Category: Windows Vista

A Vista Hands On update

I’ve posted a couple of new entries in the Vista Hands On series over at ZDNet.

Vista Hands On #9: Use Vista for four months, free

You can install an evaluation copy of any Vista edition and use it for a minimum of 30 days without having to activate it. As several publications have already noted, you can renew this evaluation period a total of three times, extending the evaluation period to roughly 120 days. But this post contains a secret technique that no one has yet published: how to automatically “rearm” the trial period at the end of each 30 day period.

Vista Hands On #8: Delay activation

Microsoft doesn’t get enough credit for one major change in Windows Vista. Using the standard Setup program and installation media, you can install an evaluation copy of any Vista edition and use it for a minimum of 30 days. In essence, this makes Windows Vista the ultimate shareware program. But there’s a gotcha: By default, Windows automatically activates itself after three days. Unless you know how to shut down the timer.

There’s an RSS feed for all my posts at ZDNet, or you can get a custom feed with must the posts in the Hands On series.

Full RSS feed

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Browse Vista Inside Out for yourself

It’s taken a few weeks, but Amazon.com has finally put up a searchable, fully indexed copy of Windows Vista Inside Out.

Vista_IO_search_amazon

I encourage you to compare this book to any other Windows Vista book on the market by using this feature, which lets you examine the table of contents, flip through the index, read a full search for any word or phrase, and read 3 or 4 pages at a time. Click the Search Inside link on Amazon’s product page (just belowe the cover image) to get started

If you already own the book, you don’t have to go to Amazon. A CD bound into the back of every copy includes the full text of the book in PDF format. Open it in Acrobat Reader or Acrobat and use its search tools to find any word or phrase, whether it’s in the printed index or not.

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More Vista setup secrets

My Hands On Vista series continues at ZDNet. Here are the two latest installments:

Vista Hands On #3: Check your disk before upgrading

Before you even think of upgrading to Vista, check the disk you plan to install it on. Here’s why.

Vista Hands On #4: Clean install with an upgrade key

You’ve probably read all about the “Vista upgrade loophole.” Well, it’s not a loophole. It’s a useful and perfectly legal workaround to deal with an amazingly stupid technical restriction that Microsoft built into the Vista setup program. I’ve got the details and step-by-step instructions to work around it.

Secrets of a clean Vista install

Microsoft’s official definition of a clean Windows install involves booting from the Windows DVD and pointing Setup at a piece of bare hard disk or a freshly formatted partition.

But that’s not the only way to do a clean install. In fact, thanks to the new Setup architecture in Vista you can now do what you would never have dared to do in earlier Windows versions: install a fresh copy of Windows on the same hard disk as your current copy.

In the second installment of my 30 days of Vista Hands On series at ZDNet, I’ve got details on why this works, how to run Setup (the steps are easy but not necessarily intuitive), and how to clean up the pieces of your old Windows installation afterwards. For details, see:

Vista Hands On #2: A no-fuss, nondestructive clean install

Do you know where your Vista product key is?

I’ve just launched a new series of Windows Vista tips over at ZDNet, where I’ll be posting a tip a day for the next 30 days.

Today’s installment covers product keys. When you buy a retail copy of Windows Vista, the most important part of your purchase is the product key that comes with it. That 25-character key determines which Vista edition you’re allowed to install and activate, and it also tells the Setup program whether you’ve purchased a full or upgrade license. I explain how to check your activation status and how to uncover the product key that’s actually in use.

For details, read:

Vista Hands On #1: What you need to know about product keys

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Seen any good Vista tips lately?

Chapter 1 of Windows Vista Well-Connected is about tips, tweaks, and tune-ups. There’s never any shortage of Windows advice on the Internet,

I’ve run across some interesting collections of Windows Vista tips lately. I’d like your feedback on which of the individual tips within these collections you found most interesting or intriguing. Do you have any opinion about the quality and presentation of any individual site? Which of these sites do you trust as a source of information about Windows?

Who are your most-trusted Windows sources? Have you run across any tips collections that aren’t on this list? Add your pointers and suggestions in the comments over at the book’s blog. (If you want to add a comment here instead, that’s OK, too.)

An Amazon update for Windows Vista Inside Out

I’ve heard from several people who pre-ordered Windows Vista Inside Out that they’ve received notice from Amazon.com that the book was delayed and might not be available for several weeks. Fortunately, this isn’t true.

As of today, January 27, the “Availability” text on Amazon’s ordering page says: 

Note: This item is not immediately available to ship. (Usually ships within 6 to 12 days.)

