Microsoft Releases Public Beta 2 of Windows Vista
By: Arie Slob
Today, Microsoft announced the imediate availability of Windows Vista Beta 2 to the public, using the Windows Vista Customer Preview Program (CPP), which will provide the broadest access yet to pre-release test versions of Windows Vista.
Microsoft announced the availability of the program with a special videotaped message from Chris Jones, corporate vice president, Windows Client Core Development, on The Hive. To see the video, please visit The Hive (note that the video is a 90MB download).
On Microsoft's Web site it reads: "We invite you to be among the first to experience the clarity that Windows Vista can bring to your world. The Windows Vista Customer Preview Program makes a pre-release edition of Windows Vista Ultimate broadly available to the public for the first time."
Microsoft also notes: "This is beta code and should not be used in a production environment or on a main machine in the home. Beta 2 is intended for developers, IT professionals and technology experts to continue or begin their testing of Windows Vista. Before you decide to use Beta 2, you should feel comfortable with installing operating systems, updating drivers, and general PC troubleshooting. Some risks of using beta operating systems include hardware and software incompatibility and system instability. If you have concerns about installing this beta software on your computer, we encourage you to obtain the final release version of Windows Vista when it is available in 2007."
So consider yourself warned! You should only install this beta on a separate machine, or maybe a second hard drive in your system. I did attempt to upgrade my main machine (running Windows XP SP2) to Vista, but this resulted in a corrupted user profile. Fortunately I had taken precautions and had a drive image backup made just prior to upgrading, so I had a working system back in a couple of hours.
If you want to go ahead, visit the Windows Vista Get Ready Web site, where you can download the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor beta to check if your PC is ready for Vista. Windows Vista Ultimate Beta 2 can be ordered on DVD, or you can download a 3.5GB ISO file (or 4.4GB for the x64 version). You'll need either a DVD burner, or software that will let you mount the image as a drive in your system.
I'm currently working on a review of Windows Vista Beta 2, check out the HelpWithWindows.com site for details.
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