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Windows Vista Ultimate with SP1 | 
 enlarge | From: Microsoft Software
Category: Software
List Price: $339.99
Buy Used: $139.00
You Save: $200.99 (59%)
New (62) from $175.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  111 reviews
Format: Dvd-rom
Platform: Windows Vista
Media: DVD-ROM
Edition: Ultimate
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Operating System: Windows Vista
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.2 x 1.6
MPN: 66R-02261
Model: 66R-02261
UPC: 882224661447
EAN: 0882224661492
Release Date: March 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Mobility-based operating system meets all your computing needs whether you're working from home, working on the road, or searching for entertainment options | | • | Combines all the features of a business-focused operating system, all the efficiency features of a mobility-focused operating system, and all of the digital entertainment features of a consumer-focused operating system | | • | Remotely connect to business networks; Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption provides improved levels of protection against theft for your important business data whether you are at home, on the road, or in the office | | • | Delivers all of the entertainment features available in Windows Vista Home Premium; includes everything you need to enjoy the latest in digital photography, music, movies, analog TV, or even HDTV | | • | Ideal for both business and home entertainment use |
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Product Description
The most complete choice for your business just got better.Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 helps you focus on what matters the most: you, your business, and your customers. Special enhancements and security protocols help make this Vista truly ultimate. This is the most complete edition of Windows Vista - with the power, security, and mobility features that you need for work with fun entertainment features. Windows Vista Ultimate has an advanced, business-focused infrastructure, mobile productivity, and a premium home digital entertainment experience, all in one box. It combines all of the features found in Windows Vista Home Premium (like Windows Media Center, Windows Movie Maker with high-definition support, and Windows DVD Maker) and Windows Vista Business (like business networking, centralized management tools, and advanced system backup features). It also has all of the security and data protection features that you need. Found only in the Ultimate edition are Windows Ultimate Extras, add-ons that extend the capabilities of your system including:
Windows Defender & Windows Firewall - safeguard your PC against security threats Easier use of a PC with Windows Tablet & Touch Technology - pen-and-ink functionality, improved navigation, improved handwriting recognition & built-in touch screen support Collaborate & share documents with Windows Meeting Space Enjoy Windows Media Center on your TV with Xbox 360 & other devices Business networking connectivity with Networking Center & Remote DesktopSystem Requirements 800 MHz processor & 512 MB of system memory 20 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space Super VGA graphics support If you want a single PC that fulfills all of your work, travel, and entertainment needs, Windows Vista Ultimate is the system for you.
Amazon.com
Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 is the choice for those who want to have it all. Easily shift between the worlds of productivity and play with the most complete edition of Windows Vista. Ultimate provides the power, security, and mobility features needed for work, and all the entertainment features that you want for fun. | Compare Windows Vista editions. | 
Use Instant Search to quickly find the information you need. View larger. | 
Windows Vista Aero provides spectacular visual effects such as glass-like interface elements that you can see through. | 
The redesigned Windows Media Center in Windows Vista lets you enjoy your media throughout your home, even on your Xbox 360. View larger. | Improved Reliability and Performance
Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 and improvements delivered by hardware and software partners increase the reliability, performance, and compatibility of Windows Vista-based PCs. With Windows Vista with SP1, many of the most common causes of operating system crashes and hangs have been addressed. Windows Vista includes new, innovative technologies that help pinpoint and diagnose issues reported anonymously by Windows Vista-based PCs from millions of users who have elected to have their PC send us system information. Windows Vista with SP1 supports a number of important new technology standards, so it will keep making your PC easier and more enjoyable to use for years to come. The most complete edition of Windows Vista--with the power, security, and mobility features that you need for work, and all of the entertainment features that you want for fun
When you want to have it all, including the ability to shift smoothly between the worlds of play and productivity, there's Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1. You'll never have to worry about having the most advanced capabilitiesNthey're all here. This edition of Windows Vista offers an advanced, business-focused infrastructure, mobile productivity, and a premium home digital entertainment experience, all in a single offering. Specifically, Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 offers all of the features found in Windows Vista Home Premium, including Windows Media Center, Windows Movie Maker with high-definition support, and Windows DVD Maker. It also offers all of the features found in Windows Vista Business, including business networking, centralized management tools, and advanced system backup features. And Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 has all of the new security and data protection features that help take Windows Vista to a whole new level of dependability. In addition, Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 includes support for all of the new mobility features in Windows Vista, including Windows Tablet and Touch Technology, Windows SideShow, Windows Mobility Center, and other new, advanced mobility features. Exclusive to Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 are Windows Ultimate Extras. Windows Ultimate Extras are add-ons that extend certain capabilities of your operating system or just make using your PC more fun. Windows Ultimate Extras currently available include: - Windows DreamScene, an Extra that enables you to use looped, full-motion video as your desktop wallpaper instead of a static image
- Windows Hold'em, a poker game for players of all skill levels
- Language packs for Windows multi-language interface, where users can install and use multiple languages on a single PC. Great for multi-lingual households or if you are learning a new language.
