Are there any variants (Like point of sale editions) that Microsoft will continue to support? I'm thinking not, and if that is the case then that could make things even more problematic for anyone who tries to continue using Vista.
I've never used Vista in my life but I have come across a few tech-savvy people who swore by it. To be fair, it's had a very good innings for an OS that went down like a lead balloon with most users. XP only got 3 years more and that was the most popular OS ever while Windows 95 only got 6 years and Windows 98 only 8.
I used vista recently for a while on a spare computer I had. Sadly Windows update was stuck in it's infinite loop nonsense. Plus, WSUS Offline got stuck installing one of the prerequisite updates for IE9.
Are there any variants (Like point of sale editions) that Microsoft will continue to support?
Sadly, no. Closest is Server 2008R1, which remains supported until 2020 same as R2.
I will admit to being a proud Vista user. Far more customizations, and a lot of the features introduced in 7 were released for Vista.
SP2 performed rather nicely, and actually had a faster startup time than 7 on the same hardware.
I remembered the support was ending soon, so for the lols i installed Vista Ultimate into a VM and run some updates before the update servers were taken down, Had to manually install a bunch of updates to even get windows update working properly. Though hey, least i now have a up-to-date vista install before such a thing would be near impossible in 2 days
The only time I ever used Vista was for one session of a training course I did years ago. Other than that, I never cared for it and looking back ten years ago, I really hated the look of it and had turned me off from ever upgrading from XP. When 7 came, I thought it was the same nonsense again only then to realise of why everyone loved it since the day it came to this Earth.
Oh well... may you be remembered Vista, for all eternity.
I remembered the support was ending soon, so for the lols i installed Vista Ultimate into a VM and run some updates before the update servers were taken down, Had to manually install a bunch of updates to even get windows update working properly. Though hey, least i now have a up-to-date vista install before such a thing would be near impossible in 2 days
I never used Vista as a main OS. I have a Vista VM that I haven't powered on for quite a while and I had tried it once on my laptop (IBM ThinkPad T40) sometime around the time SP2 was released. That was a really short lived experiment though, I spent all night trying to get updates installed and at some point I gave up and went back to XP.
I remember seeing Vista running on other peoples machines a lot around the 2007-2008 time frame... Then whenever 7 came out, it's like all traces of Vista were wiped off the face of the earth.
I had a few experiences with Vista - by SP2 it wasn't too bad though Win7 showed refinement. Some of the bad experiences were people upgrading from XP with relatively inadequate hardware and not everyone was quick to release Vista-compatible drivers in its earlier days.
At first I started off with an ASUS laptop with Vista pre-installed running an Intel Core Duo with 2 GB RAM - it was reasonable. I remember playing the original Chernobyl game from 2006 on it with mid-level settings.
Later I was planning on heading overseas for a while and liked the idea of the netbook so I purchased a new HP 2133 netbook after selling the ASUS. It also came with Vista though with the VIA CPU and only 1 GB RAM it was rather painful. When I was living in Japan the motherboard overheated, the screen flashed and reverted back to the earliest date possible from the BIOS, and then it died. This model was known to have cooling issues, however I don't believe Vista helped on such a low-spec'd machine.
So after that HP died, I went straight to Akhihabara and bought a used NEC laptop only 6 months old at the time. By this stage, it was getting close to the Win 7 release. The NEC appeared to be a model ordered directly instead of via retail. With a Core 2 Duo, 4 GB RAM, nVidia 9600 graphics chip, and a lovely 16" 1920 x 1080 display, Vista was running brilliantly on this. It even came with a reader beside the track pad so I could check the balance and recent trips on my Tokyo train and subway pass (Suica card).
My in-laws in Japan also had been running Vista for a few years well after Win 7 had been around on their home computer. It was a Sony all-in-one desktop with a fold-down keyboard and trackpad, with glass as the bezel around the display. Having only a Celeron processor, 2 GB RAM, and Intel graphics, it wasn't wonderful running Vista on that. However when the father in-law just wanting to use it to check fishing websites and the weather, he wasn't one to really care.
Vista was marred by OEMs putting it on HW that was bad enough on XP. After patches and OEMs stopped shipping 2004's bottom barrel as new, it got a lot better. 7 is a straight upgrade from Vista though, so there's not much reason to run it today.
ampharos hit the nail on the head about why Vista sucked the big one. Vista was a resource hog. This problem was compounded by OEMs taking hardware that was barely up to snuff running XP and slapping Vista onto them. This combination led to PCs that were slow as Christmas.
XP was pretty bad near the beginning too. I remember when my dad bought an XP machine in '02 and I thought to myself how much slower it was than my uncle's 98 machine.
