
Yes, 2 GeForce 8800's working smooth...

* Is it integrating with your network alright?
Aside from a necessary firmware update on a Linksys Wireless-G router, everything went fine.

* Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?
Nope

* What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
Crashing on movies loading in a pictures/movies setting, Aero not remitting after coming out of photoshop- needs a manual reboot.

Otherwise, looks good.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Feb 1st 2007 12:39AM]

It looks like Windows 95 all over again.... crash...... reboot...crash...bsod....

[Kyle @ Jan 30th 2007 2:54PM]

As a developer, I'm deeply concerned about the number of compatibility issues with both Visual Studio 2003, and Visual Studio 2005 SP1. Microsoft is going as far as claiming Visual Studio 2003 (.NET CLR 1.1) is not supported in Vista.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/aa964140.aspx

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/aa972193.aspx

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/bb188244.aspx

[Jeff Lewis @ Jan 30th 2007 7:02PM]

Yeah - this and apparent incompatibilities with SQL Server 2005/Express did in Vista for me. I live in those apps, and if I can't run them safely - well...

Also, Vista breaks many ISO image mounters. Nero released a 'Vista Compatible' version which was rendered compatible mostly by the removal of ImageDrive. VirtualCloneCD is free - and it kinda works in Vista - but it's not nearly as stable as it is in XP.

[Reginald @ Jan 30th 2007 8:19PM]

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/bb188244.aspx

From the Visual Studio .NET 2003 on Windows Vista Issue List:

"While Visual Studio 2003 is not supported on Windows Vista..."

That is teh suck! Well I guess I won't be installing Vista on any of my developer machines.

What happened to the minimum 10 years of support for Business and Developer products?

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy

[Nabil @ Jan 30th 2007 2:55PM]

I've had it on my laptop since November. (this is Vista Enterprise, which was released mid Nov. 2006)

1)All of my software works fine. Haven't tried the games yet (firefox, Office 2007, Adobe Acrobat work just fine)
2)Well, I have it running on a MacBook Pro, and it running very well. If it can run the Mac Hardware, it can certainly run hardware that is "Vista Ready"
3)No problems with the network, whatsoever.
4)Haven't tried joining a domain.
5)None so far. Just make sure you look at the power options and customize those.

[sam @ Jan 30th 2007 2:57PM]

does anybody remember that Power Together Campaign Microsoft did a few months back. well they said you'd receive Vista in "4-6 weeks" but I got it today! Damn microsoft is good at impressing its 'valued' customers by delivering their brand new product the day its released! now if only i had a PC that wasn't 4 years old to run it....

[Dave Bergschneider @ Jan 30th 2007 5:26PM]

Yeah I remember the Power Together campaign too. I received my Office 2007 pro Saturday (1/27). I thought it was funny how they included an invoice and branded sleeve without the disc. Instead they had my download it from http://www.officepro2007download.com/. It was sweet to see an offer like this actually made good on. Just wish I had a business tax id so I could have done the Vista one as well. Oh well. Take and learn.

[Rick wilson @ Jan 30th 2007 2:58PM]

So I've been eyeballing the Dell XPS 1715 notebooks, the powerhouse for gaming, etc. As SOON as they only gave Windows Vista as your only OS of choise, they took out the "Sound Blaster HD Internal sound card" option, and left it with "internal sound" only. However, their "help me choose" section STILL showed the Sound Blaster HD card.

They said it is because Windows Vista isn't compatible with Sound Blaster, and that option won't be back for a few months. Dag nabbit!!

