I almost feel sorry for Microsoft (hard to actually feel sorry for a company that makes that much money) and think there’s been a lot of anti-Vista piling on. For example, Infoworld declared "partial victory" in their petition to save Windows for things Microsoft has done for several years (allow OS downgrades) and for things they already said they’d do (use XP on "low power" PCs - the ones that can’t run Vista). Let’s face it, Windows XP was derided when it was originally released and took a service pack before it really began to make inroads.

So I figured I’d spend more time in Vista to see if all the hate was justified.

I had one interesting problem that turned up when I missed a setting in Parallels. I ran Windows XP virtual machine in "bridged" network mode so that the virtual machine received it’s own IP addressed. When I moved to Windows Vista the virtual machine had the default setting of "Shared Networking". I found that when the Vista VM was running I would eventually lose the network connection to my Windows Home Server from OS X. But Vista would still be able to connect to the server so there wasn’t any network or server problem. The problem went away when I switched to bridged network mode.

I figure Vista needs more memory so I’ve allocated 1GB to the VM where I ran XP with 768MB. I can’t really speak to speed comparisons since I also moved the VM to a faster hard drive. The software I use doesn’t stress the vm, Vista memory usage is about 50%. For what I do, no speed complaints so far.

So now that I have Vista let’s see if I learn to hate or love. (I suspect it’ll be neither.)

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Installation on VMware Fusion 1.1.1

I used the New Virtual Machine Wizard to create the VM. The wizard is very straight-forward so I won’t bother to include screen shots of every step. I selected the following options (listed in the order they’re asked for in the wizard):

• Operating System: Microsoft Windows
• Version: Windows Vista
• Name and Location - Save As: Vista Home Premium
• Name and Location - Where: A directory I have on an external USB drive for VMs
• Disk Size: 30GB
  I kept the default settings where disk space is only allocated when needed, so 30GB is a ceiling.
• Easy Install used
  I entered an ID and password to be created. Since I use Windows Home Server this is the same ID/password created on the home server and the other Windows VMs I use. I also enter the product key. I also keep the default of making my Mac home folder accessible from the VM as read-only.

I let the virtual machine start immediately and install from DVD. Twenty minutes later I’m presented with the logon screen. Once I logon the VMware Tools install kicks off automatically. When they’re done the virtual machine reboots.

Post Install Setup & Configuration

Once the VM reboots and I logon the first thing to do is fix the sound driver. As the Fusion Release Notes indicate the sound driver needs to be updated:

When you install Microsoft Vista 32-bit edition in a VMware Fusion virtual machine, there is no sound output. To correct this problem, run Windows Update to update the sound driver from within Vista.

To update the sound driver in a VMware Fusion virtual machine running Windows Vista 32-bit edition:
1. In the virtual machine, from the Windows start menu, right-click Computer and select Properties.
2. In the left pane, under Tasks, select Device Manager.
3. When prompted for your permission to continue, click Continue. Windows displays the Device Manager.
4. Right-click the Multimedia Sound Adapter with a warning symbol (indicating that there is no driver) and select Update Driver Software.
5. At the prompt How do you want to search for driver software?, select Search automatically for updated driver software. Windows finds and installs the appropriate driver for your virtual sound card.
6. When you are prompted to restart, click Restart Now.
Sound should now work in your Microsoft Vista 32-bit virtual machine.

So I update the driver, reboot and test the sound which works fine.

The VMware Easy Install creates it’s own PC name (which is random so meaningless) and uses “Workgroup” as the workgroup. I change the PC name to match my naming convention and change the Workgroup to my home workgroup. Which needs another reboot.

Then it’s time to run Windows Update to get all the security patches so I go into Windows Update and tell it to check for updates. The first update I get is an update to Windows Update itself. Once that’s installed I check for updates again and there’s 45 updates totaling 105.3MB. (It really is time for SP1) I install those updates and there’s another reboot. I then configure Windows Update to download updates when they’re available but not install them.

I try to connect to my Windows Home Server software share so I can install the connector software but I can’t. I’m told “File Sharing & Discovery” is off so I say to turn it one. Then I’m asked if I want to change my network type to “Private” which is recommended if I’m at home or work, rather than turning File Sharing on for a public network. I click the selection to make the switch. I still can’t connect to the Share.