- Secure Online Key Backup, where Ultimate users can store their BitLocker recovery password and Encrypting File System certificate on Windows Marketplace's Digital Locker website for access to the key anytime, anyplace, and from any computer that has an Internet connection
- BitLocker Drive Preparation Tool, an automated tool which removes the complexity of setting up your PC to use this exclusive data security feature.
Whenever a new Windows Ultimate Extra is ready for distribution by Microsoft, you will see the Ultimate Extra control panel inform you that there are new extras to download. Simply download and install the Extras and begin enjoying these exclusive software and services that give your Windows Vista experience an extra lift! If you want a single PC that fulfills all of your work, travel, and entertainment needs, or if you simply want to be confident that you have the very best, Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 is the no-compromise edition for you. 
Windows Sidebar gives you quick access to gadgets like picture slide shows, Windows Media Player controls, or news headlines. You pick the gadgets you want to see in Windows Sidebar. View larger. | 
Use Flip 3D to navigate through open windows using the scroll wheel on your mouse. View larger. | Safety
Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 helps protect your family and your personal information from threats from malicious software and phishing scams and helps you keep your PC backed-up and running smoothly. Parental Controls help parents keep children safer while using PCs through convenient tools to manage and monitor children's computer use, access to websites, and ability to play certain games and use certain applications. PCs running Windows Vista are 60% less likely to be infected with viruses, worms and rootkits than PCs running Windows XP SP2. Windows Internet Explorer 7 helps protect your PC and your personal information against malicious software, fraudulent websites, and online phishing scams. New phishing attacks are more than 25 times as common as new viruses, and over 20,000 fraudulent phishing websites are created every month. Internet Explorer 7 is now blocking nearly one million inadvertent attempts to access fake phishing sites per week. Help defend your PC against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software with Windows Defender. Windows Defender in Windows Vista automatically scans Internet Explorer 7 downloads to help bring spyware to your attention before it can infect your computer. More easily back-up the content on your PC--including digital photos, music, movies, and documents--with Scheduled and Network Backup. If you have serious PC problems, Complete PC Backup and Restore makes it easier to restore your PC by not only backing up all your files, but also the entire operating system and all of your applications. Help ensure that the data on your computer stays confidential, even if your PC is lost or stolen. windows BitLocker Drive Encryption provides full-volume encryption and boot integrity monitoring (alerting you if someone has tampered with your PC). Entertainment
Windows Vista with SP1 is more entertaining. With Windows Media Center, you can enjoy your digital photos and music on your TV as well as on your PC. And it can turn your PC into a digital video recorder, so you can record TV and watch it on your schedule, not theirs. Sit back and enjoy recorded TV, photos, music, home videos, games and DVDs from the comfort of your couch with Windows Media Center. Access and project your TV, music, photos, and movies to any room in your house using an Xbox 360 console connected to your wired or wireless home network. It's like having your Media Center PC wherever you have an Xbox 360! Author and burn movies, photos, and music to DVDs you can play on your PC or a DVD player with Windows DVD Maker. Live the game! It's easier for you to find, play, and manage your games with GAMES EXPLORER. Games Explorer provides detailed information including when you last played, game genre, and rating of your games. With DirectX 10, play vivid and engaging games with unrivalled realism. Also, use the same game controller with both your PC and your Xbox 360 system. Ease
