Vista Question (Aero/Toshiba A105 laptop)

[Barry Watzman]

Installed the latest Vista Beta on a Toshiba A105-S2712 laptop. The
Vista advisor, running under XP, says it can run Aero. This laptop has
an Intel 915 chipset with Intel Graphics Accelerator 900 chipset video
(uses shared memory). This video system can allocate 128MB of video
memory and supports Pixel Shader 2. The computer has a gigabyte of
total memory. The CPU is a Pentium M 1.73GHz (not a Celeron).

My questions all revolve around running Aero the Aero interface on this
system.

First, how can I tell if Aero is running? If Aero is like an Orgasm
("if you don't know if you are running it, you are not"), then I'm not
running Aero. There is nothing spectacularly different that reaches out
and shakes me, no transparent see-through Windows or anything like that.

Second, if I'm not running it, is there anything in Vista itself that
will come right out and tell me if I'm running Aero, if not why not, and
is there anything I can do turn Aero on if it's currently off?

[Note, I'm using pretty much "Classic everything" .... start menu,
desktop, folders]

Thanks

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Most everyone checks the Taskbar to see if it is transparent. Also, in the
top middle of the Welcome Center you should see "(Microsoft Windows WDDM)"
following the name of the graphics adaptor. This also appears in Device
Manager when you expand graphics adaptors.

 

[Jane C]

The only Intel GPU that I could find at the Intel website that supports Aero
:The Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 on both the Intel® 945G and
Mobile Intel® 945GM Express Chipsets will support the Windows Vista Display
Driver model (WDDM) drivers.

 

[Barry Watzman]

The task bar is not transparent; the driver does not say WDDM.

Going out on a limb here, I'm going to speculate that this hardware is
capable of running Aero: The Vista Advisor says that it WILL, and from
what I can tell it meets all of the required hardware specs (128MB of
memory, DX9, Pixel Shader 2).

But, speculating further, the currently available driver doesn't
implement it.

Is there any way to find out for sure if a future driver release is
going to support Aero on this hardware (Intel GMA 900 chipset video
implemented as part of the Intel 915 laptop chipset)? Given that this
chipset was used in a huge percentage of laptops produced in the past
year by all laptop makers, probably tens or hundreds of millions of
laptops, there certainly is interest in having a driver for this that
supports Aero. And, furtheremore, there's a serious issue (perhaps a
legal issue) if the Vista Advisor says that it will run Aero but it
won't (for whatever reason).

Most everyone checks the Taskbar to see if it is transparent. Also, in the
top middle of the Welcome Center you should see "(Microsoft Windows WDDM)"
following the name of the graphics adaptor. This also appears in Device
Manager when you expand graphics adaptors.

Installed the latest Vista Beta on a Toshiba A105-S2712 laptop. The Vista
advisor, running under XP, says it can run Aero. This laptop has an Intel
915 chipset with Intel Graphics Accelerator 900 chipset video (uses shared
memory). This video system can allocate 128MB of video memory and
supports Pixel Shader 2. The computer has a gigabyte of total memory.
The CPU is a Pentium M 1.73GHz (not a Celeron).

My questions all revolve around running Aero the Aero interface on this
system.

First, how can I tell if Aero is running? If Aero is like an Orgasm ("if
you don't know if you are running it, you are not"), then I'm not running
Aero. There is nothing spectacularly different that reaches out and
shakes me, no transparent see-through Windows or anything like that.

Second, if I'm not running it, is there anything in Vista itself that will
come right out and tell me if I'm running Aero, if not why not, and is
there anything I can do turn Aero on if it's currently off?

[Note, I'm using pretty much "Classic everything" .... start menu,
desktop, folders]

Thanks

 

[Reed [MVP]]

The Upgrade Advisor Beta has an acknowledged bug regarding the Intel 915
graphics chipset. The 915 will NOT support Aero.

-Reed Rinn
MVP Shell / User

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

As you have concluded, you also need a WDDM driver. Intel may not have a
driver for Vista yet. If not, Microsoft will not be writing the driver,
Intel will. Until you have a WDDM driver, you will not see Glass. One of
the frustrations of sweating out a beta product.

The task bar is not transparent; the driver does not say WDDM.

Going out on a limb here, I'm going to speculate that this hardware is
capable of running Aero: The Vista Advisor says that it WILL, and from
what I can tell it meets all of the required hardware specs (128MB of
memory, DX9, Pixel Shader 2).

But, speculating further, the currently available driver doesn't implement
it.

Is there any way to find out for sure if a future driver release is going
to support Aero on this hardware (Intel GMA 900 chipset video implemented
as part of the Intel 915 laptop chipset)? Given that this chipset was
used in a huge percentage of laptops produced in the past year by all
laptop makers, probably tens or hundreds of millions of laptops, there
certainly is interest in having a driver for this that supports Aero.
And, furtheremore, there's a serious issue (perhaps a legal issue) if the
Vista Advisor says that it will run Aero but it won't (for whatever
reason).