The VM is configured to use NAT networking with the host. I shut down the VM, change this to bridged in the virtual machine network properties (so the VM gets it’s own IP address), and restart the VM. Now I can connect to the share and install the Windows Home Server connector software. I do a backup once the connector software is installed. Also, changing the network to Bridged cause Vista Home Premium to see this as a new network so I made it a Private Network by selecting “Home Network” when prompted.

I haven’t done the activation yet. I’ll wait the 3 days allowed in case I find I need to re-install the VM.

Additional Software

I already installed the WHS connector software. Now it’s time to install AntiVirus software. I already use free versions of Avast and AVG on other VMs so I wanted to try something different on this one. I decided to go with Avira AntiVirus PersonalEdition Classic which is free for personal (non-commercial) use.I picked it mainly because I never used it before and wanted to see what it was like. Their full version (the one you pay for) rates high for virus detection.

Lastly, I use Windows Live Writer for creating blog posts and I find a couple other Windows Live offerings intriguing although I haven’t actually used them. So I run the Windows Live Installer and select the following installs:

• Windows Live Sign-In Assistant
• Windows Live Mail
• Windows Live Photo Gallery
• Windows Live Writer

Once these installs finish my Windows Vista Home Premium virtual machine is complete.

Summary

The virtual machine currently takes 11.8GB on disk although that can grow to 30GB if I add software and data. The installation took me about 3 hours although I wasn’t sitting there immediately responding to every prompt. The install probably would have been faster if I installed from a DVD image rather that a physical DVD and the time to download that 105MB of updates will vary depending on the Internet connection.

The VMware Easy Setup feature simplifies the setup even if it doesn’t get things exactly the way I want them. Changing the PC name and workgroup is a simple task.

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Paul Thurrott’s SuperSite for Windows has a Windows Vista SP1 FAQ with more information.

So, is the release of SP1 enough to improve Windows Vista’s reputation?

Update: Paul Thurrott thinks Microsoft may have shipped SP1 before it’s ready.

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The original release candidate had to be uninstalled prior to the upgrade. This was done by going through Control Panel in the Windows Update/View Installed Updates section. It took about an hour and included a couple reboots but once it started I could just walk away. According to the instructions from Microsoft even after the uninstall was finished I needed to wait an hour for things to settle down. Sure enough, checking the logs after the uninstall showed that the installer was still cleaning things up.

After I did the uninstall, Microsoft’s automatic update installed the regular Windows Vista security patches that had been released since I installed the SP1 RC. They weren’t sent to the release candidate. At this point I had killed an evening and decided not to install the refresh right away.

The installation of the refresh used the same process as the original release candidate. I again installed it through automatic update so I downloaded the file that modified the registry to have automatic update get the update. It downloaded and installed the two prerequisites without a problem. A third prerequisite is needed by some, but I didn’t need it. Even though I kept checking the refresh didn’t appear even after getting the prerequisites and I again gave up as it got later than I wanted to start the 2+ hour process.

The next night the SP1 RC refresh was waiting for me. The install took about two and a half hours, including the download and a couple reboots. I haven’t noticed any real differences or problems. But then again, I don’t use this instance of Vista for very much and if I did I probably wouldn’t risk a release candidate on it. The time required to do the update would also be a killer if it wasn’t in a virtual machine that allowed me to keep using my MacBook while the update happened.

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I decide to go with the getting the update through Windows Update. But before I do I take a snapshot of my Vista virtual machine and for added safety make a copy of the vm file. I also turned off my virus scanner’s real-time protection. Then I downloaded and installed the file to modify the registry so it pulls RC1 through Windows Update. The first update I get is a 549KB update called "Update for Windows Vista (KB935509) - v1.008" which is described as:

Install this update to enable future updates to install more efficiently on Windows Vista. This update is required before Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) can be installed. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Once you have installed this item, it cannot be removed.

This required a reboot. The next update had the exact same description but it was 4MB and was called "Update for Windows Vista (KB938371) - v1.024". It also required a reboot.