It's easier and faster than ever to find, use, manage and share the information on your PC or on the Web with Windows Vista with SP1. Most Windows Vista-based PCs boot in less than a minute, which can be an improvement over Windows XP boot times. The Windows Vista sleep and resume features can bring your PC to life in a snap. The vast majority of Windows Vista-based PCs resume from sleep in less than six seconds. See everything you're working on more clearly with Windows Aero and quickly switch between windows or tasks using Windows Flip 3D. Find it fast! Simply type something about a file, picture, or song, such as a word contained in a document or e-mail message, the artist of a song, or the date a picture was taken, and Instant Search will bring back any matches instantly. Organize a lifetime of photos and movies with ease using Windows Photo Gallery. Tag your photos by date, keyword, star rating or any identifying label you choose--so you can find them anytime you want them. Display live information, like weather, stocks, and news, directly on your desktop with easy-to-use Gadgets and Windows Sidebar. View multiple web pages simultaneously with Quick Tabs in Windows Internet Explorer 7. Get up and running faster than ever with Windows Easy Transfer that automatically copies your files and settings from your old PC. Mobility
With special features to help you go mobile, Windows Vista with SP1 makes computing and connecting away from home or the office easier than ever. Work the way you want with touch and digital input and handwriting. Tablet and Touch Technology makes your notebook PC experience truly personal. Set up a wireless network at home with Network and Sharing Center--so you can experience the freedom of working virtually anywhere in your home. Then easily find and join a wireless network at your favorite hotspot--so you can stay productive wherever you go. Optimize your power and mobil settings centrally with Windows Mobility Center. Easily sync and manage your music, contacts and pictures across your devices and other PCs with Sync Center. Share your desktop or any program with Windows Meeting Space. Co-edit documents, and pass notes in class, a favorite hotspot, or where no network exists.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 106 more reviews...
 Rather flawed, may want to skip unless it comes pre-installed March 25, 2008
17 out of 29 found this review helpful
I'm a long, long time Windows user, since the very first days when it was released and we could finally move away from DOS. I've reformatted my computers and installed various OS's up to Windows XP. The early days of XP were certainly not easy either, but with SP2 we finally had a fairly stable, solid, reasonably secure operating system. I seldom jump on new operating systems, letting other users be the ones to find all the bugs and problems. And there's no doubt, Vista had its share of them. When I recently bought a new high-end system, I specifically asked that XP Pro be installed instead of Vista as I did not want to be bothered with software that didn't work or drivers that weren't compatible.
But given the opportunity to review Vista Ultimate with the new service pack, I figured it was worth checking out. I ran the Vista Upgrade Adviser on my secondary development box and it didn't find any problems, so I figured I was good to go. It was a slightly older system, but still had plenty of memory and space and should handle Vista fine. However, after reaching the product key screen, entering my number, and continuing to the next screen, boom! The installation throws an error about the install.wim file being missing. I'm installing right from the Windows Vista CD, how can it be missing? Researching this error on the Microsoft support site brought up nothing, doing Google searches found it to generally be caused by people downloading an install and burning it to a CD. This is a packaged version I am using though, so what now?! Several calls to Microsoft support totally fail to bring any resolution and after routing me through to several people they tell me it's an activation problem and the key I have is invalid. This just doesn't make sense to me in terms of the error I was getting.