I checked with my publisher and learned that the books should be in Amazon’s warehouse early next week. They’ll be checked in and shipped out immediately, going first to those who pre-ordered. I’m also told that Amazon has already placed a reorder, because the initial sales were higher than they expected.

It’s frustrating to see other Windows Vista books on Amazon’s virtual shelves already when ours isn’t there yet. Those other authors got there first by delivering their manuscripts before Windows Vista had been finalized. That might be an acceptable strategy for a book aimed at novices, but we know from experience that it’s a recipe for disaster when you’re trying to deliver detailed information for a technically sophisticated audience. Microsoft was making significant changes to Windows Vista even after its so-called final release candidate. Some of those changes were cosmetic (new icons, for instance), but a handful involved changes to the way that important advanced features of Windows Vista works.

We did tons of research on those earlier beta releases, but for many chapters in Windows Vista Inside Out, we didn’t even begin writing until we received the actual RTM code. We spent more than one month after RTM writing new chapters, rewriting earlier ones, snapping new screen shots, and – most importantly – fact-checking. That caused many a sleepless night for us and for the production team at Microsoft Press, but we believe the results will be worth it.

So, if you’re awaiting your copy, it’ll be there soon.

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More on the Vista family license

The official announcement of Microsoft’s family license program is out today. It’s a better deal than I thought:

We heard you loud and clear in planning the Windows Vista Family Discount.  Here’s how it works:

  • Buy a retail copy of Windows Vista Ultimate (full or upgrade version)
  • Between 30 January – 30 June, order up to two copies of Windows Vista Home Premium online
  • Pay only $49.99 for each copy of Windows Vista Home Premium

The key is to get an upgrade version of Vista Ultimate, which should cost $250 or less, and then get the two extra licenses for $50 each. That works out to $350 (probably a little less, given the discounting that should be available), or under $120 per copy for one Ultimate and two Home Premiums. That’s not bad at all.

I don’t understand why this has to be a limited time deal, though. Just offer the discount and be done with it, Microsoft!

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A family-friendly Vista license?

If this report from Mary Jo is true, it’s very good news:

Sources said that Microsoft will announce some time over the next few days that the company will allow Vista Ultimate customers to purchase two additional copies of Vista Home Premium for somewhere between $50 to $99 a piece.

As I noted back in August, the non-discounted price of a Windows Vista Ultimate upgrade will be $259. The non-discounted price of a Home Premium license is $159. Mary Jo’s sources are a little sketchy on the details, but based on this report the total non-discounted price for a three-PC family pack would be somewhere between $359 and $457.

The devil, as they say, is in the details. I’ll wait to see what those details are before speculating any further.

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A curious Windows Vista bug

What’s the matter with Katy?

As CFO (Chief Feline Officer) of edbott.com, Katy the cat has been an active participant in just about every project I’ve done for the last decade. If you flip through books with my name on the cover, you’ll invariably find her name and picture inside. She even has her own Outlook 2007 business card.

When I set up a new Windows machine, I usually add a Standard user account for Katy and use it when I want to test applications or features under a user account.

But a strange thing happened this morning when I tried to create Katy’s account on a new machine running Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit edition. I opened the User Accounts Control Panel, clicked Create New Account, and entered Katy’s name, just as I’ve done on at least 100 other installations in the past year and a half.

But when I pressed Enter, I was greeted with this message:

Well, that’s strange. There are no special characters in the name at all. I can create new accounts using other names, including four-letter names that begin with a capital letter and end with y. I can create this account with the name Kat, Kate, or Katie. But entering Katy as the user name fails, with this baffling message.

This is a new, fresh installation of Windows Vista. I’ve tried changing the keyboard, with the same results. I’ve tried logging off and restarting the computer. I tried creating a new account in the Administrators group, logging on with that account, and then creating Katy’s account. No joy.

I’m stumped. Any suggestions on what could be going on here? I’m especially interested in any suggestions from folks working on the Windows Vista team at Microsoft.

… Ah, mystery solved. And this is indeed a bug.

Yesterday, while working on one of the very last pieces of Windows Vista Inside Out, I was testing Windows Easy Transfer (the successor to the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard in Windows XP). At one point I transferred a group of settings from a virtual machine with three user accounts to this machine, which has only one. The settings were transferred, apparently successfully. But some items in the Registry were, shall we say, incongruous. An account called Katy had entries in the registry for its SID and profile location. The trouble is, that account didn’t actually exist, and when I went to create it Windows threw up the most appropriate error message it could find, which wasn’t actually appropriate.

A little something for Windows Vista Service Pack 1, I hope, and for the next edition of Windows Vista Inside Out.

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