Windows vista beta wiki

Windows Vista (codenamed Longhorn) is a major release of Microsoft Windows released to manufacturing on 8 November 2006^[1] and made generally available on 30 January 2007. It succeeded Windows XP and preceded Windows 7. It had one of the longest development periods in Microsoft’s history starting in May 2001 and continuing through November 2006, with the project’s development having undergone a reset in August 2004.

Mainstream support ended on 10 April 2012, while extended support ended on 11 April 2017.

Development[edit | edit source]

The earliest reference to the project that would become Longhorn came in an internal planning document in January 2001,^[2] where features were discussed for Whistler+1, the temporary name given for the operating system succeeding Whistler (this name continues to be used in some early Longhorn planning documents, and it is in fact stated that Longhorn replaced Whistler+1 as a name). Among these features were a new relational database-based filesystem dubbed the Digital Memory Manager;^[3] a next-generation method of organizing files with different stores for different types, indexed and query-able with tags, based on the technology of SQL Server Yukon;^[a] it also served as a full-on replacement for the Windows registry subsystem.^[3] Under the heading of «Presentation Reform», Avalon was planned.

Planning for the Longhorn project started in earnest in May 2001,^[4] originally intended as a bridging release between Whistler and the later version of Windows codenamed Blackcomb (reference to the bar between two mountains in British Columbia, Canada). Three main pillars of Longhorn were planned: WinFS, a subsystem that aimed to bring benefits of relational databases to filesystem storage; Avalon, a new vector-based user interface framework (later known as Windows Presentation Foundation); and Indigo (later known as Windows Communication Foundation), the latter two falling under the umbrella of WinFX, a new series of class libraries building on the .NET Framework.

SideShow, a Microsoft Research project building what would become the Windows Sidebar, quickly folded into the Longhorn project, with Microsoft intending it to be used as a new application platform building on WinFX, hosted as part of the Explorer process.

Many features slated for Blackcomb became part of Longhorn, and employees jumped ship from other parts of the company, turning into a major version rather than the minor version it was initially planned as. After an initially quiet development cycle, the first build to leak publicly was build 3683, which contained a new theme called Plex, as well as the foundations for Avalon and WinFS.

Starting with build 4000, Microsoft employed a new image-based deployment mechanism for Longhorn, known as WIM, designed to make installs (run from a Windows PE environment) far faster than the CAB-based installs of before. WIM would later be deployed not only for Longhorn and subsequent versions of Windows, but also for special embedded versions of Windows XP including Windows FLP and Windows Embedded POSReady 2009. The jump to build 4000 was intended to Longhorn finally branching off from Windows Server 2003, which it had initially been developed in parallel with; Longhorn’s initial work was in the lab06 shell branch while Server 2003 continued in the main branch, by this point, Server 2003 had moved to its own dnsrv release branch and Longhorn was finally building in main.

As development slowly progressed, the Longhorn project ended up becoming a largely bloated and unstable piece of vaporware, with team members and high-ranking executives describing the project as a literal «pig»^[5][6][7] and release dates constantly being pushed back on multiple occasions. Stability issues (e.g.: memory leaks and system crashes), organizational management problems (such as lack of team morale^[7] and an unworkable build lab system) and feature creep, additionally compounded by the significant lack of work done to optimize the operating system and the use of relatively new or otherwise unfinished technologies — many system components of which were extended by the .NET Framework, Avalon and Managed C++ — increasingly became issues as development progressed, and the project eventually entered development hell.

Due to these problems, only two preview releases were publicly distributed at conferences and to developers: builds 4051 and 4074, released during PDC 2003 and WinHEC 2004 (at which point the new Longhorn Display Driver Model was announced) respectively. Around the time of PDC 2003, Win32 was said to be in «maintenance mode» where it was being kept around solely for compatibility with few new APIs exposed to developers; the Longhorn Developer Previews focused solely on managed APIs.

As a last resort, Microsoft started work on refactoring the operating system into a set of components (something which had been planned early on but Microsoft had not made serious progress on), hoping to contain the feature creep in the process. However, the componentization effort derailed the project even more. The last confirmed build prior to the development reset is build 4093 (main), compiled on 19 August 2004, though based on version numbers and build dates from scattered components, it’s likely that some build labs and teams continued building parts of the scrapped Longhorn source tree after this time, and some components (such as DWM, which shares a dependency on MIL with Avalon) are likely to have survived the reset unscathed.

Development reset[edit | edit source]

Approximately four hours after build 4093 was compiled, Microsoft reset the development of Longhorn and started fresh by using a work-in-progress version of the Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 codebase. The base for the reset had already been worked on before the reset. The immediate post-reset builds, codenamed «Omega-13» after the Galaxy Quest time travel device,^[8] were primarily focused on componentization and reintegration of features from pre-reset builds while maintaining stability. A ban on usage of the .NET Framework was imposed across a large majority of the Windows source tree with the exception of the Windows Media Center. Most of these builds are similar to Windows XP in the overall look and feel, although markers such as poorly-edited branding (as observed in builds such as 5001) were temporarily utilized to distinguish from its predecessor. Few builds from this stage of development have been released, officially or otherwise. Development of Longhorn continued, although many features originally slated for inclusion (such as WinFS and Castles) were delayed or ultimately dropped in order to produce a more realistic set of goals for the operating system.

Little is known about the period between August 2004 and April 2005, which has also been dubbed «D1» or «Milestone 9», during which time Microsoft tried to get development back on track, but what is known is that Microsoft continued to work on WinFX (shipping a community technology preview version for Windows XP and Server 2003 systems in November 2004), and further distributed builds to core partners such as ATI and Nvidia (as evidenced by a December 2004 ATI presentation mentioning Longhorn, and the existence of LDDM drivers in build 5048). It is also during this period that Microsoft began development on Internet Explorer 7. After the release of Internet Explorer 6, Microsoft ceased development on Internet Explorer, opting instead to simply maintain it while Mozilla and other competitors crept ahead. Internet Explorer 7 became a headline feature of Longhorn and was first shown at the RSA conference in February 2005.

A preliminary developer preview build was released to attendees of the WinHEC 2005 conference on 25 April 2005^[9] to show off the total progress made after the reset, which also demonstrably proved to be significantly more stable over previous builds, despite insiders raising concerns over the then-current state of the operating system’s lacking feature set at the time. DirectX 10 (then known as Windows Graphics Foundation 2.0) was also announced at WinHEC. The earliest available leaked build after the developer preview was 5098. Build 5112 (Beta 1) was soon released to the public after having slipped from February to June to July, showcasing further progress on the operating system’s planned feature set and many stability improvements over its predecessor, alongside an early version of the Windows Aero user interface. Over the course of two years, many builds were released to testers through the public Community Technology Preview program; the final build pushed out to public preview testers was Release Candidate 2 (build 5744). The RTM build was build 6000.16386, compiled on 1 November 2006 and released to manufacturing on 8 November 2006. The operating system finally reached general availability on 30 January 2007, and it was met with increasingly negative consumer reception in part due to significant mismanagement in the Windows Vista Capable program (itself the subject of a class-action lawsuit,^[10] downgraded to civil-action^[11]) and hardware manufacturers not having confidence in Microsoft’s ability to ship a new operating system release in time.^[12]

Post-release[edit | edit source]

Microsoft released the first service pack for Windows Vista in March 2008 in the form of a major update to the RTM build, which was additionally complemented by a stand-alone installable update package, adding support for UEFI firmware on 64-bit versions of Windows alongside added support for the exFAT file system and improvements to performance, stability, and wireless capabilities.

In May 2009, Microsoft released the second service pack for Windows Vista, which includes various new features such as wireless and Bluetooth support; most notably, a Bluetooth Control Panel applet; it also includes Windows Search 4.0 built-in, better support of eSATA drives, support for burning on Blu-ray discs and support for the AMD64 VIA Nano processor, and also improved performance of the RSS feeds sidebar gadget, and improved streaming high-definition content. Another update, known as the Platform Update for Windows Vista, was later released in October 2009, and backports several APIs from Windows 7, including the Automation and Ribbon APIs, and DirectX 11.0 and related technologies, such as WDDM 1.1, DXGI 1.1, Direct2D, and DirectWrite.

Naming[edit | edit source]

Several product names for the Longhorn project were presented to Microsoft in the lead-up to the final release of the operating system; its final name, Windows Vista, was officially unveiled on 22 July 2005.^[13] Greg Sullivan informed Paul Thurrott about how the name Vista focused around the premise of wanting «the PC to adapt you» and aimed in «bringing clarity to your world»; the operating system was intended to be marketed with the terms «Connected, Clear and Confident». Microsoft vice president Jim Allchin expressed their enthusiasm for the product name, stating that it created the «right imagery for the new product capabilities».^[14]

The earliest known build to use the final name is build 5112, and the final builds to have any leftovers of the Longhorn codename are two compiles of build 5284, with the last traces being removed from the main OS in January 2006; subsequent Windows Preinstallation Environment versions contained a reference to the codename in the ProductName value under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion key until early Milestone 2 builds of Windows 8.

System requirements[edit | edit source]

During development of pre-reset Longhorn, the system requirements were largely the same as Windows XP, with the sole exception of build 4001, which required a Pentium III processor or better during setup. However, most builds of Longhorn only install on NTFS partitions, which would be carried to the final release of Vista. Throughout development of post-reset Vista, the system requirements were significantly increased to accommodate new computing standards, such as the use of the Windows Display Driver Model to take most advantage of display capabilities, immediately requiring ACPI after replacing NTLDR with the Windows Boot Manager, and greatly increasing the amount of disk space required to install Windows.

Microsoft recommends Windows Vista to be installed on a system with a processor with a speed of at least 800 MHz, at least 512 MB (384 MB for Starter Edition) of RAM, 15 GB of free hard drive space, an SVGA or better display adapter, and a DVD-ROM drive.^[15] Windows Vista drops support for systems without ACPI. CD-ROM installation is still possible, but such an installation method now requires multiple CD-ROMs due to the increased size of the installation media after the shift to WIM-based installation. CD-ROM media was not available for retail purchase, and was only offered for specific requests.

Windows Vista’s setup does not check for a required processor generation or speed to install as long as setup can start, and thus it is possible to install Windows Vista on processors as early as the original Pentium. Windows Vista can also be run with as low as 256 MB of RAM.

Hardware compatibility[edit | edit source]

Intel CPUs whose microarchitectures are based on Haswell or later are not supported on Windows Vista.^[16] Numerous issues relating to certain services or applications failing to start on the affected CPUs have been reported by various users, with extreme cases often leading to potential bugchecks.^[17] The KB4493471 update contains a new version of the HAL (hardware abstraction layer) that fixes most of these issues.

The x86 versions of Windows Vista, as well as Windows XP and earlier versions, are not affected by the aforementioned problems.

Main changes[edit | edit source]

User interface[edit | edit source]

Windows Aero[edit | edit source]

The new Windows Aero design language was introduced, incorporating the use of skeumorphic designs that feature three-dimensional surfaces (often with reflectivity) and realistic icon designs. Microsoft also encouraged third-party developers to make their applications consistent with Aero, with the company for the first time producing a definite set of design guidelines that included advice ranging from icon design to text wording. The Segoe font family, a humanist typeface intended to improve overall legibility across varying system surfaces, has been introduced to the operating system.

An important aspect of the design language was the hardware-accelerated Windows Aero theme, made possible by the new Desktop Window Manager, a compositing window manager that works hand-in-hand with the DirectX graphics architecture and the new Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM). The compositing nature of DWM allows for dynamic effects such as Aero Glass and Flip 3D, but also prevents various rendering glitches that were present in previous versions of Windows. The exact appearance of Aero Glass can be further customized by toggling the transparency or changing the window frames’ colors, functionality that is only exclusive when composition is enabled. DWM uses Direct3D9Ex, previously known as Direct3D 9.0L.

To tailor towards underpowered or non-WDDM-compliant systems, Windows Vista also includes the Windows Basic visual style, a reduced-functionality variant of the Aero theme that makes use of the older Windows XP theming engine.

System shell[edit | edit source]

Windows Explorer[edit | edit source]

The Windows Explorer user interface received a complete design overhaul in Windows Vista, featuring a command-based user interface that allows users to quickly access common file and directory actions. Improvements to file navigation have been implemented with the addition of a navigation pane, which contains a tree of commonly-used directories and certain pre-configured search folders, as well as adjustments to the address bar that allows the user to switch between higher- or lower-level directories in (at minimum) two clicks with directory layouts, eliminating the need to search through various directories for specific items. Storage devices now show the total amount of free space through a dedicated indicator placed under the drive icon. Metadata and information for files and folders can now be viewed through a separate details pane, and descriptive terms for easier categorization and retrieval can now be added to items.

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The Start menu was redesigned such that the All Programs list becomes integrated as a single shortcut directory tree view, rather than its previous iterations which instead presented additional clutter as the user advances into deeper shortcut directory levels. Integration with the Windows Search service has also been implemented, allowing the user to quickly search for files, documents and installed programs. As with its predecessor, the user can revert to the older start menu design from Windows 2000.

Taskbar[edit | edit source]

The Taskbar received a minor functionality improvement with the addition of live taskbar thumbnails, which shows the preview of a window when its taskbar button is hovered over. The Start button also no longer shows the «Start» text and was changed to a blue orb which bears the Windows logo.

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Vista implements a separate sidebar area that allows the user to place gadgets, small applets designed to show information at a quick glance such as displaying the time and date, displaying images or reporting current weather conditions. These applets can also be placed onto the desktop.

Accessibility[edit | edit source]

The new Ease of Access Center has been added as a replacement for the older Utility Manager, allowing disabled users to launch built-in accessibility tools and configure existing accessibility options through a dedicated launcher.

Integrated support for speech recognition has been added, enabling users to control their device using various voice commands and dictate text in various applications. An interactive tutorial is included to teach users how to use voice commands. The speech recognition technology utilizes Microsoft Speech API version 5.3 and Speech Recognizer version 8. To accomodate for this, an updated speech synthesis engine for text-to-speech programs like Narrator and Microsoft Agent has also been updated to support SAPI 5, which implements enhanced support for natural-sounding voices.

Security improvements[edit | edit source]

Windows Vista introduced many improved security features such as User Account Control, which improves the security of the computer by limiting programs to use fewer privileges by default in an effort to prevent malware from compromising the security of the user’s computer. It also allows standard users to use their devices with as few privileges as possible while retaining overall system usability.

When an action requires administrative elevation, User Account Control will ask for the user’s credentials or consent to initiate the action through a separate prompt, achieved by having its underlying system process (consent.exe, spawned by the Application Information service) send a request to the Windows session manager to switch to a special session reserved specifically for the local system account (otherwise referred to as the «secure desktop», additionally used by the Windows logon user interface), display a dimmed bitmap image copy of the logged-on user’s session across the client area and spawn the respective application launch confirmation dialog.^[18][19]

Improvements to drive encryption were implemented through the addition of BitLocker Drive Encryption, which makes use of the device’s TPM module to encrypt the contents of an existing partition wherever possible. Drives can also be decrypted through the use of a separate backup key.

The logon experience in Windows Vista has been overhauled. Support for GINA DLLs were removed, and the roles and responsibilities of Winlogon have also been changed significantly. The design of the logon screen was overhauled to feature a minimalistic design that places a central focus on the user themselves, with options for power and accessibility placed on

Driver signature verification is also required on x64 versions of Windows Vista, unless the user engages «Test Mode».

Address space layout randomization (ASLR) was enabled for various system executables and libraries to prevent attacks depending on known locations of the stack, functions, and data structures. ASLR randomizes the base address where supported images are loaded, along with the locations of the stack, heap, TEB, and PEB.

Miscellaneous[edit | edit source]

Search indexing[edit | edit source]

The new Windows Search service replaces the older item indexing service included as a web app in Windows 2000 and Windows XP, making use of a lightweight database containing all indexed items stored on the user’s computer. Search functionality has also been expanded with the introduction of search folders, which automatically categorize files based on existing metadata. The new search indexer supports IFilters, components that allow the service to scan the contents and metadata of files. Windows Search also uses property handlers to index existing metadata from various file formats.

Searches can be initiated by using the search box in the Start menu and in the Windows Explorer user interface.

Networking stack[edit | edit source]

The underlying Windows networking stack has also been overhauled in Windows Vista to feature IPv6 support, a reworked IPv4 and TCP/IP implementation and improvements towards peer-to-peer connectivity.

Printing subsystem[edit | edit source]

The print architecture has also been overhauled in Windows Vista. The new print architecture is built around WPF and provides high-fidelity color printing using improved color management features. The XPS format was also introduced for printers which allows prints to look much better in quality. Client Side Rendering was also introduced to allow documents to be rendered on to the main client machine rather than on the server. This allows the rendered form of the document to be passed on to the main print server without additional processing.

