Is Vista Beta 2 "safe"?

[Guest]

OK ... I have seen all the hype about Vista Beta 2 and have received the DVD
.... but I am hesitant to install it because I don't want to risk screwing up
my system! I am a retired home hobbyist (eg. enjoy writing .Net programs)
and I keep a good bit of personal information on the machine which if lost
would cause me some difficulty (I'm running XP SP2 and am pleased with its
stability). I have backed stuff up (to CD's and a remote storage site) but I
worry that if I install Vista everything will run fine for a couple fo weeks
and then BANG something untoward happens and I'm in trouble. I realize there
are lots of disclaimers with beta releases but is the general feeling that
Vista Beta 2 is safe to install?

I have seen very little in blogs and newsgroups about the realibility of
Vista Beta 2.

Thanks.

 

[droid]

If you get it installed ok and let it defrag and index the stuff, it should
start working decently in couple days.
Of course with bad luck you have some driver issue that might cause losing
data randomly

In general I recommend either 1:1 backup of your old drive or installing
Vista to entirely new drive.

If you run into install trouble, drop a message about what sort of problem
you had and at what point of setup it happened and we'll sort it out
hopefully.

 

[Brendan Green]

You should approach this how you would approach ANY beta (or anything
"pre-RTM" for that matter) software.

If your okay with the fact that you may have to completely re-install your
computer, then go for it.

Some people are running Vista with no problems whatsoever, while others are
having nothing but trouble.

As you say, the disclaimers are there for a reason.

 

[Guest]

For reasons I don't quite know some people have gotten dual booting with XP
to work right, while others have now. For me, my system is dual boting
perfectly, but just look up and down this forum.

My suggerstion would be to hold off installing Vista until you are sure you
have the free time and will to deal with problems. If you had a big project
or something due very soon, I wouldn't chance not getting into XP until that
project is done.

Good luck!

 

[Guest]

i guess nobody reads the warnings about BETA software, it is risky and
shouldnt be used if you have important data you dont want lost. there are no
promise's your data will be safe, if you are going to use the BETA2 you
should follow the directions exactly and BACK UP YOUR IMPORTANT DATA!!!

 

[dev]

/fripper/ said:

OK ... I have seen all the hype about Vista Beta 2 and have received the DVD
... but I am hesitant to install it because I don't want to risk screwing up
my system! I am a retired home hobbyist (eg. enjoy writing .Net programs)
and I keep a good bit of personal information on the machine which if lost
would cause me some difficulty (I'm running XP SP2 and am pleased with its
stability). I have backed stuff up (to CD's and a remote storage site) but I
worry that if I install Vista everything will run fine for a couple fo weeks
and then BANG something untoward happens and I'm in trouble. I realize there
are lots of disclaimers with beta releases but is the general feeling that
Vista Beta 2 is safe to install?

I have seen very little in blogs and newsgroups about the realibility of
Vista Beta 2.

This is a somewhat early test release. Some features are missing, some do
not work correctly. If existing device drivers are incompatible, expect
blue screens.

It would be unwise to install it on a production system that you rely upon,
as MS cautions. Try it on an independent hard disk, or perhaps on a
separate PC that, if hosed, would not cause you grief.

 

[Tom Scales]

OK ... I have seen all the hype about Vista Beta 2 and have received the
DVD
... but I am hesitant to install it because I don't want to risk screwing
up
my system! I am a retired home hobbyist (eg. enjoy writing .Net programs)
and I keep a good bit of personal information on the machine which if lost
would cause me some difficulty (I'm running XP SP2 and am pleased with its
stability). I have backed stuff up (to CD's and a remote storage site)
but I
worry that if I install Vista everything will run fine for a couple fo
weeks
and then BANG something untoward happens and I'm in trouble. I realize
there
are lots of disclaimers with beta releases but is the general feeling that
Vista Beta 2 is safe to install?