[sinohog @ Feb 4th 2007 11:22AM]

Two things: avoid Dell until they fix their cust service probs and soundblaster tends to be buggy. I could rant on and on about Dell and the cheap sonic drive they put on my system last year, but i wont. I run Photoshop, mostly and Windows Media center does a pretty poor job of running it with frequent crashes and lock ups with 1 gig of memory. Prob would have to add another gig to keep Vista happy. So i would steer clear of ultimate until I'm sure they have fixed ALL the bugs in the media center interface that they used us XP ME people as involuntary testers to develop. Just think of all those crash msgs that came off my computer lol. BTW media player 11 DOES NOT support anything except jpegs when burning discs.
It is NOT for the pro or serious photographer. I would go with vista business just for the stability to run photoshop, lightroom, etc. That's why MAC's overpriced computers sell, because they DO listen to pro photogs and their stuff really works well with really big and complex images with alot of layers, etc.

[Nimajus Bagdonavicius @ Jan 30th 2007 3:00PM]

All my drivers are actually easier to install (most install automatically) than xp. All hardware is functioning great. All applications (All adobe creative suite, sketchup, corel painter and etc) work just fine. Games are a bit troublesome. FlatOut2 is easy to get running, NFS MW and Call of Duty 2 have some artifacts, Rainbow Six: Vegas runs with less quirks than XP. Aero never has been a problem since beta 1 days (on FX5900XT and FX7900GT).

Overall satisfaction is great. The only problems arise from games.

[alex @ Jan 30th 2007 3:01PM]

* Does all your software work like before?
nope. While some "not so legal" software worked on XP, it no longer works on Vista. international software has bugs across the board. drivers that i got for hardware in japan and taiwan and turkey (i travel a lot) also don't work.


* Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
meh. kinda. I have hardware from different countries... including 3 versions of XP... they don't talk well with the main vista machine... which is also the central computer. once the 64 bit vista took over the printer... no other 32bit xp machine could use the printer!!!

* Is it integrating with your network alright?
absolutely... maybe. i use ultimate... i can read files and edit them from shared directories, i can do remote desktop with XP pro sp2, but... printers, and shared drivers don't work.


* Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?
not really. worked well.

* What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
crashing on apps it doesn't like. I CAN'T update the REGISTRY!!!! if you try to import a backup of the registry... it cannot do it... COMMON!!!

[James ferretti @ Jan 30th 2007 3:03PM]

Does all your software work like before?
Pretty much everything works fine, only program so far that hasn't been fixable is G-Spot codec information program

Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
Yes, apart from drivers for my Bluetooth Dongle, although they were a bastard even in XP.

Is it integrating with your network alright?
Yup, got it on my home network fine, and I can print to printers attached to XP PCs.

Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?
I don't have one

What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
only crashed once, trying to play Transport Tycoon online with OpenTTD. It is a game from the early nineties though, so not all that surprising.

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Jan 30th 2007 3:06PM]

> Microsoft is going as far as claiming Visual Studio 2003 (.NET CLR 1.1) is not supported in Vista.

I think it would be like with DOS/Win16 apps in WinXP: some OS functionality would be disabled for the apps.

IOW, you can't develop full-featured apps for Vista with vs2k3.

Reminded me of ever boasted Apple's Cocoa portability: Cocoa integrates with applications not down-to-top (iow it is not simple library of calls for app to use) but top-to-down: newer Cocoa versions can replace standard menus in existing applications for it to blend in into whole whole environment seamlessly. All thanks to flexibility (programmers read: weak typing & message oriented arch) provided by Objective C. Since M$ is all into dev tools sales, such miracles aren't expected to realized under Windows any time soon. Even QT4 decided to go M$/Windows way - abandoning all the utility, flexibility and portability provided by QT3 in favor of tighter integration (programmers read: recompile all the time) with host OS.

[Matt @ Jan 30th 2007 3:11PM]

* Does all your software work like before?
Phooshop cs and ill. cs startup a little weird, doesnt look like the alpha channels work in startup. Mcaffee antivirus was "not comptibile"

* Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
No, Wi-fi card didnt work, got a belkin and it worked fine. geforce 7900gt works perfecto

* Is it integrating with your network alright?
just a little problem with the drivers in my old wireless card, nothing 30 bucks cant fix

* Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?
Nope

* What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
Ha, got hosed when the boot loader crashed, that was amazing because it wouldnt regonize hard drives, said "they didnt meet vistas requirements". So i had to re-format my main HD and load XP, then load vista back on ... fantastic

other than that it looks perfect on my two 20 inch monitors.