Windows Audio[edit | edit source]

The audio stack has also been overhauled in Windows Vista. The new stack model includes support for UAA and support for better audio processing through major new APIs such as Windows Audio Session, Multimedia Device and Device Topology. In addition, new digital signal processing features such as Room Correction, Bass Management, Loudness Equalization and Speaker Fill have been introduced which adapts and modifies an existing audio signal to take more advantage of the speaker configuration. The ability to calibrate audio speakers to a room’s acoustics automatically using an Aero wizard has also been added.

Software Protection Platform[edit | edit source]

The licensing subsystem has been completely rewritten in Windows Vista. This allowed Microsoft to define licensing restrictions for each SKU more easily and systematically using product policies, rather than hardcoding them in the kernel or using hooks for core system components. Product policies are used to limit the maximum amount of RAM, number of processors, as well as the availability of user interface options such as the Aero theme or transparency.

Boot environment[edit | edit source]

The boot environment has been reworked from scratch with the introduction of the Windows Boot Manager, a replacement for the legacy NTLDR boot loader that implements a new registry-based Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store which defines settings for existing boot applications and the underlying boot environment.

Performance optimizations[edit | edit source]

The ReadyBoost and ReadyDrive features were introduced as a way to improve system performance by using available flash memory on USB flash drives and hybrid hard disks to store commonly used programs and data. This additionally improves battery life on portable computers, as hybrid drives can be spun down when the system is not in use.

SuperFetch, a new feature that extended upon the existing prefetching subsystem was also introduced, allowing the operating system to analyze usage patterns and make decisions about what should be present in memory at any given time.

Deprecations[edit | edit source]

• Windows Vista drops the ability to upgrade from Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000 and can be only officially upgraded to on devices using an 800 MHz CPU or faster, 512MB RAM or higher, Super VGA video output, and 20 gigabyte HDD or larger, with BIOS or compatible firmware and Windows XP or Windows XP x64 Edition supported and installed.
• It is no longer possible to downgrade to an older version of Windows due to underlying changes within the setup subsystem.
• The Windows Messenger service has been removed, as instead a link to download Windows Live Messenger has been placed in Welcome Center.
• WordPad can no longer open Microsoft Word documents. Instead, Microsoft recommended to use Word Viewer instead.
• Service Packs can no longer be installed cumulatively in Windows Vista SP2, meaning that Service Pack 1 has to be installed first.

Editions[edit | edit source]

Windows Vista was shipped in a number of editions. Unlike Windows XP, there were no special editions for Media Center, 64-bit capabilities and Tablet PCs since these features were included in at least one of the consumer editions. Windows Anytime Upgrade was also introduced to allow users to easily facilitate upgrades to higher editions of Windows Vista.

• Starter: This edition is intended for emerging markets and low-cost PCs. Like its predecessor, the three-program limit was included, and a maximum limitation of 1GB installable RAM is imposed. Other software restrictions were applied as well; hence, this version isn’t available in 64-bit. This edition is the only edition of Vista that does not have Desktop Window Manager and Windows HotStart enabled. Only Windows XP Starter Edition can be upgraded to Windows Vista Starter.
• Home Basic: Found in low-cost to mid-range computers, this version of Windows Vista does not feature complete Aero (though it includes DWM functionality) and hence does not feature more complex effects like transparency and Flip 3D. Windows Media Center, Windows DVD Maker and various backup features are also not present in this edition and unlike the Starter edition, it doesn’t have the hardware and 3-program maximum limitations. The user can also only join a meeting but cannot create one in Windows Meeting Space.
• Home Premium: The consumer version of Windows Vista. This version includes full Aero functionality, Windows Media Center, Windows DVD Maker, Premium Games (e.g.: Inkball, Purble Place) and various WMP11 audio decoders. However, it lacks the BitLocker and Complete PC Backup functionalities.
• Business: A business-oriented version of Windows Vista. It contains several features such as full Remote Desktop Protocol (client/host) capability, group policy management, Active Directory domain join support and faxing capabilities. Consumer-specific features such as Windows Media Center and Parental Controls are not included, and Premium Games are disabled by default.
• Enterprise: A business-oriented variant of Windows Vista. It is similar to Ultimate but does not include consumer-specific features such as Windows Media Center and Parental Controls. Rather, it includes enterprise-specific tools such as Windows Fax and Scan and Windows Services for UNIX. This edition was only available to customers who participated in the Microsoft Software Assurance program.
• Ultimate: The high-end variant of Windows Vista. It is a merger of the features included with Windows Vista Home Premium and Business. BitLocker is included in this version. This edition also allows the user to install Windows Ultimate Extras, a set of addons that include games, sound schemes, Windows DreamScene, BitLocker and additional Windows Marketplace enhancements. This SKU also has all features of Windows Vista.
  • A custom version of Windows Vista Ultimate was also created for the Product Red campaign, which aids in supporting global funding for research on diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The version includes extra Red-themed wallpapers, gadgets and a special theme.

There was not a separate componentized embedded version of Windows Vista, as Microsoft instead opted to release Windows Embedded 2009, which was based upon the Windows XP codebase.^[20] Windows Vista Business and Ultimate could be licensed for use on embedded devices. Such copies are labeled as «Windows Vista Business for Embedded Systems» and «Windows Vista Ultimate for Embedded Systems» on the Product Key sticker, respectively, and their installation media is identical to the retail version. The only notable difference from the retail version is the inclusion of an EULA that forbids other uses.^[21]

Marketing[edit | edit source]

Windows Vista was initially marketed with the slogan The Wow Starts Now. The slogan would be later changed to I’m a PC in 2008 in response to Apple’s opposing Get a Mac marketing campaign from 2006. The campaign would carry over to Windows 7, and lasted through 2011.

Launch, criticism and controversy[edit | edit source]

Independent hardware and software vendors (IHV/ISVs) were reluctant to develop applications and hardware targeting Vista’s new software and driver models as they continued to question Microsoft’s ability to ship an operating system in time,^[12] influenced by the lack of driver development kits being released between 2002 through 2004,^[b] the development reset, its many delays and Microsoft’s mishandling of the Vista Capable program, which set a minimum system hardware requirement bar far too low for any Windows XP-based system to reliably run the new operating system^[22] — this unintentionally encouraged vendors to repurpose less capable systems by pre-installing the operating system, despite not meeting the highly demanding requirements. In a last-ditch attempt to bring more vendors onto Vista, a second release candidate was declared as the operating system was undergoing its RTM preparations by cherry-picking an internal self-hosting build primarily meant for Microsoft employees — a dedicated branch for RC2 never materialized.^[12]

Although Vista was praised for its new interface designs, features and security improvements, the culmination of the above factors resulted in the operating system receiving overwhelmingly scathing criticism from consumers and businesses due to stability issues present in the original release, its high system requirements that led to stability and performance problems on older computers and lower-end hardware not supporting many features such as the Windows Aero visual effects, further marred by a new digital rights management model and excessive intrusiveness of the User Account Control feature. Later updates would attempt to resolve many of the performance issues, although its reputation had already been diminished by the time Service Pack 2 released.

At launch, gamers generally praised Vista for its superior performance in video games due to the inclusion of DirectX 10, which had more advanced graphics processing and performance over DirectX 9. Games targeting earlier versions of DirectX tended to perform slower or not work at all on Vista, compared to previous versions of Windows.

Windows Vista’s initial adoption and satisfaction rates were very low compared to Windows XP, and many users also downgraded back to or (remained on) XP due to the aforementioned issues, and is now considered as a commercial failure. The Windows Vista Capable program was also subject to criticism as hardware vendors were installing the OS on underpowered machines that did not fully meet Vista’s system requirements, leading to a class-action lawsuit being filed against Microsoft^[10] (although later downgraded to civil-action status).^[11]

In an attempt to curb the negative reputation of Windows Vista, Microsoft launched an advertising campaign dubbed the Mojave Experiment, which involved a limited subset of users being given the chance to try out a rebranded copy of Windows Vista under the assumption that it was an in-development version of a fictitious operating system codenamed Mojave.^[23]

Windows 7, a minor operating system release that attempted to address much of Vista’s shortcomings, was released to universal acclaim on 22 October 2009.

Misattributed system sounds[edit | edit source]

The widespread sound scheme often attributed to Longhorn was never included in any official build and originates from a theme produced by Samsung Electronics for Windows XP from 2003.^[24] The Windows XP sounds remain and are used in all pre-reset and post-reset builds, with a few being swapped with Vista sounds between builds 5469 and 5840.16384.

The alleged Windows Vista Beta 1 startup sound^[25] is actually WELCOMESEQUENCE.WAV used in the Speech Recognition tutorial from build 5308.6. Likewise, an alternative interpretation of the final startup sound that is sometimes labeled as the Windows Vista Beta 2 startup sound^[26] is actually a jingle used in Vista Beta 2 Help video outros.

List of known builds[edit | edit source]

Pre-reset builds[edit | edit source]

Milestone 3[edit | edit source]

Milestone 4[edit | edit source]

Milestone 5[edit | edit source]

Milestone 6[edit | edit source]

Milestone 7[edit | edit source]

Milestone 8[edit | edit source]

Please note that the categorization of the following builds as Milestone 8 is unconfirmed and disputed.

Post-reset builds[edit | edit source]

Omega-13 (Milestone 8.2)[edit | edit source]

Developer Preview (Milestone 9 / D1)[edit | edit source]

Beta 1[edit | edit source]

Beta 2[edit | edit source]

Release Candidate 1[edit | edit source]

Release Candidate 2[edit | edit source]

Pre-RTM[edit | edit source]

RTM[edit | edit source]

Service Pack 1[edit | edit source]

Service Pack 2[edit | edit source]

Windows Server 2008 Lifecycle Servicing Update[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

«Windows Longhorn» redirects here. For the original release, see Windows Vista.

The development of Windows Vista (codenamed Longhorn) began in May 2001,^[1] prior to the completion of Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system, and continued until November 8, 2006, when it was released to manufacturing. Windows Vista was then released generally to retail on January 30, 2007.

Microsoft originally expected to ship Vista sometime late in 2003 as a minor step between Windows XP (codenamed «Whistler») and the next planned major release of Windows, code-named «Blackcomb».^[2] Vista’s original codename, «Longhorn», was an allusion to this plan: While Whistler and Blackcomb are large ski resorts in British Columbia, Longhorn is the name of a bar between the two mountains that Whistler’s visitors pass to reach Blackcomb.

Gradually, Windows «Longhorn» assimilated many of the important new features and technologies slated for «Blackcomb», resulting in the release date being pushed back a few times. Many of Microsoft’s developers were also re-tasked with improving the security of Windows XP. Faced with ongoing delays and concerns about feature creep, Microsoft announced on August 27, 2004, that it was making significant changes. «Longhorn» development started afresh, building on the Windows Server 2003 SP1 code-base, and re-incorporating only the features that would be intended for an actual operating system release. Some previously announced features, such as WinFS and NGSCB, were dropped or postponed.

After «Longhorn» was named Windows Vista in mid-2005, an unprecedented beta-test program was started which involved hundreds of thousands of volunteers and companies. Between September 2005 and October 2006, Microsoft released regular Community Technology Previews (CTP) to beta testers and two release candidates to the general public. Development of Windows Vista concluded with the November 8, 2006 announcement of its completion by co-president of Windows development, Jim Allchin.

The early development stages of Longhorn were generally characterized by incremental improvements and updates to Windows XP. During this period, Microsoft was fairly quiet about what was being worked on, as their marketing and public relations focus were more strongly focused on Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003, which was released in April 2003. Occasional builds of Longhorn were leaked onto popular file sharing networks such as IRC, BitTorrent, eDonkey and various newsgroups, and so most of what is known about builds before the first sanctioned development release of Longhorn in May 2003, is derived from these builds.

Most builds of Longhorn and Vista were identified by a label that was always displayed in the bottom-right corner of the desktop. A typical build label would look like «Longhorn Build 3663.Lab06_N.020728-1728». Higher build numbers didn’t automatically mean that the latest features from every development team at Microsoft were included. Typically, a team working on a certain feature or subsystem would generate their working builds which developers would test with, and when the code was deemed stable, all the changes would be incorporated back into the main development tree at once. At Microsoft, several «Build labs» exist where the compilation of the entirety of Windows can be performed by a team. The lab in which any given build originated is shown as part of the build label, and the date and time of the build follow that. Some builds (such as Beta 1 and Beta 2) only display the build label in the version information dialog (Winver), and the icons are from Windows XP. Most of the standard applets from Windows XP (including the Windows XP Tour applet) were retained in all pre-reset and most post-reset builds as they still ran on Windows XP SKUs, but they would all be removed by the time Beta 1 was released when the SKUs were changed to their final versions.

The OOBE (the setup process) in the Milestone 2 and 3 builds is the same as Windows XP, but with different music. It instead uses Windows Server 2003’s unused OOBE music, «No Hay Problema» by Pink Martini.

Build 3663 (build date of July 28, 2002) was the first known build with leaked screenshots.^[3]

Build 3670 (build date of August 19, 2002) where some screenshots of this build showed a variation of the Device Manager implemented inside Windows Explorer. This feature later appeared in Windows 7.^[4]

Build 3683 (build date of September 23, 2002) was leaked on October 20, 2002, and was the first Longhorn build leaked to the Internet. This build was the first of several that had a desktop watermark identifying itself as «Longhorn XP Professional«. Visually it was not significantly different from Windows XP. One of the notable changes was that the Windows logo was only white, not colored like all the versions of Windows before it. Also the templates in the My Documents and My Pictures were notably different as well as the Open and Save as dialog boxes also included the template, incorporating aesthetic changes and a few new user interface options. A new «Sidebar» was also present, which contained many of the gadgets that would much later be seen in Windows Sidebar, such as an analog clock, slide show, and search capability. An option in this version of the sidebar also made it possible to move the Start button into it, and disable the traditional taskbar entirely. An early revision of WinFS was also included, but very little in the way of a user interface was included, and as such it appeared to early testers to be nothing more than a service that consumed large amounts of memory and processor time. The «Display Properties» control panel^[5] was the first significant departure, being built on the new «Avalon» API.^[6] It was the first sighting of the «Plex» style which Microsoft regarded as a placeholder theme for their development versions, until they were ready to demonstrate Aero.

Build 3706 (build date of October 29, 2002) was leaked on May 22, 2006. It was one of the first builds to include the Desktop Composition Engine (DCE), which later became the Desktop Window Manager (DWM). This build appeared on the Internet long after other builds from this period, and included several of the changes that were first reported as being part of later milestone builds, including Internet Explorer 6.05 and the «Plex» theme.

Build 3718 (build date of November 19, 2002) was leaked on April 30, 2004. It included the DCE and some early hardware-accelerated alpha transparency and transition effects. As a demonstration of the DCE’s capabilities, programs flipped into the taskbar and twisted as they were minimized.

After several months of relatively little news or activity from Microsoft with Longhorn, Build 4008 (with a build date of February 19, 2003) made an appearance on the Internet around February 28, 2003.^[7] It was also privately handed out to a select group of software developers. As an evolutionary release over build 3683, it contained a number of small improvements, including a modified blue «Plex» theme and a new, simplified Windows Image-based installer that operates in graphical mode from the outset, and completed an install of the operating system in approximately one third the time of Windows XP on the same hardware. An optional «new taskbar» was introduced that was thinner than the previous build and displayed the time differently. This «new taskbar» also displayed taskbar buttons at the center rather than on the left, a feature that would later make its way into Windows 11 18 years later.

The most notable visual and functional difference, however, came with Windows Explorer. The incorporation of the Plex theme made blue the dominant color of the entire application. The Windows XP-style task pane was almost completely replaced with a large horizontal pane that appeared under the toolbars. A new search interface allowed for filtering of results, searching for Windows help, and natural-language queries that would be used to integrate with WinFS. The animated search characters were also removed. The «view modes» were also replaced with a single slider that would resize the icons in real-time, in a list, thumbnail, or details mode, depending on where the slider was. File metadata was also made more visible and more easily editable, with more active encouragement to fill out missing pieces of information. Also of note was the conversion of Windows Explorer to being a .NET application.

Build 4015 (build date of March 28, 2003) was leaked to the Internet on April 28, 2003. Several features Microsoft had been working on were rolled into this build, such as a range of parental controls, also moved and enlarged the Windows logo to the left side of the Start button a lot of additional configurability for the sidebar (including being able to put it below the start bar at the bottom of the screen), and the notion of «Libraries» (later known as virtual folders) of files. These libraries collected content from around the hard drive. The user could then filter this content and save it in a folder. Microsoft had originally intended to replace all special shell folders (My Documents, My Music, etc.) with virtual folders. However, this change was deemed too drastic and was dropped after Beta 1’s release in mid-2005. Libraries were later included in Windows 7. This build was also notable for the debut of the boot screen progress bar that is seen in the final release (though 4015’s version was blue, not green). A new Download Manager shell location suggested that Internet Explorer would get a Mozilla-style download manager, though no such functionality was apparent. Significant memory leak problems with Windows Explorer and the Sidebar made this build difficult to use, which resulted in some third-party hacks to mitigate the problem. The back-end database of Outlook Express changed completely and became dependent on WinFS to store its email. WinFS itself still had significant performance and memory usage issues, and so it became common for testers to disable WinFS entirely, thus rendering Outlook Express inoperative.

