DailyTech - Windows Vista RC1 Released

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Software Windows Vista RC1 Released
Brandon Hill (Blog) - September 1, 2006 3:25 PM

41 comment(s) - last by raskren.. on Sep 4 at 9:57 PM

Vista development is in full swing

Microsoft is steaming forward with the development of Windows Vista. Just last week the company released an interim build, 5536, to beta testers. Today, the company has uploaded Vista RC1 for testers to try out. RC1 is available for users running 32-bit processors as well as x86-64 processors.

Seeing as how this is a major milestone for the development of Windows Vista, Microsoft Platforms and Services Co-President Jim Allchin had a few words to say about the release:

You’ll notice a lot of improvements since Beta 2. We’ve made some UI adjustments, added more device drivers, and enhanced performance. We’re not done yet, however — quality will continue to improve. We’ll keep plugging away on application compatibility, as well as fit and finish, until RTM. If you are an ISV, RC1 is the build you should use for certifying your application. The operating system is in great shape with RC1, but there’s still a lot of testing to do. You’ve come through for us so far, and I’m asking you to once again put the pedal to the metal and send us feedback. Windows Vista is going to touch hundreds of millions of lives all around the world. Thanks for everything you’re doing to help us give them the best experience possible.

It should also be noted that Amazon earlier this weekend leaked pricing details for Vista along with a suggested January 30 launch date. The operating system will range from $199/$99.95 for Vista Home Basic to $399/$259 for Vista Ultimate (Full/Upgrade).

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I just installed 5536

By ChronoReverse on 9/1/2006 3:43:29 PM , Rating: 2

It fills me with some measure of rage that I've just finished installing 5536 to find that RC1 is released.

That said, my experience with 5536 has generally been extremely pleasant so far such that I don't feel a pressing need to install RC1.

So far it's been smoother than WinXP. I'm not concerned about the memory usage since it is not interfering with the loading of programs that I use. This just shows that the improve caching scheme in Vista is actually working.

This isn't even a high end machine. Pentium 4 3.0GHz w/HT. 1GB DDR2. Intel GMA900 graphics. Single 7200RPM hard drive. Vista runs like a charm though. No Aero Glass, but that's not a loss since Aero Basic has been polished up.

At this rate I am almost starting to believe that Vista may end up faster than XP on a machine above a certain watermark.

I hope MS does resolve or provide a method for compatibility of come programs. However, I'm not terribly worried about things like virus scanners and daemon tools. Those will need to be updated anyways to work properly with the new Vista driver model and APIs.

This is being posted using IE7+ (isn't that moniker supposed to be changed?) from Vista 5536 Business Edition. Someone else will have to report on games.

RE: I just installed 5536

By Brandon Hill

(blog) on 9/1/2006 3:47:32 PM , Rating: 2

IIRC, these later builds of Vista can be "upgraded" to the newer builds. So I think that you can just install it over 5536 and keep your settings.

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RE: I just installed 5536

By jfrjimenez on 9/1/2006 9:47:46 PM , Rating: 2

I got the 5536 build too, and when I did they gave me an email that all the pre-RTM builds are upgradable from previous builds, but the final release will require a fresh install

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RE: I just installed 5536

By ZeeStorm on 9/1/2006 3:49:34 PM , Rating: 1

I haven't installed Vista yet, but I'm really thinking about doing so. I have a machine I use for strictly games, as it is my most powerful machine. It's been running smoothly with no problems on XP for quite a bit of time. Would you happen to say that your computer has been running *better* with Vista than XP? Do you notice better CPU consumption and management of RAM? My machine is a Athlon X2 4400+, 1GB Corsair XMS 3200, 7900GT, and 1 200GB HDD. If you notice any *real* gain, I'd sure be interested. Also, was it worth the time to install it? I don't want to install it, realize I'm not gaining anything, but instead losing functionality from my games, and have to uninstall it. I do use a program called Synergy for my keyboard/mouse to use on other computers. Do XP programs work flawlessly on Vista?

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RE: I just installed 5536

By ChronoReverse on 9/1/2006 3:53:57 PM , Rating: 2

Some programs don't seem to be able to install properly in 5536 so I'd be very cautious about trying Vista if there's something in XP you can't live without.

As for memory usage, don't look at how much Vista uses. When you think about it logically, why should the memory usage be of any concern? Only if it's interfering with the programs you are using. Therefore, what you should look for is disk thrashing. For me, although Vista hovers between 40% and 70% memory usage no matter what I am doing, disk thrashing appears to be minimal.

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RE: I just installed 5536

By jfrjimenez on 9/1/2006 9:50:10 PM , Rating: 2

Still have a few compatibility problems (PowerDVD 6 being the biggest issue for me). Thank God the WMP11 bugs have almost all been worked out. I only game with the Battlefield 2 demo and from what I can tell it usually works well (way better than Beta 2) but sometimes my machine gets studdery when playing it. I know it's a CPU issue because turning down the graphics seettings doesn't change anything. Most of the time it's very good, but if you're a big gamer I'd stick with XP for a little while longer...