[Andrew @ Jan 30th 2007 3:11PM]

Does all your software work like before?
For the most, yes, if it runs. Some software I can't get to run (games and for some reason folding@home)
Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
Newer stuff yes, and it was all automatic (including RAID drivers, very nice). Older stuff, sometimes, I can't find drivers for some of my off brand older items (Do you really need that crap anyway?)
Is it integrating with your network alright?
A snap, although just a home network.
Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?
N/A
What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
Nothing not mentioned before.

Overall, there's no way I could go back...

[Glenn @ Jan 30th 2007 3:12PM]

Out of the box, Vista supports all of my hardware perfectly. Windows XP SP2 claims it cannot install these devices: PCI, SM Bus, Unknown Device, Video Controller.

[Jason @ Jan 30th 2007 3:12PM]

Been running vista Ultimate from MSDN since it became available. Running a clean install on one PC, Upgrade on the other. Clean install has had very few issues performance or software wise. Upgrade has had all sorts of performance and compatibility issues, including the dreaded COM Surrogate needs to close error. VERY happy witht he clean install, no so much with the upgrade froom Xp Sp2

[rwfu666 @ Jan 30th 2007 3:12PM]

Does all your software work like before?
All the ones I've tried, yep.
Starcraft works fine on my GMA945
So do the Japanese games I got from Japan

Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
Not all of it. I'm on a sony laptop and some of the "sony stuff" isn't exactly working, like some of the hotkeys and the touchpad slide-scroller. I hope the SZ4 series will get drivers out for vista reeeal soon

Is it integrating with your network alright?
No issues at all!! =D

Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?
Nope!!

What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
None really. IE7 crashed once in the 3 weeks I've been using Vista (Enterprise), the only hiccup thusfar.

[Brooke McKim @ Jan 30th 2007 3:13PM]

When i upgraded about two months ago it broke my Madden07. On kickoff the game would freeze and would only unfreeze if i alt tabbed out then back in. Anytime the kicking meter came up such as punting/field goals/kicking off. It also broke some of my simple .NET based programs such as iART

[J. R. @ Jan 30th 2007 3:14PM]

first off, I got the free copy of Vista Business for doing that 'power together thing' on the web a while back...

Can't upgrade from MCE 2005 to Vista Business... So I lost all my programs.
Reinstalling was a breeze. Installed MUCH faster and with a lot less hassle than any XP install I ever did (not to mention Win 95!)
Many programs could not be reinstalled b/c they weren't compatible. Namely my digital camera software. Also, many of my videos didn't work anymore and the codecs wouldn't install correctly. Even when I downloaded and installed the ones that WINDOWS recommended in order to make the video play, it still said that it couldn't find the codec during playback.

I love the transparent windows and new interface. The indexing search is VERY useful, and I really like the ReadyBoot (for those who are lucky enough to have a fast thumbdrive or SD card).

I also can appreciate the new security measures (as should the Linux community). Only an indiot/(isolated ship wreck victim) should ever log in normally as administrator (root) on a linux box. You're just asking for problems. I do not like how installs 'seem' to go correctly in Vista, but then you run the app and nothing happens. Then you get a popup which says, "The program may not have installed correctly, would you like to install it correctly this time?"

Anyone want to trade a copy of Home Premium for my copy of Business? I want the media functions.

[J. R. @ Jan 30th 2007 3:15PM]

first off, I got the free copy of Vista Business for doing that 'power together thing' on the web a while back...