At the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in May 2003, Microsoft gave their first public demonstrations of the new Desktop Window Manager and Aero. These demonstrations were done on a revised internal build of build 4015. Several sessions for developers and hardware engineers at the conference focused on these new features, as well as the Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (previously known as «Palladium»), which at the time was Microsoft’s proposed solution for creating a secure computing environment. Also at this conference, Microsoft reiterated their roadmap for delivering Longhorn, pointing to an «early 2005» release date.^[8]

Build 4028 (build date of July 1, 2003) was the first known Server build and was based on the Windows .NET Server Release Candidate 1 codebase (which later became Windows Server 2003); this same codebase was also used in all other non-Server (client) builds prior to the creation of this build. As with Windows Server 2003 up until Windows Server 2008 R2, traditional client bits such as the Welcome Screen and themes service were disabled by default.

This build was the first to use Pig Latin strings for the name of the operating system in various places; in this case, it is called «onghornLay erverSay nterpriseEay erverSay ersionVay 2003» (Pig Latin for Longhorn Server Enterprise Server Version 2003) in this build. This was part of a testing process that Microsoft has done to reduce the amount of places where the operating system name was defined (see «Build 4029» below).

Build 4029 (Milestone 5 compile; build date of June 19, 2003), was leaked on September 23, 2003. This build contained a few of the technologies new to build 4015. Windows Explorer went through several other changes. Larger image and video previews were displayed in a tooltip when the mouse hovered over a file, column-level filtering of results was introduced, and the overall performance of Explorer was somewhat improved overbuild 4015, though the memory leak issues were not entirely resolved. There was also a new analog clock user interface. Batch image processing of images was also introduced, making it possible for a user to rotate several images at once.

Build 4029’s name was displayed as «onghornLay rofessionalPay ersionVay 2003» (Pig Latin for Longhorn Professional Version 2003) in various places around the operating system. While some had presumed that screenshots of this build were fake because of this seemingly obvious mistake, Microsoft later explained that this was merely a test of some new code to locate and reduce the number of places in the operating system code that the name was defined.^[9]

Build 4029 (Milestone 6 compile; build date of June 29, 2003) was similar to the Milestone 5 compile of build 4029 with minor improvements.

Build 4033 (build date of July 17, 2003) was similar to both Milestone 5 and 6 compiles of build 4029, but contained some UI improvements, including an updated Plex theme.

Build 4039 (build date of August 27, 2003) was leaked on August 22, 2007. This build includes Phodeo, a 3D view of displaying photos, and full DWM and glass.

Build 4042 (Milestone 6 compile; build date of September 5, 2003) was leaked on January 23, 2020, and is similar to builds 4040 and 4039. It was compiled four days before the first known Milestone 7 build, thus grouping it as a Milestone 6 build. This was the last build to contain the Plex visual style as well as the Pig Latin strings for the operating system name.

Build 4042 (Milestone 7 compile; build date of September 9, 2003) was probably the earliest build to include the Slate theme (Lab06) instead of the Plex theme (winmain) seen in the previous builds. However, the Aero glass from Build 4039 was still present. The word «My» was removed from «Computer» and «Network Places», a change that carried over to the final version of the operating system. When Windows Sidebar was enabled, the word «Start» was removed from the Start button—a development used later in Windows Vista. The Pig Latin strings were reverted back to their non-Pig Latin counterparts, with the operating system name now defined as «Longhorn Professional Version 2003«.

Build 4050 (build date of September 28, 2003) was leaked on January 23, 2020. It was the latest «Home» build of pre-reset Longhorn. It was one of the many 4050-numbered builds used in Microsoft demos, most notably in the 2003 Professional Developers Conference (PDC) as well as in TechEd Israel in 2004.

Build 4051 (build date of October 1, 2003) is the build that was given to the attendees of the 2003 PDC show. It was leaked on October 20, 2003, seven days before the start of the conference. It officially introduced the Slate theme, which was present in build 4042 (Lab06) that leaked years later. This build also contained an updated version of Internet Explorer with a version number of 6.05. New features noted by reviewers included a Download Manager, pop-up blocker, add-on manager and a tool to clear browsing history.^[10] Except for the download manager, which was eventually discarded, these features all appeared in builds of Internet Explorer included with preview builds of Windows XP Service Pack 2 a few months later.

Build 4053 (build date of October 22, 2003) was leaked on March 2, 2004, and had some minor changes.

Build 4066 (build date of February 26, 2004) was a build that, although identified itself as a «Server» build, contained many of the features only ever seen and associated with desktop builds. An updated version of Phodeo was included, as well as the Sidebar, a Mini-Windows Media Player, and associated sidebar tiles, a functioning build of the Desktop Window Manager and the Jade theme. This build also replaced many XP icons with new Longhorn icons, some of which greatly resemble icons in the final version of Vista. This build was leaked on December 20, 2008.^[11]

In May 2004, Microsoft changed its plans to include the Next-Generation Secure Computing Base technology with Longhorn. The technology, better known by its original code-name of «Palladium», had garnered much criticism from analysts, security specialists, and researchers, and was often cited by advocates of non-Microsoft operating systems as a reason to migrate to their preferred platform. Ross Anderson, for example, published a paper, collating many of these concerns and criticisms as part of a larger analysis on Trusted Computing.^[12] In light of a large amount of negative response not only from analysts, but enterprise customers and software developers, Microsoft shelved many aspects of the NGSCB project for an indefinite period.^[13] The only aspect of NGSCB that was included with the final release of the operating system is BitLocker, a drive-encryption technology which can make use of a Trusted Platform Module chip to facilitate secure startup and protect user data.

Build 4067 (private/lddm_dev_tech(davidmo)) (build date of February 12, 2004) was a private beta shown during the Jim Allchin keynote on WinHEC 2004.^[14]

Build 4067 (idx01) (build date of March 12, 2004) was leaked in July 2021. It was an Itanium-only build that introduced an improved Jade theme using the Segoe UI font, although the Slate theme was still set by default.

Build 4074 (build date of April 25, 2004) is the official WinHEC 2004 preview build that was leaked in May 2004. This is also the most familiar pre-reset build. It was the first leaked build to have complete Aero effects in Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer from the Desktop Window Manager; however, a registry modification was required to extend the effect into the full UI. It incorporated the Jade theme by default.^[15]

Build 4081 (build date of May 3, 2004) was leaked on January 27, 2020. This build is the first componentized build, meaning many core features were removed, and introduced several bugs. Considered highly unstable, including the absence of programs in the Start menu, and driver and installation issues.

Build 4083 (build date of May 16, 2004) was leaked on November 10, 2004 as x64, and x86 version leaked on February 1, 2020. Desktop Window Manager were dropped from this release. Considered highly unstable, including the absence of programs in the Start menu, and driver and installation issues.

Build 4093 (build date of August 19, 2004) was one of the last builds compiled before the development reset. Considered highly unstable, including the aforementioned issues mentioned above, it contained Sidebar, WinFS, and an Avalon-based Windows Movie Maker, a preliminary version of Windows Anytime Upgrade, and the Microsoft Anna speech synthesizer. There was an Avalon-based Display Properties control panel applet hidden in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 folder, similar to the one in Build 3683. There was also an early version of the .NET Managed rewrite of Desktop Window Manager that is not installed by default.

By 2004, it had become obvious to the Windows team at Microsoft that they were losing sight of what needed to be done to complete the next version of Windows and ship it to customers. Internally, some Microsoft employees were describing the Longhorn project as «another Cairo» or «Cairo.NET», referring to the Cairo development project that the company embarked on through the first half of the 1990s, which never resulted in a shipping operating system (though nearly all the technologies developed during that time did end up in Windows 95 and Windows NT).^[16] In 2005, Microsoft was shocked with the release of Apple’s Mac OS X Tiger. It offered only a limited subset of features planned for Longhorn, in particular fast file searching and integrated graphics and sound processing, but appeared to have impressive reliability and performance compared to contemporary Longhorn builds.^[17] Most Longhorn builds had major Explorer.exe system leaks which prevented the OS from performing well, and added more confusion to the development teams in later builds with more and more code being developed which failed to reach stability.

In a September 23, 2005 front-page article on The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft co-president Jim Allchin, who had overall responsibility for the development and delivery of Windows, explained how development of Longhorn was «crashing into the ground» due in large part to the haphazard methods by which features were introduced and integrated into the core of the operating system without a clear focus on an end-product.^[18] In December 2003, Allchin enlisted the help of two other senior executives, Brian Valentine and Amitabh Srivastava, the former being experienced with shipping software at Microsoft, most notably Windows Server 2003,^[19] and the latter having spent his career at Microsoft researching and developing methods of producing high-quality testing systems.^[20] Srivastava employed a team of core architects to visually map out the entirety of the Windows operating system, and to proactively work towards a development process that would enforce high levels of code quality, reduce interdependencies between components, and in general, «not make things worse with Vista».^[21] These things, in conjunction with the fact that many of Microsoft’s most skilled developers and engineers had been working on Windows Server 2003, led to the decision to «reset» development of Longhorn, building on the same code that would become Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1, instead of the older Windows .NET Server Release Candidate 1 code (Build 3663).

This change, announced internally to Microsoft employees on August 26, 2004,^[22] began in earnest in September, though it would take several more months before the new development process and build methodology would be used by all of the development teams. Several complaints came from individual developers, and Bill Gates himself, that the new development process was going to be prohibitively difficult to work within. Changes at the build labs also resulted in a period of several months where no builds of Longhorn were leaked onto the Internet.

Build 3790.1232 (build date of August 19, 2004^[23]) is notable, as it was the first build of Longhorn based on the Server 2003 codebase, but with the Windows XP interface. Successive internal builds over several months gradually integrated a lot of the fundamental work that had been done over the previous three years, but with much stricter rules about what code could be brought into the main builds. Builds in this period were described variously as Longhorn «Omega-13»,^[24] and as Milestone 8/9, depending on whether the new or old build tree was being worked on.

Builds 5000 and 5001 (build dates of August 3, 2004 and September 27, 2004, respectively, both leaked on January 23, 2020^[25]) are the other Windows Longhorn builds which also have Windows XP interfaces. For build 5001, the wallpaper is the same as Windows XP but has a Texas Longhorn bull (in reference to the project’s codename) in a humorous manner. The replacement of some «Windows XP» references with «Windows LH» («LH» stands for «Longhorn») and the introduction of a highly unstable version of Windows Media Player 10 are also notable in build 5001. These hastily made rebrands raised concerns about the authenticity of the build prior to its leak, as well as several forum threads claiming that the images published by the original leaker of the build were falsified.^[26]

Build 5048 (build date of April 1, 2005) was the official WinHEC 2005 preview build, described as the Longhorn Developer Preview, and made available to WinHEC attendees on April 24, 2005. It was the only build from this period that was made available by Microsoft; it was not officially distributed outside of WinHEC, but the build quickly appeared on file-sharing networks. The Aero visual style made its first appearance in this build, and the Desktop Window Manager was present but disabled and hidden by default. At the keynote presentation, Bill Gates also announced that many of the WinFX developer APIs that were originally planned exclusively for Longhorn was going to be backported to Windows XP and Server 2003 and that the final user interfaces for Longhorn would not be seen for a while longer. Other features such as device-independent resolutions, rasterized icons, virtual folders, and registry virtualization were discussed as well. The debug checked version was leaked in December 2021.

Build 5048’s closer resemblance to Windows XP than to the prior Longhorn builds from 2003 and 2004 surprised many, leading well-known Windows enthusiast Paul Thurrott to write: «My thoughts are not positive, not positive at all. This is a painful build to have to deal with after a year of waiting, a step back in some ways. I hope Microsoft has surprises up their sleeves. This has the makings of a train wreck.»^[27] Months later, Thurrott stated that the Vista development process has since recovered in the more recent builds.

Build 5060 (Pre-beta 1) (build date of April 17, 2005) was shown at WinHEC 2005 alongside other builds and featured no major difference to Build 5048, apart from a new-style logon screen and default desktop wallpaper. The Aero glass theme was more finalized and is very similar to the official release of Vista. These new features were carried over to later builds.

Microsoft considered several names for its new operating system. In the end, Microsoft chose Windows Vista as confirmed on July 22, 2005, believing it to be a «wonderful intersection of what the product does, what Windows stands for, and what resonates with customers, and their needs.» Group Project Manager Greg Sullivan told Paul Thurrott—»You want the PC to adapt to you and help you cut through the clutter to focus on what’s important to you. That’s what Windows Vista is all about: «bringing clarity to your world.» (a reference to the three marketing points of Vista—Clear, Connected, Confident), so you can focus on what matters to you.» Microsoft co-president Jim Allchin also liked the name, saying that «Vista» creates the right imagery for the new product capabilities and inspires the imagination with all the possibilities of what can be done with Windows—making people’s passions come alive.»^[28]

Build 5098 (build date of June 28, 2005) includes most of the new features that will later be seen in Beta 1, but still identifies itself as Longhorn.

Windows Vista Beta 1 (build 5112, build date of July 20, 2005) which was released on July 27, 2005, was the first Longhorn build to be called Windows Vista and was available to Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) and TechNet subscribers as well as a select group of Microsoft Beta testers.

Compared with the WinHEC build released earlier in the year, Vista Beta 1 was a large advancement in introducing new user interface features. The Windows Shell has drastically changed yet again, introducing virtual folders, a new search interface, several new high-resolution icons, and a revamped Windows Explorer interface that did away with the menus and most of the toolbar buttons that were present in previous versions. Beta 1 also introduced many of the underlying technologies slated for Vista, including the new networking and audio stacks, parental controls, and fairly complete working build of .NET Framework 3.0, then still referred to as WinFX.

Build 5215 (build date of August 7, 2005), was leaked in December 2021. This build included an edition mention in the winver banner on the Starter/Ultimate editions.

Build 5219 (build date of August 30, 2005), Microsoft started releasing regular Community Technical Previews (CTP) to beta testers, with less stability work made to them than actual betas.

Build 5219, also known as CTP1 and September CTP, was distributed among 2005 PDC attendees on September 13, 2005, and has been released to Microsoft Beta testers and MSDN subscribers. This was the first public «Ultimate Edition» build, and included Super Fetch.

Although not enabled by default, this refresh saw the return of the Windows Sidebar, which had been removed as part of the development reset, and the introduction of Desktop Gadgets, both of which are part of Microsoft gadgets line of mini-applications. Microsoft stated that they intended to make additional gadgets available for download from a website over time. This build also supported a new version of Windows Media Center code-named «Diamond».

Although Microsoft had stated that WinFS will not make its debut in Windows Vista, users of build 5219 noticed that WinFS was included in that version.^{[citation needed]} Several Windows ‘rumor’ sites and newsgroups such as Neowin^{[citation needed]} and Paul Thurrott’s SuperSite for Windows^[29] speculated that WinFS would in fact be ready on time for Windows Vista’s release.

Build 5231 (build date of October 4, 2005), also known as CTP2 or the October 2005 CTP, was released to MSDN subscribers and Microsoft Beta Testers on October 17, 2005. This «Ultimate» build introduced Windows Media Player version 11.^[30] An updated volume control utility was added, that could control the volume level of every running program.^[31]

Build 5259 (built on November 17, 2005) was released to Microsoft Technology Adoption Program (TAP) members on November 22, 2005. It was originally announced to be released on November 18 as a November CTP. Microsoft canceled the November CTP due to its instability, however, and released this build only to TAP members. The sidebar was temporarily removed; the build had a few new UI changes, including the ability to change the color and clarity of the UI. Windows AntiSpyware (soon to be «Windows Defender») was integrated. Outlook Express was renamed «Windows Mail». It was an IDW build and therefore had not gone through the CTP testing process. It leaked to the Internet on December 7, 2005.

December CTP (built on December 14, 2005, with a build number of 5270), was released to testers and MSDN on December 19, 2005, and was very close to feature complete. Since then, the feature-complete build was delayed until late January 2006.^[32] In this build, Windows AntiSpyware was renamed Windows Defender, the start button was also changed, IE7 had a new icon/logo, and the Windows XP sounds remained the same. There were some minor UI changes.

The December CTP was also the last build of Windows Vista that supported the bypassing of the WDDM driver model requirement, hence allowing the Desktop Window Manager (UXSS at the time of the build) to run using software vertex emulation. Because of this change post the 5270 builds, the well-known keys ‘UseMachineCheck’ and ‘EnableMachineCheck do not allow running the Desktop Window Manager in software emulation mode.

Build 5284 (built on December 18, 2005) was the last build to be compiled in 2005, and to have at least one Longhorn reference.

