Blog Archive
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
INSTALLING VISTA
In this section you’ll learn how to:
- Preparing for installation
- Upgrading to Vista
- Performing an installation of Vista
- Using the Windows Easy Transfer to transfer files and settings
- Keeping Windows updated
- Automating the installation of Vista
Vista: What’s New?
Installations in Vista are significantly different from previous versions of Windows. In previous
versions, you had to answer a lot of questions and go through a number of configuration steps in
a character mode setup before the system rebooted and let you continue with a graphical installation. Microsoft streamlines the whole process in Vista and makes the process friendlier. No longer do you work in the character mode setup unless you have special needs to address. Many of the special setup requirements appear as options that you can use when you need to, but don’t have to pass through on your way through the installation process. It’s easier to bring up a command prompt when you need it to use command-line utilities, and you generally don’t have to restart the machine afterward. In short, Vista provides a new kind of installation that will require a little time to learn, but one you’ll like once you get to know it.
The Order of Business
Here’s the order of business for installing Vista successfully:
1. First, make sure that your computer will be able to run Vista. Start by comparing your system
specifications with the minimum requirements, and see whether you need to upgrade
any components.
2. Then, assuming your computer has an operating system loaded already, insert the Vista
DVD in your computer and run the Windows Upgrade Advisor. As of this writing, you can
only upgrade from Windows XP SP2 versions. The upgrade can require a significant amount
of time to complete—even Microsoft warns you of the potential problems.
3. If you want to perform a clean installation of Vista rather than an upgrade, but you want
your new installation to pick up your current settings and some of your files, run the Windows
Easy Transfer to save the settings from your current version of Windows and then
boot from the Vista DVD to start the installation.
your new installation to pick up your current settings and some of your files, run the Windows
Easy Transfer to save the settings from your current version of Windows and then
boot from the Vista DVD to start the installation.
4. Then perform the upgrade, new installation, or clean installation.
5. If you ran the Windows Easy Transfer, run it again to apply your files and settings.
Will Your Computer Be Able to Run Vista?
RAM
Vista requires a minimum of 512 MB of RAM to install and run. This, too, is an absolute minimum and delivers poor performance unless your processor is extremely fast (in which case the lack of RAM cannibalizes processor performance). For a single user running one or two tasks at a time, 1 GB is enough. For running several large applications at once, get 2 GB or more RAM.
Get Plenty of RAM
Everyone knows that you need plenty of RAM to run Windows. That’s true—up to a point. But most people still have too little RAM on their computers.
Free Disk Space
Vista requires approximately 15 GB of free disk space to install on a 20 GB hard drive. You’ll need a minimum of a 22 GB hard drive to use BitLocker. If you’re installing over a network, you’ll need more free space. In addition, there has to be room for your paging file (by default, 1.5 times the amount of RAM in your computer) and for your hibernation file (the same size as the amount of RAM) if your computer supports hibernation. On top of that, you’ll need space for any applications you want to install and any files you want to create.
In practice, it’s a good idea to have at least 20 GB of free space on the drive on which you install
Vista (for a total of 40 GB), plus space for your applications and files. To see how much space is free on a drive, right-click the drive in an Explorer window and choose Properties from the shortcut menu. The General tab of the resulting Properties dialog box for the drive shows how much free space it has. You may also see the size of the hard drive when you start your system (vendors commonly hide the hard drive size in the model number). Hard disks are so inexpensive these days, and so easy to install, that there’s little reason to try to hobble along with a full hard disk.
You actually have two options for video adapter with Vista. If you want to use the Aero Glass feature, you must have a DirectX 9–compatible display adapter with at least 128 MB of memory. Vista currently supports display adapters from the following vendors.
◆Intel (http://www.intel.com/business/bss/products/client/vistasolutions/index.htm
◆ATI (http://www.ati.com/technology/windowsvista/index.html)
◆NVidia (http://www.nvidia.com/page/technology_vista_home.html)
◆S3 (http://www.s3graphics.com/en/products/vista/index.jsp)
◆Via (http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/vista/platform.jsp)
More graphics memory is better when it comes to Aero Glass. In fact, if you intend to perform
graphics heavy tasks, you might want to use a system that allows dual display adapters in a ScalableLink Interface (SLI) configuration. The display adapter must also include these features.
Using the Microsoft Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor
To check whether Vista thinks your computer will be able to run it, run the Microsoft Windows
Vista Upgrade Advisor program. Don’t use the commonly available alternatives, such as the
update advisor for Windows XP. The following steps describe how to check your system.
1.Insert the Vista DVD. If your computer doesn’t automatically start running the DVD, open
an Explorer window, navigate to the DVD, and double-click the
setup.exeprogram.
2.On the opening screen, click the Check Compatibility Online link.
3.Download and install the Microsoft Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor by following the
prompts provided by the installation program.
4.Check Launch Microsoft Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor on the final installation page and
click Close. Vista automatically starts the program for you.
5.Click Start System Scan. The program asks you to choose the Vista features you want to use.
Many of the entries are self-explanatory, such as using the Aero Glass interface. Other entries
are more nebulous, such as simplifying your business.
6.Check the features that you expect to use. When you get to the bottom of the list, you’ll see
Microsoft’s recommendation for the version of Vista that you should use.
7.Click Next (it’s hidden at the bottom of the list). The upgrade advisor performs a check
of your system’s hardware. If the program finds discrepancies, it will display a list of the
required fixes for Vista. Figure 2.1 shows a typical report.
8.Click Next. The upgrade advisor performs a check of all of the drivers and other low-level
software on your system. You’ll see another report similar to the one shown in Figure 2.1,
but for software this time.
9.Click Next. You’ll see a final report window where you can choose to save the report to disk
as an HTML file or print it.
10.Click Close. Windows closes the program.
Choosing an Installation Method
Once you’ve decided to install Vista, your next decision is how to install Vista on your computer.
You can install Vista in three ways:
Upgrade: You can upgrade any of the operating system choices in Table 2.1 with Windows Vista.
This means you essentially overwrite the previous version of Windows with Vista. Upgrading like this transfers all your files, settings, and applications to Vista, so (in theory) you can pick up your work or play straight away in Vista where you left off.
New installation:
A new installation installs Vista on a new disk or a separate partition. You
can use the Windows Easy Transfer to copy your files and settings from your previous version
of Windows to Vista.
Clean installation:
You can install Vista from scratch on your computer, deleting the previous
copy that was there rather than upgrading it. Again, you can use the Windows Easy Transfer
to copy your files and settings from your previous version of Windows to Vista. You’ll need to
install all the applications you want to use after you install Vista.
Which type of installation to perform can be a tricky decision. The longer you’ve been running
Windows on this computer since installing it, the stronger the arguments are for both an upgrade
and a clean installation:
◆By now, you’ve probably installed all the applications you need and got them working
together. By upgrading, you can transition your whole work environment to Vista, so that
your Desktop, Start menu, and folder structure retain their current settings and your applications all work as before.
◆Then again, you probably have applications that you no longer use, or applications that no
longer work. (Techies call this a “dirty system.”) By performing a clean install, you can strip
your system down to only the software you need. It’ll take longer, but the result may be better.
Similarly, your data folders could probably do with some cleaning out and archiving.
If you need to install a new hard drive as your main hard drive, you’ll need to perform a clean
install. Because Vista uses a substantially different file system, you’ll find that some of the old tricks such as using ghost copies don’t work as well as they could and may not work at all. Of course, the vendors will eventually provide updated versions of their products that do work with Vista as long as you’re not using BitLocker (which encrypts everything in a way that would make it difficult to create a ghost copy).
Preparing for Installation
Once you’ve established that your computer should be able to run Vista, prepare for installation by taking those of the following steps that are applicable to the type of installation you’re planning (upgrade, new installation, or clean installation).
Back Up All Your Data Files
For safety, back up all your data files shortly before installation, using your usual backup medium.
