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Dec 1, 2006 - 06:27 PM |
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Windows Vista - Part 1 |
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A few days ago I downloaded the release edition of Windows Vista (It was leaked prior to official release yesterday) I went ahead and installed it today, and I will be logging my experience from install to a week or two in of usage.
Part 1: Installation
As most probably know, you cannot install Windows Vista with a CD Drive anymore. Since Vista now comes with all 5-6 editions bundled into one disk, a DVD along with a DVD reader is required. Once you've booted from the CD, you will notice that, as per usual with each release of a new Windows OS, the installation has gotten prettier. Gone completely are the days of pressing a hotkey to activate a menu option that looked like it came from the days of DOS. Installation also seems to load faster than Windows 2k or XP did, call me crazy, I thought it would take longer. The first action requested of you is to enter your product key. I didn't actually have this on me, and I'll have to go find one later, but surprisingly Vista does not require you to input a key to proceed. Clicking next will spawn a screen informing you that although you don't need to enter a key now, you will in the future at the risk of losing all your data and your Windows installation. Clicking next you are presented with a screen asking you which edition of Vista you have and of course lists every edition possible. The same screen gives you a friendly reminder that had you input your CD-Key, Vista would have auto-detected this and you wouldn't have to worry. I of course chose Vista Ultimate, I mean come on, you think I would choose Windows Starter?
Next, Windows asks which partition you would like to install to. This partition manager is of course prettier than the 2k or XP one, though it isn't as useful upon immediate spawn. Options such as format are hidden untill you click 'Show Advanced Options.' Considering most users will want to delete their old XP installation, this seems kinda odd to do, but no real biggie.
Next, Windows begins the actual installation process. This to, seems to work faster than Windows XP or 2k ever did. Once you've finished installing (Took me approximately 15-20 minutes) Windows will start asking you the typical questions (What time zone are you in, what do you want your username to be?) Changes I noted in this part of the installation are the Network setup and User preferences. In 2k and XP, you were given a dialog to configure your network with all the trimmings and options. In Vista, this dialog is dumbed down to 3 options. Vista will first detect if you're even on a network. Then it asks you if you're at home, work, or in a public area. I don't know to well what the differences are, but I just chose Home and that was that. As for user preferences, on the same screen you input your username, your asked which user icon you want and also which of the basic wallpapers that come with Vista you want to use.
After you've selected your preferences, you are booted into Vista upon restart.
And that's about that for installation. In summary, the Vista installation was quite seamless and easy to perform. It looks prettier, but unfortunately for prettiness the installer sacrifices some advanced options power users may prefer to see. Most of those options are showable with relative ease though, so it's not to big a concern. I can say with confidence the Vista installer is a nice improvement over the 2k and XP installers.
I'll be back again soon with the Part 2, initial bootup, device detection, and etc. experience.
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