February CTP (built on February 17, 2006, with a build number of 5308.17), was released on February 22, 2006, and was the first feature-complete CTP. This build was meant for enterprises. It was also the first build to have the upgrade compatibility. This build, according to Microsoft, had all but one feature (which should appear in the next CTP) that customers will see in the final release. However, later builds brought more improvements than previously expected. An unstaged revision was made to this build and was released on February 28, 2006, as build 5308.60 (built on February 23), which was released as a result of Windows Server «Longhorn» having many issues. The February CTP also incorporated numerous virtual folders including Attachments, Favorite Music, Fresh Tracks, Important E-mail, Last 7 Days E-mail, Last 30 Days Documents, Last 30 Days Pictures And Videos, Recently Changed, Shared By Me, Unread E-mail, and User’s Files.^[33]

At the Intel Developer Forum on March 9, 2006, Microsoft announced a change in its plans to support EFI in Windows Vista. The UEFI 2.0 specification (which replaces EFI 1.10) was not completed until early 2006, and at the time of Microsoft’s announcement, no firmware manufacturers had completed a production implementation which could be used for testing. As a result, the decision was made to postpone the introduction of UEFI support to Windows; support for UEFI on 64-bit platforms was postponed until Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 and 32-bit UEFI will not be supported, as Microsoft does not expect many such systems to be built as the market moves to 64-bit processors.^[34][35] 32-bit UEFI was later supported with release of Windows 8 in 2012.

February CTP Refresh (built on March 21, 2006, with a build number of 5342.2) was released March 24, 2006. This build was shipped to technical beta testers and some corporate customers by Microsoft and was being used as a testing board for the extensive feedback they got from the February CTP. They described this release as an «External Developer Workstation», with the intent of providing an interim build between CTPs. Microsoft claimed it was still on track to deliver the next CTP in the second quarter, the build that will be the last in the Beta 2 fork. The build included minor UI changes, most notably improvements to the Media Center, new Aero and Aurora effects, a faster setup process, some new Sidebar gadgets, and slight improvements in overall performance and stability. The paint was also slightly improved, there’s a new screenshot snapping/saving tool included and a slightly redesigned Network Center. This build did not meet CTP quality measurements, and was available only in Ultimate Edition, for both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) systems.

April EDW (built on April 19, 2006, with a build number of 5365), which was released on April 21, 2006, introduced more changes to visual user interface elements, and to the behavior of User Account Control. A number of new backgrounds were also introduced, and two new screensavers were added as well. The Sidebar was enabled by default, as was automatic defragmentation of the hard drive. Hold’em, a game that shipped with some previous CTPs, was dropped due to apparent «political sensitivity» issues; Microsoft now offers it as a separate web download for Windows Vista Ultimate users.^[36]

Windows Vista Beta 2 Preview (built on May 1, 2006, with a build number of 5381) was officially released on May 6, 2006, to Microsoft’s technical beta testers. It featured mostly performance tweaks and only a few minor changes compared to build 5365. With this build, Microsoft entered Beta 2 «escrow».

Windows Vista Beta 2 (built on May 18, 2006, with a build number of 5384), was released to Microsoft Developer Network subscribers (the first since 5308) and Microsoft Connect testers on May 23, 2006, in conjunction with Bill Gates’s keynote presentation at the WinHEC 2006 conference. On June 6, Microsoft extended the availability of Beta 2 to all users, making Vista available as a free download in several languages from their website. Some technology websites described this release as «the largest download event in software history».^[37]

In June, Microsoft made two significant changes to its plans for Windows Vista. One issue, the inclusion of XML Paper Specification support in Vista and Microsoft Office 2007, had become a major point of dispute with Adobe Systems. When it was first introduced May 2005, XPS (known at the time as «Metro») was characterized as a «PDF-killer», but an Adobe representative stated that they were «not threatened» by its addition to «Longhorn».^[38] However, a year later, Adobe had changed their stance and saw the inclusion of the new document format as an anti-competitive attack on their Portable Document Format. While Microsoft refused to remove XPS altogether, noting that it is at the core of Vista’s print spooling system, they have offered the ability to system builders and OEMs to remove any user-visible aspects of the document format from the operating system.^[39] A few days later, it was announced that PC-to-PC Sync would not ship with Windows Vista.^[40]

On June 14, 2006, Windows developer Philip Su posted a blog entry that decried the development process of Windows Vista, stating that «the code is way too complicated, and that the pace of coding has been tremendously slowed down by the overbearing process. «^[41] The same post also described Windows Vista as having approximately 50 million lines of code, with about 2,000 developers working on the product.

Build 5456 (build date of June 20, 2006) was released on June 24, 2006. Some of the new features included a revamped Aero subsystem and a completely overhauled and significantly less obtrusive User Account Control interface. «List view» in Windows Explorer was brought back, after having been removed in Beta 1. Microsoft developer Ben Betz later explained in a blog entry that, while they felt that removing List mode made sense based on usability research and its inability to support Windows Explorer’s new «grouping» feature, the feature was restored based on a great deal of feedback from beta testers.^[42]

The release notes for the build state that the Time Zone bug that plagued almost all previous builds of Windows Vista had been patched, and quite a few issues in the Regional Settings and IME had also been resolved. A new «Windows Aero» mouse pointer scheme was introduced, which introduced anti-aliasing to the mouse pointer for the first time, and many of the remaining Windows XP-style icons have been replaced with new icons. The disk space used by a clean installation was also significantly reduced.

Build 5472 (build date of July 13, 2006) was released on July 17, 2006.^[43] Aside from incorporating several bug fixes and localization improvements, the build also introduced a revised «Basic» theme that replaces the gray theme seen in previous builds with a light blue theme. The Network Center was significantly revised as well, collating more status information in one place, and reducing the number of steps to get to most configuration options. More desktop backgrounds and icons were introduced, and Flip3D saw some layout tweaks. A new «Windows Aero» mouse cursor is set by default. The build was a huge performance improvement over Beta 2 and was comparable to and possibly even faster than that of Windows XP.^[44][45]

During a demonstration of the speech recognition feature new to Windows Vista at Microsoft’s Financial Analyst Meeting on July 27, 2006, the software recognized the phrase «Dear mom» as «Dear aunt». After several failed attempts to correct the error, the sentence eventually became «Dear aunt, let’s set so double the killer delete select all».^[46] A developer with Vista’s speech recognition team later explained that there was a bug with the build of Vista that was causing the microphone gain level to be set very high, resulting in the audio being received by the speech recognition software to be «incredibly distorted».

On August 8, 2006, the Microsoft Security Response Center provided «critical» security fixes for Windows Vista Beta 2, making it the first Microsoft product to get security updates while still in beta.^[48][49]

Build 5536 (build date of August 21, 2006) was released on August 24, 2006, and between August 29 and August 31 to the first 100,000 users who downloaded it from the Microsoft site. Among notable changes, it featured new ties to the Windows Live online services by new icons in the Welcome Center, minor updates to the Aero appearance with a slightly more bluish tint to the glass effect, big speed improvements (including setup speed), many bug fixes and further tweaked anti-aliasing in the Flip 3D feature. It was released publicly on August 29, 2006.^[50]

Release Candidate 1 (RC1) (built on August 29, 2006, with a build number of 5600.16384) was released to a select group of beta testers on September 1, 2006.^[51] On September 6, RC1 was released to MSDN and Technet subscribers, as well as registered Customer Preview Program (CPP) members with Beta 2 PID’s. On September 14, Microsoft re-opened the CPP to new members. The CPP ended on November 26, 2006.

The public release of Release Candidate 1 resulted in a number of extensive reviews and analyses on various technology news websites, both immediately after its release, and in the weeks following. Ars Technica’s Ken Fisher wrote that performance had improved significantly over Beta 2, suggesting that faster machines may perform better than Windows XP; he also criticised the usefulness of the Windows Sidebar and the continued intrusiveness of User Account Control.^[52] CRN’s review noted five specific categories of improvements to Release Candidate 1: Installation speed, device driver support, performance improvements in several components, security, and multimedia capabilities.^[53] Criticism of Vista’s user interface arose as well, with Chris Pirillo describing the near-final state as «sloppy.»^[54]

Build 5700 (build date of August 10, 2006), the first build of the RTM branch, was shown at the Student Day Presentation of Microsoft Tech-Ed 2006 in Australia. It appeared to run faster than the previous Pre-RC1 build 5472 with a few UI improvements.^[55] A higher build number does not necessarily indicate a newer build. Microsoft began work on the RTM branch at the same time as it was wrapping up the RC1 branch, allowing for mainstream RC1 developers to more easily «flow» into the new development stage. This parallel development helps explain why build 5700 is older than even some pre-RC1 builds.^[56]

Build 5728 (build date of September 17, 2006) was released on September 22, 2006, to technical beta participants. The following day, Microsoft released a 32-bit version of the build to the public, with a 64-bit version arriving on September 25. On October 1, Microsoft reached its goals for program participation and no longer offered the build to the public. In response to a significant amount of feedback from RC1 testers, 5728 contained many improvements, one of which was the inclusion of a check box in the Sound properties that allowed the user to disable the Windows Vista startup sound.^[57] The Welcome Center was also improved with new icons, eliminating the use of one icon for several different items, and all of the old icons in the User folder were replaced. With this build, Microsoft neared its goal of Vista installing in 15 minutes,^[58] with some reviewers reporting that 5728 took as little as 16 minutes to do a clean install.^[59] However, performing an upgrade installation from Windows XP was still slow, sometimes taking more than an hour to complete.^[60]

Release Candidate 2 (RC2) (built on October 3, 2006, with a build number of 5744.16384), was released to CPP members, TAP testers, MSDN/Technet subscribers, and other technical beta testers on Friday, October 6, 2006, and was available for download until October 9 in preparation for the final release of Windows Vista. Because of an aggressive development schedule, this was the final build that would be officially released to the general public for testing. Nevertheless, all pre-release product keys will work until the final RTM build. Several testers reported that RC2 was faster and more stable than build 5728.^[61] However, because RC2, which was a regular interim build, and not a major milestone as the name suggests, was not as rigorously tested as RC1, RC1 may have been more stable in certain situations. This build fixed many compatibility issues that plagued previous builds. Vista’s GUI, which continued to be improved, contained some minor tweaks, one of the more prominent of which was the new ability to customize the color, but not the transparency, of maximized windows. In previous builds, windows became predominantly black when maximized, an effect that could not be altered by users.^[62] A Control Panel icon for Windows Sideshow was also added.

Because a release to manufacturing (RTM) build is the final version of code shipped to retailers and other distributors, the purpose of a pre-RTM build is to eliminate any last «show-stopper» bugs that may prevent the code from responsibly being shipped to customers, as well as anything else that consumers may find annoying. Thus, it is unlikely that any major new features will be introduced; instead, work will focus on Vista’s «fit-and-finish». In just a few days, developers had managed to drop Vista’s bug count from over 2470 on September 22 to just over 1400 by the time RC2 shipped in early October. However, they still had a way to go before Vista was ready for RTM. Microsoft’s internal processes required Vista’s bug count to drop to 500 or fewer before the product could go into escrow for RTM.^[63] For most of these builds, only 32-bit versions were released.

Build 5808 (build date of October 12, 2006) was released to TAP testers on October 19, 2006.^[64] This build was notable because it was the first build released to testers since Microsoft entered RTM «escrow» with build 5800. This explains why the build numbers jumped from 57xx to 58xx.

Build 5824 (build date of October 17, 2006) was an interim RTM «escrow» build of Vista released to testers in October 2006.

Build 5840.16384 (build date of October 18, 2006), also known as the Launch Preview build, was released to testers in October 2006. It was mostly similar to build 5824 and was the last build to use the Windows XP sounds.

Build 5840.16389 (build date of October 24, 2006) contained a large number of new and final icons, as well as a new set of final wallpapers, including a new default wallpaper based on the Aurora «swoosh» seen in prior builds.^[65] The full set of Windows Vista sounds were introduced, replacing the previous ones found in Windows XP.

Release to Manufacturing (RTM) (built on November 1, 2006, with a build number of 6000.16386) is the final release of Windows Vista that ships to customers.^[66] Microsoft announced this build had been finalized on November 8, 2006, after over five years of development.^[67]

The RTM’s build number jumped to 6000 to reflect Vista’s internal version number, NT 6.0.^[68] Jumping RTM build numbers is common practice among consumer-oriented Windows versions, like Windows 98 (build 1998), Windows 98 SE (build 2222), Windows Me (b.3000) or Windows XP (b.2600), as compared to the business-oriented versions like Windows 2000 (b.2195) or Server 2003 (b.3790). On November 16, 2006, Microsoft made the final build available to MSDN and Technet Plus subscribers.^[69] A business-oriented Enterprise edition was made available to volume license customers on November 30.^[70] Windows Vista was launched for general customer availability on January 30, 2007.

Service Pack 1 Beta was only released on Microsoft Connect to selected testers on September 24, 2007. This build was offered optionally through Windows Update through a registry key installed by the tester. This key was later leaked to the net resulting in its deactivation by Microsoft. With this release, the build number for Vista jumped to 6001.16659.070916-1443. This build also removed the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) from client computers, to be replaced by a downloadable version at a later date. Also removed was the «Search» menu option from the right-hand bar of the start menu (including the option to re-add it from the Start Menu customization list). This build broke the «HP Touch smart» family of applications, and also caused bugs with resuming from sleep, and in some cases rendered some 64-bit PCs with Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chips unable to finish booting. This build also contained unspecified improvements in Speed and responsiveness of the OS.

Service Pack 1 Release Candidate Preview was only released on Microsoft Connect to selected testers on November 12, 2007. With this release, the build number for Vista increased to 6001.17042.071107.1618. Changes in this build are covered by the Microsoft Connect Non-Disclosure agreement (NDA).

Service Pack 1 Release Candidate was first released to Microsoft Connect testers on December 4, 2007, with the same build released on MSDN and TechNet several weeks later. A few days after that, this build was released to the public officially on the Microsoft download center as a Public Preview of SP1. With this release, the build number of Vista increased to 6001.17052.071129.2315. This build contained several notable changes and enhancements.

Service Pack 1 Release Candidate Refresh was released on Microsoft Connect to selected testers on January 9, 2008^[71] and was released to the public on January 11, 2008.^[72] This release has a build number of 6001.17128.080101.1935.

Service Pack 1 Release Candidate Refresh 2 was only released on Microsoft Connect to selected testers on January 24, 2008, in preparation for the final release of Service Pack 1 – through Windows Update only. This release has a build number of 6001.18000.^[73] Details of this build are covered by the Microsoft Connect Non-Disclosure agreement (NDA).

Microsoft announced that Service Pack 1 had been finalized on February 4, 2008, only 1 year after Vista’s general availability. The final build of Service Pack 1 went live on Tuesday, March 18, 2008, over the Microsoft Download Center, and Windows Update.^[74] This build has been confirmed by sources at Microsoft as being the same code as RC Refresh 2, also giving it the same build number. The full build string of both this release and Refresh 2 is «6001.18000.longhorn_rtm.080118-1840».

Build 6001.18063 (release date of June 24, 2008). Microsoft Released KB952709 as a Reliability and Performance update for Windows Vista this build is notable for two reasons. First, This is the first publicly released update that increases Vista build number beyond the 6001.18000 (final) build of Service Pack 1. Second, this build replaces the 6001. longhorn_rtm.080118-1840 build a string of SP1 with 6001.vistasp1_gdr.080425-1930. The longhorn build string was present during the early development of Vista but was not seen in the official release build or any update after until it was reintroduced during the SP1 beta and was left in when SP1 was released, this build marks its removal from the only release version of Vista to contain the longhorn codename prominently.

Microsoft started work on Service Pack 2 soon after Service Pack 1 was released, as Windows Server 2008 uses the same codebase as Windows Vista Service Pack 1. Service Pack 2 is the last service pack to be released for both Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista simultaneously, sharing the same binary.

• Development of Windows 7
• Development of Windows XP
• History of Microsoft Windows

• Windows Vista Bug Reports: An Analysis^[usurped] – Robert McLaws’ analysis of bug counts through the Windows Vista beta test period
• Windows Vista Builds List – A complete list of every known build of Longhorn and Vista, including build date, leak/release date, and which lab compiled it.
• Windows Vista Localization – Video on the international development of Windows Vista

– How to Find Build and Revision Number of Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 Installed

• Windows Vista: Road to Gold – Paul Thurrott’s story of his long journey with the development of Windows Vista (Part 1 of 7).
• Windows Vista Screen Shot Gallery – Screenshots of Windows Vista beta versions and development progress
• Early Longhorn concept dating back to 2003

Windows Vista is an operating system by Microsoft. It was released worldwide on 2007-01-30.
It replaces Windows XP and was replaced by Windows 7.
It reached Pre-RTM on 2006-11-08, Support for Windows Vista ended on 2017-04-11.

The development of Windows Vista has gone through many stages, starting from 2001 (under the codename Whistler +1) to it’s final release in November 2006. Windows Vista (or ‘Longhorn’ as it was originally known) was intended as a bridging release between ‘Whistler’ (Windows XP) and the later version of Windows ‘Blackcomb’ (which much later became Windows 7). Feature creep became an issue as development progressed, and stability was a major issue throughout development. As a result, development of Windows Codename «Longhorn» was reset, soon after the compilation of build 4093. These are the post-reset Longhorn/Vista builds. The original code base for Longhorn was Windows Server 2003 Release Candidate 1. Omega-13 builds also use Windows Server 2003 as a base, however the build used as the base is from the Service Pack 1 branch, which is a somewhat more stable codebase. In April 2005, a pre-beta build was released to testers (build 5048). This build showed the progress made since the reset, and also proved much more stable than previous builds. Build 5112 (Beta 1) was released to the public soon afterwards, and showcased an early version of the Aero interface, as well as many stability improvements over XP. Over the next year, many builds were pushed to testers in a public beta program. The final build out to Public preview testers was Release Candidate 2 (build 5744). The RTM build was build 6000.16386.

A total of 2 Service Packs were released for the Windows Vista operating system. Service Pack 1 was made available to MSDN subscribers on 2008-02-15, and was released to the Microsoft Download Center and Windows Update on 2008-03-18. Service Pack 2 was released to manufacturing on 2009-04-28, and released to the Microsoft Download Center and Windows Update on 2009-05-26. In addition, Microsoft released the Platform Update for Windows Vista on 2009-10-27, which was comprised of major new Windows 7 components and updated runtime libraries. The Platform Update requires Service Pack 2 prior to installation.

Editions[]

Windows Vista came in many editions. Unlike Windows XP , there was no special edition for Media Center and 64-bit capability, since these features were included in at least one of the consumer editions. Windows Vista also did not have an embedded version, perhaps due to the considerable grunt required to run optimally.

• Starter This edition is intended for emerging markets and low-cost PC’s. As in XP , the 3-program limit was there , and only 1GB RAM was accepted. Other software restrictions applied as well. This version is hence not available in 64-bit.
• Home Basic Found in low cost to mid-end , this version of Windows Vista does not fully have Aero(though it has DWM) , and hence does not have effects like transparency and 3D Flip. Windows Media Center is also dropped from this build. Parental Controls is included however. It does not have the hardware and 3-program limit.
• Home Premium The consumer version of Windows Vista , this version includes full Aero functionality and Windows Media Center. It also includes Premium Games(eg — Inkball).
• Business The business oriented version of Windows Vista , it contains several features like full RDP(client/host) capability, Group Policy and domain join ability. However , Windows Media Center and Parental Controls are not included, and Premium Games are disabled by default.
• Ultimate The top consumer variant of Windows Vista , it is a merger of the features included Windows Vista Home Premium and Business. Bitlocker is included in this version.
• Enterprise The business variant of Windows Vista. It is similar to Ultimate, but without Windows Media Center and includes enterprise-specific tools.

Note that certain features(like Aero or TV support) may require premium/different/upgraded hardware and so may not be available on all PCs’s.

Creating User[]

The OOBE was updated since you can create user, You will need Click here to see Instructions.

This is for Pre-RC1 Builds to Pre-RTM (except 6000.16385)

Builds[]

Omega-13[]

These builds are post-reset Longhorn builds, primarily focused on reintegrating features from the pre-reset builds while maintaining stability. Most of these builds are similar to Windows XP in overall look and feel. Few builds from this stage of development have been released, officially or otherwise.

5000.winmain.040908-2000

5027.vbl_core_mig(davj).041006-1344

5027.vbl_core_diag(josesua).050113-1134

5032.vbl_core_build(jaykrell).050119-0943

5033.winmain.050119-2030

5034.vbl_wcp_avalon_dev(danmohr).050302-1220

5036.NT.050205-1730

Beta 1[]

These builds are the official Vista Beta 1 builds. They contain remnants of the Longhorn branding, and are mostly stable.

5112.winmain_beta1.050720-1600

5112.9.winmain_beta1.051012-1700

Pre-Beta 2 Fork[]

These builds were released or documented during the evolution of Vista from Beta 1 to Beta 2-quality.

5206.vbl_srv_crpt(pingxie).050607-2121

Beta 2[]

These builds were mainly intended for consumers, and were considered beta-quality. However, these builds can be somewhat unstable, and are not yet fully feature-complete.

5271.0.vbl_media_ehome.051130-1800

5277.NT.051206-1933

5308.6:winmain_idx01.060202-1920

5310.0:vbl_media_ehome_dev.060207-1800

5329.0:vbl_media_ehome.060301-2145

5337.0.vbl_media_ehome.060313-2100

5355.0:vbl_media.060329-2048

5360.0:vbl_media_ehome.060411-1930

5365.8.winmain_idx05.060419-1800

5371.0:vbl_media_ehome.060418-1930

5378.0:vbl_media_ehome.060426-1930

5382.0.winmain_beta2.060506-1900

5384.2.winmain_beta2.060516-1930

5384.3.winmain_beta2.060517-1235

Pre-RC1[]

These builds consist of interim builds designed to indicate progress to close partners and trusted testers. They are generally more stable than Beta 2.

5435.vbl_media_ehome_dev.060523-2105

5439.vbl_media_core.060511-1323

5461.vbl_media_ehome.060621-1930

5464.vbl_core(sepbld-s).060625-2150

5469.vbl_media_ehome.060704-1930

5471.vbl_media_ehome_dev.060711-1930

5474.vbl_ux_dev_checkin.060711-1730

5477.vbl_media_ehome_dev.060723-1930

5505.6.vista_rc1.060807-2215

Mod Editions[]

Vista 5536 Titit Edition Pre-T1

RC1[]

Release Candidate 1 was feature complete, and contained most of the UI and features intended for RTM.

Mod Editions[]

Vista 5600 Titit Edition RT1

Pre-RC2[]

5716.32.winmain(wmbla).060928-1756

5718.vbl_media_ehome.060905-1930

5723.vbl_media.060912-1910

5728.16387.winmain_idx06.060917-1430

RC2[]

This is an interim build, intended for close partners, which is actually a RTM Escrow build. Therefore, the name of RC2 is actually a misnomer.

5738.vista_rtm.060925-1900

Pre-RTM[]

5750.vbl_media_core.060511-1323

5752.vista_rtm.061003-1900

5754.1.winmain.061006-1810

5758.vista_rtm.061010-1900

5840.16385.vista_rtm_client_akaDMD.061022-1800

5841.16388.winmain(wmbla).061102-0655

5920.16384.vista_rtm.061021-0441

6000.16384.vista_rtm.061029-1900

6000.16385.vista_rtm.061030-1720

Mod Editions[]

RTM[]

Service Pack 1[]

6001.16549.longhorn_sp1beta1.070628-1825

6001.16606.lh_security(sepbld-s).070621-1657

6001.16625.longhorn.070720-1835

6001.16633.longhorn.070803-1655

6001.17009.longhorn.070920-1905

6001.17014.lh_tools_devdiv_wpf.071009-110

6001.17042.longhorn_rc1.071107-1618

Service Pack 2[]

6002.16497.lh_sp2beta.081017-1605

6002.17040.longhorn(sepbld-s).090310-1002

6002.18005.lh_sp2rtm.090410-1830

Update SP1[]

GDR[]

6001.18564.vistasp1_gdr.101217-0236

6001.18589.vistasp1_gdr.110124-0245

LDR[]

6001.22307.vistasp1_ldr.081111-1505

6001.22443.vistasp1_ldr.090604-0003

6001.22815.vistasp1_ldr.101217-0236

See Also[]

• Windows Sidebar
• Desktop Composition Engine (Longhorn)
• Desktop Window Manager

Windows Vista is an operating system developed by Microsoft, released worldwide on January 30, 2007. Prior to its official announcement on July 22, 2005, it was known by its codename, Windows «Longhorn».

Development of the operating system spanned approximately five years, starting in early 2001. Over the course of this time period, the product was first codenamed Whistler+ (with some sources stating Idaho as a possible codename), and then Longhorn in May 2001. The first builds of the operating system known to use the Longhorn codename were compiled in May, 2002.

Initially envisioned as a minor upgrade to Windows XP, Microsoft later characterized «Longhorn» as a complete overhaul of the Windows operating system. One of the largest changes slated for «Longhorn» was pervasive use of managed code.

While in its earlier stages of development, «Longhorn» suffered from many problems relating to reliability and stability. This was due not only to the premature technology on which the operating system was based, but also because of the way new features were introduced and implemented. For this reason, the development of the operating system was «reset», with a preliminary build, 3790.1232.winmain.040819-1629 being compiled on August 19, 2004. Although this build is not known to contain any code from «Longhorn», it did include the «Longhorn» End User License Agreement (EULA), a testament to the build’s authenticity.

Contrary to popular belief, only very early «Longhorn» builds were directly derived from Windows XP; later builds were based on Windows Server 2003 Release Candidate code. Builds compiled after the development reset are based on Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1.

During Beta 1 development, Microsoft named the operating system Windows Vista. The new name was chosen to improve the product’s image and reputation, and to reflect the new capabilities of the operating system.

A total of two Service Packs were released for the Windows Vista operating system. Service Pack 1 was made available to MSDN subscribers on Febuary 15, 2008, and was released to the Microsoft Download Center and Windows Update on March 18, 2008. Service Pack 2 was released to manufacturing on April 28, 2009, and released to the Microsoft Download Center and Windows Update on May 26, 2009. In addition, Microsoft released the Platform Update for Windows Vista on October 27, 2009, which was comprised of major new Windows 7 components and updated runtime libraries. The Platform Update requires Service Pack 2 prior to installation.

Editions

Windows Vista came in many editions. Unlike Windows:XP , there was no special edition for Media Center and 64-bit capability. Windows Vista also did not have an embedded version.

• Starter This edition is intended for emerging markets and low-cost PC’s. As in XP , the 3-program limit was there , and only 1GB RAM was accepted. Other software restrictions applied as well. This version is hence not available in 64-bit.
• Home Basic Found in low cost to mid-end , this version of Windows Vista does not fully have Aero(though it has DWM) , and hence does not have effects like transparency and 3D Flip. Windows Media Center is not included as well. Parental Controls is included however. However , it does not have the hardware and 3-program limit as Starter.
• Home Premium The mid end of Windows Vista , this version includes full Aero and Windows Media Center. It also includes Premium Games(eg — Inkball).
• Business The business oriented version of Windows Vista , it contains several features like full RDP(client/host) capability , Group Policy and domain join ability. However , Windows Media Center is not included , Parental Controls is not included , and Premium Games are disabled by default.
• Ultimate The top consumer variant of Windows Vista , it is a merge of the features containing on Windows Vista Home Premium and Business. Bitlocker is included in this version.
• Enterprise The top business variant of Windows Vista. It is like Ultimate , but without Windows Media center and includes enterprise-specific tools.

Note that certain features(like Aero or TV support) may require premium/different/upgraded hardware and so may not be available on all PCs.

New features

Windows Vista was a revolutionary upgrade from Windows XP.

1. Windows Aero introduced , setting the framework for the UI that would be carried into future Windows versions including Windows 7 and later. Consequently , DWM was also introduced. New Aero features like Flip 3D were also introduced.
2. The Start Menu was given a facelift , also adding new features in the process like integration of Windows Search.
3. DirectX 10 was introduced.
4. User Account Control was introduced , increasing security significantly while also proving to be more convenient to standard users.
5. Windows Media Center was improved , and is now available in more editions instead of being confined to a single version in Windows XP.
6. Internet Explorer 7 was also introduced , introducing features like 256 bit encryption , tabbed mode and protected mode.
7. Windows Update was integrated into the control panel , eliminating the need to use Internet Explorer because of its prior reliance on an ActiveX control to use all the features of Windows Update in previous versions.
8. Control Panel was improved.
9. Windows Experience Index was introduced , providing a benchmark for system performance.
10. Gadgets were also introduced , along with an API for third party development and Windows Sidebar to house the gadgets.
11. Hybrid sleep was introduced mainly for desktops , providing the best of both worlds of sleep and hibernation.
12. The installation routine was redesigned , leading to better speeds , and features like rollback were also properly implemented.
13. New games were introduced , like InkBall , Purble Place and Chess. Existing games were also improved.
14. Windows Ultimate Extras were introduced for Ultimate users , enabling these users to enjoy additional games , features and services.
15. Parental Controls were introduced.
16. Windows Taskbar was improved , now showing a live thumbnail preview on hover of any program on the taskbar with the help of Aero.
17. Windows Explorer was greatly improved , now properly showing file transfer progress , along with a redesign of the UI.
18. Windows Defender was integrated into the Windows Vista OS , providing protection against spyware.
19. Windows Media Player 10 was introduced , introducing a significant upgrade over Windows Media Player 9.
20. The Login screen was improved significantly.
21. Windows Anytime Upgrade was introduced , providing an easy way for users to upgrade between Windows versions.

Features removed/degraded

1. The Introduction of Aero meant that Luna , which was the default theme of Windows XP , got removed.
2. DirectX 9 performance was degraded compared to Windows XP.
3. The system requirements were significantly raised to 800MHz(Windows XP around 300 MHz) processor with 512 MB(64 MB) RAM and 16 GB(2 GB) of HDD. This could well be the biggest reason for the failure of Windows Vista.
4. Pinball was removed.
5. Windows Vista can now be installed only on a NTFS hard drive , dropping support for FAT and FAT32.

Changes

Build 3790.1232

1. The first build after development reset, almost fully looks like Windows XP SP2.

Build 5048

1. A new bootscreen, wallpaper and Aero theme
2. Some changes in Explorer

Build 5112(Beta 1)

1. New Setup UI
2. Major changes in Aero theme
3. Major changes in Control Panel
4. Some improvements in Explorer
5. Internet Explorer 7 Beta was introduced
6. Windows Backup Beta and Program Compatibility Wizard are introduced
7. User Account Control was introduced
8. Luna theme is now fully removed

Build 5219

1. Major changes to Games
2. Some new applications in the Control Panel
3. Minor UI changes to the Help and Support
4. Windows Calendar, Windows Photo Library, Sticky Notes and Windows Journal were introduced

Build 5231

1. Some changes to the Setup
2. New System Properties introduced
3. New network apps in Control Panel
4. Minor changes in other apps

Build 5259

1. New Setup UI, including the OOBE
2. Start menu layout is fully changed
3. Introduced People Near Me, Performance Center, Personalization, Speech Recognition, Windows AntiSpyware and Memory Diagnostics Tool
4. Windows Media Player is updated to version 11
5. Library in Explorer
6. Outlook Express is now Windows Mail
7. Some changes in Windows Calendar

Build 5270

1. New logon screen
2. Aero theme is updated
3. App icons are updated
4. Windows Collaboration introduced
5. Antispyware is now Windows Defender
6. Windows Media Player and Media Center were updated

Build 5308

1. New Setup UI and bootscreen
2. Welcome Center at the startup
3. Some visual changes in Control Panel, Internet Explorer, Windows Calender and Windows Media Center
4. Introduced Backup and Restore, Color Management, Default Programs, Disk Defragmenter and Sidebar Properties in Control Panel

Build 5342

1. Minor visual changes
2. New items on Sidebar

Build 5365

1. Sidebar is enabled by default
2. Some changes in Setup and OOBE
3. Device Manager introduced
4. Major updates to Explorer and Sidebar

Build 5381

1. Some changes to Setup, Windows Media Player and Windows Mail

Build 5384

Official Beta 2.

