In XP we have Recovery Console (RC). In Vista the RC became Windows RE (Recovery Environment). Why did Redmond jargoned the description of the same concept?

There is one feature of Windows RE that I believe will be useful to those with preinstalled Vista: Startup Recovery Tool (RCT).

The RCT is available via Safe Mode advanced options. This is the feature that M$ should have invented when they first developed XP. For those with preinstalled XP, you usually have to wipe out the whole system to reinstate the OS which is a ridiculous way to fix what's really fixable.

i_XpUser

Ooops - RCT should read as SRT - gotta get coffee :-)

i_XpUser

I have Vista Home Premium preinstalled on HP Slimline s7700n. I've just played with Safe Mode. The first item on the Safe Mode menu is Repair Your Computer - a feature missing in XP. I chosen this item and was prompted to enter the password to the default Administrator account. Then it loaded up another menu with the following options:

- Startup Repair
- System Restore
- Windows Complete PC Restore (?)
- Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool.
- Command prompt

i_XpUser

and...

- Restore Application.

Additionally in System Restore there is no option for Last Known Good Configuration (LKGC).

i_XpUser

'For those with preinstalled XP, you usually have to wipe out the whole system to reinstate the OS'

luckily the OEM users won't have to reactivate all the time they 'eff up' and re-install the operating system as the new BIOS' for motherboards that support OEM activation for Windows Vista will hold all necessary information (of course there are 'clean' 3rd BIOS flash upgrades available out there ... use at your convenience and indeed your own risk :-)

Today's subliminal thought is: 'Calm down ... it's only ones and zeros.'

No activation is involved with OEM preinstalled Vista - M$ stopped doing it with XP. When I first started using the HP I was never prompted to give the COA or anything of that sort except to register the machine SN with HP.

i_XpUser

With Vista, there are NO more activation free versions. unlike XP, each Vista OEM hast it's own unique key. they information that your pre-activated oem installation is indeed a legal one is stored in the BIOS. Microsoft is calling this mechanism "System Locked Preinstallation" (SLP).

http://technet2.microsoft.com/Windo...

If you think that Microsoft has no rights to infect your hardware with code written into the BIOS in case you want to install a different OS, well, there is hope. concerned folks out there have already have modified the BIOS for many motherboards from different brands and manufacturers, and then released the BIOSes online for public free download.

Today's subliminal thought is: 'Calm down ... it's only ones and zeros.'

Yeah I forgot all about SLP - thanks for refreshing my failing memory (j/k) I know about M$ tweaking with BIOS. Perhaps my next OEM PC will be Dell with preinstalled Linux.

i_XpUser

maybe this is going to happen sooner than you think:

http://www.theinquirer.net/default....

however, Dell's n Series (desktops and notebooks) are already available, shipping with FreeDOS, leaving you the choice of the Linux distro you prefer.

Today's subliminal thought is: 'Calm down ... it's only ones and zeros.'

in the meantime, if you don't want to wait for Dell to deliver:

download/install VirtualBox (works equally as good in XP and Vista)

http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Down...

setup a virtual machine, choose linux 2.6, set hard disk and memory size (15 GB / 256 MB should be sufficient, can be altered to your likings at any time later) and enable sound. now download a linux distro of your choice (i.e. ubuntu), mount the image and boot up your VirtualBox. 30 minutes later you're proud owner of a Linux Desktop PC :-)

run your updates, stash away a copy of the virtual hard disc file and enjoy!

Microsoft's VPC 2007 seems to have problems to handle Linux (i've tried Ubuntu, Mandriva and DSL, neither one of them would install) while VirtualBox will install them without a glitch (it even handles Vista much better than Microsoft's very own product :-)

Today's subliminal thought is: 'Calm down ... it's only ones and zeros.'

"With Vista, there are NO more activation free versions........

Not true (at least as far as Dell goes), & I won't go into further details because of forum rules.

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