|
BOOT CAMP 432 (11/07/06)
Windows Vista, part 3
If you have been following this short series on
the Windows Vista Beta 2 public trial you should now be ready to do the deed
and install the new operating system on a PC but first a couple of updates.
Microsoft has unexpectedly suspended new
sign-ups to the trial, however, if you have already registered and received a
product code you can still download the file until July 14th, so get your
skates on! If you are desperate to give it a try then there are a lot of
‘unofficial’ copies floating around the web and if you know someone who is
taking part in the trial you could ask them to help out as each copy of the
Beta can be installed on up to nine PCs.
Several readers have reported difficulties
getting the DVD to load (see also Top Tip) and the most common problem is an
error message saying ‘cannot find installation file’. This is quite common and
there are two probable causes. The download is incomplete or corrupt or there
are errors on the DVD. An easy way to check if it’s the former is the size of
the file, which should be around 3.3Gb; anything less and you should try again.
A faulty DVD is usually due to a mis-match of
writing speeds. DVD burning software usually defaults to the drives highest
recording speed. DVDs should be burnt at the lowest speed that’s compatible
with both the drive and the media. For the best chance of success do not use
the PC whilst the recording is in progress, set the writing speed to its lowest
setting (1x) or be careful not to exceed the speed rating of the disc -- in
other words don’t try burning a 4x speed disc at 8x and so on.
Before we move on I must remind you of the
warnings in part 1. Do not load Vista onto your main PC or any PC that contains
irreplaceable data, and be aware that there may be no way to upgrade from the
Beta or the Release Candidate 1 (RC1) version and Beta 2 will stop working on
June 1st next year.
There are two easy ways to install Vista on a
PC. It can be loaded from within a Windows XP session into a separate partition
on the hard drive and used in a ‘dual-boot’ configuration. However, this method
is risky and could corrupt your XP system and it is best left to experts so I
recommend installing it on its own, on a new or reformatted drive.
When you are ready to begin pop the Vista DVD
into the drive and boot the PC, if you have any problems see this week’s Top
Tip for some troubleshooting advice. The first thing you should see is a
loading screen telling you that Vista is copying files, this takes around a
minute. After that a dialogue box appears asking you to choose language and
keyboard type and this is followed by a screen with buttons for ‘Install Now’
and ‘Recovery Options’. Click Install now and after a few moments you’ll be
asked to enter the Product Code. Click Next and agree to the Licence bumph, a
setup screen asks you to decide between Upgrade or Custom (advanced) install,
(you can only choose Custom). On the next screen you choose where you want Vista
to be installed, which on a blank or reformatted drive will be the Primary
partition on ‘Disk 0’. Otherwise you can click Disk Tools and partition and
format the disc. Once that is done files are copied from the DVD and you’ll see
a progress screen listing the various stages. Depending on the speed of your PC
this can take up to an hour.
Towards the end of the installation the PC will
be rebooted several times, various drivers are loaded after which you will see
the final setup screen asking you to enter country and region (again) user
name, password, picture etc., then date and time and finally the Welcome
screen. It’s all fairly painless and lot quicker than Windows XP as it bypasses
a lot of the account and network info, which can be configured later on.
At this point you should have an almost fully
functional Vista PC but you still need to complete a few more configuration
settings for network and Internet connections. The last step is the Welcome
Centre where you have the option to fiddle with display setting and other
customisations. However, your first stop should be ‘Setup Devices’, which
installs any missing drivers for your video and audio adaptors and any other
hardware devices not recognised by Vista. As a final check pop along to the new
Device Manager (Start > right-click Computer > Manage > Device Manager) to see if there are
outstanding hardware issues that need to be resolved. Vista should now be ready
to use and we’ll conclude the series next week with a brief guided tour.
NEXT WEEK - Windows Vista, part 4
JARGON FILTER
DUAL BOOTING
A PC with two (or more)
operating systems, selectable from a ‘Boot Manager’ menu immediately after
switch-on
PARTITION
Dividing a
single large hard disc drive into two or more separate (logical) drives, so a
120Gb drive, for example, could be split into two 60Gb partitions designated C:
and D:
RELEASE CANDIDATE 1
The pre-release version of a program following a beta trial and
barring any last minute glitches as close to the finished product as it is possible
to be
TOP TIP
Remember Vista 2 is Beta software so problems are to be expected.
A lot of users fall at the first hurdle because their installation disc has
errors so if in doubt make a new copy at the slowest burning speed on a top
quality disc. Once installation has started there are a number of trouble spots
where the PC can freeze. These are
often due to hardware not being recognised, so before you install Vista
disconnect all peripherals (printer, scanner, USB devices and so on) and try
again. If you still have problems, particularly at or before the first reboot,
try removing any expansion cards (modem, network etc.). Don’t forget, there’s a
full archive of previous Boot Camp Top Tips at www.rickmaybury.com
---end---
© R. Maybury 2006, 0507
Part 1, 2, 4
|