Build 5456

1. Some changes in the UI

Build 5472

1. New logon screen and OOBE

Build 5536

1. Minor changes in Windows Mail. Starting this build there’s no major visual changes and only bug fixes.

Builds

Omega-13

• Longhorn Build 3790.1232.winmain.040819-1629
• Longhorn Build 3790.1232.winmain.040907-2000
• Longhorn Build 5000.0.winmain.040908-2000
• Longhorn Build 5000.0.vbl_core.040803-2000
• Longhorn Build 5000.0.vbl_core.040806-2000
• Longhorn Build 5000.0.vbl_core.040808-2000
• Longhorn Build 5000.0.vbl_core.040809-2000
• Longhorn Build 5000.0.vbl_core.040818-2000
• Longhorn Build 5000.0.vbl_core.040826-2000
• Longhorn Build 5000.0.vbl_core.040902-2000
• Longhorn Build 5000.0.vbl_core_build(ntbuild).040915-0831
• Longhorn Build 5001.0.winmain.040927-1610
• Longhorn Build 5002.0.winmain.041006-2000
• Longhorn Build 5003.0.winmain.041014-1440
• Longhorn Build 5004.0.winmain.041016-2000
• Longhorn Build 5005.0.winmain.041018-1620
• Longhorn Build 5006.0.winmain.041020-1640
• Longhorn Build 5007.0.winmain.041021-1035
• Longhorn Build 5008.0.winmain.041021-2200
• Longhorn Build 5009.0.winmain.041022-1945
• Longhorn Build 5010.0.winmain.041026-0350
• Longhorn Build 5011.0.winmain.041028-1201
• Longhorn Build 5012.0.winmain.041102-1650
• Longhorn Build 5018.0.vbl_core_kernel.041202-2000
• Longhorn Build 5019.0.winmain.??????-???? (full buildtag unknown)
• Longhorn Build 5027.0.vbl_core.050109-2000
• Longhorn Build 5033.0.winmain.050119-2030
• Longhorn Build 5036.0.NT.050205-1730
• Longhorn Build 5037.0.vbl_core_mui.050208-0200
• Longhorn Build 5048.0.winmain_idx02.050401-0536
• Longhorn Build 5049.NT.0.050205-1730
• Longhorn Build 5054.0.vbl_ux_nisd.050404-1730
• Longhorn Build 5058.0.vbl_wcp_um_d2dev.050412-1800
• Longhorn Build 5059.0.vbl_wcp_avalon.050412-1805
• Longhorn Build 5059.0.vbl_ux_dev_checkin.050420-1700
• Longhorn Build 5060.0.vbl_wcp_avalon.050417-1805
• Longhorn Build 5061.0.NT.050404-1245
• Longhorn Build 5065.0.vbl_core_setup.050509-2030
• Longhorn Build 5071.0.winmain_idx01.050605-2010
• Longhorn Build 5077.0.vbl_core_setup.050530-1400
• Longhorn Build 5081.0.winmain.050604-1500
• Longhorn Build 5085.0.vbl_srv.050610-2000
• Longhorn Build 5086.0.winmain_idx02.050621-2010
• Longhorn Build 5087.0.vbl_ux_partners_ie.050616-1730
• Longhorn Build 5087.0.winmain.050613-1840
• Longhorn Build 5088.0.winmain_oobe/avalon_wap_beta1.050620-2052]
• Longhorn Build 5089.0.winmain.050615-1910
• Longhorn Build 5098.0.winmain_beta1.050628-1740
• Longhorn Build 5099.0.winmain.??????-???? (full buildtag unknown)

Beta 1

• Windows Vista Build 5112.0.winmain_beta1.050720-1600 — official Beta 1
• Windows Vista Build 5112.9.winmain_beta1.051012-1700

Pre-Beta 2 (Beta 2 Fork)

• Windows Vista Build 5201.0.vbl_wcp_mobile.050705-2115
• Windows Vista Build 5203.0.winmain.050702-1000
• Windows Vista Build 5206.0.NT.050715-1210
• Windows Vista Build 5209.0.vbl_media_core.050728-1800
• Windows Vista Build 5212.0.winmain.050726-1915
• Windows Vista Build 5212.0.vbl_ux_nisd.050802-1700
• Windows Vista Build 5212.0.vbl_ux_dev_checkin.050808-1730
• Windows Vista Build 5219.0.winmain_idx02.050824-2010
• Windows Vista Build 5219.0.winmain_idx02.050828-2010
• Windows Vista Build 5219.0.winmain_idx02.050830-2010
• Windows Vista Build 5221.0.vbl_wcp_avalon.050822-1835
• Windows Vista Build 5221.0.winmain.050819-1615
• Windows Vista Build 5221.0.vbl_ux_partners.050831-1831
• Windows Vista Build 5221.0.vbl_ux_dev_checkin_gamesux.050901-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5222.0.winmain.050822-1800
• Windows Vista Build 5223.0.winmain.050824-0010
• Windows Vista Build 5224.0.winmain.050826-1920
• Windows Vista Build 5224.0.vbl_core_security_crpt.050901-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5225.0.winmain.050830-2130
• Windows Vista Build 5226.0.winmain.050831-2255
• Windows Vista Build 5226.0.vbl_wcp_avalon_dev.050908-1459
• Windows Vista Build 5227.0.winmain.050905-2000
• Windows Vista Build 5228.0.winmain.050906-2350
• Windows Vista Build 5229.0.winmain.050908-1830
• Windows Vista Build 5230.0.winmain.050909-2225

• Windows Vista Build 5231.0.winmain.050912-2020
• Windows Vista Build 5231.2.winmain_idx03.051004-2120

Beta 2 (Beta 2 Fork)

• Windows Vista Build 5232.0.winmain.050913-2110
• Windows Vista Build 5232.0.vbl_tools_locstudio.050920-0920
• Windows Vista Build 5233.0.winmain.050918-1800
• Windows Vista Build 5234.0.winmain.050921-1018
• Windows Vista Build 5235.0.winmain.050923-1902
• Windows Vista Build 5236.0.winmain.050926-1840
• Windows Vista Build 5237.0.winmain.050927-2050
• Windows Vista Build 5238.0.winmain.050928-1830
• Windows Vista Build 5239.0.winmain.050930-2215
• Windows Vista Build 5240.0.winmain.051003-1818
• Windows Vista Build 5241.0.winmain.051004-2135
• Windows Vista Build 5242.0.winmain.051006-1842
• Windows Vista Build 5243.0.vbl_ux_partners_ie.051011-1845
• Windows Vista Build 5244.0.vbl_media_core.050929-1011
• Windows Vista Build 5244.0.winmain.051011-1737
• Windows Vista Build 5245.0.winmain.051012-2130
• Windows Vista Build 5246.0.winmain.051013-2210
• Windows Vista Build 5247.0.winmain.051017-2015
• Windows Vista Build 5248.0.winmain.051019-1910
• Windows Vista Build 5249.0.winmain.051020-2015
• Windows Vista Build 5250.0.winmain.051021-2000
• Windows Vista Build 5251.0.winmain.051025-2145
• Windows Vista Build 5252.0.winmain.051026-1836
• Windows Vista Build 5253.0.winmain.051027-2040
• Windows Vista Build 5254.0.winmain.051101-2045
• Windows Vista Build 5255.0.winmain.051102-1745
• Windows Vista Build 5256.0.winmain.051103-1700
• Windows Vista Build 5257.0.winmain.051104-2330
• Windows Vista Build 5258.0.winmain.051105-2145
• Windows Vista Build 5259.0.winmain_idx02.051113-2100
• Windows Vista Build 5259.3.winmain_idx02.051117-1715
• Windows Vista Build 5260.0.winmain.051108-2040
• Windows Vista Build 5261.0.winmain.051109-2150
• Windows Vista Build 5262.0.winmain.051110-1830
• Windows Vista Build 5264.0.winmain.051112-2100
• Windows Vista Build 5265.0.winmain.051114-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5266.0.winmain.051115-2130
• Windows Vista Build 5267.0.winmain.051116-1717
• Windows Vista Build 5268.0.winmain.051117-2200
• Windows Vista Build 5269.0.winmain.051118-2030
• Windows Vista Build 5270.0.winmain_idx03.051207-1830
• Windows Vista Build 5270.9.winmain_idx03.051214-1910
• Windows Vista Build 5271.0.vbl_media_ehome.051130-1800
• Windows Vista Build 5276.0.vbl_wcp_mobile.051109-1726
• Windows Vista Build 5276.0.winmain.051205-2006
• Windows Vista Build 5284.0.vbl_media_ehome.051218-1800
• Windows Vista Build 5285.0.vbl_media_core.051101-2045
• Windows Vista Build 5295.0.vbl_tools_locstudio.060111-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5297.0.winmain.060112-1755
• Windows Vista Build 5300.0.winmain_oob/avalon_wap_FEB_CTP_2006.060131-1602
• Windows Vista Build 5305.0.vbl_ux_partners_wmdconnect.060125-1530
• Windows Vista Build 5306.0.vbl_wcp_d2_drivers.050921-0220

Beta 2

NOTE: Some of the earliest builds listed may not actually be Beta 2 builds (although still obviously within the Beta 2 fork), so their exact status is still to confirm.

• Windows Vista Build 5308.6.winmain_idx01.060202-1920
• Windows Vista Build 5308.17.winmain_idx01.060217-2200
• Windows Vista Build 5308.60.winmain_idx01.060223-2145
• Windows Vista Build 5310.0.vbl_media_ehome_dev.060207-1800
• Windows Vista Build 5310.0.vbl_wcp_d2_drivers.060212-0047
• Windows Vista Build 5320.0.vbl_wcp_mobile.060207-1930
• Windows Vista Build 5325.0.vbl_wcp_d2_drivers.060227-1053
• Windows Vista Build 5329.0.vbl_media_ehome.060301-2145
• Windows Vista Build 5335.vbl_media_apps.060307-1800
• Windows Vista Build 5337.0.vbl_media_ehome.060313-2100
• Windows Vista Build 5342.0.vbl_ux_partners_winapps.060316-0000
• Windows Vista Build 5342.2.winmain_idx04.060321-1730
• Windows Vista Build 5346.0.vbl_media_ehome.060322-2100
• Windows Vista Build 5349.0.vbl_wcp_d2_drivers.060623-0429
• Windows Vista Build 5350.0.winmain.060323-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5352.0.vbl_media_apps.060328-2141
• Windows Vista Build 5355.0.vbl_media.060329-2048
• Windows Vista Build 5355.0.vbl_media_ehome.060330-2100
• Windows Vista Build 5356.0.winmain.060330-1450
• Windows Vista Build 5360.0.vbl_media_ehome.060411-1930
• Windows Vista Build 5361.0.winmain.060405-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5364.0.vbl_wcp_avalon.060409-1347
• Windows Vista Build 5364.0.vbl_wcp.060409-1612
• Windows Vista Build 5365.0.winmain.060410-1730
• Windows Vista Build 5365.0.winmain_idx05.060416-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5365.8.winmain_idx05.060419-1800
• Windows Vista Build 5366.0.vbl_media_apps.060415-1800
• Windows Vista Build 5370.0.vbl_wcp_avalon.060417-1826
• Windows Vista Build 5371.0.vbl_media_ehome.060418-1930
• Windows Vista Build 5372.0.winmain.060418-1800
• Windows Vista Build 5378.0.winmain.060425-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5378.0.vbl_wcp_avalon.060426-1453
• Windows Vista Build 5371.0.vbl_media_ehome.060426-1930
• Windows Vista Build 5379.0.winmain.060427-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5381.2.winmain_beta2.060501-1900 — Beta 2 Preview
• Windows Vista Build 5382.0.winmain_beta2.060506-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5384.0.winmain_beta2.060516-1930
• Windows Vista Build 5384.3.winmain_beta2.060517-1235

Beta 2

• Windows Vista Build 5384.winmain_beta2.060518-1455 — official beta 2
• Windows Vista Build 5384.20.winmain_beta2.060531-1915

Pre-Release Candidate 1

• Windows Vista Build 5420.0.winmain.060427-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5421.0.winmain.060428-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5423.0.vbl_media_core.060511-1323
• Windows Vista Build 5434.0.winmain.060515-1710
• Windows Vista Build 5435.0.vbl_media_ehome.060523-2105
• Windows Vista Build 5437.0.vbl_wcp_d2_drivers.060607-1639
• Windows Vista Build 5439.0.vbl_media_core.060511-1323
• Windows Vista Build 5442.vbl_wcp_um_dev.060529-1949
• Windows Vista Build 5443.vbl_media_apps.060606-1800
• Windows Vista Build 5449.0.vbl_media_ehome_dev.060613-1930
• Windows Vista Build 5456.0.vbl_wcp_d2_drivers.060705-2316
• Windows Vista Build 5456.5.winmain_idx03.060620-1700
• Windows Vista Build 5458.0.winmain.060615-1715
• Windows Vista Build 5461.0.vbl_media_apps.060620-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5461.0.vbl_media_ehome.060621-1930|
• Windows Vista Build 5465.0.winmain.060623-1715
• Windows Vista Build 5465.0.vbl_core_gift.060624-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5466.0.winmain.060626-2000
• Windows Vista Build 5466.0.vbl_media_ehome.060627-2030
• Windows Vista Build 5467.0.winmain.060627-1800
• Windows Vista Build 5469.0.vbl_media_ehome.060704-1930
• Windows Vista Build 5471.0.vbl_media_ehome.060711-1930
• Windows Vista Build 5472.0.winmain.060705-1830
• Windows Vista Build 5472.4.winmain_idx01.060711-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5472.5.winmain_idx01.060712-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5472.5.winmain_idx01.060713-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5474.vbl_core_mig.060708-0100
• Windows Vista Build 5474.vbl_ux_dev_checkin.060711-1730
• Windows Vista Build 5476.0.winmain.060711-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5477.0.vbl_media_ehome_dev.060723-1930
• Windows Vista Build 5478.winmain.060713-1830
• Windows Vista Build 5479.0.winmain.060714-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5479.0.vbl_ndt.060714-2215
• Windows Vista Build 5479.0.vbl_wcp_d2_drivers.060801-2007
• Windows Vista Build 5480.0.winmain.060717-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5483.0.winmain.060720-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5485.5.winmain.060724-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5487.0.winmain.060726-1810
• Windows Vista Build 5488.0.winmain.060727-1845
• Windows Vista Build 5491.0.vbl_media.060801-2045
• Windows Vista Build 5492.0.winmain.060802-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5492.0.vbl_ux.060802-2047
• Windows Vista Build 5496.0.vbl_wcp_gfx.060808-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5504.16385.vista_rc1
• Windows Vista Build 5505.0.vista_rc1.060731-2200
• Windows Vista Build 5505.3.vista_rc1.060803-2130
• Windows Vista Build 5505.6.vista_rc1.060807-2215
• Windows Vista Build 5520.16384.vista_rc1.060812-2235
• Windows Vista Build 5536.16385.vista_rc1.060821-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5552.16384.vista_rc1.060822-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5568.16384.vista_rc1.060827-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5584.16384.vista_rc1-060828-1900

Release Candidate 1

• Windows Vista Build 5600.16384.vista_rc1.060829-2230 — official release candidate 1
• Windows Vista Build 5700.0.winmain.060810-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5707.0.winmain.060817-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5708.0.winmain.060818-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5710.0.vbl_wcp_d2_drivers.061013-1610

Pre-Release Candidate 2

• Windows Vista Build 5712.0.winmain.060824-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5718.0.vista_rtm.060905-1930
• Windows Vista Build 5718.0.vbl_media_ehome.060905-1930
• Windows Vista Build 5720.winmain.060907-1715
• Windows Vista Build 5721.vbl_media_apps.060910-1800
• Windows Vista Build 5723.0.vbl_media_ehome.060912-1910
• Windows Vista Build 5724.0.winmain.060913-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5728.16387.winmain_idx06.060917-1430

Release Candidate 2

• Windows Vista Build 5733.0.vbl_media.060919-1825
• Windows Vista Build 5734.0.winmain.060920-1805
• Windows Vista Build 5736.0.vbl_tools_build.060925-1215
• Windows Vista Build 5736.1.winmain.060924-1400
• Windows Vista Build 5738.0.vista_rtm.060925-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5744.16384.x86fre.vista_rtm_edw.061003-1945 — official release candidate 2
• Windows Vista Build 5750.0.vista_rtm.061001-1400

Pre-RTM

• Windows Vista Build 5752.0.vista_rtm.061003-1910
• Windows Vista Build 5754.1.winmain.061006-1810
• Windows Vista Build 5758.0.vista_rtm.061010-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5808.16384.vista_rtm.061012-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5824.16387.vista_rtm.061017-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5840.16384.vista_rtm.061018-1900
• Windows Vista Build 5840.16386.vista_rtm_wcp.061020-1904
• Windows Vista Build 5840.16389.vista_rtm.061024-1905
• Windows Vista Build 6000.16385.vista_rtm.061029-1720
• Windows Vista Build 6000.16385.vista_rtm.061030-1720