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RE: I just installed 5536

By ChronoReverse on 9/2/2006 3:47:01 AM , Rating: 2

I'd say they managed to introduce a most severe bug into WMP11 though; I don't seem to be able to play WMVs =(

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RE: I just installed 5536

By Kuukko on 9/2/2006 8:13:29 AM , Rating: 2

I have the same problem, Xvids etc. work fine.

Otherwise 5536 is a huge improvement to Beta 2. Vista works almost as smoothly on my rather slow PC (AthlonXP 2600+ 1Gb ram 6600GT) than windows XP does.

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RE: I just installed 5536

By Crazyeyeskillah on 9/2/2006 12:47:11 PM , Rating: 2

Gaming is stall garbage. Many games are either not compatible, crash, unstable, or take a 15-50% drop in performance. That's like buying a 500$ videocard that can only run at half speed. . .gg Vi$ta

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slooo

By Alphafox78 on 9/1/2006 4:23:44 PM , Rating: 2

UG, 80Kps from the beta site...
im a tester. its 6GB

RE: slooo

By Brandon Hill

(blog) on 9/1/2006 4:26:53 PM , Rating: 2

It's only 2.6GB for me. Are you downloading BOTH the x86 and x64 versions?

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RE: slooo

By restrada on 9/1/2006 4:34:40 PM , Rating: 2

Hey Brandon, when will the general public get access to the final RC-1 version?

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RE: slooo

By ChronoReverse on 9/1/2006 4:38:05 PM , Rating: 2

Everyone else will probably get access to it next week. Keep your Beta2 keys handy.

And I also think he's downloading both versions. 6GB wouldn't fit on a DVD and 5536 was only about 2.7GB.

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RE: slooo

By Alphafox78 on 9/1/2006 4:39:25 PM , Rating: 2

3,677.22 MB
your correct, it says 6gb for both. the 64 bit is 3.6gb.

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RE: slooo

By ToeCutter on 9/1/2006 4:45:21 PM , Rating: 2

Yup, she's crawling s l o w l y ...

Can anyone confirm the Build? Is it 5600 or 5552?

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RE: slooo

By hannons on 9/1/2006 4:53:28 PM , Rating: 2

It's 5552.

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RE: slooo

By ViRGE on 9/1/2006 5:16:22 PM , Rating: 2

The installer calls itself 5600:

vista_5600.yadayadayada...

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RC-1

By restrada on 9/1/2006 3:38:04 PM , Rating: 2

Anyone know if this is good for people already testing pre RC-1?

RE: RC-1

By CrystalBay on 9/1/2006 3:40:50 PM , Rating: 2

Is there any difference from PRRC1 ?

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RE: RC-1

By CrystalBay on 9/1/2006 3:54:58 PM , Rating: 2

This is only availible to people in the Tech-Beta program, not the General Public Beta 2 program. Next week for GP. RC-1 is build 5600, ?

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RE: RC-1

By ChronoReverse on 9/1/2006 4:14:04 PM , Rating: 2

Looks like it. I guess they'll call the real RC-branch builds the 5600 series.

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RE: RC-1

By stash on 9/1/2006 5:24:22 PM , Rating: 2

Nope, we've been in the RC1 branch for quite awhile. 5600 is RC1, and therefore the end of the branch.

RTM branch builds started at 5700, and have been going on in parallel to RC1 branch builds for a few weeks now.

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RE: RC-1

By ChronoReverse on 9/1/2006 5:40:17 PM , Rating: 2

I realize that, hence the "real" moniker. I guess I should have put that in quotes.

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Dual Core

By mendocinosummit on 9/1/2006 6:36:53 PM , Rating: 2

Is Vista multithreaded programmed? It would be sweet for it to be able to utilize multithreading.

RE: Dual Core

By ChronoReverse on 9/1/2006 7:24:36 PM , Rating: 2

I'm not sure what you mean since even XP is multithreaded.

On a side note, when I pop in a CD, Vista does not stall up while Windows tries to figure it out. That alone is something that has been bothering me since Autoplay was invented. Also, Autoplay has its own item in the Control Panel now. It's as easy as pie to turn it off =)

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RE: Dual Core

By PrinceGaz on 9/1/2006 10:33:29 PM , Rating: 2

Actually Windows NT has been multi-threaded since at least NT 4.0, long before Windows 2000 and XP. It's most non-professional applications that have remained single-threaded (because most users of them don't have a multi-processor machine).

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RE: Dual Core

By ergle on 9/1/2006 10:32:05 PM , Rating: 2

The NT line has always been multithreaded.

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RE: Dual Core

By TomZ on 9/3/2006 8:56:38 AM , Rating: 2

...same for Win9x - threading is not just an NT thing.

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RE: Dual Core

By raskren on 9/4/2006 9:57:08 PM , Rating: 2

The 95 kernel is most certainly not threaded nor does it support multithreaded apps.