So I started doing some detective work on my own. After a couple hours of diagnostics I was sure the disk itself was fine. I disconnected everything from my computer but my hard drive and the DVD-Rom and tried again, still getting the same error. So my best guess was that it had some problem with the DVD drive. There were no firmware updates available from the manufacturer so I did some more searching and found a site offering upgrades for these drives to newer firmware versions (mainly for the purpose of flashing a newer version with more burn capabilities). So figured I'd give that a shot and see what happened. And wouldn't you know it, that allowed Vista finally to install properly.
More on the software later, but this install problem really threw me for a loop. The error was totally unhelpful as was the support at Microsoft. I found reports of people having problems with this error with boxed versions, so it's definitely not unknown yet there was nothing at all in their knowledge base about the cause. The Upgrade Advisor seems pretty useless to me if it can't even find a problem that would result in the software refusing to install! I'd really highly caution anyone that purchases Vista *other* than as part of a new computer system to really be sure they are ready for it. With new computers, the vendor has done all the work of making sure the hardware is compatible, all the drivers work with it, etc. As a home user, you are totally on your own with any problems you run into. Microsoft does give you free support for a short time if you run into problems with the install, but I must say, I found that help to be completely worthless in trying to resolve my own issues, so have little faith in how helpful they are for anything other than typical inexperienced user issues. If you run into serious problems and decide to go back to your previous OS, you most likely will not be able to return the software, or if you can, it will often be with a significant price hit. So be sure to check the return policy on software wherever you purchase it, be it here at Amazon or elsewhere, before making a decision to purchase or not. And if you do decide to install on an existing system, do whatever you can to make sure all your hardware is Vista-ready.
I've only been using the software for awhile but so far am fairly underwhelmed. Yeah, it looks nice and there are some neat features, but there's so much that I just shake my head in frustration at. The main problems with Vista are pretty well documented elsewhere. Performance generally slower than on XP (particularly copying files over the network), constant security pop-up messages, common tasks often taking longer to do or setup options being harder to find, all the different versions and the high price, etc. It does seem to put a lot more emphasis on things looking pretty than on getting things done quickly and efficiently. I've mainly been using the Media Center features and it's not been a particularly great experience so far, it's locked up a couple times on me and several times the visualizations stop running for some reason (and tell me I need to restart the computer. Huh??) I had to find a different way to copy over DRM-protected files as it wouldn't move them from my other networked system (I can understand not playing them until I download the rights, but not allowing me to even copy them?? Come on!) I do get frustrated at the things that take me more mouse clicks than before...as someone that suffers from repetitive strain problems, more mouse clicks not only slows me down, it simply is not good from an ergonomic standpoint. The new start menu is a good example...I love the look of it, the integrated search, etc. But why can I not do a cascading programs menu?? I have to click on each submenu to open it, rather than being able to just mouse over. Things like this seem to be an unnecessary step backwards in usability and makes you wonder when Microsoft lost site of keeping their operating system elegant and intuitive to use, in favor of something that "looks cool". Keep in mind as well, that you don't get any kind of user manual, etc. with this software (as is typical for a lot of software these days, particularly MS products)...you have to figure stuff out using the built-in and online help, or purchase a book on Vista to get more step-by-step information on using it. The average user, particularly one moving from XP or older systems, will certainly find themselves a bit lost at times.
Hopefully I'll get used to this new monster and appreciate all the new tools it has. But for the high price, it's really hard for me to recommend it unless it comes packaged with a new system. And even then, it's really debatable if it's worth moving to over the tried-and-true XP. I left this one-star review initially on it when I had spent almost 2 days trying unsuccessfully to install it, and I would have to say my overall experience would still come in at a 1-star so far. It definitely has not been a smooth ride. As for rating the operating system portion alone, I'd probably bump that up to 3-stars, it definitely has some very nice graphic improvements, if you have the hardware to handle it, and some improvements and new features that no doubt many people will appreciate. Many of these though are just as easily available for XP (desktop search and gadgets for instance) so you need to really judge whether it's worth moving to Vista with all its other flaws.
