Windows Vista Beta 2: The key word is 'Beta'

Gary Krakow Columnist • E-mail

I've just spent the past four days living and breathing Microsoft’s Windows Vista Beta 2.

I would like to tell you how easy it was to install and how much fun I’ve had using Vista Beta 2 over the past few days, but I can’t. That’s because the combination of Beta 2 and the laptop computers I tried to install it on was like trying to mix oil and water.

The version of Vista I was testing was given to me about a week before the official Beta 2 release announced Tuesday in Seattle at WinHEC, Microsoft's conference for Windows hardware engineering.  I’ve been using what was described to me as a "very near Beta 2." (MSNBC is a Microsoft – NBC joint venture.)

Beta, or pre-release, software is notorious for being... let’s say quirky.  I had a feeling going in to this that I might have a few problems to deal with.

The stuff that works on Vista seems to work well. But getting the Beta on to a computer was another matter. Installing Vista Beta 2 was one of the worst operating system experiences that I’ve ever encountered.

It took me days to install a working version on a new Lenovo ThinkPad X60 laptop with 2GB of memory and all sorts of built-in wireless networking. I tried installing it as an update to the laptop’s Windows XP — but after four hours of churning away the laptop shut down and wouldn’t reboot.

I tried again on the ThinkPad as a clean install, which meant wiping out everything on the hard drive and starting from scratch. That took about an hour to complete. It also removed every device driver that I needed to run the laptop.

Downloading the drivers from the Lenovo Web site took a long time, but after a while I had downloaded and installed the package. Unfortunately, not everything I downloaded is Vista-ready so rebooting had to occur after every 10 minutes of computer use.

Also, the built-in audio and wireless connectivity devices don’t work.  I do have an 802.11b/g PC card that was recognized by the system.

Print this Email this Blog this  IM this

MORE FROM GADGETS

Gadgets Section Front

Perils of the pocket call Will your iPhone destroy the Internet? Small TV stations lose appeal N.C. TV market to make early switch to digital Readers respond: Some are printing less now Safer alternatives to standard earbuds Computer mice anything but peripheral Neil Young to release archive on Blu-ray Microsoft to sell TV shows for the Zune A picture-perfect gift Gadgets Section Front   Add Gadgets headlines to your news reader: