Considering Vista Beta 2 (public version)

[Bobby]

I am considering installing Vista Beta 2 - the version available to the
public and I have a few questions.

Is this the latest version? I read in a magazine that the very latest builds
were much better than the first beta releases.

Also, is it OK to install it over XP (SP2) or should I do a clean install?

And finally, when does this beta expire?

Cheers.

Bobby

 

[kurttrail]

I am considering installing Vista Beta 2 - the version available to
the public and I have a few questions.

Is this the latest version? I read in a magazine that the very latest
builds were much better than the first beta releases.

Also, is it OK to install it over XP (SP2) or should I do a clean
install?
And finally, when does this beta expire?

Cheers.

Bobby

Beta software is meant for testing purposes only. Only an idiot would
ever consider installing it for any other purpose.

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

 

[Bobby]

Only an idiot would ever consider installing it for any other purpose.

Sorry, was my question: "Do only idiots install beta software for any reason
other than testing?"?

 

[kurttrail]

Sorry, was my question: "Do only idiots install beta software for any
reason other than testing?"?

You stated:

"I am considering installing Vista Beta 2."

I replied to that with:

Beta software is meant for testing purposes only. Only an idiot would
ever consider installing it for any other purpose.

Your questions are meaningless after that.

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

 

[antioch]

You stated:

"I am considering installing Vista Beta 2."

I replied to that with:

Beta software is meant for testing purposes only. Only an idiot would
ever consider installing it for any other purpose.

Your questions are meaningless after that.

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

I am with you all the way on that one Kurt - perhaps he wants his system to
crash at regular intervals whilst MS gets another tester for free. But then
he will keep posting here to get the probs solved ;-)
More amateur testers the better I say, then with any luck when it finally
gets on the market, those who have waited patiently might, I repeat might,
pay a lot of money for a slightly more stable OS.
Antioch

 

[Kerry Brown]

There are valid reasons for installing Vista Beta 2 other than for testing
purposes. Curiosity is one.

 

[Kerry Brown]

Vista beta 2 is not the latest version. It is the latest version available
to those outside of the Beta testing program in other words the general
public. It is quite stable for a Beta OS and worth playing with if you are
so inclined. It is much better than Beta 1.

Be very careful if you install it over XP. It is very likely you will lose
your XP installation, all your programs, and all your data. Vista Beta 2
cannot be uninstalled. If you don't like it you cannot easily go back to XP
without formatting the hard drive. Vista can be setup to dual boot with XP
but there is a good chance something will go wrong and you may lose your XP.
Have a backup plan. Backup before you install Vista. Better yet install
Vista on a spare computer with nothing else on it.

Vista Beta 2 expires on May 31, 2007.

Again, you will likely lose your XP installation if you install Vista on the
same computer. Do not install Vista on a computer with anything important to
you on it unless you have a couple of verified good backups.

 

[antioch]

There are valid reasons for installing Vista Beta 2 other than for testing
purposes. Curiosity is one.

I know - I know. But I feel that the opposite side of the coin should be
shown.
Surely you have not forgotten what 'curiosity' did for that cat.
R.I.P.
Rgds
Antioch

 

[antioch]

That's better, Kerry.
Well balanced response - if I didn't know better the bit about loosing XP
would make me think twice ;-) ;-)
Just hope OP is still reading their post.
Rgds
Antioch

 

[kurttrail]

There are valid reasons for installing Vista Beta 2 other than for
testing purposes. Curiosity is one.

Not as an Upgrade over XP.

If the OP had the tech knowledge to have a disk image of his existing
working OS partition, and a backup of all of docs, then he wouldn't be
asking these questions, especially about upgrading over his existing XP.

I would say that the only valid reason to install ANY beta software, is
to test. Anything else is an exercise in ignorance, at best.

And curiosity kills Cats and OSs.

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

 

[Bobby]

I would say that the only valid reason to install ANY beta software, is to

test. Anything else is an exercise in ignorance, at best.

Well, Kurt, you will be amazed to know that I am happily using Office 2007
(*BETA*) and it not only a pleasure to use but has improved my productivity
and improved the appearance of documents - oh, and using the beta now will
prepare me for using the release product next year. And before you starting
going on about dangers, I backup my files every day and I have more than one
machine.

 

[Kerry Brown]

Not as an Upgrade over XP.