 Some New Form, Little New Function - Not Worth Upgrading April 4, 2008
17 out of 22 found this review helpful
For having taken Microsoft over 5 years to build since XP, Vista has surprisingly little to offer that XP can't do with a few tweaks. There are a handful of useful new features, and Aero Glass is certainly attractive (if it works on your machine, it doesn't for many). But most of these, even the eye candy, are unnecessary and can be added to XP if you want them that badly.
I'm reminded of the "upgrade" from Windows 98 to the ill-fated Windows Me. Windows 98 was a "perfect" OS for its time, and while Windows Me was meant to bring exciting new features, what it really brought was a myriad of bugs, and actually took away features from Windows 98, which some die-hards still use. Although Vista is much more different from XP than Me was from 98, the situation is similar. There are no absolute must have features in Vista, but there are plenty of bugs, incompatibilities, and upgrade nightmares.
When it comes to upgrading by installing over your old operating system, my advice is this: don't. Move all your data off your hard drive, wipe it, and do a clean install of Vista, or don't upgrade at all. With today's complicated operating systems, installing over your old OS is bound to be a hassle. Even if it does work correctly, your system still won't be as fast, and will have a lot of junk left over on your hard drive from your old operating system. A clean install is always best.
This brings me to my final problem with Vista: performance. Despite its lack of hot new features, it does consume vastly larger amounts of resources than XP. Your old machine may not be able to handle it, and even if it can, it will still be much slower than if you keep using your old operating system. The best approach to buying Vista is to just buy a new machine with it preinstalled. It's not like you have the choice anyway, most new computers give you Vista whether you want it or not.
Overall Vista is okay, but not worth buying if you're happy with XP. As always, do your research and be ready for a big hassle if you choose to upgrade.
 Vista Still Works Fine for Me April 5, 2008
11 out of 18 found this review helpful
I have XP running on a bootcamp partition on my MacBook and it is doing just fine. I spend most of my working time in Word, hardly ever using any of the other programs in the Office suite. However, I use the Adobe products Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator a whole bunch. Other than that I play solitaire, watch videos and, of course, use both Explorer and Firefox when I go online. That's about it for me, software wise, and XP handles it all without fail, without crashing and without giving me any headaches.
And I will miss it when I upgrade to Vista, however my machine can handle the upgrade, so I'm giving it a try.
Okay, I like the look and feel of Vista, however it's not as snappy as XP or even System X. I like the AERO bit, quite snazzy and one of the reasons my machine runs a bit slower, I suspect, however I'm loath to turn it off as it's so cool.
Word works fine and that's to be expected. My Adobe software runs well too. The browsers, no problem. I did have to upload a printer driver, but that only took a few minutes and I was good to go.
I've read a lot of reviews by people who are having problems with Vista and I'm getting the SP1 upgrade any day and I'll instal it, but I'm not experiencing the problems others appear to be having. Maybe because it's because I only use four or five programs on my Machine. I don't use iTunes or Windows Media as I still listen to my CDs the old fashioned way and only then if I don't have the phonograph record.
I've just installed the SP1 upgrade and I have to saw that I do notice a difference. Things just seem snappier now. For the last week I've had my MacBook running Vista and no crashes, not even in Photoshop, which used to happen before the upgrade. I'm not saying it's going too, but it has not happened yet. So now I'm running Vista Ultimate on my MacBook and I just got a nifty new MacBook Air, oh so thin, oh so cool running with Vista Home Premium. Vista on way cool Macs, way cool that is.
Pass Up Vista's Pretty Face, Save Yourself This Pain! April 6, 2008
9 out of 16 found this review helpful
If it were possible to give Vista a negative rating I would do so. Vista is unlike every other Microsoft Operating System ever produced. Every new Microsoft Operating System came with its annoying little bugs. Those of us who liked Microsoft Windows myself among them usually got used to living with the MS bugs or "Features" as they are called by the company.
Vista was inflicted on PC users because somewhere Microsoft got the notion that a more complex difficult to use memory hogging buggy wizard filled operating system was more secure thus much better. Vista is indeed far more secure than any earlier Microsoft product for one basic reason it never lets you do anything. You can not be productive on Vista unless you jump through more operating system generated hoops than you will ever see during a lifetime at the circus.