Write Down Internet Connection Information
If you’re planning a new installation or a clean installation, rather than an upgrade, and you use a
dial-up Internet connection, write down the information you need to create the connection: your
ISP account username, your password, your ISP’s phone number, and your ISP’s primary and secondary DNS servers. You might also want to write down the information for connecting to your mail servers.
WINDOWS VISTA
INTRODUCTION TO VISTA
Since the advent of the personal computer, users have wanted three things in an operating system:
power, stability, and usability. Windows Vista has all these and more in abundance. It features an
indefatigable 32-bit architecture, complete with built-in networking and the capability to run almost
every piece of Windows software on the market, as well as a new interface. (You can also obtain the
64-bit version for your 64-bit machine that contains all of the same functionality, but offers better
performance, assuming you can get the correct device drivers for your system.)
What does all this mean to the consumer, the person sitting at a desk 52 weeks a year who just
wants to be a productive computer user? It means a lot. It means a fast, up-to-date operating system
with a slew of advanced features that ensure the computer will almost never crash. It means
an operating system that can host the emerging multitude of 32-bit software applications, some
of which offer amazing facilities for professional audio and video recording, editing, and broadcasting.
It means a new interface, which gives users tremendous control over how the system performs
its tasks and how it maintains its connections to peripherals and to other computers.
In this chapter, I’ll give you an overview of Windows Vista: what’s new, what’s different, and
what’s under the hood. I’ll compare Windows Vista with previous versions of Windows. In later
chapters, I’ll expand on most of the topics I’ll introduce in this chapter, but you’ll find a lot here to
whet your appetite.
◆What is Windows Vista?
◆What’s new in Windows Vista?
◆Should you upgrade to Windows Vista?
◆How is Windows Vista different from other operating systems?
◆What are the features of Windows Vista architecture?
What Is Windows Vista?
In a nutshell, Windows Vista is the latest version of the Windows NT family of operating systems,
or OSes, which includes Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Windows Vista Business comprises a
feature set designed for business users. Microsoft has actually come out with five editions of Vista:
Ultimate
This edition contains everything and is the most expensive (and hardware intensive)
edition. I can see that many gamers and higher end users will love this edition, but it’s probably
overkill for most businesses.
Enterprise
Microsoft has targeted this edition at large businesses with a global presence. This
edition contains many features that the business with a global presence won’t need, such as
additional layers of security designed to prevent access from external sources. For example, this
is the minimum edition that supports Microsoft’s new Bit Locker technology, which encrypts
your entire hard drive in a way that makes it impossible for anyone stealing your machine to
access the drive, even if they install the drive in another machine.
Business
This is the edition that contains the features that most business users will want. Yes,
it includes many of the eye-grabbing graphics such as Aero Glass, but you won’t see most of the
media center additions originally found in Windows XP Media Edition. Aero Glass is the new
Vista interface that lets you see through title bars and other screen elements. The “Aero Glass
UI” section of the chapter describes this feature in greater detail.
Home Premium
This is the replacement for Windows XP Media Center Edition and will
appeal to home users who need Windows to do a bit more than just let the kids do homework.
Home Basic
This edition provides the basics for home users. It’s the edition that you want if
you really don’t need Aero Glass or any of the other fancy Vista features, but do need the extra
security that Vista provides.
Since the advent of the personal computer, users have wanted three things in an operating system:
power, stability, and usability. Windows Vista has all these and more in abundance. It features an
indefatigable 32-bit architecture, complete with built-in networking and the capability to run almost
every piece of Windows software on the market, as well as a new interface. (You can also obtain the
64-bit version for your 64-bit machine that contains all of the same functionality, but offers better
performance, assuming you can get the correct device drivers for your system.)
What does all this mean to the consumer, the person sitting at a desk 52 weeks a year who just
wants to be a productive computer user? It means a lot. It means a fast, up-to-date operating system
with a slew of advanced features that ensure the computer will almost never crash. It means
an operating system that can host the emerging multitude of 32-bit software applications, some
of which offer amazing facilities for professional audio and video recording, editing, and broadcasting.