Then there was yet another update with the same description. This one was 4.1MB and is called "Update for Windows Vista (KB937287) - Build 6001.17052 (x86)". This one did not force a reboot bit I did a manual reboot before continuing just to be safe. The next update was what I’d been waiting for - "Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Release Candidate 1 - Build 6001.17052 (x86)" and the download size was listed a 51-539MB. The description was:

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) Beta is an update to Windows Vista that addresses key feedback from our customers. Windows Vista SP1 Beta addresses specific reliability and performance issues, supports new types of hardware and adds support for several emerging standards.  After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

The actual download size was 77.9MB, according to Windows Update. The download took about an hour and the actual install took a little under an hour. After the first reboot the install continued in three phases. I walked away but based upon the chimes I heard there was at least one reboot in there and then a reboot when it was all done.

While taking a couple hours from start to finish the update was problem free and moved right along. Microsoft will release the prep files through the normal Windows Update process prior to the release of SP1 so the first three patches should be eliminated or already in place by the final release. Since this is a Release Candidate the Service Pack itself is unlikely to change much so expect about an hour in addition to the download time.

This post is being done on Windows Vista so the update is working until this point. My Windows Vista usage is limited, no games, limited peripherals and little added software, so I don’t expect any problems. If I really needed my Windows Vista install I would have waited for the final release since SP1 doesn’t have anything I’m eagerly waiting for. But it’s installed and we’ll see how it goes.

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Out of curiosity I went to Dell and found a machine that included Home Basic in it’s price. Home Premium added $30 to the price while Ultimate added $199 to the price. Before giving into to the implied benefits of something named “Ultimate” check out the feature comparison at Microsoft. You’ll probably find Home Premium is all you need. If you want the Aero interface features they’ll cost you $169 since there’s not much else in Ultimate a typical home user will use. I thought I read where Microsoft would have some “Ultimate Only” add-ons but nothing like this jumps out on their website. Maybe they’ll show up once I start running Ultimate.

Installation of Vista under Parallels was straightforward and easy. The process was the same for both Business and Ultimate. I selected File -> New from the Parallels menu to create a new VM. I selected a “Windows Express” installation on the first wizard screen. Since it was basically a straight click-through installation the screen prints are here, at the end. The wizard screen were self-explanatory - select Vista, enter a serial number and name, specify a name for the virtual machine (if you don’t want the default provided) and select whether you want to install from a physical CD or CD image. I do all my installations from a CD image and keep the images on a external hard drive. I find it easier than having all these CDs around (that I can’t keep track of anyway) plus the installation is faster and my physical drive is available to watch a DVD while the install runs. Parallels has a “Parallels Image Tools” that can make an ISO file from the CD/DVD so you don’t need any additional software.

As I said, the installation was straight-forward and without incident. The install was completely automated once I clicked “Finished” in the wizard. It appeared to be faster that the Ubuntu 7.04 installation although I didn’t time either one. The Parallels tools are needed in the guest OS and they are automatically installed at the end. There’s a warning to accept any security prompts of which there are a few. The only manual step was to set the correct time zone the first time I booted into Vista.

When starting up the Vista VM in parallels it goes right to the desktop without prompting for a password. I never entered an ID or password during the installation so I did a logoff. The ID that appeared for me to logon to was “Administrator”.

This implies that I’m running as the administrator under Vista which isn’t recommended from a security standpoint. It’s maybe less critical when running in a VM, especially one that does not run all the time. I’ll leave it for now but I’ll make a note and look into it down the road. Also, the account password was blank. While it’s a virtual machine that’s another configuration choice that’s likely to get the VM clobbered at some point down the road.

Coherence mode is enabled but the VM starts in a window.

The stats for the installations

Windows Vista Ultimate

• Memory: 512MB
• Screen Resolution: the screen sizes itself for the size of the window it is running in
• Hard Disk (as seen by guest OS): 31.2GB of which 7.36GB is used
• Hard Disk used on Mac: 5.5GB
• Hard Disk Image Size When Zip’d: 2.6GB
• Sound is enabled
• USB is available

Windows Vista Business

• Memory: 512MB
• Screen Resolution: the screen sizes itself for the size of the window it is running in
• Hard Disk (as seen by guest OS): 31.2GB of which 6.68GB is used
• Hard Disk used on Mac: 4.9GB
• Hard Disk Image Size When Zip’d: 2.6GB
• Sound is enabled
• USB is available

In both cases the screen resolution starts up at 640 X 480 if you don’t do anything, but the resolution changes as you size the window. By default 16MB is assigned to video memory which supports resolutions up to 2560 X 1600.

Screen Shots

Installation

The Desktop

VM Configuration Screens

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