Can't upgrade from MCE 2005 to Vista Business... So I lost all my programs.
Reinstalling was a breeze. Installed MUCH faster and with a lot less hassle than any XP install I ever did (not to mention Win 95!)
Many programs could not be reinstalled b/c they weren't compatible. Namely my digital camera software. Also, many of my videos didn't work anymore and the codecs wouldn't install correctly. Even when I downloaded and installed the ones that WINDOWS recommended in order to make the video play, it still said that it couldn't find the codec during playback.

I love the transparent windows and new interface. The indexing search is VERY useful, and I really like the ReadyBoot (for those who are lucky enough to have a fast thumbdrive or SD card).

I also can appreciate the new security measures (as should the Linux community). Only an idiot/(isolated ship wreck victim) should ever log in normally as administrator (root) on a Linux box. You're just asking for problems. I do not like how installs 'seem' to go correctly in Vista, but then you run the app and nothing happens. Then you get a popup which says, "The program may not have installed correctly, would you like to install it correctly this time?"

Anyone want to trade a copy of Home Premium for my copy of Business? I want the media functions.

[michael @ Jan 30th 2007 3:16PM]

* Does all your software work like before?
So far, yes.
* Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
Dell Latitude D610 - Everything is working perfect. Windows Update had new drivers for most of my hardware. Haven't tried the Verizon card yet.
* Is it integrating with your network alright?
No issues. The network, however, cannot perform to the speed of Vista. Gigabit networking has been 'fixed' and I have transferred files from one Vista machine to another at 82MB/s.
* Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?
No problems.
* What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
Explorer has crashed a few times while trying to access the Internet from the address bar in a Windows Explorer window.

[topher @ Jan 30th 2007 3:18PM]

alchol 120% causes a BSOD when you install a virtual cd rom drive, and since it keeps trying to reinstall this virtual cd rom drive... in all forms of safemode, i reformatted. i suppose a rollback might have worked, but at this early a stage, why really get into it?

[Liqwid @ Jan 30th 2007 3:22PM]

My brother has been running WoW on his machine with Ultimate RC1 for some months now. All of his games work. His game programs work. So, before you're skeptical of games, it works fine. He's never had a problem with the OS crashing on him at any time.

[ars_workerbee @ Jan 30th 2007 3:30PM]

- Does all your software work like before?
- Yup. All of it. Even my OS 9 apps still run in Classic.

- Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
- Indeed it does.

- Is it integrating with your network alright?
- By the time I logged into my account, it was already back on my wireless.

- Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?
- No muss, no fuss, hopped right on.

- What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
- None!

Oh wait, this is about Vista, not back when I upgraded to Tiger to get Widgets and Search and stuff... sorry, got confused there...

[Chad @ Jan 30th 2007 3:30PM]

Does all your software work like before? (Nero and my Merc Gaming Keyboard software don't work.)

Does all your hardware still function perfectly? (Nvidia's Vista driver bundle doesn't include drivers for my 5900 Ultra, so I had to download some hacked version, which seems to work well enough.)

Is it integrating with your network alright? (No problems here.)

Did it put up a fuss joining your domain? (Nope.)

What kinds of bugs are you seeing? (No bugs, really. Just lots of annoying pop-ups when I try to install or change anything. Does this really make it more secure?)

FYI, I did a clean install (tripple boot MCE/Vista/Ubuntu Edgy) since I'm running MCE2k5 and installed the free Vista Business, though I plan to upgrade to Ultimate later tonight, pretty much just for the Media Center.

[MarkBowman @ Jan 30th 2007 3:34PM]

*Does all your software work like before?
Yep. Office, Itunes, Picasa work fine. VLC needs to be set to GDI mode or you get shockingly bounced into "Aero Basic Mode".
Gaming is a big letdown as Nvidia Drivers are anywhere from 15-50% slower than in XP. Nvidia owners should NOT be using Vista for gaming, period. I haven't tried my emu games yet.

* Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
Yep, but I had to use the XP driver for my Epson scanner.