It means a new interface, which gives users tremendous control over how the system performs
its tasks and how it maintains its connections to peripherals and to other computers.
In this chapter, I’ll give you an overview of Windows Vista: what’s new, what’s different, and
what’s under the hood. I’ll compare Windows Vista with previous versions of Windows. In later
chapters, I’ll expand on most of the topics I’ll introduce in this chapter, but you’ll find a lot here to
whet your appetite.
◆What is Windows Vista?
◆What’s new in Windows Vista?
◆Should you upgrade to Windows Vista?
◆How is Windows Vista different from other operating systems?
◆What are the features of Windows Vista architecture?
What Is Windows Vista?
In a nutshell, Windows Vista is the latest version of the Windows NT family of operating systems,
or OSes, which includes Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Windows Vista Business comprises a
feature set designed for business users. Microsoft has actually come out with five editions of Vista:
Ultimate
This edition contains everything and is the most expensive (and hardware intensive)
edition. I can see that many gamers and higher end users will love this edition, but it’s probably
overkill for most businesses.
Enterprise
Microsoft has targeted this edition at large businesses with a global presence. This
edition contains many features that the business with a global presence won’t need, such as
additional layers of security designed to prevent access from external sources. For example, this
is the minimum edition that supports Microsoft’s new Bit Locker technology, which encrypts
your entire hard drive in a way that makes it impossible for anyone stealing your machine to
access the drive, even if they install the drive in another machine.
Business
This is the edition that contains the features that most business users will want. Yes,
it includes many of the eye-grabbing graphics such as Aero Glass, but you won’t see most of the
media center additions originally found in Windows XP Media Edition. Aero Glass is the new
Vista interface that lets you see through title bars and other screen elements. The “Aero Glass
UI” section of the chapter describes this feature in greater detail.
Home Premium
This is the replacement for Windows XP Media Center Edition and will
appeal to home users who need Windows to do a bit more than just let the kids do homework.
Home Basic
This edition provides the basics for home users. It’s the edition that you want if
you really don’t need Aero Glass or any of the other fancy Vista features, but do need the extra
security that Vista provides.
Windows Vista does offer a lot of eye candy and other features that will certainly attract both
home and business users. However, the main attraction for administrators is security. Microsoft
has ripped out a considerable amount of the code that appeared in previous versions of Windows
and rewrote it with security in mind. You’ll find that from a security perspective Vista lets you do considerably less than Windows XP did. None of the accounts run with administrator privileges anymore, even though someone in the Administrator group can temporarily raise their privileges as needed. Users will now see additional warnings about actions they’re taking and won’t be able to perform some tasks at all. For example, you’ll find that gaining access to the root directory of a local hard drive is much tougher with Vista. I'll show you how all of these new security features work as the book progresses, but for administrators, this is the main event.
Vista also has the distinction of being Microsoft’s last 32-bit operating system. Future Windows
desktop operating systems will use 64 bits (or higher). Using 64 bits provides a lot of perks for the administrator. The “Differences between 32-bit and 64-bit Architectures” section of the chapter discusses these perks in detail.
home and business users. However, the main attraction for administrators is security. Microsoft
has ripped out a considerable amount of the code that appeared in previous versions of Windows
and rewrote it with security in mind. You’ll find that from a security perspective Vista lets you do considerably less than Windows XP did. None of the accounts run with administrator privileges anymore, even though someone in the Administrator group can temporarily raise their privileges as needed. Users will now see additional warnings about actions they’re taking and won’t be able to perform some tasks at all. For example, you’ll find that gaining access to the root directory of a local hard drive is much tougher with Vista. I'll show you how all of these new security features work as the book progresses, but for administrators, this is the main event.
Vista also has the distinction of being Microsoft’s last 32-bit operating system. Future Windows
desktop operating systems will use 64 bits (or higher). Using 64 bits provides a lot of perks for the administrator. The “Differences between 32-bit and 64-bit Architectures” section of the chapter discusses these perks in detail.
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