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preRC-1 build 5536

By proamerica on 9/2/2006 3:51:55 PM , Rating: 2

I've been using this build for a few days now and it's worked surprisingly well. As another user noted it's quite snappy on the whole, though programs don't load as quickly as they do in XP. I am running it with all the Aero Glass effects though. I performed an upgrade from XP and surprisingly all of my software still works. My only complaint is that 3D performance seems significantly reduced though I imagine that has something to do with ATI's Vista beta drivers. Lets hope so anyway. Right now I am not even getting half of the 3D performance I had on XP when using MAYA.

There are some cool programs included in the Ultimate Edition as well. One that is actually pretty fun is called Windows Movie Maker. Basically it lets you slap a bunch images onto a timeline and add effects and transitions to make a video collage. Then you can burn it to DVD, or just export it as a video file. Using it was a piece of cake, beyond easy. And the results were good for what it is. I thought it was neat and it would be even neater if they let you set the created video as a screen saver or if you could use that sequence of images as a screen saver.

Overall I am impressed with the speed and fluidity of how things work in Vista. My CPU is just an X2 3800 and it handles the OS easily. This is the operating system I think we should have expected from Microsoft instead of Windows XP.

RE: preRC-1 build 5536

By Laitainion on 9/2/2006 8:00:25 PM , Rating: 2

I don't know, XP is still (I think) a damn good OS, there are a number of things in there that, when I go back to 2000 or other version of Windows I find myself missing. The main one, though, is integrated zip support. The different types of folders are good too (yes, I know 2000 had them too, but the ones in XP are better imo) and the context sensitive commands in the side panel with XP are good as well I think. Vista is definitely an improvement again, but I don't think we should be selling XP short.

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RE: preRC-1 build 5536

By HammerFan on 9/3/2006 10:23:35 PM , Rating: 2

I agree that XP is still an excellent OS for numerous reasons. The main one is that it supports a piece of USB hardware that is required for my laptop to maintain connectiviy with my external HDD. Vista's hardware analyzing tool says that it (Vista) does not, and I can't find drivers for it, or for my LaserJet 1018. Until I can get a complete set of drivers, my copy of Vista RC-1 will sit on a DVD in my CD case.

btw, does anyone know if Vista drivers exist for this: "SiS PCI to USB Enhanced Host Controller" It is built into my ABS G3, so adding USB controllers isn't an option. TIA if anyone knows of new drivers for said hardware.

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RE: preRC-1 build 5536

By QueBert on 9/4/2006 1:41:18 PM , Rating: 2

you say "just an X2 3800" like that's a lower end CPU :) MS is going to have to have Vista running well on a lot less CPU then that if they want to make the masses happy.

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Touching Lives, Saving Souls

By vanka on 9/1/2006 4:18:14 PM , Rating: 1

quote:
Vista is going to touch hundreds of millions of lives all around the world.

Wow! Microsoft should create a TV show Touched By Vista about how Vista changes peoples' lives and brings joy, happiness, prosperity, and etc to all who use it. </sarcasm>

Is it just me or is Microsoft hyping Vista a little too much? I mean elevating the user experiance to a spiritual experiance is a bit much even for the big M. "No need to attend your church or temple on your holy day, just use Vista for a couple of hours."

RE: Touching Lives, Saving Souls

By Pirks on 9/1/2006 4:50:17 PM , Rating: 1

You apparently haven't seen circus called WWDC just a few weeks ago - now THAT was one big ugly church meeting, or a Soviet Union Communist Party General Five Year Meeting - something in the air there was very much like that - with a General Secretary Jobs presentring next Five Year Party Plan to happy and cheering Soviet.. err.. Apple people :) MS stuff with Vista is nothing compared to that, just a normal MS marketing stuff, I wonder why people still notice that - are you going to complain about Pepsi ads? Hahaha.

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RE: Touching Lives, Saving Souls

By lennylim on 9/1/2006 5:41:32 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
Wow! Microsoft should create a TV show Touched By Vista about how Vista changes peoples' lives and brings joy, happiness, prosperity, and etc to all who use it. </sarcasm>

You mean, like the Apple ads?

But I understand your revulsion for the phrase. I find it sick. The first word that comes to mind is "molestation".

I still haven't gotten the fact that I'm supposed to "experience" an operating system.

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RE: Touching Lives, Saving Souls

By ergle on 9/1/2006 10:29:53 PM , Rating: 2

Wasn't Apple's marketting the first ones to start going on about the "experience" of using a Mac?

Regardless, it does seem a rather odd turn of phrase...

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blah

By AppaYipYip on 9/1/06, Rating: -1

RE: blah

By Pirks on 9/1/2006 6:24:39 PM , Rating: 2

Well, if Jobs was not afraid to release a stolen copy of XP Mediacenter or steal fast user switching from XP, why MS should be afraid to do the same? Is being fastest guy to steal a prerogative of just Jobs? I don't think so :P

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