RTM

• Windows Vista Build 6000.16386.vista_rtm.061101-2205 — official RTM

Post-RTM

• Windows Vista Build 6429.fbl_multimedia_media.070514-1730

Service Pack 1

• Windows Vista Build 6001.16406.longhorn_idx01.061208-1900
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16461.longhorn_idx02.070209-1510
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16497.longhorn_beta3.070330-1720
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16500.longhorn_beta3.070404-1915
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16510.longhorn_beta3.070417-1740 — Service Pack 1 Beta 3
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16514.longhorn.070501-1545
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16520.longhorn.070509-2100
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16528.longhorn.070523-1915
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16549.longhorn_sp1beta1.070628-1825
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16606.longhorn.070619-1930
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16621.longhorn.070713-1533
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16621.longhorn.070720-1835
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16633.longhorn.070803-1655
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16634.longhorn.070807-1830
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16637.longhorn(wmbla).070820-0922
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16648.longhorn_rc0.070827-1405
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16655.longhorn_rc0.070907-1905
• Windows Vista Build 6001.16659.longhorn_rc0.070916-1443
• Windows Vista Build 6001.17001.longhorn.070904-1733
• Windows Vista Build 6001.17014.lh_tools_devdiv_wpf.071009-1043
• Windows Vista Build 6001.17036.longhorn.071027-1905
• Windows Vista Build 6001.17042.longhorn_rc1.071107-1618
• Windows Vista Build 6001.17044.longhorn_sp1.071112-1910
• Windows Vista Build 6001.17048.longhorn_rc1.071119-2049
• Windows Vista Build 6001.17051.longhorn_sp1.071121-2029
• Windows Vista Build 6001.17052.longhorn_rc1.071129-2315
• Windows Vista Build 6001.17118.longhorn_sp1.071207-1900
• Windows Vista Build 6001.17119.longhorn.071210-1916
• Windows Vista Build 6001.17120.longhorn_sp1.071211-1914
• Windows Vista Build 6001.17121.longhorn_sp1.071212-1922
• Windows Vista Build 6001.17128.longhorn.080101-1935
• Windows Vista Build 6001.17129.longhorn_sp1.080104-1910
• Windows Vista Build 6001.17138.longhorn_sp1.080117-2025
• Windows Vista Build 6001.18000.longhorn_rtm.080118-1840 — Service Pack 1 RTM

Service Pack 1 GDR

• Windows Vista Build 6.0.6001.18004.vistasp1_gdr_vm_rc.080314-1400
• Windows Vista Build 6.0.6001.18009.vistasp1_gdr_vm_rc1.080425-1630
• Windows Vista Build 6.0.6001.18010.vistasp1_gdr_vm_rc1.080511-1505
• Windows Vista Build 6.0.6001.18016.vistasp1_gdr_vm_rtm.080611-0040
• Windows Vista Build 6.0.6001.18145.vistasp1_gdr.080917-1612
• Windows Vista Build 6.0.6001.22328.vistasp1_ldr.081211-1619

Service Pack 2

• Windows Vista Build 6.0.6002.16489.lh_sp2beta.080924-1740
• Windows Vista Build 6.0.6002.16497.lh_sp2beta.081017-1605
• Windows Vista Build 6.0.6002.16659.lh_sp2rc.090114-1728
• Windows Vista Build 6.0.6002.16670.lh_sp2rc.090130-1715
• Windows Vista Build 6.0.6002.17043.longhorn.090312-1835
• Windows Vista Build 6.0.6002.17506.lh_sp2rtm.090313-1730
• Windows Vista Build 6.0.6002.18003.lh_sp2rtm.090403-1730
• Windows Vista Build 6.0.6002.18005.090410-1830 Service Pack 2 RTM

See Also

• Windows Sidebar
• Desktop Composition Engine (Longhorn)
• Desktop Window Manager

External links

• The Collection Book with tips on installing leaked and released Windows Vista builds.
• Si vis pacem, para bellum — Grabberslasher’s blog post that describes builds 3790, 5001 and 5098

Разработка Windows Vista (под кодовым именем «Windows Longhorn») началась в мае 2001 года и продолжалась до ноября 2006 года. Microsoft планировала завершить разработку новой ОС в конце 2003 года и представить её как незначительный шаг между Windows XP (под кодовым названием «Whistler») и Windows 7 (под кодовыми названиями «Blackcomb» и «Vienna»). Концепция Longhorn была намёком на тот план. Первоначально Longhorn разрабатывалась на основе Windows. Net Server (Windows Server 2003 во время разработки)^[1], но в 2004 году Microsoft «перезагрузила» проект, то есть начала разработку с нуля, но уже на основе Windows Server 2003 SP1 RC1. В связи с этим некоторые особенности, такие как WinFS (Windows Future Storage), NGSCB, XAML (был реализован как компонент .NET Framework), WinFX (реализован как .NET Framework 3.0), Indigo (реализован как Windows Communication Foundation), Avalon (WPF, часть в составе .NET Framework), были исключены или сокращены. В середине 2005 года «Longhorn» был переименован в Windows Vista.

В 2001 году

Интерфейс Plex не похож на интерфейс прежних Windows, поэтому Longhorn была представлена без Plex или с её урезанными функциями. Это было обосновано тем, что Microsoft опасались, что интерфейс будут использовать конкуренты. Также там была недоработанная на тот момент боковая панель (SideBar).

«Windows XP Professional Build 3492.Lab06_N.011221-1353».

В 2002 году операционная система была впервые представлена публике на ежегодной весенней конференции WinHEC (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference). В интернете сохранились только скриншоты презентации.

Интерфейс Plex не похож на интерфейс прежних Windows, поэтому Longhorn была представлена без Plex или с её урезанными функциями. Это было обосновано тем, что Microsoft опасались, что интерфейс будут использовать конкуренты. Также там была недоработанная на тот момент боковая панель (SideBar).

На конференции была представлена информация о Windows Sidebar. На боковой панели можно было смотреть видео, общаться и видеть активность пользователей в контакт-листе Messenger, оттуда же представлялось возможным моментально записывать DVD, читать новости RSS, иметь быстрый доступ к контактам, а также делать мелкие различные записки. В отличие от Sidebar в Windows Vista, использующего гаджеты, в Sidebar Longhorn были мини-приложения под названием тайлы (Tiles), которые в переработанном варианте вернулись в Windows 8, а позже — в Windows 10.

Помимо графических возможностей, на конференции представили WinFS. Одна из его возможностей — фильтры. При фильтрации по алфавиту все файлы разбиваются не на категории, а на хранилища. В качестве иконок использовалась стопка бумаг, которая, подобно корзине, растёт при заполнении. Однако WinFS, несмотря на всю свою революционность, получился нестабильным и непригодным к использованию из-за колоссальных утечек памяти, вызванных многочисленными ошибками в коде .NET Framework.

Ранние стадии разработки Longhorn были охарактеризованы минимальными усовершенствованиями и обновлениями по отношению к Windows Server 2003. Во время этого периода Microsoft была довольно тиха о том, что разрабатывалось, поскольку маркетинг и центр связей с общественностью был более сосредоточен на Windows XP и Windows Server 2003, который выпустили в апреле 2003 года. Несмотря на это, некоторые первые сборки Longhorn утекли в свободный доступ.

В большинстве тестовых сборок Longhorn и Vista в правом нижнем углу рабочего стола есть надпись названия и номера сборки, к примеру «Windows XP Professional Build 3663.Lab06_N.020728-1728».

Milestone 2[править | править код]

Build 3663 (28 июля 2002 года) — первая известная сборка Longhorn. Содержала визуальную тему «Luna», использовавшуюся в Windows XP, и в целом визуально не отличалась от Windows XP. В интернет сборка не попала.

Build 3670 (19 августа 2002 года) содержала Диспетчер устройств, реализованный внутри Windows Explorer.

Milestone 3[править | править код]

Build 3683 (23 сентября 2002 года) — утекла в сеть 20 октября 2002 года и была первой сборкой Longhorn, которая попала в Интернет. Рабочее название было «Windows Codename Longhorn XP Professional». Визуально не отличалась от Windows XP, кроме логотипа Windows, некоторых нововведений в интерфейсе и наличия боковой панели (Sidebar). В отличие от всех ранних версий Windows, логотип был белого цвета. Панель «Свойства экрана»^[2] и ряд других компонентов в этой версии построены на базе Avalon (нынешний WPF).

Build 3706 (29 октября 2002 года) — утекла в сеть 22 мая 2006 года. Одна из первых сборок, содержащих Диспетчер окон рабочего стола, на тот момент Desktop Composition Engine. Содержит Internet Explorer 6.05 и визуальное оформление Plex.

Build 3713 (14 ноября 2002 года) — утекла в сеть 26 апреля 2011 года. Не имеет отличий от сборки 3718, за исключением работающего WinFS и чуть большей стабильности.

Build 3718 (19 ноября 2002 года) — утекла в сеть 30 апреля 2004 года. Содержала DWM и ранние визуальные эффекты, включая прозрачность и «эффекты перехода».

Milestone 4[править | править код]

Build 4001 (4 декабря 2002 года) — является первой сборкой Milestone 4 для Windows Code Name «Longhorn».

Эта сборка содержит новую OOBE, которая заменила Windows XP OOBE, использовавшуюся в предыдущих сборках. OOBE в этой сборке запрашивает только имя учётной записи, а затем завершает работу.

Установка WIM[править | править код]

Эта сборка является одной из первых, в которой используется новая процедура установки на основе WIM, одно из первых радикальных отклонений от предыдущей кодовой базы Windows NT. Процедура установки на основе WIM работает путём сохранения всех файлов установки в одном образе диска WIM INSTALL.WIM. Когда установочный носитель загружается напрямую, WinPE (среда предустановки Windows) загружается в сам графический интерфейс пользователя. После того как WIM-файл скопирован в системный раздел, система перезагружается, чтобы завершить установку, установив оборудование и запустив OOBE. Microsoft заявила, что их цель с этой процедурой — позволить установкам Windows завершиться всего за 15 минут.

Хотя установка является базовой (с использованием интерфейса .NET) и не имеет разделов, она способна обнаруживать оборудование (включая ЦП). В результате его нельзя установить на процессоры, более старые, чем Pentium III, наряду с несколькими виртуальными процессорами, такими как эмулируемый по умолчанию процессор QEMU. Во всех последующих сборках вплоть до Build 4093 эти проверки процессора были удалены по неизвестным причинам.

Build 4008 (19 февраля 2003 года) — появившийся в сети 28 февраля 2003 года^[3] был также конфиденциально роздан избранной группе разработчиков программного обеспечения. Build содержал малое число нововведений, изменённую визуальную тему «Plex» и новый упрощённый инсталлятор. Эффектов более нет, Sidebar непрозрачен. Присутствуют новые часы в трее, новые панели предпросмотра, новая функция — родительский контроль. Также изменён внешний вид Проводника Windows.

Milestone 5[править | править код]

Build 4015 (28 марта 2003 года) — утекла в интернет 28 апреля 2003 года. Сборка содержала много нововведений, включая изменённый логотип Windows в меню «Пуск», множество изменений в Windows Explorer, новый менеджер закачек в Internet Explorer. В то же время она имел проблемы с утечкой памяти в Windows Explorer и Sidebar. WinFS имел ошибки использования памяти.

Build 4018 (17 апреля 2003 года) — была показана лишь на PDC 2003 для демонстрации эффектов рабочего стола и возможностей композитинга. В целом похожа на Build 4015.

Build 4028 (1 июля 2003 года) — первая известная серверная сборка Longhorn, основанная на Windows Server.NET RC1, впоследствии Windows Server 2003. Визуальные особенности присутствовали, но были отключены по умолчанию.

Build 4029 (19 июня 2003 года) — утекла в сеть 23 сентября 2003 года. Содержала несколько новых технологий по сравнению с 4028. Windows Explorer претерпел изменения. Предварительные просмотры изображений и видео были показаны в tooltip при наведении мыши, также производительность Windows Explorer была улучшена, хотя проблемы утечки памяти не были решены. На рабочем столе, а также в других элементах интерфейса присутствует надпись onghornLay roffessionalPay вместо Longhorn Professional. Это было сделано для тестирования автоматической подстановки названия версии Windows.

Летом прошла ежегодная Встреча финансовых аналитиков (Financial Analysts Meeting), по результатам которой стало ясно, что Longhorn Beta 1 и Longhorn Beta 2 выйдут в 2004 году, однако этого не произошло.

Milestone 6[править | править код]

Build 4033 (17 июля 2003 года) — похожа на 4029, но содержит некоторые улучшения интерфейса, содержит обновлённую тему Plex.

Build 4038 (13 августа 2003 года) — содержит прототип Aero Glass (эффект стекла) с DCE, запуск которого, однако, требовал наличия совместимого видеоускорителя и применения определённых патчей. 3D-просмотр в Проводнике присутствует, хотя и в незаконченном виде.

Build 4039 (27 августа 2003 года) — утекла в сеть 22 августа 2007 года. Сборка содержит прототип Phodeo, 3D вид фотографий и Aero Glass.

Build 4040 (28 августа 2003 года) — одна из последних сборок наряду с 4042 (main), содержащих визуальный стиль Plex. Большая часть интерфейса остаётся неизменной из-за того, что отдел, в котором она была собрана, использовал старую и более стабильную ветку кода. Утёк в сеть 31 января 2020 года.

Milestone 7[править | править код]

Build 4042 (9 сентября 2003 года) — первая сборка, содержащий визуальный стиль Slate вместо Plex из ранних сборок. Несмотря на это, DCE с Aero Glass (эффект стекла) из сборки 4039 всё ещё остались. Надписи типа onghornLay rofessionalPay были заменены на изначальные варианты. Некоторые папки в меню «Пуск» сменили название. Функция 3D-просмотра в Проводнике стала недоступной, а многие плитки боковой панели были отключены или удалены. Утёк в сеть 25 апреля 2011 года.

Известны несколько сборок с номером 4050, все они были предназначены для презентаций и публичных показов. Так, сборка 4050 (29 сентября 2003 года) была представлена на TechEd 2004 в Израиле. Демонстрационные сборки 4050 от 18, 19 и 22 октября 2003 года были показаны на PDC 2003. Они содержали множество различных функций, включая прототип интернет-приложения Amazon с использованием Avalon, а также плиток для боковой панели, интегрированных с бизнес-приложениями и другими будущими компонентами системы. Также именно на сборках 4050 был показан интерфейс Windows Aero. Это был первый «стеклянный» интерфейс в Microsoft Windows. «Раньше, подобные графические возможности были доступны лишь разработчикам игр, а сейчас они доступны вашим приложениям» — отметили на конференции. Впрочем, графические возможности не попали в официальную сборку 4051, розданную пользователям. Из всех сборок с этим номером утекла только сборка из главного отдела (main), не содержащая визуальных эффектов и демо-приложений.

Build 4051 (1 октября 2003 года) — была официально роздана разработчикам на конференции PDC 2003, утёк в сеть 20 октября 2003 года. Содержит тему оформления Slate и несколько нововведений в интерфейсе. Также содержит Internet Explorer 6.05 и встроенный в него менеджер закачек^[4]. Из визуальных изменений: на панели Пуск нет больше надписи «Start».

• Добавлена папка «Документы» (аналог папки «Общие документы» в Windows XP, позже — название всех папок «Мои документы»)
• Папки «Мои рисунки» и «Мои видеозаписи» объединены в папку «Фото и видео»
• Папка «Мой компьютер» переименована в «Компьютер».

Build 4053 (22 октября 2003 года) — утекла в сеть 2 марта 2004 года. Не имеет отличий от сборки 4051, за исключением чуть большей стабильности и улучшенной работы сетевого стека.

Build 4057 (7 ноября 2003 года) — была замечена на одном скриншоте, который является подделкой и сделан в виде макета. Существует реальная сборка с этим номером, показанная на PDC 2003, но эта сборка ещё не найдена.

Build 4066 (26 февраля 2004 года) — сборка Windows Server 2008, разработка которого шла одновременно с Longhorn. Несмотря на то, что сборка идентифицирует себя как серверная ОС, содержит много первых, неприменимых к ранним сборкам, изменений в интерфейсе. Содержит стиль Jade, новые иконки и шрифт Segoe UI, рабочий DCE и другие возможности, более известные по сборке 4074. Утёк в сеть 30 декабря 2008 года^[5].

Build 4067 (12 февраля 2004 года) — сборка представлена на WinHEC 2004 для демонстрации новой модели видеодрайверов LDDM, ныне известной как WDDM.

Build 4069 был показан на WinHEC 2004 для демонстрации эффектов прозрачности Windows Aero.

Build 4074 (25 апреля 2004 года) — официальная сборка для разработчиков, розданная на WinHEC 2004. Утекла в мае 2004 года. Содержит изменённый стиль Jade, новые иконки и шрифт Segoe UI. В ней также присутствовал способ включения DCE, что в сочетании с темой Jade дало прототип Windows Aero. Кроме того, в ней было множество прототипов других функций, включённых в будущем в Windows 7.

В мае 2004 года Microsoft включила в Windows подсистему NGSCB (Palladium), разрабатываемую в целях поддержки Trusted Platform Module, разработанного инициативной группой Trusted Computing (рус. Доверительные вычисления)^[6][7]. Единственный компонент NGSCB, сохранившийся в Windows Vista — BitLocker, использующий чип TPM для полного шифрования жёсткого диска.

Build 4081 (3 мая 2004 года) — первая сборка Longhorn, использовавшая принцип компонентизации. Многие функции из предыдущих сборок были удалены, а система облегчена и урезана до минимального рабочего состояния. Сборка относительно стабильная, но содержит множество ошибок и багов. DCE присутствует, но без модификаций не работает. Слита в сеть 27 января 2020 года.

Build 4082 (10 мая 2004 года) — утекла в сеть 4 февраля 2020 года. Не отличается от сборки 4081.