Most everyone checks the Taskbar to see if it is transparent. Also, in
the top middle of the Welcome Center you should see "(Microsoft Windows
WDDM)" following the name of the graphics adaptor. This also appears in
Device Manager when you expand graphics adaptors.

Installed the latest Vista Beta on a Toshiba A105-S2712 laptop. The
Vista advisor, running under XP, says it can run Aero. This laptop has
an Intel 915 chipset with Intel Graphics Accelerator 900 chipset video
(uses shared memory). This video system can allocate 128MB of video
memory and supports Pixel Shader 2. The computer has a gigabyte of total
memory. The CPU is a Pentium M 1.73GHz (not a Celeron).

My questions all revolve around running Aero the Aero interface on this
system.

First, how can I tell if Aero is running? If Aero is like an Orgasm ("if
you don't know if you are running it, you are not"), then I'm not running
Aero. There is nothing spectacularly different that reaches out and
shakes me, no transparent see-through Windows or anything like that.

Second, if I'm not running it, is there anything in Vista itself that
will come right out and tell me if I'm running Aero, if not why not, and
is there anything I can do turn Aero on if it's currently off?

[Note, I'm using pretty much "Classic everything" .... start menu,
desktop, folders]

Thanks

 

[Barry Watzman]

Waiting does not bother me IF I KNOW THAT IT IS COMING (even next year,
after the public release). But I am advising people on purchase
decisions, and the concern is that there might never be a Vista driver
for this chipset that supports Aero, which would be especially upsetting
given that the Vista Advisor says that it will run Aero. What I'd like
is some assurance that yes, it will be supported, even though it's not yet.

As you have concluded, you also need a WDDM driver. Intel may not have a
driver for Vista yet. If not, Microsoft will not be writing the driver,
Intel will. Until you have a WDDM driver, you will not see Glass. One of
the frustrations of sweating out a beta product.

The task bar is not transparent; the driver does not say WDDM.

Going out on a limb here, I'm going to speculate that this hardware is
capable of running Aero: The Vista Advisor says that it WILL, and from
what I can tell it meets all of the required hardware specs (128MB of
memory, DX9, Pixel Shader 2).

But, speculating further, the currently available driver doesn't implement
it.

Is there any way to find out for sure if a future driver release is going
to support Aero on this hardware (Intel GMA 900 chipset video implemented
as part of the Intel 915 laptop chipset)? Given that this chipset was
used in a huge percentage of laptops produced in the past year by all
laptop makers, probably tens or hundreds of millions of laptops, there
certainly is interest in having a driver for this that supports Aero.
And, furtheremore, there's a serious issue (perhaps a legal issue) if the
Vista Advisor says that it will run Aero but it won't (for whatever
reason).


Colin Barnhorst wrote:

Most everyone checks the Taskbar to see if it is transparent. Also, in
the top middle of the Welcome Center you should see "(Microsoft Windows
WDDM)" following the name of the graphics adaptor. This also appears in
Device Manager when you expand graphics adaptors.



Installed the latest Vista Beta on a Toshiba A105-S2712 laptop. The
Vista advisor, running under XP, says it can run Aero. This laptop has
an Intel 915 chipset with Intel Graphics Accelerator 900 chipset video
(uses shared memory). This video system can allocate 128MB of video
memory and supports Pixel Shader 2. The computer has a gigabyte of total
memory. The CPU is a Pentium M 1.73GHz (not a Celeron).

My questions all revolve around running Aero the Aero interface on this
system.

First, how can I tell if Aero is running? If Aero is like an Orgasm ("if
you don't know if you are running it, you are not"), then I'm not running
Aero. There is nothing spectacularly different that reaches out and
shakes me, no transparent see-through Windows or anything like that.

Second, if I'm not running it, is there anything in Vista itself that
will come right out and tell me if I'm running Aero, if not why not, and
is there anything I can do turn Aero on if it's currently off?

[Note, I'm using pretty much "Classic everything" .... start menu,
desktop, folders]

Thanks

 

[Barry Watzman]

CRAP.

The Upgrade Advisor Beta has an acknowledged bug regarding the Intel 915
graphics chipset. The 915 will NOT support Aero.

-Reed Rinn
MVP Shell / User

Installed the latest Vista Beta on a Toshiba A105-S2712 laptop. The Vista
advisor, running under XP, says it can run Aero. This laptop has an Intel
915 chipset with Intel Graphics Accelerator 900 chipset video (uses shared
memory). This video system can allocate 128MB of video memory and
supports Pixel Shader 2. The computer has a gigabyte of total memory.
The CPU is a Pentium M 1.73GHz (not a Celeron).

My questions all revolve around running Aero the Aero interface on this
system.

First, how can I tell if Aero is running? If Aero is like an Orgasm ("if
you don't know if you are running it, you are not"), then I'm not running
Aero. There is nothing spectacularly different that reaches out and
shakes me, no transparent see-through Windows or anything like that.

Second, if I'm not running it, is there anything in Vista itself that will
come right out and tell me if I'm running Aero, if not why not, and is
there anything I can do turn Aero on if it's currently off?

