[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Installing Vista SP2 Beta here

[nakedparrot]

I, too, went with the stand-alone 32-bit installer. Installation was a breeze. No problems at all.

[greyaburton]

i read that it provides support for burning onto blue ray discs.would be nice to know if this works and how efficent(fast,or the speed that it burns)as i read that burn speeds for blue ray burners are lower than the regular dvd burners.this would be good to know before investing the money to buy blue ray burner and discs for it.

[MleB]

A 388 MB Service Pack? Thank goodness for the internet...
Manufacturers have relied an awful lot on their user's access to the net to deliver patches and upgrades to their products these days - allowing substandard products to enter the marketplace - rather than do any sort of significant due diligence on the products beforehand.
The internet has covered many manufacturers' aes, many times over - and likely saved Microsoft alone untold hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars for them and saved them the challenges of (even more)deeply resentful users.
The delivery of these fixes is nearly free for manufacturers - while Microsoft in particular should recognize, with their market share worldwide being what it is, that not all users will have broadband or unlimited internet access in order to download and fix Microsoft's errors.
And while I have broadband, I still resent having to use my time and paid connection to someone else's job. And 388 MB is hardly a light-weight download or fix...

[jeffdlpc]

I'm curious about the improved network connection fixes - seems like every day I have to "Diagnose" and repair my wireless connection, please comment on your experience with that.

[belgianwaffle]

So you gotta complain that every two years or so, you gotta dowload 388 MB??!

[Adama]

One thing that I have learned since I joined this Community is that downloading anything in Beta is risky, to say the least.

I prefer to wait until the real thing comes out.

[techwired09]

I just installed it today, with the standalone download. Installation went perfect for me. Just the one restart that is required for all Updates.

I don't have much testing software, so I don't notice too many differences, but i'm sure I will notice them in time!

[browntheodore]

I installed the Vista SP2 x64 beta on my Gateway notebook PC, and I have noticed an definite improvement in network connectivity. In my informal tests, my PC now connects to our network and establishes an internet connection almost instantly. Before, it took at least 15 sec.

[backpack]

I'll wait about a month before installing SP2. I'm still not to fond of Vista; it will take much longer for me to accept Vista than I did with XP.
It would be nice to hear from Nick Mediati giving his recommendation as to which of the three options to install SP2 is better.

[mynamesafad]

Please find me an OS that doesnt give you updates? Oh wait... You cant.

[rgreen4]

Everyone asking about installing SP2 Beta, please be careful! ITS A BETA PEOPLE! One should never install a Beta of anything on an operational disc. Many people blamed Microsoft when they had trouble uninstalling SP1 Beta before they could install SP1 final release on their only drive. If you want to play with the SP2 Beta, install a new drive and then install Vista SP1 and then SP2 Beta. Then when the final SP2 is released, you can install it on your primary operating HD, and then zap the Beta installation on the second drive.

I have Vista on three machines (all SP1) and have no intention of experimenting with SP2. I will wait until the final version (RTM) is released.

[Ryan22158]

MleB -

That is the standalone installer. According to MIcrosoft you should only download that if you need to install the service pack on multiple machines. I used Windows Update for Sp2 and I only had to download about a third of the standalone, around 100MB.

And for the rest of your post. Do you expect Microsoft to fill our dumps with CDs by mailing you, and every other PC user, a physical copy of the SP? And I am sure if some one still has dial up they are still using XP Sp2 and have no idea that there is even such a thing as a service pack. If you can find me a tech savvy person that still has dial up and wants to participate in a beta testing of a SP I will gladly bow to your point.

[sandman3]

I downloaded the .ISO file and created a CD for the install...No problems noted and all applications work as usual. So far, so good.

[mphenterprises]

Hi RGreen. Well, unfortunately, people are attracted to "BETA" like flies to a flame. The latest and "best" things will always attract the general public. The even more unfortunate part is that those same people will blame the vendor of the BETA application when something goes wrong.

[sandman3]

Being a "seasoned" IT Tech I know better than to test this on my everyday PC...I have to test "new stuff" as a part of my job...I also am not in the habit of recommending that my friends and co-workers do as I do...Unless you know what can and WILL happen with beta products you and nobody else should mess with them.

[rgreen4]

That's why I like Acronis. Before I do anything that might have a detrimental effect, I clone the operating drive and experiment with the clone. If it blows up, all I have lost is a little time and swap back the cables to the original and I'm back in business. At an It guy, I'm sure you have something that may be a little better than Acronis, but it works for me.

Unfortunately, too many do as MPH says, as we have both seen the results. It happened with SP1 and will happen again with SP2. They download the Beta onto their only HD with no backup, and then ask for help to get their data back when it blows up. I put forth a philosophy in a document I did some time back about installing XP on a Vista machine, and recommended that they do it on a new drive, as we must "first do no harm". If they encounter problems, with the original drive sitting on the side, they can always easily go back to where they were.

[dborg64]

Well I installed it, and found something very interesting !!!!!

I ran the 3DMark06 test, and I had noticed about a month ago that Vista SP1 had a score of 2293 and Win7 had a score of 2302 (same machine dual boot).

I re-ran the Vista test under SP2, AND GOT THE EXACT SAME SCORE AS Win7.

What are the chances ?? Is Microsoft putting Win7 code into Vista SP2 (or is this just a wacky coincidence, wink wink).

Either way, I've been loving Win7, both for the new functionality, and the new speed. Now I get to have at least the speed part in Vista too.

Impressed so far.

[MicTig]

"a system reboot is required is required to roll back changed made."
should be...
changes made.

[davidrayrob]

I've decided to wait for the next Microsoft version to come out. I will stay with XP Pro since I'm extremely happy with it. Vista was just a newer version poorly redesigned for visuals and making mega-bucks. I'll pass on this one like I did on Windows 2000 and Millenium. Windows 98 and XP have been the best OS that Microsoft developed. 98 was stable and MS first attempt at a fun system. XP very stable and advanced. I'm content for now.