Vista RTM Free to Testers

[XtAzY]

Too bad there are already patches out there that will make Vista free for everyone that will take care of activation and etc...

[MRGTB]

Have MSDN pulled the downloads from there site. I logged ito MSDN with my MSN account, and tried to subscribe to Vista. But it asks for a "Benefit Access Number" which I don't know.

Basicly I can't see Vista for download anywhere on there site, plus I've read a few posts on other sites which claims they pulled the download off again.

[AWS]

Thanks AWS. Will I need to use something like partition magic on the USB drive as well?

No. Setup will create and format a partition on the drive for you. All you have to do is select the drive.

[M1th]

do they have any plans to put Vista up on the MSDN Academic Alliance site?

[AWS]

It's possible they pulled it from MSDN. They took the x64 download down on Connect because of the strain on the download servers. Technet, MSDN and Connect use the same download servers.

[Chousho]

Hmm, checking in on MSDNAA again, what we did have (Longhorn beta 1) was removed, although it still shows up under my own list of software. I wonder if we'll be getting Vista soon? *crosses fingers*

[chrispadfield]

No. Setup will create and format a partition on the drive for you. All you have to do is select the drive.

Without deleting all the data I already have on it?

[Quillz]

What was i thinking when i wrote that i must have been half asleep.

System Req = 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.

Yes, you can boot from an external USB drive, are you installing onto that?

I have an external hard drive... How long (approx.) would it take to boot Vista? I know that external drives are always slower, although it does make use of USB 2.0.

Also, is it easy to get rid of a partition? Or do I have to reformat the whole drive?

[Chousho]

I have an external hard drive... How long (approx.) would it take to boot Vista? I know that external drives are always slower, although it does make use of USB 2.0.

Also, is it easy to get rid of a partition? Or do I have to reformat the whole drive?

If you have enough free space on a current partition, there's a neat lil program called "Partition Magic" that could do this job for you. As well, there is a Linux distro (Knoppix I think) that can do the same thing.

As far as external hdd, shouldn't have too much of a noticeable speed difference, but I usually didn't use USB, so who knows.

[AWS]

If you have data on the drive then use partition magic to create a piece for Vista.

[Joe Gronlund]

Yes partition magic is a great program to use, very reliable..

@ Vista Testers, have you received your invitation for Windows Vista Ultimate Extras yet?
You should soon..

[Joe Gronlund]

Here of some screenshots of Vista Ultimate RTM if anyone is interested, i dont know why i didnt post them earlier..

http://www.microsoftliveforums.com/m...timate_RTM.jpg

http://www.microsoftliveforums.com/m...mate_RTM_2.jpg

http://www.microsoftliveforums.com/m...mate_RTM_3.jpg

http://www.microsoftliveforums.com/m...mate_RTM_4.jpg

[MRGTB]

Here of some screenshots of Vista Ultimate RTM if anyone is interested, i dont know why i didnt post them earlier..

http://www.microsoftliveforums.com/m...timate_RTM.jpg

http://www.microsoftliveforums.com/m...mate_RTM_2.jpg

http://www.microsoftliveforums.com/m...mate_RTM_3.jpg

http://www.microsoftliveforums.com/m...mate_RTM_4.jpg

Looks very nice Joe.

I decided to try Windows Pro x64bit again the other day that I have, which came free when I built my PC. This time round I noticed MS have released loads of new MS Updates for it since I last installed it. In fact I got every single driver direct from MS Updates except the Nvidia Driver for my graphics cards, which I got from nVidia site itself for XP Pro x64 (I expected that though). But all the sound card and motherboard drivers including my NEC monitor, Lan and all other Motherboard drivers were picked up and installed from MS Updates. But I decided to remove the OS a day later and revert back to XP Home though.

One thing that bugs me about Windows XP Pro x64bit, is the fact it comes with a 32bit and a 64bit Internet Explorer. Does Vista also come with two IE versions installed by default. Or does it just have one version installed. Plus you still can't get around the games and software compatibilty issues on some stuff which just puts you off. I'd like to try Vista (legit). But I'm unable to download it.

Can you tell me something, I've noticed on XP Pro x64, that the serial "Game Port" connection on my motherboard is listed in device manager as unsuported. Is this the same situation when running Vista. As I read that XP Pro x64 no longer supports serial joystick connection and only supports USB, unlike XP Home and XP Pro (32bit) etc. Which does support them and list it in device manager as a "Standard Game Port".

[TommyBALL]

I'd like to try Vista (legit). But I'm unable to download it.

Vista is not available for the consumer market till January.

Regards
- Tommy

[Quillz]

Can people still order RC1 DVDs from Microsoft? That's what I did, although I had to pay about $2 for shipping.