[Note, I'm using pretty much "Classic everything" .... start menu,
desktop, folders]

Thanks

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Only Intel can answer that one. I can't believe that they wouldn't, but why
don't you post them and ask?

The Advisor is beta also (it will be called Windows Experience Advisor).

For sure the Intel site does not list a Vista driver
http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df-external/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=1862

And a search of the site on "Vista" does not turn up any articles on your
chipset:
http://mysearch.intel.com/corporate/default.aspx?culture=en-US&q=vista

So I think an email to Intel (or a call) is in order.

Waiting does not bother me IF I KNOW THAT IT IS COMING (even next year,
after the public release). But I am advising people on purchase
decisions, and the concern is that there might never be a Vista driver for
this chipset that supports Aero, which would be especially upsetting given
that the Vista Advisor says that it will run Aero. What I'd like is some
assurance that yes, it will be supported, even though it's not yet.

As you have concluded, you also need a WDDM driver. Intel may not have a
driver for Vista yet. If not, Microsoft will not be writing the driver,
Intel will. Until you have a WDDM driver, you will not see Glass. One
of the frustrations of sweating out a beta product.

The task bar is not transparent; the driver does not say WDDM.

Going out on a limb here, I'm going to speculate that this hardware is
capable of running Aero: The Vista Advisor says that it WILL, and from
what I can tell it meets all of the required hardware specs (128MB of
memory, DX9, Pixel Shader 2).

But, speculating further, the currently available driver doesn't
implement it.

Is there any way to find out for sure if a future driver release is going
to support Aero on this hardware (Intel GMA 900 chipset video implemented
as part of the Intel 915 laptop chipset)? Given that this chipset was
used in a huge percentage of laptops produced in the past year by all
laptop makers, probably tens or hundreds of millions of laptops, there
certainly is interest in having a driver for this that supports Aero.
And, furtheremore, there's a serious issue (perhaps a legal issue) if the
Vista Advisor says that it will run Aero but it won't (for whatever
reason).


Colin Barnhorst wrote:


Most everyone checks the Taskbar to see if it is transparent. Also, in
the top middle of the Welcome Center you should see "(Microsoft Windows
WDDM)" following the name of the graphics adaptor. This also appears in
Device Manager when you expand graphics adaptors.



Installed the latest Vista Beta on a Toshiba A105-S2712 laptop. The
Vista advisor, running under XP, says it can run Aero. This laptop has
an Intel 915 chipset with Intel Graphics Accelerator 900 chipset video
(uses shared memory). This video system can allocate 128MB of video
memory and supports Pixel Shader 2. The computer has a gigabyte of
total memory. The CPU is a Pentium M 1.73GHz (not a Celeron).

My questions all revolve around running Aero the Aero interface on this
system.

First, how can I tell if Aero is running? If Aero is like an Orgasm
("if you don't know if you are running it, you are not"), then I'm not
running Aero. There is nothing spectacularly different that reaches
out and shakes me, no transparent see-through Windows or anything like
that.

Second, if I'm not running it, is there anything in Vista itself that
will come right out and tell me if I'm running Aero, if not why not,
and is there anything I can do turn Aero on if it's currently off?

[Note, I'm using pretty much "Classic everything" .... start menu,
desktop, folders]

Thanks

 

[Barry Watzman]

I'm putting the laptop up for sale. Apparently, from what I can
determine (by no means definite), the hardware COULD support aero if
someone would write a driver, but at this time no one (Microsoft, Intel,
Toshiba) has any plans to do so. That could change, but there is no
guarantee, or even liklihood, that it will.

What is equally frustrating is that that the currently available Vista
Advisor says that this system WILL support Aero. Apparently that is
wrong and people know it's wrong, but the Advisor itself doesn't know
that it's wrong.

The replacement laptop may be another Toshiba A105, which I am otherwise
very happy with. Current models are being made with the 945 chipset
instead of the 915 chipset (Graphic Accelerator 950 instead of 900)
which apparently really does have Aero support.

Installed the latest Vista Beta on a Toshiba A105-S2712 laptop. The
Vista advisor, running under XP, says it can run Aero. This laptop has
an Intel 915 chipset with Intel Graphics Accelerator 900 chipset video
(uses shared memory). This video system can allocate 128MB of video
memory and supports Pixel Shader 2. The computer has a gigabyte of
total memory. The CPU is a Pentium M 1.73GHz (not a Celeron).

My questions all revolve around running Aero the Aero interface on this
system.

First, how can I tell if Aero is running? If Aero is like an Orgasm
("if you don't know if you are running it, you are not"), then I'm not
running Aero. There is nothing spectacularly different that reaches
out and shakes me, no transparent see-through Windows or anything like
that.

Second, if I'm not running it, is there anything in Vista itself that
will come right out and tell me if I'm running Aero, if not why not,
and is there anything I can do turn Aero on if it's currently off?

[Note, I'm using pretty much "Classic everything" .... start menu,
desktop, folders]

Thanks