If the OP had the tech knowledge to have a disk image of his existing
working OS partition, and a backup of all of docs, then he wouldn't be
asking these questions, especially about upgrading over his existing
XP.
I would say that the only valid reason to install ANY beta software,
is to test. Anything else is an exercise in ignorance, at best.

And curiosity kills Cats and OSs.

I consider curiosity to be the spice of life. Someone who is not curious is
quite likely to be more ignorant than someone who is.

 

[hounsell]

Of Course you should try Vista Beta 2. It Will Give you a taste,
consider it more of a free trial until sometime in 2006, rather than an
experimental piece of software. i agree though, that it is probably not
a good idea to install it over xp. either use it on a fresh pc or, even
better, use Virtual PC if you have got it. you can get a free trial of
virtual pc from
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...d6-5098-4c64-9ca7-a30f225859f6&DisplayLang=en

good luck with Vista if you decide to use it.

 

[kurttrail]

Well, Kurt, you will be amazed to know that I am happily using Office
2007 (*BETA*) and it not only a pleasure to use but has improved my
productivity and improved the appearance of documents - oh, and using
the beta now will prepare me for using the release product next year.

Goody for you! Just don't come whining here when you have problems with
it.

And before you starting going on about dangers, I backup my files
every day and I have more than one machine.

Yeah, but do you have a disk image for if and when its screws up your OS
install, or will you need to reinstall?

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

 

[kurttrail]

I consider curiosity to be the spice of life. Someone who is not
curious is quite likely to be more ignorant than someone who is.

So have you installed Vista, and was it totally done to appease your
curiosity?

My guess is that you are testing it for business purposes as much as for
your own curiosity.

And you have the tech knowledge not to have to ask the OPs silly
noob-like questions.

You do have to remember the context of this thread. The OP
demonstration a total lack of understanding about Beta software, by
asking silly noob-like questions. And also that many of the people
lurking and reading this group, shouldn't be encouraged to rely on Beta
software on their main machines.

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

 

[kurttrail]

Of Course you should try Vista Beta 2. It Will Give you a taste,
consider it more of a free trial until sometime in 2006, rather than
an experimental piece of software. i agree though, that it is
probably not a good idea to install it over xp. either use it on a
fresh pc or, even better, use Virtual PC if you have got it. you can
get a free trial of virtual pc from
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...d6-5098-4c64-9ca7-a30f225859f6&DisplayLang=en

good luck with Vista if you decide to use it.

Yes, all you stupid effin' noobs, please be voluntary Guinea Pigs for
all of us! Format your harddrives, and install all the beta software
you can find! Just don't come whining here, when you you have problems!

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

 

[Kerry Brown]

So have you installed Vista, and was it totally done to appease your
curiosity?

My guess is that you are testing it for business purposes as much as
for your own curiosity.

And you have the tech knowledge not to have to ask the OPs silly
noob-like questions.

You do have to remember the context of this thread. The OP
demonstration a total lack of understanding about Beta software, by
asking silly noob-like questions. And also that many of the people
lurking and reading this group, shouldn't be encouraged to rely on
Beta software on their main machines.

You are correct in my case I am testing it to figure out what will work for
my customers and also to get used to it before I have to start installing it
for real.

See my other post in answer to the OP. I did give ample warning about what
may happen as a result of installing Vista. This subthread was started
because you posted an absolute statement:

"Beta software is meant for testing purposes only. Only an idiot would ever
consider installing it for any other purpose."

I abhor absolute statements as they are almost always wrong

By the way I really like Vista so far. The security features if not diluted
by the time it's released will help to eliminate a lot of the malware
problems with XP.

 

[kurttrail]

You are correct in my case I am testing it to figure out what will
work for my customers and also to get used to it before I have to
start installing it for real.

See my other post in answer to the OP. I did give ample warning about
what may happen as a result of installing Vista. This subthread was
started because you posted an absolute statement:

"Beta software is meant for testing purposes only. Only an idiot
would ever consider installing it for any other purpose."

I abhor absolute statements as they are almost always wrong

It was an absolute, for this particular situation. Someone asking noob
questions, considering replacing XP for Vista Beta is an idiot in my
book.

"You do have to remember the context of this thread."

By the way I really like Vista so far. The security features if not
diluted by the time it's released will help to eliminate a lot of the
malware problems with XP.

I did an upgrade over an existing XP install, and only could get into
Safe Mode, so I reloaded my XP image. When I have some time, I plan on
trying a clean install.

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."