Don't get me wrong. I am not one of these geeky guys that wants everyone to switch to Linux or Apple. I love my Microsoft Windows XP PC but, Microsoft Vista is a gigantic LEMMON no amount of Service Pack tweaking will ever fix. I have XP systems and I will be keeping my XP computer. If I buy a new computer with Pretty but way lame Vista pre-installed I will reformat my disk and install my trusty capable XP operating system workhorse.
To say Vista is super slow at start up, during regular use and at shut down is an understatement in its most profound incarnation. If you buy a system with so much memory, new graphics, sound and other high priced, hogh powered hardware producing a system that costs a kings ransom Vista will speed up a little. Vista is a money hog because many old XP devices do not work on Vista at all and others need lots of tweeking to get them to work. Now Vista is so improved it will never crash, naw Vista just freezes up so completely you can not do anything productive. Vista will make you more productive because all its freeze up's will have you doing the same work again and again and again and again hoping it won't freeze before you can save it!
Finally Vista is a big useless paranoid fat nag. I mean at every turn Vista wants to reformat, check or otherwise make sure something you are doing is allowed. Vista is the Fort Knox of Operating Systems but think about it who wants to live and work in Fort Knox. Vista is an operating system as such it is an extention of your home or business. Adding Vista to your computer is like stationing thousands of nagging police officers whose job it is to challenge your every move every time you become even the least bit productive. Vista is an operating system with so many paranoid subsystems built in that it is effectively useless for its intended productive purpose.
For all the reasons I list herein I would strongly advise against purchasing Vista. I feel Vista is the prettiest operating system Microsoft has ever produced. Unfortunately under that pretty VISTA surface is a code filled of maggots that grow into extremely pretty productivity killing computer bugs.
 Vista Ultimate vs. Retestrak XP March 27, 2008
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
First, you need to know a few things about me before reading this review:
1.I'm a novelist and a screenwriter living and working in Los Angeles. Most of my education is in Computer Sciences and English.
2.I do not now and have never worked for Microsoft or any sub-contractor thereof.
3.I did not purchase my copy of Windows Vista Ultimate. I was offered it free of charge due to membership in Amazon Vine. Every month I'm offered numerous items to review and this month, I selected this product.
4.My first computer was a Sinclair "Zed" X-81. Nuff said.
I'm not going to write the usual benefit bloated review of this product. There are large quantities of MS Shills and MS Stooges on Amazon leaving phony reviews in praise of this product and other products by Microsoft, and they are all annoying and as bloated as the programs they praise. There are also enough MS Haters reviewing as well, just to be fair.
Most people are here for two reasons:
1.They are on the verge of buying this product and are probably ready to let go of XP.
2.They already own this product and are looking for some insight.
This is a key point. I'm not going to tell you how great this product is, you can go anywhere for that, or just read the package. I'm going to do my best in telling you how to optimize this product for best results so that it's effective for the rest of us, including our not-so-windows savvy parents, that way you can feel better about purchasing or not purchasing - which is the point of Amazon reviews anyhow.
My Machine ...
For the last handful of years, and I wont give a length of time on this, due to a probable lawsuit; but I've been running what's commonly known as Retestrak XP on one of my machines. Google it. It's a pretty sophisticated piece of OS for users wishing to remain "off the grid". The serial code is one of those FCKGW codes that was probably intended to be a political statement, but turned out to be the most populated serial code of all time, and probably the biggest nightmare for Microsoft as well.
Supposedly, Retestrak is a pirate version of Windows XP that does not dial home to Redmond, it's been modified to run faster and it installs with everything you need to operate including antivirus and firewalls. It's been pretty interesting and problem free using it, and it's a shame MS can't seem to take a que from the European Programmer that Frankenstein'd the thing together because it's pretty awesome and has a lot of underground support, much like Linux. If I start getting hate mail from Sniper's Redemption Network, the author, then I may go into hiding. Someone's going to say I'm insane for admitting my use of Retestrak, but whatever. To quote Humphrey Bogart: "I left a note in my apartment, they'll know where to find me."
