Vista Beta 2 Goes Public

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June 8th, 2006, 09:56 AM
Steve R Jones

Vista Beta 2 Goes Public

Get Ready for Windows Vista
Getting ready for Windows Vista, available in early 2007, means choosing the edition that's right for you and ensuring that you have the right PC to enjoy the experiences you want.

Windows Vista Beta 2 Customer Preview Program
Windows Vista Beta 2 is now available for you to install, test, and enjoy. Here's the information you need to try it now.

Evaluate Your Current PC
Run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor beta to help get your PC ready for Windows Vista.

System Requirements
We recommend that you consult the Windows Vista Capable and Premium Ready PC specifications for system requirement guidance on running the core experiences and advanced features of Windows Vista.

Get Windows Vista Beta 2
Windows Vista Beta 2 is available as a download or on DVD. It's time for clarity—try it now!

Windows Vista Beta 2 Resource Center
Once you have installed Windows Vista Beta 2, be sure to visit the Resource Center to download the Windows Vista Product Guide, find anti-virus software for Beta 2, and discover more information that will help you get up and running quickly.
June 8th, 2006, 06:27 PM
Skrappy213

Good can't wait till i get to install it
June 9th, 2006, 04:25 AM
usil

Too bad their servers are overworked and its impossible to download it at the moment.
June 9th, 2006, 05:32 AM
Steve R Jones

The good news is that they're probably using different/more servers than the one for beta testers. Its taken an average of tem hous to download the 3.x gigs ....
June 9th, 2006, 07:34 AM
Steve R Jones

Don't forget the Golden Rule->

Note: This is beta code and should not be used in a production environment or on a main machine in the home.
June 9th, 2006, 09:52 AM
usil

Would I be able to set it up with VMWare?
June 9th, 2006, 10:20 AM
Tuttle

Yes, but performance isn't good. Even under MS Virtual PC it's currently really slow -- there aren't any Vista Beta 2 VM additions yet.
June 9th, 2006, 10:23 AM
usil

Hmm, I guess I'll hold off with it then. I don't have a spare machine to run it at the moment.
June 9th, 2006, 02:10 PM
Ridgerunr

Ok folks,,here we go. Since it hit Beta2,decided to give it a shot. Dn/loaded it last night(32bit) about midnight and it took an hour & 5min. Might be a few days,but will burn it and install (clean) on my backup machine and we'll see how it goes... :rolleyes:
June 9th, 2006, 02:13 PM
liam858

Good luck ridge, i'm gonna be doing it later on, after some fiddling around with drives, and once it's finished downloading, at 80% now.......

Liam
June 10th, 2006, 08:08 AM
snooker

Quote:

Originally Posted by usil

Hmm, I guess I'll hold off with it then. I don't have a spare machine to run it at the moment.

Hi ... Does one need a second comp ? Or can you install Vista on a different HDD set as master ? I was thinking to take off my orignal HDD with xp and use a different HDD for Vista on the same comp , Is there any reason why I can't go back to using my original HDD with xp ? Thx
June 10th, 2006, 10:01 AM
Tuttle

Switching hard drives should be fine (and safer than installing it on a second drive while the XP drive is still in the system).
June 10th, 2006, 11:00 AM
snooker

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuttle

Switching hard drives should be fine (and safer than installing it on a second drive while the XP drive is still in the system).

Hi T ... I was thinking that it should be , Now why does Vista need a big HDD when its only the most 4 gb big ? I have an old 16gb drive I want to unload it on , I believe it should work ?
June 10th, 2006, 11:30 AM
lgbpop

Quote:

Now why does Vista need a big HDD when its only the most 4 gb big ?

Compression. (like my waistline on Thanksgiving Day.) I saw in another thread that the installed Vista with some other software installed took up 13 gigs of space.
June 10th, 2006, 11:45 AM
snooker

Well with that being said , I'm going to give it a try on this 16gb and see how it goes :)
June 10th, 2006, 01:41 PM
lgbpop

Sounds like a plan, let us know how it goes.
June 10th, 2006, 01:47 PM
snooker

Hi .... Just installing the OS alone took up 7.45gb and it felt like forever LOL , Everything seem to have gone okay , Now to find drivers/programs that will work , Though i'm curious if some of xp drivers will work?
June 10th, 2006, 02:15 PM
SuperSparks

In my experience I haven't yet found a single XP driver that works :( I haven't had much more luck with suipposed Vista drivers if it comes to that. It looks like there is still a long way to go driver-wise.
June 10th, 2006, 11:18 PM
lgbpop

Quote:

Originally Posted by snooker

Hi .... Just installing the OS alone took up 7.45gb and it felt like forever LOL , Everything seem to have gone okay , Now to find drivers/programs that will work , Though i'm curious if some of xp drivers will work?

Well, my nVidia drivers work with it, as do the Abit drivers. The only XP drivers that seem to work are for the ROMs. It's too late to start doing any more tonight, will resume tomorrow. Mine's about the same size, but I'm going to add a few things so I'll bet it will be more like 10-11 GB by the time I'm through.

The download apparently went well, the DVD I burned worked okay. (Maybe there's a problem with some download managers, but I didn't use one.) After starting Vista up for the first time, I must say it reminds me a bit of Linux. One thing I already find annoying is having to twice confirm any step I take to move or install files. Running Vista with 512MB of RAM is like running XP with 128MB. I already swapped out the 2 x 256 plain-vanilla RAM for 2 x 512 OCZ low-latency sticks, much better. I may be jaded by all the Vista hype, but I'm not overwhelmed by it. I'm not even whelmed. I'll give it a few days to get used to it and see how I feel then.
June 11th, 2006, 02:30 AM
usil

For us technicians, how different is Vista to XP? I mean, do you really need to "study" the program in order to fix it? Is it really different, or are the changes more cosmetic?
June 11th, 2006, 04:49 AM
Undertaker02

Quote:

Originally Posted by usil

Would I be able to set it up with VMWare?

Should be able to.. A friend has been testing the earlier Beta's in the VMWARE enviroment.. you will need plenty of ram..

I just threw this version on a spare 2.4Gb P4.. only had 512MB of RAM and a 64Mb Video.. looks ok.. realy would like to evaluate it with 1024MB and a 128Mb video..
About to load a copy of office 2007 to complete the evaluation.. then the benchmarking starts
June 11th, 2006, 04:56 AM
Undertaker02

ooooops
June 11th, 2006, 08:30 AM
snooker

Quote:

Originally Posted by lgbpop

Well, my nVidia drivers work with it.

I'm the same there , Nvidia has some drivers for Vista

Quote:

Originally Posted by lgbpop

One thing I already find annoying is having to twice confirm any step I take to move or install files. .

I just disable for the moment the " User Account Control " Pain in the neck , Until I find out more about its setting its staying disable ...

I am having a problem with the Sound Direct Output , Creating direct sound buffer , Not sure whether its a setting or a bug but I can't play audio cd with WMP , I got an error code :88780096
June 11th, 2006, 11:33 AM
SuperSparks

Quote:

Originally Posted by usil

For us technicians, how different is Vista to XP? I mean, do you really need to "study" the program in order to fix it? Is it really different, or are the changes more cosmetic?

It's very different to previous versions of Windows in some areas. A lot of stuff has been moved around, and some things take some finding now.
June 11th, 2006, 08:57 PM
snooker

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperSparks

It's very different to previous versions of Windows in some areas. A lot of stuff has been moved around, and some things take some finding now.

Its true , Though I kind of like it , It seem to be more open towards options