NewMexiKen installed Windows Vista (Release Candidate 1) today on my Toshiba laptop. A release candidate means the software is out of beta testing and almost ready for prime time. Microsoft is reportedly giving away 5 million free copies — they will expire next June 1. I plan to replace the Toshiba with a new Apple laptop by then, so I figured what the hell.1 See Microsoft’s caveat below.
For reference, my laptop PC is a 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 with 512 MB of RAM and a 60 GB hard drive. Vista would like 1 GB of RAM and likes a fancier graphics card than I have, but will run satisfactorily Microsoft says. We’ll see.
Downloading the 2.52 GB file took quite awhile (sorry, I didn’t time it) — maybe two hours. It then had to be burned to an install DVD.
The install program gave me a choice. I chose the upgrade installation, rather than a clean install because I did not want to reload other programs and files. The install was very straightforward and required very little action on my part (entering the 25-character code being about the most difficult). Copying the files from the DVD to the hard drive, however, took a few hours. That seemed strange and I do not know what might have caused it. Possibly there was something peculiar about the DVD I created (I doubt it) or my Toshiba laptop was just slow (possibly). Once the files were installed, “completing upgrade” also took some time — more than I would expect, or than the public will like (90 minutes ±).
First impressions: NewMexiKen will write more as I learn more, but so far, other than the slow install, so good. A cold boot takes just less than two minutes, which is a little faster than with XP. Programs seem to load faster and close faster. The interface is very pretty (I’ve always thought Microsoft made things look pretty.) Security needs seem more obvious to the user. My touch pad did not work [fixed with updated driver] (but a Microsoft USB mouse did). No files were lost.
As I said, more when I know more.
1 If I want to continue using the Toshiba laptop after next June I’ll need to buy and install Vista, or reinstall Windows XP from scratch.
Microsoft’s caveat:
Note: This is beta code and should not be used in a production environment or on a primary computer in the home. RC1 is intended for developers, IT professionals, and technology experts to continue or begin their testing of Windows Vista. Before you decide to use RC1, you should feel comfortable with installing operating systems, updating drivers, and general PC troubleshooting. Some risks of using beta operating systems include hardware and software incompatibility and system instability. If you have concerns about installing this beta software on your computer, we encourage you to obtain the final release version of Windows Vista when it is available in 2007.
A cold boot takes just less than two minutes, which is a little faster than with XP.
Geez… and this with a 2 GHz machine? You might not want to wait until next year to get that Mac. My new 1.83 GHz MacBook boots up in about 23 seconds. I am not kidding. Okay, I have 2 GB of RAM, but still… it was almost that fast booting up before I added the extra memory.
This is the new Intel Mac, too, which means you could run Windows on it if you wanted to. Not that I’d recommend that. 🙂
———–
Haven’t been here in a while. Hmm. Wondering if you get any action from the Amazon and Google ads. I had that stuff but killed it: not enough traffic to get any dough, and I didn’t like the clutter w/ corresponding increases in download times.
I don’t usually come back to visit sites after I leave comments, so if you wanna discuss any of this, try jhfarr@newmex.com.
Looking good, though. Great job.