7 was great. It isn't too much more demanding than Vista, so hardware wasn't an issue. Take Vista, stomp out some of the bugs, improve the UI a bit and Boom- you've got Win7.
I first used it in late 2003 and, my experience with it was okay. I don't think that counts anyway. I guess this more relates to anyone that used it during 2001 and 2002.
I first saw XP back in 2002 running on the new computers set up at Best Buy and I remember thinking what garbage it was. I thought auto-hiding the tray icons was the dumbest idea ever.
So, I had the same Windows Update issue that has plagued many Vista users for the last couple years. Here is what you need to install, and in this order, (from the Microsoft Update Catalog) to get it working again:
KB3205638
KB4012583
KB4015195
KB4015380
KB4014661 (Optional: If you've installed IE 9)
Once I installed those, the update check finished in a few minutes.
So from what you're saying, Vista updates are still available? Interesting to know, even if not many people cared much about Vista as far as I'm aware.
Comments
But I downgraded Visa to Windows Server 2003 R2 soon due to problem on compatibility or perfomance.
Sadly, no. Closest is Server 2008R1, which remains supported until 2020 same as R2.
I will admit to being a proud Vista user. Far more customizations, and a lot of the features introduced in 7 were released for Vista.
SP2 performed rather nicely, and actually had a faster startup time than 7 on the same hardware.
Oh well... may you be remembered Vista, for all eternity.
They don't take the update servers down.
I remember seeing Vista running on other peoples machines a lot around the 2007-2008 time frame... Then whenever 7 came out, it's like all traces of Vista were wiped off the face of the earth.
At first I started off with an ASUS laptop with Vista pre-installed running an Intel Core Duo with 2 GB RAM - it was reasonable. I remember playing the original Chernobyl game from 2006 on it with mid-level settings.
Later I was planning on heading overseas for a while and liked the idea of the netbook so I purchased a new HP 2133 netbook after selling the ASUS. It also came with Vista though with the VIA CPU and only 1 GB RAM it was rather painful. When I was living in Japan the motherboard overheated, the screen flashed and reverted back to the earliest date possible from the BIOS, and then it died. This model was known to have cooling issues, however I don't believe Vista helped on such a low-spec'd machine.
So after that HP died, I went straight to Akhihabara and bought a used NEC laptop only 6 months old at the time. By this stage, it was getting close to the Win 7 release. The NEC appeared to be a model ordered directly instead of via retail. With a Core 2 Duo, 4 GB RAM, nVidia 9600 graphics chip, and a lovely 16" 1920 x 1080 display, Vista was running brilliantly on this. It even came with a reader beside the track pad so I could check the balance and recent trips on my Tokyo train and subway pass (Suica card).
My in-laws in Japan also had been running Vista for a few years well after Win 7 had been around on their home computer. It was a Sony all-in-one desktop with a fold-down keyboard and trackpad, with glass as the bezel around the display. Having only a Celeron processor, 2 GB RAM, and Intel graphics, it wasn't wonderful running Vista on that. However when the father in-law just wanting to use it to check fishing websites and the weather, he wasn't one to really care.
I'm surprised support had been going on this long.
I know XP isn't, but XP is a good system, Vista on the other hand.............
Vista was marred by OEMs putting it on HW that was bad enough on XP. After patches and OEMs stopped shipping 2004's bottom barrel as new, it got a lot better. 7 is a straight upgrade from Vista though, so there's not much reason to run it today.
and yes, I used it alot, it is the OS I spent the most time on, consdiering I was 6 in 2001 when it was released.
ampharos hit the nail on the head about why Vista sucked the big one. Vista was a resource hog. This problem was compounded by OEMs taking hardware that was barely up to snuff running XP and slapping Vista onto them. This combination led to PCs that were slow as Christmas.
XP was pretty bad near the beginning too. I remember when my dad bought an XP machine in '02 and I thought to myself how much slower it was than my uncle's 98 machine.
7 was great. It isn't too much more demanding than Vista, so hardware wasn't an issue. Take Vista, stomp out some of the bugs, improve the UI a bit and Boom- you've got Win7.
Probably. It won't be as immortal as what XP's passing itself as.
So, I had the same Windows Update issue that has plagued many Vista users for the last couple years. Here is what you need to install, and in this order, (from the Microsoft Update Catalog) to get it working again:
Once I installed those, the update check finished in a few minutes.
Kudos to "Adventures in Nostalgia" on YouTube for this information.
So from what you're saying, Vista updates are still available? Interesting to know, even if not many people cared much about Vista as far as I'm aware.
Yes, Vista updates (up to end of support) and the Windows Ultimate Extras downloads are still available.