* Is it integrating with your network alright?
Yep, that works fine.

* Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?
NA. No way businesses should be using this over XP at this point.

* What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
No showstoppers so far.

* Overall
Neat but not necessary. Horrendous Nvidia performance means you literally won't be able to go full-time to Vista yet without having performance issues. I'm bummed I have to continue to use XP because Nvidia STILL hasn't figured out how to write a decent driver for Vista.

[Ben @ Jan 30th 2007 3:36PM]

VISTA SUCKS

I cannot get my SMB network to work. And I will downgrade back to XP if I can't figure it out

[Ayle @ Jan 30th 2007 3:40PM]

Got Business edition from my university:

* Does all your software work like before?
Yes but I cant get the K-lite mega codec pack and the broadcomm wi-fi utility to work....
* Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
Since windows is controlling my wi-fi device I have some knack with the wireless...
* Is it integrating with your network alright?
No problems so far.
* Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?
Nope
* What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
Firefox hanging when playing wmv or laptop stuck on the dark screen where the orange uac promt appears..... I'll try to see if it works better with a clean install.

[Michael Pearson @ Jan 30th 2007 3:42PM]

I have an ASI laptop:

Pentium M 1.73Ghz
2 GB Ram
SATA 80 GB HDD
nVidia 6600 Go

I purchased my laptop in April 2005. It was awesome back then, and it runs Vista well. I upgraded the nVidia drivers, and it is humming along.

I get:
3.6 Processor
4.4 RAM
3.8 Graphics
3.7 Gaming
4.2 HDD

1. Does all your software work like before?

Yes. Trillian has not been optimized for Aero, so Aero defaulted back to Windows Vista Home Basic Layout.

2. Does all your hardware still function perfectly?

Yeah, mostly. My custom laptop buttons and function buttons don't work. Plugging in a mouse doesn't disable the track pad though...grr.

3. Is it integrating with your network alright?

Heck yeah! Network finds other computers WAY faster than My Network Places. VPN installed setup and seemlessly. Internet downloads seem to come twice as fast! No joke. I have 3 Mbps at my house, and I am getting 350KB-515KB downloads. It rocks.

4. Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?

Nope

5. What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
Random lags, but I have a little bit older computer.

[Sean @ Jan 30th 2007 3:45PM]

60% of my software didnt work,

my hardware was bogged down and started erroring out badly.

Sometimes it didnt boot.

It would NEVER wake up from sleep

All in all Ill stick with XP, when the days comes I HAVE to switch linux here i come.

[Newms @ Jan 30th 2007 3:49PM]

* Does all your software work like before?
More or less. Some stuff I had to install in compatibility mode. I'm having to use a beta client of the Nortel Contivity client, but that's hardly MS's problem.


* Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
More or less. Need updated drivers for uli southbridge. Creative needs to get their ass in gear and get drivers together for Audigy soundcards and their webcams. I have beta drivers for the Audigy. No complaints, but I would prefer non beta.

* Is it integrating with your network alright?
Yes.


* Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?
Nope.

* What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
None with Vista itself. More old drivers. The uli southbridge drivers tend to stall my computer now and again for a couple minutes or so. Asides from that, smooth sailing.

I've been using it since october (various betas, rc's and the rtm. No complaints. Me likes.

Beef

[Chris Gaines @ Jan 30th 2007 3:55PM]

I recieved a copy of Vista Business in the mail from Microsoft and was reluctant to install at first. Well, I decided to go ahead and do it. First impression is wow. Then I installed some games.

COMPATIBILITY ISSUES---------
Quake 4 runs like a dream on my PC in XP. In Vista it is like running in mud with weighted shoes! This is the only game that I have installed so far and I am already considering wiping Vista and reinstalling XP! After my disappointment with the horrible Open GL support which equals no Quake 4, Doom 3, or Prey, I decided to continue on with Vista and give it a chance to redeem itself. It doesn't.

