James O’Neill summarized the different ways to backup Vista: imageX, CompletePC Backup, Vista Restore Points, Vista Backup, and Folder Redirection.

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Before I was just upset by these concentration destroying UAC pop-ups. When I played these past days with the OS Deployment Feature Pack of SMS 2003 SP2 and Vista, I encountered a new “nice feature” of UAC. If you are a sysop, you’ll probably have a lot of fun with this in the near future.

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Microsoft SMS 2003 SP2 (Systems Management Server) only offers limited support for Windows Vista. You have to wait for SMS 2003 SP3 in order to use all its features. So far, I didn’t find an official Microsoft document with more details about the supported features. I am currently playing with SMS 2003 SP2 to find out how compatible it is with Vista, and if it can be used to manage Vista.

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Recently I read that one of the new features of VMware Workstation 5.5.3 is that it has better support for Windows Vista. It is still experimental, though. Since I am testing Vista mostly in a virtual environment, I was curious to know, if all the problems I had with Vista RC1 and RC2 on VMware Workstation still persist.

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Microsoft published the Windows Vista Product Guide with 316 pages. Many of the information there can also be found on the Web, but with this guide, you will have it all in one document. I just skimmed over it and found some information I didn’t see before anywhere else.

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Today, I started preparations on my own desktop for Windows Vista. I know, I am late. Windows Vista RTM has been available on MSDN for a couple of days already. And I know that many admins have moved to Vista RC2 sometime ago. My post about the Adminpak for Windows Vista is the most often accessed article on this blog for some time now. Obviously, many sysops could not wait until the final version of Vista is out.

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Windows XP SP3 will be delayed to 2008 and Windows Server 2003 SP2 to Q1 2007. So both service packs will be at least half a year late. There is much speculation in the blogosphere [1] [2] about Microsoft’s reasons. Some say that they want to force customers to move to Vista; others say the Windows team is concentrating on Vista and Longhorn Server. I think the latter view is closer to the truth. This might be an understatement, though.

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It seems that this is going to become my hobby. Wouldn’t it be boring if it were possible to install Vista by just running the setup? On Saturday I complained that Vista RC2 can’t be installed on VMware Workstation because the Vista setup claimed that there is a CD/DVD driver missing. One of my readers mailed me the solution to this new problem. Thanks!

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It seems that Microsoft is serious to keep the release date. At least it sounds like this in Jim Alchim’s letter. The download was pretty fast. I guess because most American Windows fans are in their beds now dreaming of the next Vista release candidate. The first thing I tried was to install Vista RC2 on VMware Workstation.

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Update: Please, check out this complete list of Vista shortcut keys. Arlindo Alves has a list of useful shortcut keys for Windows Vista. Many of them also work for Windows XP. There is one I can’t find, though. What is the shortcut key to disable User Account Control (UAC)? I am sure, this would be my favorite key combination every time I logon on a new PC.

The ieXbeta wiki has a software and a hardware compatibility list for Windows Vista RC1. Everyone can add new software and hardware. They distinguish between “supported”, “has problems” and “heavy problems”. I think it is a great idea to use a wiki for such a purpose. If you check the change history, you’ll see that the community there is quite active. You can use these lists to verify, if your favorite tools are working with Vista. If they are not yet on the list, I’d suggest contributing your part to the project.

This week I found a couple of interesting posts about Vista which I am going to share today.

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It seems that there are still so many out there having problems installing Windows Vista RC1 on VMware Workstation. It turned out that my workaround is not the best solution to this problem. Some readers mentioned it here. Thanks for that! In this post, I will also give some additional tips on how to configure Vista RC1 on VMware Workstation and Server.

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If you were unable to test Windows Vista up to now because you didn’t have a Product Key, then here’s your chance now. Everyone can download the 32-bit and 64-bit version of Windows Vista. Ah, and for my German readers: Vista RC1 gibt’s jetzt auch auf Deutsch! I think, recently I also saw some Japanese guys accessing my blog. Unfortunately, my Japanese is a bit rusty, so I have to tell you in English that Vista is available in your language too.

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I just had quick look at the new release candidate of Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. I tested the beta a while ago and found it more or less useless in this early state. The Vista Upgrade Advisor RC does not only have a new user interface, it can also help you get an idea if your software and hardware are ready for Vista. However, it is still an unreliable tool.

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