Build 4083 (16 мая 2004 года) — утекла в сеть 10 ноября 2004 года, и была предпоследним утёкшим в сеть сборкой Longhorn, созданной на базе Windows Server 2003 RC. Отличается высокой нестабильностью и проблемами инсталляции.

Build 4093 (19 августа 2004 года) — последняя утёкшая сборка на базе Windows XP. Была создана разработчиками намеренно, в качестве эксперимента: включено множество функций и элементов из разных этапов проекта. Сборка крайне нестабильна. Содержит множество прототипов и нерабочих функций, среди которых элементы панели управления на Avalon, Windows Movie Maker и Windows Media Player.

На протяжении своей разработки проект Longhorn не избавился от своих главных проблем, таких как нестабильная WinFS, Avalon, разработка которого велась одновременно с Longhorn, утечки памяти, из-за которых потребление ОЗУ было очень высоким и высокое потребление ресурсов ЦП. Из-за этого Microsoft принимает решение начать проект с нуля, в результате которого появилась Windows Vista.

Longhorn «D1»[править | править код]

Build 3790.1232 (19 августа 2004 года) — первая сборка, основанная на кодовой базе Windows Server 2003 SP1.

Build 5001 (27 сентября 2004 года) — практически без изменений с Windows XP, только надпись на баннере в winver с Windows XP заменена на Windows lh, и в обои Безмятежность добавили длиннорогого быка. Были сомнения о действительности сборки до января 2020 года^[8].

Build 5048 (1 апреля 2005 года) — официальный WinHEC 2005 Preview Build. Был доступен для WinHEC посетителей 24 апреля 2005 года. В сборке присутствует DWM, но по умолчанию он выключен. Сборка имеет новый оригинальный интерфейс (отличный от 4074 и похожих билдов) и иконки как в 4074. Также содержит в себе раннюю версию Windows Aero. На официальной презентации глава Microsoft Билл Гейтс объявил, что многие компоненты WinFX API будут портированы на Windows XP. В ней отсутствует боковая панель. Версия 5048 была раскритикована за утрату многих разработанных в 2001—2003 годах компонентов^[9].

Build 5060 (17 апреля 2005 года) — данная сборка похожа на предыдущую, единственные отличия — обновлённый экран приветствия и новый интерфейс программы установки.

Build 5098 (28 июня 2005 года) — является одной из последних сборок, скомпилированных до стадии бета-версии Windows Vista . К этому моменту Microsoft реализовала значительное количество функций, изначально запланированных для Windows «Longhorn», тем самым завершив этап Omega-13.

Эта сборка отмечает начало стадии Beta 1. Эта сборка очень похожа на 5112, хотя она до сих пор называется Windows Longhorn. Эта сборка также имеет настройку в стиле 5112.

Эта сборка обновила Windows Aero и представила обозреватель игр, но на VMware Windows Aero возможно включить путём замены файла uxss.exe на пропатченный.

В начале июля 2005 года в Microsoft начались обсуждения нового названия Windows Longhorn, в связи с негативным отношением пользователей к бренду Windows Longhorn после появления версии 5048. Среди названий обсуждалось Windows 2006, но, в итоге, Microsoft выбрала название Windows Vista^[10].

Beta 1[править | править код]

Windows Vista Beta 1 (Build 5112, 20 июля 2005 года) выпущен 27 июля 2005 года и был первой сборкой Windows Vista. Build был доступен в Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) и TechNet подписчикам для группы бета тестеров. Панель задач была изменена на более тёмную.

По сравнению со сборкой 5048 эта сборка стала гораздо более значительным шагом вперёд по сравнению с введением новых функций пользовательского интерфейса. В оболочке Explorer произошли значительные изменения, включая виртуальные папки, новый интерфейс поиска, множество новых значков (в основном для панели управления) и переработанную панель инструментов. Тема Aero выглядит очень похоже на версию RTM, хотя тема Aero Basic по-прежнему имеет многочисленные различия по сравнению с версией темы, которая использовалась в RTM. На VMware Windows Aero возможно включить путём замены файла uxss.exe на пропатченный.

Эта сборка также представила много других функций, которые изначально были запланированы для «Longhorn», включая новые сетевые и звуковые подсистемы, а также .NET Framework 3.0 (до сих пор называемый WinFX), который был почти завершён на момент компиляции этой сборки.

Build 5212.1915 (26 июля 2005 года) — включает в себя Flip 3D, и, в частности, он снова ввёл боковую панель, но теперь он работает в своём собственном процессе, а не на explorer.exe (что вызвало утечки памяти в прежнем проекте Longhorn).

[править | править код]

Build 5219.2010 (30 августа 2005 года) — была первой утечкой после перезагрузки, которая имела боковую панель, но её нужно было загружать отдельно. Это была одна из первых сборок, в которой использовался логотип Windows Vista в диалоговом окне «О Windows», с несколько градиентным и слегка ярким зелёным фоном, а также целый белый логотип флага Windows вместе с текстом Windows того же тона в отличие от текста.

Build 5231.2020 (12 сентября 2005 года) — это более ранняя компиляция, и она представила Windows Media Player 11, и Internet Explorer был обновлён, а также сетевые подключения, включая новый значок в трее для сети. Добавлено новое приложение регулировки громкости, позволяющее настраивать громкость каждого приложения независимо. Добавлена ​​ранняя версия монитора надёжности.

Build 5259 (17 ноября 2005 года) — был выпущен Microsoft Technology Adoption Program 22 ноября 2005 года, утёк в сеть 7 декабря 2005 года. Появление Windows AntiSpyware- (Защитник Windows), Outlook Express был переименован в Почту Windows. Также существует 5259 от 13 ноября 2005 года.

Beta 2[править | править код]

Build 5384.1455 (18 мая 2006 года), стала доступна подписчикам Microsoft Developer Network и 23 мая 2006 года тестерам Microsoft Connect. 6 июня Microsoft сделала доступной Beta 2 всем пользователям в виде бесплатной закачки на нескольких языках c их веб-сайта. Некоторые веб-сайты, посвящённые технологиям описали этот выпуск как «случай наибольшей загрузки в истории программного обеспечения» из-за сборок с 5212 и 5219 до 5472, то есть все сборки Windows Vista, заточенные под Beta 2 вышли в этот случай наибольшей загрузки в истории программного обеспечения.

Build 5456 (вышла 20 июня 2006 г.), была выпущена в интернет 24 июня 2006 г. Некоторые из новых функций включали обновлённую подсистему Aero и полностью переработанный и значительно менее навязчивый интерфейс управления учётными записями пользователей. «Список» в проводнике Windows был возвращён после удаления в бета-версии 1. Разработчик Microsoft Бен Бетц позже объяснил в блоге, что они думали, что удаление режима списка имеет смысл на основе исследования удобства использования и его неспособности поддерживать Windows. Новая функция «группировки» Explorer была восстановлена ​​на основе большого количества отзывов от бета-тестеров.

Замечания о выпуске сборки, в котором исправлены ​​ошибки в часовом поясе, которая преследовала почти все предыдущие сборки Windows Vista, было исправлено немало проблем в региональных настройках и IME. Была введена новая схема указателей мыши «Windows Aero», в которой впервые была введена сглаживание указателю мыши, а многие из остальных значков в стиле Windows XP были заменены новыми значками. Дисковое пространство, используемое чистой установкой, также значительно сократилось.

Build 5472 (вышла 13 июля 2006 г.), была выпущена в интернет 17 июля 2006 г. Помимо включения нескольких исправлений ошибок и улучшений локализации, в сборке также была добавлена ​​пересмотренная тема «Основные», которая заменяет тему, замеченную в предыдущих сборках, голубыми темами. Сетевой центр также был значительно пересмотрен, собрав больше информации о статусе в одном месте и уменьшив количество шагов, чтобы добраться до большинства параметров конфигурации. Появились дополнительные фоны рабочего стола и значков, а Flip3D увидел некоторые настройки макета. По умолчанию установлен новый курсор мыши Windows Aero. У сборки было огромное улучшение производительности по сравнению с Beta 2 и было сопоставимо, и возможно даже быстрее, чем у Windows XP.

Во время демонстрации функции распознавания речи, новой для Windows Vista на собрании Financial Analyst от Microsoft 27 июля 2006 года, программное обеспечение признало фразу «Дорогая мама» «Дорогой тёте». После нескольких неудачных попыток исправить ошибку предложение в конечном итоге стало «Дорогая тётя, давайте сделаем так, чтобы уничтожить весь зал». Разработчик с командой распознавания речи Vista позже объяснил, что это была ошибка с сборкой Vista, которая вызывала высокий уровень усиления микрофона, в результате чего звук, получаемый программным обеспечением распознавания речи, был «невероятно искажён».

8 августа 2006 г. Microsoft предоставил Центру обеспечения безопасности критические исправления безопасности для Windows Vista beta 2, сделав его первым продуктом Microsoft для получения обновлений безопасности, которая всё ещё находясь в бета-версии.

Pre-RC1[править | править код]

Build 5536 (вышла 21 августа 2006 г.), была выпущена в интернет 24 августа 2006 г., а с 29 августа по 31 августа — первым 100 000 пользователям, которые загрузили её с сайта Microsoft. Среди заметных изменений разработчики добавили новые связи с онлайн-сервисами Windows Live новыми значками в Центре приветствия, незначительными обновлениями к внешнему виду Aero с чуть более голубоватым оттенком эффекта стекла, большими улучшениями скорости (включая скорость настройки), множеством ошибок исправления и дальнейшие изменения сглаживания в функции Flip 3D.

RC1 (Release-Candidate 1 (рус. Кандидат на выпуск)[править | править код]

1 сентября 2006 года Кандидат на выпуск (RC1) (вышел 29 августа 2006 года с номером сборки 5600.16384) был выпущен в избранной группе бета-тестеров. 6 сентября RC1 был выпущен подписчикам MSDN и Technet, а также зарегистрированным членам программы просмотра клиентов (CPP) с помощью PID бета-версии 2. 14 сентября Microsoft вновь открыла CPP новым участникам. CPP завершилась 26 ноября 2006 года. В середине сентября 2006 года сборка утекла в Интернет.

Публичный выпуск Release Candidate 1 привёл к многочисленным обширным обзорам и анализу на различных веб-сайтах новостей о технологиях. Кен Фишер из Ars Technica писал, что производительность значительно улучшилась по сравнению с Beta 2, предполагая, что компьютеры с Vista могут работать лучше, чем с Windows XP; он также критиковал полезность боковой панели Windows и продолжающуюся навязчивость контроля учётных записей пользователей. В обзоре CRN было отмечено пять конкретных категорий улучшений для Release Candidate 1: скорость установки, поддержка драйверов устройств, повышение производительности нескольких компонентов, безопасность и возможности мультимедиа. Критика пользовательского интерфейса Vista также возникла, и Крис Пирильо описал почти конечное состояние как «неряшливое».

Pre-RC2 (Pre-Release Candidate 2)[править | править код]

Build 5700 (вышла 10 августа 2006 г.), первая сборка филиала RTM, была показана на презентации студенческого дня Microsoft Tech-Ed 2006 в Австралии. Он, по-видимому, работал быстрее, чем предыдущая сборка Pre-RC1 5472 с некоторыми улучшениями пользовательского интерфейса. Более высокий номер сборки необязательно указывает на новую сборку. Microsoft начала работу в филиале RTM одновременно с завершением ветки RC1, позволяя основным разработчикам RC1 легче «перетекать» в новую стадию разработки. Эта параллельная разработка помогает объяснить, почему сборка 5700 старше, чем даже некоторые предварительные сборки RC1.

Build 5728 (вышла 17 сентября 2006 года) была выпущена 22 сентября 2006 года техническим участникам бета-тестирования. На следующий день Microsoft выпустила 32-битную версию сборки для общественности, а 64-разрядная версия появилась 25 сентября. 1 октября Microsoft достигла своих целей участия в программе и больше не предлагала сборку для общественности. В ответ на значительное количество отзывов от тестировщиков RC1, 5728 содержало много улучшений, одним из которых было включение флажка в свойствах Sound, что позволило пользователю отключить звук запуска Windows Vista. Центр приветствия также был улучшен с помощью новых значков, исключая использование одного значка для нескольких разных элементов, и все старые значки в папке «Пользователь» были заменены. Эта сборка, как говорят разработчики, устанавливается за 15 мин. Некоторые сообщали, что устанавливается больше 15 минут (как например с XP, где обновление до Vista идёт 2 часа)

RC2[править | править код]

Release Candidate 2 (RC2) (построенный 3 октября 2006 года с номером сборки 5744.16384) был выпущен членам CPP, тестировщикам TAP, подписчикам MSDN / Technet и другим техническим бета-тестерам в пятницу, 6 октября 2006 года, и был доступный для скачивания до 9 октября. Из-за агрессивного графика разработки это была окончательная сборка, которая будет официально выпущена широкой публике для тестирования. Тем не менее, все ключи до выпуска продукта будут работать до окончательной сборки RTM. Несколько тестировщиков сообщили, что RC2 был быстрее и стабильнее, чем сборка 5728. Однако, поскольку RC2, который был регулярной промежуточной сборкой, а не важной вехой, как следует из названия, не был столь же строго протестирован, как RC1, RC1, возможно, был более стабильным в определённых ситуациях. В этой сборке исправлено много проблем с совместимостью, которые преследовали предыдущие сборки. Графический интерфейс Vista, который по-прежнему улучшался, содержал некоторые незначительные настройки, одним из наиболее заметных из которых была новая способность настраивать цвет, но не прозрачность, максимально развёрнутых окон. В предыдущих сборках окна стали максимально чёрными при максимизации, эффект, который не может быть изменён пользователями. Также был добавлен значок панели управления для Windows Sideshow.

Pre-RTM[править | править код]

Поскольку сборка для выпуска (RTM) является окончательной версией кода, поставляемой розничным торговцам и другим дистрибьюторам, цель сборки до RTM заключается в том, чтобы устранить любые последние ошибки «show-stopper», которые могут предотвратить поставку кода потребителям, а также что-нибудь ещё, что может раздражать потребителей. Таким образом, маловероятно, что будут введены какие-либо новые функции; вместо этого работа будет сосредоточена на «подгонке» и «финише» Vista. Всего за несколько дней разработчикам удалось уменьшить число ошибок Vista с 2470 на 22 сентября до чуть более 1400 к началу октября. Тем не менее, у них все ещё было много работы, прежде чем Vista была готова к RTM. Внутренние процессы Microsoft требовали, чтобы число ошибок в Vista упало до 500 или меньше, прежде чем продукт мог перейти в условное депонирование для RTM. Для большинства этих сборников были выпущены только 32-разрядные версии.

Build 5808 (дата сборки от 12 октября 2006 г.) была выпущена для тестировщиков TAP 19 октября 2006 г. Эта сборка была примечательной, потому что это была первая сборка, выпущенная для тестировщиков, так как Microsoft ввела RTM «escrow» со строкой 5800. Это объясняет, почему числа сборки выросли с 57xx до 58xx.

Build 5824 (дата создания 17 октября 2006 г.) была выпущена для широкого круга внутренних тестеров в тот же день в надежде, что эта сборка станет окончательной RTM. Однако, была найдена катастрофическая ошибка «show-stopper», которая уничтожала любую систему, которая была обновлена ​​с Windows XP. Только полная переустановка Windows исправляло работу компьютера.

Build 5840 (дата сборки 18 октября 2006 г.) была доступна для внутренних тестеров. По словам Пола Террота, эта сборка не содержала основную ошибку в сборке 5824, и тестирование дало очень положительные отзывы. Эта сборка содержала большое количество новых и последних значков, а также новый набор финальных обоев, включая новые обои по умолчанию на основе «swoosh» Aurora, которые были замечены в предыдущих сборках.

RTM[править | править код]

Финальный RTM (создан 1 ноября 2006 года и имел номер 6000.16386.) это версия Windows Vista, которая поставляется клиентам. Microsoft объявила, что эта сборка была завершена 8 ноября 2006 года после пяти лет разработки.

Номер сборки RTM подскочил до 6000, чтобы отобразить внутренний номер версии Vista, NT 6.0. Jumping RTM build numbers является распространённой практикой среди ориентированных на потребителя версий Windows, таких как Windows 98 (сборка 1998), Windows 98 SE (сборка 2222), Windows Me (build 3000) или Windows XP (build 2600), по сравнению с бизнес-ориентированными версиями, такими как Windows 2000 (build 2195) или Server 2003 (build 3790). 16 ноября 2006 года Microsoft сделала окончательную сборку доступной для подписчиков MSDN и Technet Plus. 30 ноября бизнес-лицензия была выпущена бизнес-ориентированной корпорацией. Windows Vista была запущена для общей доступности клиентов 30 января 2007 года^[11].

• Разработка Windows XP
• Разработка Windows 7

• Долгая дорога к Windows Vista
• Об истории создания Windows Vista
• Дорога к Windows Codename Longhorn
• Вики, посвящённая Windows Longhorn