There are just no drivers out yet. Half of my hardware is nil due to Vista. X-Fi is not yet working fully. My 7600GT's fan never powers down, the fan stays 100% all the time! Some of my peripherals do not have support, yet. The Griffin Powermate, a handy device that I love, doesn't work unless you know how to hack it to work and even then it is not 100%. Game performance, over all, went down significantly across the board. I was very excited to hear about Vista and how it was supposed to bring about a gaming revolution on the PC, but now I'm very disappointed. I finally decided to go back to what works. I installed a fresh copy of XP media center and NOW I can use my computer. The Vista OS itself was beautiful. The applications that I use the most just don't work well with it, yet. I'm waiting and I hope every PC Gamer waits. The support just isn't there for most titles or hardware.

BUGS-----------
One very interesting thing was that occasionally my mouse would scroll in reverse of what I was scrolling inside a window. I use a wireless MICROSOFT optical 2.0 mouse!

CONCLUSION------------
I want this to work. Until it does I will stick with XP. What are the advantages of using Vista? None, so far, but it is early.

[las6 @ Jan 30th 2007 4:06PM]

I've used Vista Home Premium (not activated, waiting for my copy to arrive) for about a month now, and just upgraded my work laptop to Vista Business. Here are my answers:

* Does all your software work like before?
Pretty much, yeah. (software being dreamweaver, photoshop, sony vegas, lightwave...and so forth)

What doesn't work as it used to is VLC player. (pixelated output) But I could just as well use media player classic for my exotic video needs.

* Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
Yes. Vista Business recognized the wlan adapter wrong on a Amilo Pro V8010d laptop, but after few reboots it started working.

* Is it integrating with your network alright?
Network works better than in xp - it's faster and more easier to control. Also, wmp11 media sharing is pretty nice if you happen to use wmp.

* What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
Not sure if it's a bug, but pictures look different in the Photo Gallery than in a Web browser, for example. I think it has something to do with Color Profiles, but I'm not sure if the Photo Gallery is wrong or right. If anybody figures this one out, please email me!

All in all, works bloody well for me. There could be a bit more support in the way of drivers and applications made for Vista, though.

[01 @ Jan 30th 2007 4:08PM]

Sorry, not trying to start anything here, but it would be intresting to see how intel macs run XP Vs. Vista...seperate post and all that, but I think people might want to see how it comes out. Oh, and BTW, this mac head can't afford it :-)

[las6 @ Jan 30th 2007 4:14PM]

Also, despite what the Upgrade Advisor said to me about Daemon Tools not working; It works without any problems.

Oh and one more thing. The Vista original drivers for my 7900 GS seemed a lot better than what nVidia had to offer on it's website. Those crashed a game once or twice, so I just went back to using the standard one and games seemed to work just fine. (R6: Vegas, Oblivion...)
But what I don't have is the control panel for the gfx settings... although that's probably a matter of nvidia updating their drivers.

[Jordan Amdahl @ Jan 30th 2007 4:16PM]

Will it blend? That is the question!

[dave smith @ Jan 30th 2007 4:31PM]

I've been running Vista Ultimate ( legally ) since mid November, and use it as my primary OS at work and at home. Here's what I've seen:
Hardware: No problems with basic drivers, but many ( especially video cards ) are a far cry from optimized. RAID drivers are out there, but not plentiful. The closer you are to a 'standard' equipment set, the better you'll be. I know it says 512 minimum for RAM... yeah, okay. 1 gig minimum for decent ( not great ) performance, 2 gigs for the real deal. I have a 1 gig USB stick in the back for a 'readyboost' drive. Does it help? Yes. Does it help a lot? No. Keep your expectations low for now with performance increases from the readyboost system.
Software: Over stability has been good, I've only experienced one BSOD ( yes, they still exist in Vista ) so far. Hiberation works well, but a reboot is still necessary if I hibernate with Outlook open due to noticeable bogging down of the system once it wakes back up. Aero... you know, it's cool, but not that cool. The cosmetics of Vista work in that they don't become irritating ( at least so far) in day to day work, but it's not eye-candy-el-supremo. I was hoping for more... IE 7 and all the security ( protected mode, UAC and so on ) built in to Vista is more irritating than useful if you have some decent experience with computers. If you're a noob than cool, they will serve you well and save you from some ugliness, at least until the first exploits come down the path. No problems with Office apps, Anitvirus ( AVG! ) and most common apps. The new Windows Media Player is a giant poter for URGE, and it's bloated and chocked-full of DRM crap. Grab a third party media player with a smaller footprint and you'll be happy. no problems with networking, domains and so on. Wireless is beautifully easy to set up. I *hate* how Vista buries the guts of the networking settings, but change is change and they're all still there, you just have to wade through a bit to get to them. the new control panel is too busy... too many icons, too close together. Yuk.
Overall: I'd agree that Vista is the best Windows so far, easily beating XP for day to day useability once I got most of the annoyances turned off and things set up the way I like them. Avoid upgrading from XP at all costs... anyone who has been through an OS change from MS can tell you a clean install is the ONLY way to go. Trust me, it's woth the money. I don't play games on my PC, so no comment there. Media Center is very good with Vista, though they still use that ridiculous drv.ms format... dumbasses. If you have a XB360 the Media Extender is really good and well worth the time to set up.

[Nite_Moogle @ Jan 30th 2007 4:34PM]

The SATA raid controller on the Asus A8 board (Nforce 4 chipset) I have Vista running on isn't detected, and as a result neither of my SATA drives works. Hooray for new technology.

[Foamator @ Jan 30th 2007 4:40PM]

Anyone else disappointed at the lack of a "Will it blend?" video, involving that random old bloke?

[Matt @ Jan 30th 2007 4:48PM]

Does all your software work like before?
Yes and no. My games don't work well most of them. WinAce doesnt work. Office 2003 does work so im gettin 2007...

Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
Yeah all of it works. Only had to install one driver total

Is it integrating with your network alright?Works pretty damn good. wireless worked as soon as i installed. i was surprized.

Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?
saywa??

What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
hmm.. no logo on the boot screen. thats about it so far..

[Ryan @ Jan 30th 2007 4:51PM]

I've had Ultimate installed for a couple weeks and have noticed quite a few issues with Media Center. It crashes frequently when browsing video folders. Also if I fall asleep while watching something in Media Center, I'll wake up the next morning and my computer will either be frozen or restarted.

[Mad Cow @ Jan 30th 2007 4:52PM]

Got my version of Business free on Friday the 26th from the Power Together Promo:
* Does all your software work like before?
IVT Bluesoleil causes BSOD, Cisco VPN won't work, and the beta versions for Vista break my internets, Citrix ICA no worky, and Abit uGuru isn't stable, VLC doesn't do Aero when playing.
* Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
Boo to Lexmark for not having drivers for 95% of their printers ready, no support for my bluetooth dongles but that has more to do with ITV.
* Is it integrating with your network alright?
No problem except with the VPN above.
* Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?
Nope
* What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
Wakes up slow from Pictures screen saver, takes longer to wake up from default low-power sleep then actually shutting the thing down, random software things, but that'll come.

Overall I like it but hope that the software companies start catching up.

[Jason Booth @ Jan 30th 2007 5:06PM]

I'm running an HP dv2037us and have been running Vista Business since November.

Besides the multiple minor issues, HP's built-in webcam doesn't want to work with Vista, iTunes requires extra effort to get it up and running, you have to change a setting or two to make it work with Clean Access, bridging networks has been a mess, compatibility with aspects of WMP and the Zune aren't perfect, and the default admin settings are kind of ridiculous.