In the first comment, I've left my Machine stats below to see for benchmark and comparison.
I tell you this history, so you can understand the machine I'm putting Vista on and my reluctance to run a MS OS unchecked. Like most people, I don't trust Microsoft ... and rightly so. I have several other machines at the house, my laptop runs Vista Home ( a Dell), one's a Mac and another still has Windows 2000 on it (a very nice OS) , and all are registered.
The Install ...
First - unplug all your external hard-drives, flash card readers, what have you. If you want to chance leaving your printer connected, go for it, but you may be playing with fire by doing so. I would say unplug everything but your keyboard, monitor and mouse. I say this because your equipment might be old and Vista may not have the driver, thus causing problems during the install * even if it already said you're fine.
Second - Nobody but a fool would recommend doing an upgrade. If you're going to install this thing, do it right and do a full install.
Third - if you're worried about losing information from your old OS, then let me say a few things here:
Go buy an External Hard Drive and keep everything personal on it.
Buy two if you believe in redundancy as I do.
Never put anything but the Operating System on the C drive.
Never put anything but the Operating System on the C drive.
Never put anything but the Operating System on the C drive.
Do not partition your C drive.
Do not let other people tell you to partition your C drive.
Do not run multiple Operating Systems one drive.
Back up all your files elsewhere. Don't EVER use a backup program. It's tedious and a waste of resources.
Now, back to the program ...
The Installation process was relatively painless. After checking my computer with the Vista Upgrade tool, which has to be downloaded, everything but my wireless Belkin transmitter would apparently survive the installation. Above, in the pictures section I've left a few screenshots for anyone curious to see what this Vista Checker looks like and what it found.
Surprisingly, the installation was only 46 minutes in total from having control of my machine - to having control of my machine again. It rebooted a total of four times at 25 minutes, 33, 37 and 40 minutes, respectively. I wasn't too put out about the time I spent, as all I missed was another late-night Cold Case re-run. Vista does want to fine tune itself after it's all said and done - which was annoying and then it "must prepare the desktop". What is that, like a turndown service at a hotel? I could've done with out all the delay. But overall, it wasn't bad. No crashes, no blue screens and no lock-ups. Microsoft must have also taken a hint about all the annoying nag prompt boxes, as I didn't encounter a single one, not even once I got on the internet.
Boot time ...
Here are some records I kept to benchmark the basics of the two Operating Systems. I'm comparing Vista against Restestrak XP as I believe this is really, the only true test worth running ...
Retestrak Boot Time: 1:08 secs (fully operational - HDD quiet)
Retestrak Shut Down Time: 0:21 secs (completely off)
Vista Ultimate Boot Time: 2:10 secs (fully operational - HDD quiet)
Vista Ultimate Shut Down Time: 0:08 secs (completely off)
After adjusting services.msc, I got the boot time down to 1:48 seconds. Please keep in mind that the boot time for Vista reflects a fresh install, while my Restestrak XP had about 40 programs installed. Over time, you may experience a longer boot-time with the more programs you add. Please see msconfig below for improvement.
Retestrak XP Program Benchmarks:
MS Word / Ms Office 2003 - 1 Second
Adobe Photoshop 7.0 - 4 Seconds
Adobe Photoshop CS3 - 7 Seconds
Vista Ultimate Benchmarks:
MS Word / Ms Office 2003 - 15 Seconds
Adobe Photoshop 7.0 - 12 Seconds
Adobe Photoshop CS3 - 16 Seconds
Services.msc ...
This is the first stop of places to visit once you're up and running. To activate the panel, click start and then type SERVICES.MSC in the start search box at the bottom, which is the equivalent of the Run Prompt and Search from XP and beyond. They've finally combined it.