I have seen very little in blogs and newsgroups about the realibility of
Vista Beta 2.

Thanks.

Personally, I don't think Vista is for you yet. It sounds like this is your
one and only machine and that you have real data that you can't afford to
lose on the machine.

Vista, at this stage, should be run by people that have significant
technical expertise and only on a machine that is purely for test purposes.
If you don't have two machines, I don't recommend it.

Tom

 

[Guest]

To be honest with you, as long as you install Vista correctly, and update
your device drivers, then everything should go smoothly, error free. Also,
perform regular defragging, and Disk clean up, and backing up files.
I have so far installed Vista successfully w/ no problems. Only problem I
have is trouble installing antivirus. Other than that, it pays off to get it…
Increase performance, easy to navigate, and of course realbillty.

Now install with Confidence!

 

[Brendan Green]

Sorry, but that's bad advice.

Just because you have it installed and running without problem, doesn't mean
he will. It is quite likely that he could have some hardware combination
that gives nothing but trouble. This is the exact reason why it's not
recommended that the Beta is installed on a production machine.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

"Only problem I have is trouble installing antivirus."
That is a huge problem since it is the beginnings of a contaminated computer
possibly resulting in lost data, time etc.
There are free AV for Vista available, you should get on such as:
https://www.my-etrust.com/SubscriptCenter/MSTrialRegistration.aspx?cid=1855&lang=en-US
Many anti virus not specifically made for Vista will not work with Vista.

You also totally ignore the possibility of hardware and software issues.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Do NOT install Vista, or any Beta unless:
You are prepared for a complete reinstallation necessitated by issues
otherwise unable to be resolved.
You are prepared for total data loss.

If you are prepared for the above, this Beta may be for you.

This applies not only to this Vista Beta and other Microsoft Betas, but to
any Beta you may consider installing on any computer.
That is the nature of Beta.

 

[Tom Scales]

Unfortunately, this is the kind of advice that has resulted in so many "How
do I go back to XP without losing all my data" questions.

Vista is NOT stable and should NOT be used by someone without a strong
technical background and NEVER on a production machine.

Tom

 

[Guest]

Wow ... 12 responses in a couple of hours ... all helpful. I think I had
better hold off for a while and see what sort of reports pop up about Vista
Beta 2. I tend to want to take risks when I propbably shouldn't ... but boy
it sure is tempting!

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[Guest]

I don't know if this works or not, but if you are so tempted, you could
install virtual server software (see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_server for more info) which will create
a computer "inside" your computer which would probably protect your data
because Vista would only be running inside the "virtual machine" (which you
launch from inside of XP).

I know I am not explaining this particularly well.

 

[Guest]

I don't know if this works or not, but if you are so tempted, you could
install virtual server software (see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_server for more info) which will create
a computer "inside" your computer which would probably protect your data
because Vista would only be running inside the "virtual machine" (which you
launch from inside of XP).

I know I am not explaining this particularly well.

 

[Tom Scales]

It does work. Just go to www.vmware.com and download the VMWare Server Beta
(free). Vista runs under XP, in a VMWare session, just fine.

 

[Top]

fripper explained on 6/21/2006 :

Wow ... 12 responses in a couple of hours ... all helpful. I
think I had better hold off for a while and see what sort of
reports pop up about Vista Beta 2. I tend to want to take
risks when I propbably shouldn't ... but boy it sure is
tempting!

Thanks for all the advice.

IF you want to see if your machine will handle Vista there is a
program,
Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor beta, that will check for some
hardware conflicts. However, you are making the right choice by
not trying to install Vista, IMHO.

Top

 

[Tom Scales]

fripper explained on 6/21/2006 :


IF you want to see if your machine will handle Vista there is a program,
Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor beta, that will check for some hardware
conflicts. However, you are making the right choice by not trying to
install Vista, IMHO.

Top

And I'm VERY impressed that he asked first. Too many people upgraded and
then had a disaster.