[joelpurvis @ Jan 30th 2007 5:11PM]

On My Toshiba Satellite p105-s6014, It didn't recognize my sound card, fingerprint scanner, or internal SD card reader. The sound card and SD reader just needed the drivers reinstalled, but their is still no solution for the fingerprint scanner.

The biggest problem is that QuickBooks 2006 doesn't work, and Intuit is not offering an upgrade price for 2007. Also dual-booting worked with Beta 2, but now requires a third party application.

[Josh @ Jan 30th 2007 5:18PM]

The only problem I've had is it doesn't see my IDE RAID controller. :( It's a few years old, Adaptec 1200A or something, so I couldn't install it on my 200GB RAID. I installed it on an 80GB standalone drive and everything's been fine so far.

[Datheron @ Jan 30th 2007 5:21PM]

First time posting, I got the free Powertogether Vista Business last Friday and tweaked with it all weekend plus yesterday.

- Vista didn't like having to look at multiple hard drives during installation, I had to unplug all except the one I was installing to.
- Vista is much nicer w/ default drivers than XP was, the rig was quite runnable after a fresh install.
- Most software work well out of the box, they're even good enough use the new directory structure (e.g., C:\Users\NewUser\Documents and C:\Users\NewUser\AppData\Roaming\Profile).
- Alcohol 120% has a HUGE problem that causes BSoD's on startup.
- Most media players seem to have some sort of trouble (VLC, foobar w/ extensions, Winamp, BS Player), so I'm forced to use WMP11 for now; it is very well integrated into the OS, however.
- nVidia's new drivers make things better, but there are still times on my 7900GT when the screen goes to white/green snow.
- UAC is truly annoying, grab TweakVI to turn it off.
- Most programs, even Microsoft's own, has problems with an admin + regular user setup, when it'll allow you to try to update programs as the reg. user but will silently fail as you didn't have admin. rights to install them.
- Windows Sidebar has no customizability and has a pretty sad library, although that'll certainly improve in time.
- There are a LOT of popups dealing with security, asking you and reconfirming that you really want to do what you're about to do. Having to click "OK" on 3 dialogs to install a Sidebar widget is stupid.
- Right now a lot of drivers are still in beta, these impressions are certainly premature and I expect to see improvement in the months ahead.

[wooties @ Jan 30th 2007 5:24PM]

I've done all the betas and am running different installs on 2 home computers and my laptop. Overall, i like it. .. but i'm pretty peeved about certain hardware that worked in previous betas but now are somehow not compatible.

Namely, TV tuners. ATI HDTV Wonder used to work, now has driver problems(hopefully it's just drivers, i can deal with that)

Nvidia NVTV tuners that were made specifically for MCE 2k5 are deemed obsolete, with no support for Vista. .. These cards worked Awesome in MCE2005.. now it seems i'm forced to buy new tuners.

/le cry

[Mike from LI @ Jan 30th 2007 5:28PM]

* Does all your software work like before?
Yes, with the exception of a few windows cleaning utilities, gotta wiat for the new versions. Also, cannot get output on movies to play in 5.1 on my receiver as I did wit XP, possible cause (see below)...

* Does all your hardware still function perfectly?
Everything except my older Turtle Beach Catalina Sound Card. The drivers from their site will not install at all, I had to find the drivers for the chip and use those, severly lacking ont he features side of the sound card i had with xp. Sometimes the digital out will work, sometimes it wont and I have to reinstall the AC3 codec. Otherwise, sound is in stereo for the simpsons and the like, and winamp plays fine. My 7800gt's, RAM, X2 4400, sata and ide drives are all playing nicely together with the os. EVGA does not have the drivers out forvista yet, I would like them to tweak the cards again.

* Is it integrating with your network alright?
Went in nicely (using wired LAN)

* Did it put up a fuss joining your domain?
No

* What kinds of bugs are you seeing?
Movies are being wierd (see above), havent tried any games yet (sure there will be problems), and the sound card drivers.