When the box pops open you can then make the needed adjustments which will improve the ability of your system dramatically. I have listed the basic settings/ adjustments that I have chosen for each instance in the comments section below in the second comment. I have listed only some of what you will see within services. Some people recommend disabling everything and turning your computer back to the stone ages. These options cover a few glaring security issues, memory and CPU drains and processes that are just outright unnecessary for just about everyone. I've left Vista's functionality, firewall and visual effects alone as those can be manipulated elsewhere.
A quick search of the internet will put you in touch with a lot of advice about managing your services. I say to err on the side of caution and if want to turn a lot more of these things off, then turn them to the manual setting instead of disabled; that way they'll come on when needed. But be careful and read up, as you're trudging in murky waters adjusting any more of these things than I suggest in the post.
Msconfig ...
Going back to the Start menu and the search box, you will then type msconfig and hit enter. Once the System configuration box pops up, click on the start-up tab. If you look down the list of items, you'll see every program that automatically starts up when you power on. Note, these programs come on whether you need them or not and most of the time - you don't need any of them. The best thing to do is to uncheck anything that says:
iTunes, Apple, Adobe, Dell support, Ecenter, Google Desktop, Java, Nero, Quicktime, ... whatever. These programs will all come on when you decide you want them, instead of hanging around in the background hogging up memory for no apparent reason. Just Google anything that you're unsure of, and you'll get a quick answer.
Please be advised, that the advice I give in this review is information from tweaking Microsoft's Operating Systems for about the last decade. This review and information below is intended for the general user and not the die-hard gamer or C++ Programmer. Those folks will probably have an even tighter and faster running machine than my own. This review may take a lot of negative votes and may receive a lot of negative comments, but I would suggest that you take all of it with a grain of salt as the whole world typically wants to express themselves, and everyone's opinion differs, especially when it comes to Microsoft and computers in general.
And please, understand that you are using these suggestions at your own risk.
Conclusion ...
I would suggest anyone thinking of switching to Vista to make sure that you have at least two Gigabytes of Memory and a relatively new processor. Anything below 2 Gigabytes will give you sluggish performance no matter what. And don't be too hard on Microsoft about this OS being a memory hog, as most OS's from now on will probably be bigger, more bloated and require more memory to run. It's the wave of the future, accept it.
I've given Vista Ultimate 4 stars instead of 5 for the following reasons:
1.It's still slow doing tasks, opening certain programs and multitasking, even with 2 GB of RAM Memory.
2.The OS is bloated and should install with all the cool junk turned off. Microsoft should've already come up with an easy to use instrument panel which turns features on and off.
3.MS Live OneCare should've been built into the OS, instead of trying to nickel and dime the customer to death. At the amount of money they want, the absence of real protection, Virus and spyware control is incredibly questionable.
Other than that, it seems like a vast improvement over it's predecessor. If I could replace my Vista Home edition with Vista Ultimate, I would.
EDIT: One Week Later ...
After using the OS for about a week, I wanted to report on a few developments.
1. I did begin to experience the prompt screens that everyone talks about once I configured my internet.
2. After I did configure the internet, Microsoft Vista actually scanned my computer, knew which drivers I needed from my ATI Video Card, to the Motherboard and my Belkin Wireless adapter ... and then retireved them and installed them, with no effort on my part at all. very cool. About time you guys.
3. The Vista Dreamscape download is an extra but animates the desktop and is pretty cool.
4. I was able to fully customize my boot sequence and other operations to streamline the OS for booting and memory optimization with no problems.
5. Having never used Windows Media Center before, I gave it a chance and I'm really impressed by it and the Photo Gallery. I typically use iTunes and Picasa ... but who knows, in time I may migrate.
6. Vista put my old OS into a folder called windows.old, and from it I was able to extract or retrieve anything I needed after the installation which was a benefit. After I deleted it, I recovered about 10 gigs.
It seems that MS may have worked out the majority of the early OS kinks that accompanied the previous version. Not bad.
This OS is just as good as XP if not better.
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