Windows Vista

Vista Editions | Vista Hardware | Customizing & Tweaking Vista
Vista Security & Patches | Learning More

About Windows Vista

Released January 30, 2007, Vista was poorly received by reviewers and businesses. The most attractive feature was the new Aero transparency.

“…there's nothing wrong with Windows Vista. But there's no one compelling feature within Windows Vista that cries out to switch over…. As for security, Microsoft's biggest improvements in Windows Vista are within the Enterprise or 64-bit editions, versions most home users will not be running.”
—CNET Reviews

History

Vista sales terminated in October 22, 2010 (October 22, 2011 for sales of PCs with Windows preinstalled).

Mainstream support for Vista SP2 expired on April 10, 2012 (extended support is available until April 17, 2017 for business versions only). Microsoft is urging users to move to Windows 7.

Microsoft's Windows Vista Support

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Windows Vista Editions

Comparing Vista Editions

There are four editions of Vista:

View the CNET side-by-side comparison chart of Windows Vista editions.

Windows Vista Business and Ultimate versions can be downgraded to Windows XP, but it's up to the vendor if and how they want to implement that option. See Windows Vista Downgrade Rights (PDF) for details.

Windows Vista Hardware

Installing Windows Vista

Microsoft has instruction on how to Install, reinstall, or uninstall Windows.

Vista More Demanding of Hardware

Windows Vista is particularly demanding and few computers built before 2007 will run Vista satisfactorily without being significantly upgraded. Hardware requirements are generally much higher to perform the same functions as a comparable system running Windows XP.

System Requirements

You'd best look at new hardware if you want to optimize your experience with Windows Vista. See the general notes about Windows hardware requirements.

Vista provides an advantage where you are using the 64-bit version with large amounts of memory (8 GB). 32-bit systems only provide a small amount of enhanced memory, making the advantages over XP, in this respect, minimal.

Hardware Upgrades Probably Necessary

The most likely upgrades needed to satisfy Vista's demands include:

ReadyBoost

ReadyBoost is a new feature on Vista that allows you to enhance built-in RAM with external devices like USB flash drives. Not all devices are capable of providing the speed needed for ReadyBoost and it is most pronounced in systems with Vista's minimum of 512MB RAM (not recommended).

Upgrading from XP

Were you to consider upgrading from Windows XP, most XP machines are running on 512 MB or less of RAM (unless they've been updated since purchase to my recommended 2GB) and most have video cards as small as 32 MB, usually 64 MB, but seldom over 128 MB. Vista polls the video card frequently, requiring a more powerful video card for satisfactory performance.

You might also wish to consider a new larger, faster hard drive (SATA if your motherboard supports it). If you have a basic XP system, you're more likely to be satisfied only if you purchase a whole new computer.

Check Your Programs for Vista Compatibility

Many common programs are still not ready for Vista, particularly older programs and utilities, so your old favourites might not run. Be sure to check whether the Vista Upgrade Advisor lists programs as incompatible that are important to you. If so, you'll have to locate and purchase newer versions that are designed with Vista in mind.

Don't Buy Vista “Basic”

In my opinion, Vista Home Basic was a sell-out to hardware vendors with computers lacking the capacity to run Vista. I recommend looking at alternatives to Vista if your computer cannot handle the requirements for Vista Home or better.

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Tweaking & Customizing Windows Vista

Tweaking Settings

This involves changing the way Windows does certain tasks, such as not placing the "shortcut to" in the name of new shortcuts (you can tell a shortcut by the little arrow placed on the icon—although you can remove that as well, if you like).

Broadband and Networking Tweaks

Windows Registry

Changing the Look

Windows Vista introduced the Windows Aero translucent glass design and larger "live" icons which captured people's imagination. This is much more demanding of video hardware and can affect performance in marginal systems.

Recovery Resources

If you're having trouble with Vista, try these resources:

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Windows Vista Security

Windows Vista greatly increased the security of Windows with bitlocker drive encryption, encrypting file system, shadow copy and the notoriously annoying User Account Control.

Significant changes to the operating system were undertaken to help reduce vulnerabilities long entrenched in Windows. This meant that legacy utilities and security software no longer ran on Vista (new versions were developed to remedy this).

Vista Service Pack 1 & 2

Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) offers better compatibility with third-party hardware, increased reliability, tighter security, and better performance. However, the greatest benefits are aimed at Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate editions and some home users may even see a slight degradation in their computer's performance.

Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) provides customer and partner feedback-driven fixes into a single service pack.

As with most service packs, Vista SP1 & SP2 should be installed unless you have a compelling reason not to. Using Windows Update, only the necessary patches are downloaded and installed.

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Learning More

Windows Basics

These pages give an overview of Windows, its versions history and expected life-cycle as well as concepts and terminology:

Other Current Windows Versions

The following related pages offer more information about other versions of Windows currently in use:

General Windows Information

The following related pages offer general information about Windows:

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www.russharvey.bc.ca/resources/windowsvista.html
Updated: April 18, 2012